Oakland Ca Real Estate's Blog: All Categories

The other day I got an email from a rep at Meritage Homes, a real estate developer in the Central Valley. The email was to spread the word that they have slashed their prices on brand new homes. The oversupply of inventory is forcing them to cut  prices by large amounts. There simply isn't enough of a demand for the homes they have been building there. Even during the slowdown, developers who were already underway on their projects kept right on building. The combination of lower demand and fast paced building of new homes has forced developers to lower prices and offer up to 7% compensation for buyers agents.

Consider this: a 2300 square foot brand new home in Stockton that originally was selling for $437,575 has been reduced to $337,999! That's just…

The Ellis Partners LLC has embarked on a $400 million dollar development project for Oakland's Jack London Square. One of the first buildings constructed will be a 170,000 square foot public market, which will rival those of Seattle and San Francisco. The Market will have fresh fish, produce, baked goods and more, with a total of up to 70 vendors. The buiding will have several floors, including fine dining and office space.

It's an exciting time in Oakland, as many large developments are either in progress or in the works. It shows that the developers are confident in Oakland and it's potential to grow as a city.

With all the changes in the mortgage industry, first time home buyers in Oakland and the surrounding Bay Area should know that there is still a way for them to get 100% financing on single family homes up to $515k. Although the Acorn program no longer offers below market interest rates, it still offers 100% 30 yr fixed loans at very competitive prices with no pre-payment penalty or PMI.

The guidelines are as follows:

-Annual income cannot exceed $84,000

-Purchase price on the property must be $515k or under for single family homes (they do have loans for income property as well)

-The borrower also must attend a first time buyer seminar given by Bank of America

-Fico score is not critical, but income must be verified

All in all, this is still the…

Oakland Real Estate Seismic Retrofit Incentives

The City of Oakland California is now offering incentives to get seismic retrofit work done on homes that are resold. Basically the program works like this: After you close your home, you have 60 days to file an application with the city of Oakland for a rebate. Once the application has been approved, you have one year to get the work done.

The benefit is that the City of Oakland will rebate you about half of one percent of the price of the home for the work. So on a $400,000 home, you could get a $2000 rebate, which would cover much if not all of the work in many cases. Typically the work involves bolting the foundation to the home and installing "sheer walls" which help prevent the twisting motion of…

I hadn't known anything about so called "Living Roofs" until I saw a news piece on how they are starting to gain popularity. A Living Roof is basically a roof that is mostly flat, which has been covered with several inches of soil. This soil allows grass and other plants to grow on the roof, which provides several interesting benefits.

Because the soil absorbes much of the water that would fall, these roofs help drainage by not having as much water flowing through gutters down to to the foot of the house. Also, the soil acts as natural insulation, keeping the home cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, thereby reducing heating and cooling costs. Another benefit is that because the roof itself is protected from the elements, it can be expected to…

Shorenstein Properties, in conjunction with Met Life Real Estate Investments is building a 23-story, 500,000 square foot building in the City Center Plaza. It will be one of the tallest buildings in the city, and basically the largest office building per square footage in Oakland.

They obviously have confidence that they can fill up a building of that size, which means they have confidence in downtown Oakland. This building is one of many that are planned to go up in the next several years, which will help continue to grow and reshape the face of downtown Oakland.

Fleet Week is always an interesting time in the Bay Area, because we get to see the Blue Angels perform. Last year was the first Fleet Week I attended, and I can say it was an impressive display. Watching the Blue Angels pull tricks right over your head, with the background of the city of SF and the Bay and Golden Gate Bridge is really something. The sounds, the speed and the tremendous skills of the pilots make it quite an experience.

This year some SF county supervisors tried to petition to have the Blue Angles prevented from performing, based on recent incidents involving crashing planes and onlookers. I have to admit there is a danger, but I'm not sure if banning the performance is appropriate either. They will soon decide whether the show can go on…

FHA financing helps to make home ownership a reality for many people, however in the Bay Area, because of our high home prices the FHA guidlines do not represent our market. Currently the limit for FHA financing is $417,000. However the Median price in the Bay Area is over $600,000. Fortunately, the House of Representatives passed HR 1852 which proposes to raise the FHA limit to better accommodate high cost areas like our market. Realtors in my market are pressuring our elected officials to push for this type of legislation which would hopefully raise the FHA limit to our median price range.

Also, lenders who provide FHA loans are publishing guidelines which will enable home owner’s whose rates have increased to refinance with a 97% LTV. This should help…