136-138 Pontiac St., San Leandro

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This is a wonderful story about a smart woman. My client is in her mid-20’s and an ICU nurse at Stanford. At her mother’s urging, they were looking for a duplex where she could live in one and rent the other. We had looked early last year and there wasn’t anything she liked. I got a call when I was coming back from Thanksgiving in Reno and she wanted to see this one in San Leandro.

I called and they had offers, but we could still write. It had been sitting for 44 days and was listed for $699,000 moving into the holidays when business tends to be slower and people are looking for deals. So, I dropped off my bags and dog and met her to see the duplex. One unit had had a fire and the other had tenants. The back unit was completely remodeled. Everything was brand new. They didn’t even put a mirror in the bathroom.

We wrote a bit above $700,000, but I was told the other offer was higher and we would have to go $750,000. Was the other agent not telling the complete truth? Maybe, but the comps supported it so my client wrote for $760,000 and $10,000 back for some closing costs. He like my communication and wasn’t sure about the other agent involved. So, my client got the home!

The renters in the first unit have been there many years and that one is much more of an original build (we got extra home warranty coverage on it). There were a couple of caveats to getting this closed. We were to close on January 6, but the seller wanted to close a month later because he would have owned it one year and his tax account gave him the savings in taxes, so we agreed to that. My clients lease was up by the 20th, so my client was allowed to move in early, subject to a few conditions (including the seller paying the lock extension, which was in the $4,000 range).

The day my client moved in, I got a call that the hot water and gas stove were not working. I thought it must have been turned off at the main, but it was fully permitted and signed off on, thus the gas was working. The listing agent said it was our responsibility because we removed all contingencies. But, technically, my client didn’t own it yet (these are the pitfalls of allowing someone to move in before closing, which I typically do not recommend). We called PG&E to come check it out. Ironically, there had been an earthquake near San Leandro a week or so before my client moved in and it auto-shut off the valve (usually it takes a 5.0 earthquake or higher, which this one wasn’t, so PG&E was a little surprised it shut off).

At the end of the day, agents do a lot more than just show you homes and write offers. It takes some time to figure out who will fight for you in odd situations, who communicates well, and who has the experience to know to make the seller pay for the rate lock, for example, when it was what they needed.

If you want to work with an experienced agent, then give me a call.

Views, and more Views! in Concord!

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979 Via Montanas

I can’t get enough of this new home on Lime Ridge in Concord. My new listing is officially live and I hope you like it as much as I do! It is a single-story home on nearly an acre of land with views from the house and the yards to die for. A 4-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom, 2,310-square-foot gem going for $1.25 million. Take a look:

The home has vaulted ceilings, wood-burning fireplaces, hardwood floors, and gardens, giving it a comfortable and welcoming air, perfect for hosting guests or relaxing alone. You can’t beat 180-degree vistas from your patio, with plenty of space to expand creatively with a deck, pool, or other landscaping dreams.

There are additional exterior living areas and room to add an ADU. You’re just steps from the Lime Ridge Open Space and the Contra Costa Canal Trail for miles of walking, running, biking, and hiking. You’re also just five minutes in the car from shopping and a BART station, meaning you’re all set on both tranquility and accessibility.

Don’t miss the opportunity to make this extraordinary home your own. Built in 1985, it is a sturdy and well-constructed house; move-in ready, or a blank canvas to be expanded on! Give me a call today if you are interested in touring 979 Via Montanas.

Who’s Buying and Selling: Trends Shaping 2024

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The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released its 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers last month. I got my cliff notes of the report from a newsletter by Jason Barlow of Arbor Financial Group but you can read the full NAR report here.

The NAR Profile helps people like me, Jason, and others in the real estate industry understand what buyers and sellers are looking for. Here are the basic takeaways:

Shift in First-Time Buyers: first-time buyers made up only 24% of the market this year, the lowest share since 1981.
Aging Buyer Demographics: the average first-time buyer is now 38, up from 35 in 2023, and repeat buyers are typically 61, showing a trend toward older buyers.
Family and Home Choices: only 27% of buyers had children at home, the smallest share to date. Plus, 17% purchased multigenerational homes.
Financing Trends: cash sales are up, with 26% of buyers paying fully in cash – a record high.
Agent Loyalty: buyers and sellers still overwhelmingly choose agents they know, with 40% of buyers and 66% of sellers using a referred agent.
Technology’s Role: 43% of buyers’ first step was online, with the internet being the main tool for their search.

If you are considering buying or selling, a discussion about the process, market, and your expectations is a great place to start. Give me a call if you want to understand more about the process or email me directly: Kristin.lanham@bhghome.com.

Rising Rent & Utility Costs vs. Home Values

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Last month, Jason Barlow of Arbor Financial Group sent an interesting newsletter about the rising costs of utilities and rent and how all of that affects home values. I wanted to share some of that information with you here (and add my own takes).

Right now, rent and utilities are outpacing home values for the first time in a decade. Last year, rent increased 3.8% while home values only grew 1.8%. Nearly half of renters are spending 30% or more on their income on housing. And minority households are facing the highest burden, with Black renters at 56%.

Those figures are certainly something to keep in mind if you’re deciding between buying and renting. Here is an article from The Washington Post that lays out all this information in more detail. As a realtor, I find incredible value in homeownership (if only as a form of long-term investment that can create generational wealth for your family). But I understand the markets and economy fluctuate, taking these rent and utility costs with them.

Kristin’s take: Right now, if you have been on the fence in buying a home or an investment home, I think is a great time to get into the housing market. We still have low inventory, however we have seen price reductions. In this graph many of the lenders are anticipating rates to fall next year (see graph above). Get in now, before everybody gets into the market – marry the house, date the rate – then refi when rates start to go down. You most likely will get a lower price now than when rates go down.

Nobody Knows Homes Better

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I work for Better Homes and Gardens, and I wanted to share their new campaign here because I think it is pretty cool! They are sharing ads like the one in the video below to encourage clients and potential clients to see why Better Homes and Gardens knows homes better, and how that can help YOU!

As an employee of Better Homes and Gardens Reliance Partners, we are the only company under the Anywhere Brand that is under the BHG umbrella and thus associated with the BHG Magazine. We got a new CEO this year named Ginger Wilcox and I have to admit she is really on point with updating the brand. The magazine is iconic and melds so nicely with real estate, thus our new tagline. I am excited what new ideas she will bring to the table. I am proud to work under this brand, I now think it is cool and promotes the lifestyle clients want to lead. We act as personal property curators. We pay attention to all the little details that make a future home a source of joy and pride, whether it’s a fixer with tons of charm and potential or a fully remodeled estate. A BHG real estate sign is a sign of a home where better living begins.

How The Election Impacts The Housing Market

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With two weeks to go until the Presidential Election, you are probably very tired of hearing about it. However, I think this is an angle that you should take a moment to think about when casting your vote. How does the election impact the housing and real estate market?

According to the below video, the result of this election is very unlikely to alter the market much in either direction. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, has proposed federal grants to increase the amount of housing available, as well as to credit first-time homebuyers and make buying easier. Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, has said he would continue Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s term.

Analyses of those respective platforms say that little movement would be expected, as is historically normal in presidential election years. One thing that does tend to happen is that home sales slow during the election month (November), but quickly bounce back and rise the following year, with prices climbing steadily. Mortgage rates typically come down slightly.

So, why should that matter to you as a voter? Well, if you have any plans to buy or sell a home in the next year or so, it can just add a layer of uncertainty to the whole process, however there is always something going on. Luckily, that’s where I come in! Let me use my expertise to help you navigate the market and find you your dream home or get the best return on selling your home.

Relocation Success: 1148 Empress Ln. (Brentwood)

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I recently had the pleasure of working with amazing relocation clients moving from Minnesota to Livermore. With only three days to find their perfect home, we toured 10 homes in a single day. It was a long day, but well worth it in the end. They really wanted a pool, and the property on Empress Ln. in Brentwood checked all their boxes.

The seller did quite a bit of work refinishing hardwood floors, replacing windows with broken seals, and painting. There was still some work to be done at the end, so we got a $15,000 credit (the water heater, for instance, needs to be replaced and there was a leak in the pool).

The biggest issue we found was that the solar was only producing about one-third of the energy it was supposed to, and the bills were still very high. We had to search high and low for someone to do an inspection on that, and someone finally come out and give us some details. Older solar panels, when you don’t know who installed it, got bought out and the owner did not have the name of the new company is never an easy task to get resolved or find someone to repair.

This was a whirlwind process from start to finish, but them through the process and working with amazing clients made it all worth it. The home is a 5-bed, 3-bath, 3,844-square foot home and they couldn’t be happier! Whether relocating or buying locally, I’m here to make your journey easy and stress-free!

How Natural Disasters Affect The Market

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My writer and his family were startled awake by a storm that carried much more power than expected last week. They live in Asheville, NC, one of the hardest-hit areas by Hurricane Helene. Though he and his home escaped any major damage, his entire neighborhood was filled with downed trees, smashed roofs, and other destruction.

*The worst of the damage to my writer’s home in Asheville: a smashed A/C unit, a fence, and one gutter. He says they are much luckier than most people they know in the area!*

Here in California, we deal with the effects of wildfires in many of our communities and live amid the fear of “the big one” hitting a major fault and triggering a massive earthquake. Beyond all the loss of life and property that results from these disasters, the real estate market can take a big hit. Here’s some info on how those markets are affected, paraphrased from this real estate blog:

There is typically a sharp decline in property values immediately after a natural disaster. Homes can suffer serious damage and be in need of repair. Those repair costs, plus a perceived increased risk of future disasters, diminishes appeal and demand. If many in the area were underinsured or uninsured, there could be financial difficulties that lead to foreclosures and an even longer-term depressive effect on market prices.

Of course, investors might see a place hit by disaster as a strong bet for long-term recovery and appreciation and could swoop in and purchase properties at low prices. This can provide much-needed capital for rebuilding efforts but also lead to gentrification and displacement of residents who are now priced out of their communities.

In the long term, markets tend to adapt to the reality of natural disasters, including new building codes and zoning laws to mitigate future risk (think, elevating homes in flood-prone areas or enforcing stricter fire-resistant materials in wildfire zones). That can lead to increased building costs likely passed on to buyers and raising overall market values.

Finally, how quickly and competently the government responds to a natural disaster has a huge influence on the market’s trajectory. Timely and robust support can help stabilize markets and reassure potential buyers, but the opposite response can exacerbate the negative impacts on property values and investor confidence. If the variables align positively, a destroyed market can bounce back, sometimes even stronger.

One other issue the housing market in California is currently facing is the lack of insurance companies willing to insure new homeowners. Insurance has now become a contingency in the contracts because if you can’t get insurance, you can’t close on a loan. Rossmoor, our senior community, currently has a fire insurance coverage issue and can’t find lenders that will finance the homes in that community, thus they are all-cash closings.

I have referred a handful of clients to a current lender that seems to get buyers insured. However, my most recent closing he could not and they found only one company (Mercury) that would insure in Brentwood. I think they have quotas for specific areas and this problem was not helped by California putting limits on how much an insurance company can charge. It is this point that has caused so many insurance companies to leave California and I am unsure what the solution is.

Understanding all of these possibilities and variables can help buyers and sellers make informed decisions. There is no foolproof way to insulate a market from the effects of a natural disaster, but being diligent about preparedness, recovery effort, and strategic planning can pave the way for growth later. On a side note, I just saw an article about one home that did not burn in the Lahania fires while everything else burned around it. It was a newer build and had some fire hardening; maybe a wave of future possibility?

Just Sold ~ 2111 Brandywine Ln.

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I first met Matt through his brother, Dean. They were on the hunt for a fixer-upper in Hayward/Freemont area and the first house we put a bid on was a probate property – a complete burnout home, listed in the low $ 400,000s. When it went to court, the bidding shot up to $747,000, which just didn’t make sense to them.

*Matt (front) and Dean (gray shirt in back).*

After that, I showed them several more homes, all with significant issues and price tags in the $800,000 + range. Then we found Brandywine, a house that had been sitting for six months. It came with a massive $45,000 pest report. The trim and deck were completely rotted – the original wood was cheap, and the house hadn’t been maintained (likely rented out to students at Cal State Hayward).

We got bids from contractors, ranging from $12,000-$18,000, but they ended up going with Dean’s guy. He did all the section 1 work (damage to wood), even found a bunch of termites inside the framing of one window. Now, they’re gutting all three bathrooms, painting inside and out, installing a new dishwasher, and building a brand new deck. The last sale in that development was $904,000. This home started at $908,000 but had dropped to $799,000. After some back-and-forth negotiations, Matt bought it for $750,000.

This wasn’t a flip – Matt and his family are moving in. I can’t wait to see how it all turns out!

7 Things To Tell A New Homeowner

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I came across some great advice in an email from Super Home Warranty recently, that I wanted to share here. They listed seven great tips to tell a new homeowner. They may seem simple or obvious, but as a new home owner, one may not think about all these things. I agree with all of the tips, some may have been noted in the home inspection such as water leaks and where is the main and circuit breaker and yes do a deep clean before you move in with all your stuff, often a seller will clean, but may not be as detailed as you would like.

Check your smoke detector and CO2 alarms: always test your alarms and put fresh batteries in!
Update your address: this is probably the first thing most people do upon moving, but it’s good to remember not to put it off too long.
Change the locks: you never know how many spare keys are out there from previous owners, so change the locks for peace of mind.
Check for water leaks: early detection of leaks can save you tons of stress and money down the line.
Locate the water main and circuit breaker: I’d add the gas main, too, because the last thing you want is to have an emergency and not know where any of those things are!
Clean the house: this is a good opportunity to make it feel brand new, all like yours, and get difficult-to-clean areas like appliances and air vents looking clean as a whistle.
Transfer utilities: just like updating your address with USPS, you’ll want to transfer any utilities necessary to your name at the new home. The longer you wait, the longer you’ll go without electricity, water, internet, etc.

Are there any other tips for new homes and homeowners you can think of? Comment below with the things you wish you had known!