How much did that house sell for? (Jan. 26th - February 1st)

Fewer closing on this report are the result of fewer offers accepted Christmas week. Expect to see a continued slowing of sales as inventory has remained repressed throughout January. With little competition for properties, this is a great time to put your house on the market to maximize your selling potential. 2016 is demonstrating a slower start so far. I'm looking to after President's Day Weekend for more inventory to hit the market -- only time will tell!

Open Today & Tomorrow (Jan. 30th & 31st)

Saturday Open Houses

Sunday Open Houses

How much did that house sell for? (Jan. 19-25)

What's interesting to note on this report is that while there are some outlier sales with large differences between list and sales price, many fall within a 5% differential. It's encouraging to see homes priced closer to market value and only time will tell if this is a trend we'll see more of in 2016. 

Open today & tomorrow (1/23 & 24)

Saturday

Sunday

Best and Highest

Often when listing agents are asked what their sellers are looking for our response is "best and highest", meaning the highest price and best terms. Sometimes a seller may need some extra time in the house after close, or may be looking for an extra quick close, but most often the bottom line is "best and highest".

What does that mean, exactly? On occasion it's really "best or highest". When there is no single offer which shines as best and highest it's time to compare to find which offer strikes the most advantageous balance between price and terms.

Why not just accept the highest price and be done with it? Well, there are terms in every contract that make a deal more or less secure, more or less likely to close, more or less likely to risk that high price and if you don't know all of the aspects of a purchase contract, you could watch that high offer price tick away dollar by dollar until you end up with a price you're "stuck" with, instead of one you're happy with.

There are many nuanced components to an offer which must be considered and analyzed as parts of the whole. For now, let's quickly review the big three contingencies: Financing, Appraisal, and Inspection. I've already written in more detail about what each of those mean from a buyer's protection perspective here, so here I'll focus on what a seller stands to lose due to contingencies.

Financing: if a buyer has been fully pre-approved, they are saying that it's possible they will have to back out of a contract if they are unable to secure financing. Having a property fall out of contract and come back on the market tends to hurt a property's sale since the first two weeks of a property's marketing plan are the most impactful.

Appraisal: if a property does not appraise for the offer price and the buyer has an appraisal contingency you can bet the sales price will drop. It may not drop the full difference to the appraised value, sometimes a buyer will split the difference. But if an offer price is higher than the comparable sales, you need to ask your agent how to address this potential pitfall (there are ways to assess this one in more depth, feel free to ask me how).

Inspection: this one tends to be familiar with most buyers and sellers. If a buyer discovers any faults in the property that were unknown when they submitted their offer they have grounds to ask the seller to give them a credit, or reduce the price. There is an almost surefire way to work around this, even if a buyer wants to retain their right to inspect to their satisfaction. Want to know more? Just ask.

Just the other day my buyers' offer won in the midst of 14 other offers. The listing agent confided that they were in second place in price, but the rest of their offer was so strong they are now in contract to purchase their first home, a totally remodeled bungalow with a great yard in their perfect neighborhood. Price is important, but so are many other factors when writing or accepting an offer, be sure you're addressing all the moving parts when putting your best foot forward.

How much did that house sell for? (Jan. 12th-18th)

Despite the craziness of the holiday season, mid-December buyers managed to eek out a couple deals here and there. Overall, the trend continues to go up, up, up.

Oakland's Restaurant Week Starts Today!

I remember when I first learned of this annual festival of feasts across my town -- it was after it had ended and it was like that for more than a couple years. Somehow I just kept missing Oakland's Restaurant Week and my annual tradition became lamenting lost luscious bites of restaurant fare from establishments both new, and tried and true. But all of that ended in 2015 when I dashed from door to door, catching deals where I could and using the week as intended: to try new places, new dishes, and to do so with friends. In 2015, Rockridge's Bourbon & Beef was the dinner stand out and I've eaten there multiple times since my first taste a year ago. This year The Barrel Room is on the list as is Salsipuedes -- the beginnings of yummy list I'll happily lengthen.

I'm not the only one who's been foraging the restaurant week menus, hunting for the best deals and most interesting places to check out. Here's what others have to say:

The East Bay Express offers their "best bargains" for the coming week, here.

SF Eater breaks down the top 3 best and worst deals of the week, here.

On the heels of Oakland is Berkeley's Restaurant Week running Thursday, January 21st-31st which runs concurrently with San Francisco's Restaurant Week (which begins one day before Berkeley).

Don't let the rain keep you hostage in your home! Get out there and be warmed by open kitchens and good conversation as you eat your way through our nationally acclaimed restaurants one deal at a time.