Summer Heat

Right now in the many different East Bay Markets we are seeing consistently that well priced homes are getting multiple offers. It doesn't seem to matter if they are traditional sales, REO's or short sales. Even with rates going up investors and first time buyers are seeing this as a golden opportunity. And it is! We've rolled back prices, in some cases, 20 years! My office sold a liveable house in Oakland for 36K just a little over a month ago. The difficulty right now is for FHA buyers who have little downpayment. they just can't compete in many cases as iinvestors often with all cash offers snatch up these properties. Yet for the patient buyer there are opportunities. You just have to have your ducks lined up and be ready to pull the trigger without hemming and hawing. This year I've helped two clients purchase homes before they ever went on the Multiple Listing Service. The benefit is that in these cases there was no competition and we were able to buy two very good homes, One, a three bedroom 1 bath Mediteranean in Berkeley for under 375K and the other a 2 bedroom one bath in North Oakland with a studio for 300K.