Own a Piece of Fairfax History & Your Own Railroad

Posted on April 3, 2010 by George Crowe

All aboard!  A chance to own your own railroad in Fairfax.

[singlepic id=13 w=320 h=240 float=right] A slice of Marin history is coming on the market this week and as the saying goes, they really don’t make them like this anymore.  If you were a kid living in Fairfax back in the 60s or 70s you may have ridden the Raccoon Gulch railway, a 7.5 gauge line that wound for about a fifth of a mile through train aficionado Gordon Adams’ property in Cascade Canyon.  The home and grounds are soon to be up for sale, complete with tracks, tunnels and a mini locomotive.  The property is listed by Fred Kusin with Frank Howard Allen Realtors.

I had an opportunity to preview this place last week.  The two story, 4 bedroom house is relatively modest, but the the lot is pretty amazing–a beautiful, sunny, flat, tree-studded 1.8 acres or so bordered by a babbling creek.  The property exemplifies the combination of quirky charm and natural beauty that makes Fairfax such a special place.  If you happen to be a train fan you shouldn’t miss the chance to check it out.  And if you rode the Raccoon Gulch line as a child, we’d love to hear your stories or see your pictures.

-George

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Photos and listing information for 475 Cascade courtesy of Fred Kusin and Frank Howard Allen Realtors.


Moving to Marin? Great Tax Credits for 1st Time Homebuyers

Posted on March 30, 2010 by Ginger Wilcox

If you are first time home buyer considering moving to Marin County, now may be a great time to look at a home purchase. For a small window, home buyers may be able to qualify for both the Federal tax credit and the California tax credit, which could equal $18,000 for some home buyers.

The California Tax Credit

Governor Schwarzenegger extended the tax credit (AB 183) for home buyers in the state of California, providing $200 million for home buyer tax credits. The bill allocates $100 million for qualified first-time home buyers and $100 million for home buyers purchasing new construction.

Key Provisions of the California tax credit:

  • tax credit is equal to the lesser of 5 percent of the purchase price or $10,000
  • taken in equal installments over three consecutive years
  • purchasers will be required to live in the home as their principal residence for at least two years or forfeit the credit (i.e. repay it to the state).
  • Must close escrow between May 1, 2010 and December 31,2010 OR be in contract by December 31,2010 and close before August 1, 2011

The Federal Tax Credit

The federal tax credit is available to both first time homebuyers and “step-up” buyers who have owned their current homes for 5 of the last 8 years.

Key Provisions of the Federal tax credit:

  • tax credit is equal tof 10% of purchase price ($80,000 purchase = $8,000) to a MAXIMUM of $8,000
  • if buyer has income taxes less than $8,000, the Federal govenment will ‘refund’ the difference to the buyer/taxpayer
    (if the taxpayer owes $2,000 in taxes at year end; tax credit = $8,000; taxpayer/buyer will receive $6,000 refund)
  • must be in contract by April 30, 2010 and must close by June 30, 2010

A first time home buyer who gets into contract before April 30, 2010 and closes escrow between May 1, 2010 and June 30, 2010 may be eligible for both credits. With a significant inventory of homes available for sale in Marin, home buyers who move quickly may benefit.

Existing Home Sales Flatten And Point To A Better Spring

Posted on March 24, 2010 by Ginger Wilcox

Existing Home Sales Feb 2008-Feb 2010As expected, Existing Home Sales fell in February, slipping 30,000 units versus January’s numbers. It’s the 4th straight month in which Existing Home Sales were lower, month-over-month.

An “existing” home is one that is previously owned and lived-in (i.e. not new construction).

Existing Home Sales peaked in November 2009, just as the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit was set to expire. Immediately thereafter, according to the National Association of Realtors®, monthly sales plunged 17 percent in December, then another 7 percent in January.

Comparatively, February’s dip is a modest 0.6 percent and is more in line with the pre-tax-credit Existing Home Sales trend.  The real estate market is rediscovering its normal.

But “normal” may not last for long.

When the federal home buyer’s tax program was extended last year, the new rules stated that home buyers must be under contract for their new, respective homes on, or before, April 30, 2010 in order to claim up to $8,000 in federal money.  That deadline is approaching and many markets –parts of Marin included — are experiencing a surge in buyer traffic as April 30 nears.

The Existing Home Sales data doesn’t reflect this new demand, nor the number of new contracts written. It only accounts for home closings and, in February, closings were down.

For today’s buyers, the market looks favorable. The federal tax credit is in place, mortgage rates stubbornly stick near all-time lows, and home prices are staying in check.

Existing Home Sales should gain through March and April, theoretically pressuring home prices higher. Consider acting sooner rather than later as interest rates are also expected to rise later this spring.

Time to invest in Marin Real Estate?

Posted on March 4, 2010 by Ginger Wilcox


If you are unable to see the video above, please click here


According to the the National Association of Realtors®, “distressed homes” represented nearly 2 of every fifth home sold in January 2010.  Clearly, real estate investors in Marin County and around the country are taking advantage of good deals on inexpensive property.  But there’s risk involved.

This NBC Today Show interview first ran in March 2009, featuring real estate expert Barbara Corcoran. Despite its age, the message remains relevant. Today may be a terrific time to buy a bank-owned home — just make sure you do your research first.  There’s plenty of ways for investors to get burned.

Some of the tips in the video include:

  • Buy in your own backyard
  • Start small, then build to a bigger portfolio
  • Watch receipts — rent rolls don’t matter if tenants aren’t paying rent

Corcoran also gives pointers on how to evaluate a prospective tenant.

Foreclosures may represent a significant number of 2010’s total Marin County home sales and will offer interesting opportunities to bona fide real estate investors.

Remember, the stats and the data are from 12 months ago, but the advice stays meaningful.

Fairfax Real Estate Update- March 2010

Posted on March 3, 2010 by Ginger Wilcox

There are 12 active homes for sale in Fairfax and 10 homes under contact. Six Fairfax homes have sold this year. The average list price for a single family home is $748,120. The average sales price is $747,333. The average days on the market for a Fairfax home sold in 2010 was 157 days. The table below shows the trends for the month of January over December 2010, for 1 year and for 15 months.
1 Month
1 Year
15 Months
Dec
2009
Jan
2010
%
Change
Jan
2009
Jan
2010
%
Change
Nov
2008
Jan
2010
%
Change
For Sale
 10
12
20%
22
 12
-44.5%
30
12
-60%
Sold
8
2
-75%
1
2
100%
2
2
0%
Pended
4
4
0%
3
4
33.3%
5
4
-20%

Fairfax Home Sales Year to Date

  • 35 Azalea Ave $501,000
  • 79 Hillside Drive, $595,000
  • 28 Oak Tree Lane $626,000
  • 4 Spring Lane $656,000

Fairfax Real Estate Market Data effective as of March 2, 2010. Data provided by Bay Area Real Estate Information Services. Are you a Marin real estate junkie? Sign up to receive very detailed real-time market reports in your email. Just register and let me know which neighborhoods you are interested in.

Larkspur Real Estate Market Update

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Ginger Wilcox

There are 15 active homes for sale in Larkspur and six homes under contact.  Four Larkspur homes have sold this year.  The average list price for a single family home is $1,252,067.  The average Larkspur home has been on the market 100+ days.  The table below shows the trends for the month of January over December 2010, for 1 year and for 15 months.  Keep in mind that Larkspur is a very small community and the statistics are easily skewed because of the small number of homes sold each month and year.
1 Month
1 Year
15 Months
Dec
2009
Jan
2010
%
Change
Jan
2009
Jan
2010
%
Change
Nov
2008
Jan
2010
%
Change
For Sale
12
14
16.7%
24
14
-41.7%
24
14
-41.7%
Sold
4
2
-50%
1
2
100%
1
2
100%
Pended
0
3
n/a
0
3
n/a
o
3
n/a

Larkspur Home Sales Year to Date

  • 34 Diane Lane $628,000
  • 60 Diane Lane $775,000
  • 135 Tulane Drive $975,000
  • 362 Madrone Ave $1,391,000

Notice the price point of homes sold in 2010 in Larkspur.  The lower end of our real estate market continues to move, albeit slower than in the past.

Larkspur Real Estate Market Data effective as of March 1, 2010. Data provided by Bay Area Real Estate Information Services. Are you a Marin real estate junkie? Sign up to receive very detailed real-time market reports in your email. Just register and let me know which neighborhoods you are interested in.

How To Replace Your HVAC Air Filter

Posted on February 26, 2010 by Ginger Wilcox

Replacing a home’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) air filter is one way to keep the unit’s motor running right.  It’s an oft-forgotten part of keeping a well-run home. And, it’s simple, too.

In the two-minute video above, you’ll learn how to replace an air filter from start-to-finish.  There’s no need for tools and no need for experience — the job is about as basic as home maintenance jobs come.

Air filters should be changed at least quarterly but it’s okay to change on a monthly rotation, too — especially if your home has shedding pets, or is under construction or repair. Just remember that not all air filters are created equal.

In this famous video, we see how $0.99 filters can fail to get the job done. Spending $10-15 for a filter that works is a better idea.

If you are not a do-it-yourself type, give us a call to find a Marin pro who can help you with your home maintenance.

Resources for Avoiding Foreclosure

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Ginger Wilcox

Foreclosures happen for many reasons and it is something no homeowner wants to experience.  There are many resources available to homeowners concerned about or in jeopardy of being foreclosed upon.  I have a series on this site with loan modification tips.  Unfortunately, we are hearing about many instances where homes are being foreclosed on while the homeowner is in the process of the loan modification.  We are also seeing many new short sale listings coming up after failed loan modifications.  We have a new series coming up on the short sales in Marin, stay tuned for that. In the meantime, we thought it would helpful to have tips and resources for homeowners who need assistance and information to avoid foreclosure.

CREDIT COUNSELING SERVICES– HUD approved, non-profit counseling service, offers assistance with debt management, budgeting, credit report review, housing education and financial planning.

The California Association of REALTORS provides this list of online resources:

FORECLOSURE AVOIDANCE TOOLS

Case-Shiller Data Shows Battered Markets In Recovery

Posted on February 24, 2010 by Ginger Wilcox

Case-Shiller Monthly Change Nov 2009-Dec 2009

Using data compiled in December, Standard & Poors released its Case-Shiller Index Tuesday.  The report shows home prices down just 2.5% on an annual basis, a figure much lower than the 8.7% annual drop reported after Q3.

According to Case-Shiller representatives, the housing market is “in better shape than it was this time last year”, but some of the summer’s momentum has been lost. 15 of 20 tracked markets declined in value between November and December 2009.

Meanwhile, it’s interesting to note the 5 markets that didn’t decline — Detroit, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix and San Diego.  Each of these metro regions were among the hardest hit nationwide when home prices first broke.  Now, they’re leading the pack in price recovery.

For some real estate investors, that’s a positive signal.  But we also have to consider the Case-Shiller Index’s flaws because they’re big ones.

As examples:

  1. Case-Shiller data is reported on a 2-month lag
  2. The Case-Shiller sample set includes just 20 U.S. cities
  3. There’s no “national real estate market” — real estate is local

That said, the Case-Shiller Index is still important. As the most widely-used private sector housing index, Case-Shiller helps to identify broader housing trends and many people believe housing is a key element in the economic recovery.

Marin County was one of the last markets to be hit by the economic crash.  It’s hard to predict what will happen the remainder of this year and in to next, but we still expect a bumpy road ahead.

How You Can Get The Most Accurate, Real-Time Mortgage Rate Quotes Available

Posted on February 23, 2010 by Ginger Wilcox

Mortgage rates are expired before they hit the papers

You can’t get your mortgage rates from the newspaper. Last week proved it.  Again.

Friday morning, headlines in California and around the country read that mortgage rates were down 0.04 percent, on average, since the week prior.

A sampling of said headlines includes:

  • US Mortgage Rates Drop For 2nd Straight Week (Reuters)
  • Mortgage Rates On 30-year US Loans Fall To 4.93% (Business Week)
  • 30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate Falls Farther Below 5% (Marketwatch)

The story behind the headline was sourced from the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, am industry-wide mortgage rate poll of more than 100 lenders.  The PMMS has reported mortgage rate data to markets since 1971 and is the largest of its kind.

Unfortunately, Marin rate shoppers can’t rely on it.

See, unlike governments and private-sector firms, when consumers are in need mortgage rate information, they need the information delivered in real-time; for making decisions on-the-spot.  Consumers need to know what rates are doing right now.

The Freddie Mac survey can’t offer that.

According to Freddie Mac, the survey’s methodology is to collect mortgage rates from lenders between Monday and Wednesday and to publish that data Thursday morning.  The survey results are an average of all reported mortgage rates. The problem is that mortgage rates change all day, every day.  The PMMS results are skewed, therefore, by methodology.

And, meanwhile, the issue was compounded last week because mortgage rates shot higher Wednesday afternoon — after the survey had “closed”.  The market deterioration ran into Thursday, too — again, unable to be captured by Freddie Mac’s PMMS.

Although the newspapers reported mortgage rates down last week, they weren’t.  Conforming mortgage rates were higher by at least 1/8 percent, or roughly $11 per $100,000 borrowed per month.  In some cases, rates were up by even more.

Newspapers and websites can give a lot of good information, but pricing is far too fluid to rely on a reporter. When you need to know what mortgage rates are doing in real-time, make sure you’re talking to a loan officer.  Otherwise, you may just be getting yesterday’s news.