Oktoberfest comes to Walnut Creek!

There’s one event – a holiday, even, if you stretch that definition – that takes place each Fall that all adult should take part in. It’s not Thanksgiving. Not Halloween. It’s the German beer event known as Oktoberfest! The festival has become so popular, that pretty much every town has their own version.

Even here in Walnut Creek, we have an Oktoberfest event, and it’s taking place this coming weekend! This year, it will be held at Civic Park from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. You can head there to drink copious amounts of beer, eat great food, and meet fun people! This is the 4th annual Walnut Creek Oktoberfest and will span all 16-plus acres of the park.

At the Walnut Creek event, there will be a Biergarten, Microbrews, gourmet food, live music, Autobahn and vendors. All ages are welcome to the Kids Zone but the beer areas will be the main draws. Best of all, tickets are FREE.

Oktoberfest, of course, originated in Germany and is celebrated widely in cities like Munich and Berlin, where people dress up and stand on tables and drink beer all day. I actually had the pleasure of attending Oktoberfest in Munich back in my 20’s – lots of drinking, a carnival…and I really don’t remember much else. Walnut Creek’s isn’t quite as celebrated, but it’s still a good time! Hope to see you there – lederhosen and dirndls not required, but encouraged!

Why Are the Interest Rates So Low?

There have been a lot of articles about interest rates and the stock market recently. First, the German 10-Year Government Bond Yield has hit negative territory. In layman’s terms, this means that Germany gets paid interest to borrow investors’ money, the same thing is happening in Japan. Thus, Germany and Japan are getting paid to borrow money.

On the surface, this seems silly. Why would investors take a negative yield or pay somebody to borrow their money? Because it’s safe. Investors will put money wherever they can in order to ensure they can safely recoup it in the future.

How does this help the real estate market? First, the demand for bonds keeps rates very low, making real estate leverage much cheaper (The Brexit will also have an impact, which will be a different post). When investors have a lot of cash and are looking to put it somewhere, real estate investing becomes a good place to do so.

According to the National Association of REALTORS^®, the number of homes that went under contract to be sold in April was the highest in more than a decade. It was also the strongest month in more than eight years for new home sales – with a 16.6% jump from the previous month. We do tend to see a bit of a lull in the summer as families head off for vacation.

If you are a buyer, it might be a great time to jump into the real estate market! Give me a call if you would like some help.