The Mortgage Market In Change
At the Silvar MLS breakfast meeting this morning a panel of top silicon valley mortgage advisers spoke and had the following comments regarding the continuing changes in the home financing market: Continual Change – This is a time of extreme variability for home financing, not seen in the past 20…
Monte Sereno Real Estate Trends
 Monte Sereno is part of MLS Marketing Area 16 and shares zip code 95030 with portions of Los Gatos, CA. The graph above shows trends in available inventory, pending and closed transactions through January 2009. There are currently 27 available properties (as of 2/23/09), ranging in price from $1.23 million…
Saratoga Real Estate Market Update
Finally the Saratoga real estate market is seeing some positive activity this past week with 5 pending sales including a nice building site (with older house) in the Glen Una neighborhood. 20 properties were added to the inventory or changed price, but the overall detached home increased by only 6.…
Saratoga Real Estate Market Snapshot
The 2009 Saratoga resale housing market is slower to catch fire than in previous years and prices the last couple of weeks are dropping as sellers get serious about the realities of the market place. The first two weeks of February have seen an increase in available inventory and 6…
Saratoga Serves – March 2009
I am very excited that the “faith communities” in Saratoga, California are organizing the month March 2009 for Saratoga Serves. Â In these troubling economic times it is important that we come together as community to support each other and respond to common needs. Blood Drive – The church my wife…
Hearts Full on Valentines Day
Last week SASCC Encore celebrated Valentines day early (because of timing for 80 third-grade children to serenade the adults) and to had a late celebration of Chinese New Year (January 26th). The kids were absolutely darling as they sang and handed out hand made valentines and a Chinese caligraphy master…
Real Estate Stimulus
Hardly zero Dollars!!! The House of Representatives today passed a $787 billion stimulus bill aimed at resuscitating the U.S. economy, approving it on a largely party-line vote of 246 to 183. So much for bi-partisan cooperation. 176 Republicans voted against the bill, joined by 7 Democrats; no Republicans voted in…
Saratoga Neighborhoods
My website www.RickBonetti.com has lots of information about neighborhoods in Saratoga, including sales information. Click on the underlined names for links to each neighborhood. Click on the blue “View Larger Map” link below to show outlines of the boundaries of the neighborhoods I have used. View Larger Map I am…
Santa Clara County Assessor Revaluations
Last Friday, February 6, 2009, the Mercury News published an article on the Santa Clara County Assessors office’s plans to review the property valuation of approximately 200,000 homes (especially those purchasted since 2000). Because of the increased workload, assessed valuations are now expected to come out late June and homeowners have until…
Do You Know Someone Who is Facing Foreclosure and Needs Help?
Here are some resources for troubled homeowners to learn how to possibly avoid foreclosure and stay in their home.By way of background, in December 2008 Fannie Mae, which has an estimated 18 million home loans in it portfolio, made a policy change so that homeowners facing tough financial times no longer have to…
Renovation Loans for “AS-IS” Home Purchases
If you want to buy a property that is in “less than perfect shape”, there is a little known option available to both owner-occupied buyers and investors: ”Renovation Loans”. These are single loan transactions (combining purchase and reconstruction) that allow buyers to purchase a property AS-IS, regardless of it’s current condition and no…
Saratoga Historical Foundation
A new exhibit at the Saratoga History Museum opens February 6 and runs through March 1 highlighting the Korean and Vietnam Wars. The exhibit features memorabilia such as Korean War vintage flight and g-flight suits, Vietnam POW bracelets and more. Saratogans who fought in these wars are also honored.The Museum is…
Homebuyer Tax Credit in Stimulus Package?
The current economic crisis is the result of problems in the nation’s housing markets. Efforts to boost the overall economy will be wholly ineffective if the Economic Stimulus bill that goes to the President does not include provisions focused on stabilizing real estate markets. Both the House and Senate versions include…
Home Sale Exclusion from Federal Gain Tax
In 1997 the Federal government changed the rules (which used to be just a one time income tax break for seniors) to exclude the gain on the sale of their property. The maximum exclusion is now $250,000 for a single and $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly. The general…
A Christmas Tree in the Forest
Marketing is the “art” of being able to making something stand out as a “Christmas tree in a forest” and it is exposing that awareness to as broad a market as possible – people who have the capacity and inclination to buy. In real estate there is a “forest of…
