Kelly Hopkins’s Blog

Today, the big thing is to be Green!   WEll – I have just purchased a Toyota Prius and I have to say that I am thrilled with the car.   It is roomey, it has zip and the gas mileage really is about 42 miles to the gallon.   The tank is only about 10 gallons, but it goes for days!   The price was great, I am helping the environment and I love the money I am saving on gas!

The Newark Real Estate Market is a tuff egg to crack.   The market has taken a signifigant hit in  regards to pricing.   The prices in Newark have come down about $150,000 in 2 years.   For some sellers, this has spelled disaster!  

 Although you think this would bring buyers out of the woodwork, it has not.   Unless your home is priced under $500,000 there has been very little movement in the Newark Real Estate Market.   Homes in the desirable Lake and Rosemont Neighborhood are sitting for extended time and have very little movement.   Due to short sales and REO properties(bank owned), prices are continueing to drop.  

What to do?   For buyers, Newark offers some amazing homes that are priced extremely well.   Newark is centrally located and offers great accessibility to freeways and bridges.   For sellers, be extremely aggressive when initially pricing your home, counter every offer or better yet, if you have an offer that is resonable, take the offer.   Very few homes are selling and you should feel lucky to have an offer in hand.

The Real Estate Market in the bay area continues to head down.   There are more bank owned properties hitting the market each day for fantastic prices.   This is a wonderful time for buyers and investors alike to hit the market hard.   For buyers and investors the method stays the same.   It is all about Location, Location, Location.   You can always find a good deal on a home in a bad area.   The trick is to find a great deal on a home in a great neighborhood.   This is becoming easier by the day.   For Investors,   the deal must have rental factors such as the cost to rent, current rents for the area and the possibility of additional equity on the property in a short number of years.

The purchase of a bank owned property is the same as any other property.   You submit an offer and wait( between 2-5 days) for an answer.   There are no special hoops to jump through, but the actual acceptance takes a few days longer.   Unlike a short-sale that can take months to get an answer as to if your offer is accepted or not.   Bank owned sales or REO’s are very easy to work with and banks will negotiate just like any other seller.   They do prefer As-Is sales and like to close within 45 days of acceptance.

 These REO properties are definitely wonderful deals and are on the market now!!   Keep your eyes open for them and find a great agent who will look for them for you to make the transaction go as smoothly as possible.

Let™s say you™re a buyer,  you spent the weekend looking at homes with your Realtor and found a home you like. In fact, you™ve found your top three picks, but one stands out as your favorite. Problem is, it™s way over priced.

Do you make an offer anyway, well below the list price, hoping the seller and the listing agent will accept your rationale for the offer price? Well, it depends, but usually, yes, we will have our buyer make a run at the home if it™s their top pick.

Sometimes this results in success, but sometimes it results in wasted time and lost opportunity for better priced homes. If our buyer has roughly equal leanings toward two different homes, and they are substantially comparable, we would go first for the properly priced home because it offers the better odds for achieving an accepted offer.

Over priced listings are always a bit of a gamble. But if the buyer clearly has a preference for a top choice, regardless of it being priced too high, we take a run at it with an offer based on market value.

Welcome to Kelly Hopkins’s Blog! This blog will provide you with valuable information, tips, and general insight into the real estate market in Fremont.