Facts and Trends Reports for San Leandro

What’s interesting about the San Leandro market right now is that Buyers are starting to come out of the woodworks. The daily/nightly news is scaring the hell out of the general public but smart investors and savvy buyers are buying properties NOW! Interest rates are low, property pricing is low and opportunity is everywhere! We haven’t seen a market this good in years! Don’t get me wrong. It’s a crappy economic market and a lot of us are hurting but you would be a fool not to buy in a down market. 

San Leandro has 4 months worth of inventory as compared to last year which had 14 months of inventory. What does this mean for you? You have to be a bit more strategic, tactical and realistic when it comes to buying property especially if its property that you plan to occupy.

Even though we are inundated with bad news and the housing market as a whole you need to look at the bigger picture. Real estate is local, meaning that what is happening here in the market is not what is happening in Oregon or Florida. Better yet the market in Stockton or Antioch or Visalia is not what’s going on here in the Bay Area.

If it’s a good property in a decent location you are going to have interested buyers. 4 months inventory remember? 144 homes currently on the market for how many buyers? In San Leandro as with other areas multiple offers are becoming the norm especially when a property is “move in quality”. A perfect example is the home that you visited on Warden Ave. Did you know that there were 3 offers on the property and that they were over the asking price?

Bank owned properties are everywhere. If the professional investors aren’t picking them up the savvy buyers is. I have a couple of clients that are renting, happily I might add, but they see this market as their opportunity to build wealth so they are putting tenants in place and have a cash positive investment.

The average price of a single family home, at least 1,000 square feet is $387K. In San Leandro as of writing this  there are 177 homes for sale, of those 37 are bank owned and 80 are short sales. Are we on our way up? I don’t think that pricing is on its way up yet but as more buyers come out of the woodworks and inventory continues to decrease it could put us back to a crazy frenzied real estate market. If the Warden listing is any example of the market you need to be strategic, tactical AND realistic about your purchase. By realistic I mean shop within your financial parameters and know that your first home more than likely won’t be your dream home. It’s your stepping stone.

If you have an FHA loan for $250K and you need a credit back for closing costs and only $3,000 to put down as a good faith deposit there is no way you can compete with the growing number of foreign buyers that are purchasing with more than 50% down and asking for nothing in return other than the keys.

So what do you do? First have your realtor explain the market to you, what the average sales price is in that area, what’s the ratio of bank owned to short sales to conventional sales. This info gives you a snap shot of the market. Second, you need to reassess and reevaluate what is realistic. Why not buy the crappiest house in the best location whether or not it’s a short sale or bank owned?

Move-in quality homes are at a premium so depending on location be prepared to make a solid offer. Bank owned properties and short sales generally require more elbow grease and patience but there are loans out there specifically for homes that need work (just ask us we”ll forward the information). Make the upgrades slowly and reap the rewards. Statistics show that people move every 5-7 years. Now is the time to buy low. As long as the bones are good and it only needs cosmetic upgrades its worth a second look. With good contractors you can have a move in quality in as little as 2 weeks.

Anyhow, take a look at the Market Trends Report below.