Housing stats for Alameda County 11/07 to 1/09…

Down and dirty here’s the scenario. Interest rates are still low and you can buy property at a 45-50% discount (depending on location):

We have approx 5.5 months of inventory in Alameda County and the average price for a home is $379K which is a HUGE difference from the average price of $728K in late 2007. The average time it takes to sell a home today is 2 months with only 18-19% of the homes selling. Read more

Existing-Home Sales Rise: U.S. existing homes sales and home prices 2005-2008

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said more markets are seeing year-over-year gains. “The sales turnaround which began in California several months ago is broadening now to Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri and Rhode Island,” he said. “The South was hampered by much lower home sales in Houston in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.”

NAR President Richard F. Gaylord, a broker with RE/MAX Real Estate Specialists in Long Beach, Calif., said low home prices and low interest rates have been attracting buyers. “This is the first time since November 2005 that home sales have been above year-ago levels,” he said. “Credit tightened at the end of September, but the improvement demonstrates that buyers who’ve been on the sidelines want to get into the market to make a long-term investment in their future.” Read more

Women will be represented in equal numbers in the US House by about 2030

As a result of the 1990 census, redistricting in 1992 opened up new opportunities for women to win seats in the US House. That is more than three times the number of women representatives twenty years ago. (There are also three women delegates in the US House.) If only four or five women representatives are added to the House each election cycle, it will take until 2076, 300 years after the birth of America, to achieve equal representation. But, if the number of women can be tripled every 20 years, women will be represented in equal numbers in the US House by about 2030.

To learn more click here.

Sitting Shivah…

Yesterday was a hard day. It rained big time and on top of all the other shit I’ve had to handle my windshield was still leaking, the carpet smelled like mold and I feel worn down and beat up.

For the past 7 years I’ve worked hard to stay focused and build my “wealth”. Although its been 10 months it seems as if in a blink of an eye I find myself at the bottom having to claw my way up again.  So I decided to sit Shivah…for my life.

I’m giving myself 7 days and then burying my past. In these 7 days I’ve set about to work on cleaning my soul Read more

Housing Valuation Analysis

Check out National City’s housing valuation analysis map that gives an overall assessment of home prices in 330 U.S. metro areas.

This is very exciting data showing that most of the country is back in balance in terms of affordability. The interactive map shows home prices in the U.S. by median price and value. The only thing holding buyer’s back is consumer confidence and tight mortgage guidelines for investors.  Read more

When it rains it pours…

I’ve been through the month from hell. Everything that could go wrong went wrong. Every direction turned was the wrong direction and every task has turned into a nightmare.

So you know about the Sticky Bandits well it turns out that some of them or a group similar to the ones that hit my home were caught. The SF Chron reported it. Now I am in the middle of the insurance mess. Thank god that my neighbor took pics. We burned them to Cd and I gave a copy to the claims adjuster along with the OPD police report now its a matter of itemizing everything and trying to find all the receipts. Read more

What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger…

I am terrible at euphemisms and I can’t remember a quote to save my life. It’s 3:10AM Saturday morning. I’ve been up since 2:15AM. Pissed as hell that another night is sleepless. I’ve been thinking a lot about what’s been going on in the market lately or rather the state of the market, the elections, the news and all the commentary by the folks that sit high upon their pedastools condemning home buyers that are about to foreclose on their homes and pointing their fingers only to blame anyone and everyone but themselves. Isn’t there a saying “Judge not lest ye be judged” and “let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”

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