Good morning to some needful rain,
February Unfolds New Expectations
Good News: California is back out of lock-down. Hope for the vaccine is running high. There is even talk of herd immunity or perhaps, with the election over, practical realities can again rule the day. Even the CDC is now stating it made mistakes regarding actual CoVid numbers. Sometimes you wonder if they see us simple folk, as mere pawns to be played in a their game.
Talk of “free” money – a return of our tax dollars – continues, even beyond the latest so-called stimuli. The schemes are amusing and perhaps the best Congress can imagine. But regardless, let’s hope whatever happens, it finds its way into helping Small Business and its employees.
The Good New: The exploding national debt should not be
an immediate threat to inflation or interest rates.
Let’s Talk
Hoping to buy this Spring? Early Preparation is key and now is a good time to call.
Many people are recognizing what we have been saying. We maybe in the midst of a golden opportunity. How so? Lenders are so busy, it appears they are looking for reasons to delaying any poor applications for any reason. You need the best. Another such overworked player is the Appraisers. They are like the jets circling the airport waiting to land. Bottom line: The more you wait until tomorrow, the more patience will be required later. Timing is critical. Call!
Housing Stats:
First: Building is on fire. The highest number of contracts, on homes, yet to be built. Consider: New home construction is up near 15 % from this time, last year. With rates continuing near records lows, one’s “ability to buy” remains favorable. How favorable? Current numbers suggest a 10% appreciation potential in home values.
Second: Things of real estate are rocking – from buying to rehabbing of existing properties. And when real estate is alive and active, What is is KEY:
Being ready today, with a strong loan application in hand.
It strengthens your Realtor’s efforts to be ensure your offer
becomes the winning offer. Being fully prepared is critical.
In these efforts – knowing its importance – we added a special assistant for this one task: To get your pre-qualification setup and ready, now. Don’t Miss Out – Be Ready – Call Today.
Third: Prospects. Any way you cut it – low rates, slim inventory, strong builder demand – real estate will continue rocking. Call today. Prepare Now. Don’t miss out.
Bottom Line:
Call today and let’s prepare for Spring Buying Now.
What’s new for Real Estate 2021:
1) Conforming loan limits take a nice bump upwards. Conventional to $ 548,250 and Hi-cost up to $ 822,375, depending upon County limits.
2) Rates: After an election bump of about 1/4 %, rates have settled back down.
3) Stable stock market – benefit of consumer friendly rate-policy, at the Federal Reserve.
4) Favorable markets builds buying power for our real estate market.
4) Inflation remains soft: Oil prices and wage pressure, offset by productivity.
5) New construction demand – entry level housing – is gaining momentum. Good news.
Based on today’s data, 2021 should be favorable for Bay area Real Estate. We await tax policy.
The Good, the Bad n the Ugly
The Good: CoVid Vaccines – with more on the way.
The Bad: Hidden signs of future inflation. Freight costs are up 13 % year over year. Question, how much of this cost will be passed on to consumers. Secondarily, is this a temporary supply and demand question, that will level off, as more competition enters the market, causing prices to fall. Let’s hope this is not pricing meant to take unfair advantage of those suffering from things and events, they were not the cause or reason.
A second Bad: I strive to communicate how straight forward lending is, or at least should be. Yet we are in strange times. Covid makes lending more complex – both legally and those able to work – from lenders to appraisers. Add to this, the already complex web of new governmental regulations, and you sometimes end up with a mishmash of painfully stupid stuff. Sadly, this has it own repercussions, frustrations, and delays. Thank you for your patience, as such things don’t meet my standards of excellence I want for you. Good News: We do get it done, in the patience of it taking longer than it should – especially refi’s and commercial.
The Ugly: Building of social stress: 1) People wanting to get back into the routine of daily work. 2) Getting our children back into the routine of the school year. 3) Waiting and wanting to visit with family and friends, face to face. No more zoom. The emotional toll continues to build, with the reality that separation from others, maybe worse than the illness.
Bottom line: Keep the faith. Let us live the hope of the Lord’s message – one of Peace, joy, and love – and keep them close in our hearts, as a first priority. In this, may we never lose sight of our reality: We are a nation of Small Business and free enterprise; of family, joyful traditions, and community. Lets not lose this, but hold it precious and be responsible for it.
I thank you for being a regular readers – your input and thoughts. My goal is provide the words of many experts – their perspectives and reasonings – I have trusted these many years. Being active and always listening, keeps me accountable to you and helps us to keep our politicians aware and accountable, to us voters – especially in regards to real estate.
Closing Thoughts:
As we return our focus onto personal real estate needs, we find important questions for those older – like myself. In this, we address a range of questions seeking answers and desiring solutions. They range from working at home, to a multitude of retirement considerations. In this are discovered many important real estate planning issues and answers. Our Goal: Be insightful, practical, and working together, in finding answers.
Tax rate increases to real estate: Is it time to talk about State policy changes, by way of Proposition 19. Are you aware of the tax challenges when selling property? How to minimize or even avoid paying tax today, on your appreciated properties. Let’t talk about one of the golden handshakes, built into the tax code. It is one we don’t get with our stocks. With stock, you pay taxes the year you sell. But how about real estate ? Here you have options. It is a choice. Call us, we love to have the educational conversations about your choices.
Thank you again. Please remember, when considering real estate – today or tomorrow – call us.
– We help you explore the many options and see which ones are safe and feasible.
– For Small Business – whom we love – we provide loans offering a full array of financing.
– Residential and Commercial with a full package of lending options.
– Tax-advantage real estate. For those seeking tax-advantage real estate, we are proud to offer several proven tools and alternative, designed especially for highly appreciated real estate and helping you keep your cash working for your future.
Success begins with strong preparation. With this, I add to your tool box, a strong advocate who knows the rope. Call us. We are the professionals who loves success. Call us. We are ready to help.
Thank you and continued blessings.