Fremont Real Estate and Beyond

You've probably heard all over the internet and news how hot the Bay Area real estate market has been.  It is.  In 24hrs, I listed this property on the MLS and it just went pending.

The CEO of Redfin interviewed with Kai Ryssdal at Marketplace for their Corner Office podcast.  It was really interesting to see what my alma mater is up to, and even more interesting that they still aren't profitable.

It's been great running Cheung Homes, but I've decided to join forces with Movoto Real Estate to help expand their in-house brokerage.  I'll still be running this blog to provide info on the local market, but if you need to contact me, my email will be now be jcheung@movoto.com. Same exceptional service and quick response, but now with more support behind me to help even more people.

MLSListings just released their November Townhome and Condo Data

MLSListings just posted their November data for the South Bay

In a very head scratching hire, president-elect Donald Trump tapped retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson to be head of HUD.  He has never held public office before. More info here-- http://www.npr.org/2016/12/05/503150852/trump-taps-ben-carson-for-secretary-of-housing-and-urban-development

Real estate is about information--specifically, who has the most accurate information and where do they get it from? There has been a huge legal battle over the past year+ regarding Zillow, Realtor and Move over this.  A fascinating peek into this was published on the Realtor magazine about how listing data (aka: IDX) is shared, used, and who has control over it. Link-- http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2016/02/01/how-zillow-using-idx-listing-data In the ongoing legal battle initiated by the National Association of REALTORS® and Move Inc. against listing aggregator Zillow, Zillow’s defamation counterclaim has raised key questions about how the aggregator uses the data it collects from agents, brokers, and MLSs through its company Diverse Solutions. Read more: Seattle Court Unseals Evidence in Move v. Zillow Zillow’s claim stems from the publication of a letter written by a former vice president of the company, Chris Crocker. In the letter, sent to NAR and Move attorneys...

A really interesting article popped up in the Wall Street Journal citing that the number of first time home buyers in the market has fallen to 32% of all buyers.  This is a national analysis, so each region might see things differently. http://www.wsj.com/articles/number-of-first-time-home-buyers-falls-to-lowest-levels-in-three-decades-1446735604

Strong words from the CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association via Linkedin.  https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/new-housing-crisis-david-h-stevens The New Housing Crisis? We are currently in the middle of a housing crisis.  That's right...I said it.  Industry experts, economists and even consumer groups have predicted one would emerge, albeit this is not what they expected and it is certainly sooner than anticipated. Yes, the word crisis is harsh and alarmist, but it accurately reflects the complete void of focus on housing as an opportunity by Washington policy makers, including the actions of the regulators and enforcement officials that are narrowing the credit box.  Fact - there is a shortage of affordable housing (both rental and owned) and the homeownership rate today is at its lowest point in over two decades.  Today's environment is not encouraging credit expansion. It's forcing lenders to be overly conservative - ultimately failing entry-l...

First Tuesday just released a study on home prices vs. buyer purchasing power.  They predict increasing home prices in the coming years. More info here-- http://journal.firsttuesday.us/the-source-of-home-price-movement-buyer-purchasing-power/27418/

Xome, a subsidiary of NationStar Mortgage just launched a few days ago and is ready to compete with the likes of Redfin for online presence, real estate data, and user search interface.  They key difference is that Xome doesn't have Realtor's on their payroll (they are affiliated with agents in the area), so they can expand more quickly and have more in-house data to provide the consumer. One good thing about Redfin is that it has an amazing back end software system that make transactions for both the buyer and seller quite smooth and it keeps the Realtor on top of the clients they are servicing.  There are competitors like Amitree, which has some kinks, so Xome is a welcome competitor. I'll let you know how Xome's software compares with their competitors! More info about Xome-- http://www.stockhouse.com/news/press-releases/2015/06/09/xomesm-launches-new-platform-to-transform-consumer-real-estate

A pretty interesting article came out on Iman looking at reasons why the inventory of homes for sale is so low. http://www.inman.com/2015/04/02/why-is-housing-inventory-so-low/

An interesting article from Realtor.com on a study of 200,000 homes in 3 states came out saying a seller should list slightly higher than the market price. Caveats to this study -- -Study was done from 2005-2009, during boom times -This happened in 3 states in the East Coast, whose markets are vastly different than those in the Bay Area I agree with the listing agent in the San Francisco market in this article--list close to the market price! http://www.realtor.com/advice/asking-price-home-high-or-low/?cid=soc_20150303_41426866&adbid=572795196896763904&adbpl=tw&adbpr=17351940