Los Altos Town Crier » Real Estate Profiles

Serving the Hometown of Silicon Valley Since 1947

Inside this week's
Town Crier

Visit Our Town

Los Altos Online

Find it Fast:

Browse or search full directory

Add Town Crier to
your webpage

RSS Feed

Help

2008 » Issue April 30 » Real Estate Profiles

Bay Area home sales reach 20-year low

The subprime mortgage crisis causing financial woes to homeowners is slowing down the sales volume for realtors as March Bay Area home sales reached their lowest levels in 20 years. Home sales in the nine area counties were down an average of 41 percent compared with March 2007 sales, according to DataQuick Information Systems, which has been monitoring real estate activity nationwide since 1988.

Santa Clara County home-sales volume dipped even lower than the Bay Area average – 2,052 sales were recorded last year and 1,105 this year, a 46 percent decrease.

Astrologer advises real estate agents be clever in the Year of the Rat

At a time when the housing market isn’t booming, real estate agents must be clever like the rat and learn to get by. In the meantime, they should improve themselves, focus on building and nurturing relationships, build trust and wait out the tough year, according to popular Chinese astrologer Y.C. Sun.

“2008 is the Year of Rat, an animal that is smart, clever and versatile in getting around obstacles,” Sun said recently to members of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors.

FHA loans provide window of opportunity for homebuyers

Thanks to the passage of the economic stimulus package, homebuyers now have a window of opportunity with Federal Home Administration (FHA) loans, according to area loan specialists.

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Regional Diverse Segments manager Grace Mejia and Senior Home Mortgage consultant Jimmy Kang shared this information at meetings with Bay Area realtors, explaining the advantages of FHA loans for buyers. They recently presented the topic to members of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors and the South Asian Real Estate Association of America.