An Early Summer Snapshot of the High-End North Berkeley Market

I recently was on the listing side of two wonderful, "very Berkeley" Arts & Crafts homes in North Berkeley. Neither of them had classic floor plans, but both had tremendous amounts of original wood and wonderful period details, multiple fireplaces, updated kitchens and larger than normal lot sizes. In both cases I was successful in getting our local paper to feature these homes in the Real Estate sections during their marketing period. That special marketing, an individual website for each property with lots of photos, plus my marketing to a specialized group of Arts & Crafts and period home buffs, resulted in huge attendance at my open houses.

One was priced well IMHO, based on the comments I received from agents (though numerous buyers thought it was priced too high). The sellers had followed my advice on price, as well as on presentation. The property was vacant and staged in a manner that fit the home. This home also had spectacular views, both of Mt. Tam and Marin and also a direct view of SF. We received four offers, and it closed $150K above list price.

The second home was priced a wee bit high, again IMHO. That price was driven by the financial situation of the sellers. They also continued to live in the home, but did pack away many of their possession. Though I welcomed more than 300 people during two Sunday open homes, that property received two offers, and went just $25K above list. Interestingly, that home closed today at $1.425M, in an ALL CASH sale. Until quite recently it would have been rare indeed to see cash sales at such a high amount. But as jumbo loans become more difficult to acquire, especially in a timely fashion, we’ve seen more cash sales in Berkeley in the high end.

One obviously cannot determine a trend from just these two examples. But from my experience of living and working in North Berkeley for many years I know that the differences in behavior were somewhat predictable. Now more than ever, buyers are very sensitive to prices that they perceive to be too high, even if by only a small percentage. They also are intolerant now of deferred maintenance or even a lack of updating that they would feel to be required. Two or three years ago buyers were much more forgiving of these aspects. Buyers have read so many stories about it’s being a buyers’ market, and they want it to be so. In North Berkeley right now, the special properties are still very much in demand, and the inventory of such properties is low. As I write this, there is one new listing at just over $2M, and five listings at $1.2M or higher that have been on the market for at least three weeks. What a great opportunity for brave sellers who are willing to trust their agents and the data, rather than listening to the prevaling news of doom and gloom!

Summertime....Will the Home Buying be Easy?

By Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist, NAR Research

It was a good kick-off for the summer season. The pending home sales index figure that was released earlier this month marked a third straight month of rising pending sales. That is certainly welcome and encouraging news. It is fairly obvious that first-time buyers are responding to the incentives of rock-bottom mortgage rates and the first-time buyer tax credit to pick up relatively cheaply priced homes. Indeed, recent figures suggest about 45 percent of buyers have been first-timers – a higher proportion than the typical 35 to 40 percent during more normal years.

A high proportion of the transacted homes are distressed, either in foreclosure or requiring a lender approval short-sale, with deep discounted prices. By the fourth quarter, existing-home sales are projected to be about 15 percent higher compared to the comparable period the year before if all goes as planned. Some of the recent first-time buyer transactions will help existing homeowners to make the sale and then buy the next home. Other first-time buyers purchasing vacant home still are helping in terms of absorbing inventory.

Home sales in the hard-hit California market have recently reached levels that are nearly twice as high compared to when they were in the trough. Evidently the California housing market is experiencing a tipping-point phenomenon: potential buyers suddenly wanting to enter the market all at once. People have waited and waited for the best time to enter the market. Why buy now if prices will be lower later? After having tumbled from unsustainable heights, home prices there are highly attractive and within budget for many fence-sitters. So when some buyers started to enter the market, other bystanders just couldn’t let others take advantage of the great buying opportunity. Many are now fighting to jump into the market. Multiple-bidding on lower-priced homes are said to be common in California. People who “lose out” during a bidding war don’t simply go home and wipe away their tears -- they come back with almost vengeance-like determination and hope their next bid will be the highest. What does that mean for home prices? Though the year-over-year price measurement will continue to show declines in California, probably for the remainder of the year, the month-to-month price trends will more likely be on an upswing. In short, people who buy in June 2009 will likely see a price gain in June 2010.

Will other parts of the country follow California and witness not a slow recovery, but a sharp upturn? We’ve seen evidence of that already occurring in Nevada, Arizona, and parts of Florida. The hard-hit parts of Washington D.C.’s outlying suburbs are also experiencing multiple biddings. But we shouldn’t expect to see the same trend in all markets. The sharp upturn is likely to occur in markets where home prices are overshooting downward (after having overshot way upwards during the boom years). Therefore, most of Middle America may not encounter any sharp upturn in housing because it never experienced the same exuberant big boom and big bust to begin with. And there still appears to be many hesitant fence-sitters in Middle America based on recent depressed home sales despite accumulated steady overall population gains in the country.

Some things will take a turn for the worse before improving. Employment conditions will certainly have an impact on any housing recovery. While May’s job cuts were the lowest since January, job losses will continue through the remainder of the year. Yes, we can expect some economic growth resulting from the massive stimulus package later in the year and into 2010. But the jobless rate will remain stubbornly high at near 10 percent for the next 18 months. Look for the unemployment rate to rise to 10.5 percent before all is done. People without a job or with financial capacity should not be entering the housing market. Foreclosures will rise as a result, putting additional downward pressure on prices (unless buyers quickly clear off these properties). Falling home values will in turn slow the economic recovery because of slowdown in consumer spending from further destruction in homeowners’ equity.

But even in the depth of the recession, nearly 90 percent of the U.S. workforce is employed. Discount perhaps 20 percent of those workers who have a part-time job – and worries about whether or not they will remain employed. That still puts a sizable 70 percent of the adult population with stable jobs and in a position to respond to home-buying incentives of low rates, low home prices, and tax benefits if they are first-time buyers. However, continued job losses will no doubt depress consumer confidence and the psychology factor is just as important in the current housing cycle as it has been in the past.

We also need to remember that conditions are not static. For instance, one home-buying incentive that could disappear is current rock-bottom rates. The Federal Reserve has been actively trying to push down mortgage rates by keeping the short-term Federal Funds rate at near zero and buying up mortgage-backed securities. But the fast rising budget deficit and the printing of money to partly finance that debt is raising concerns. The U.S. budget deficit in the current fiscal year is likely to hit $2 trillion. The largest deficit prior to this year was less than half a trillion dollars. In relation to GDP (that is, in relation to overall U.S. income), the current year’s deficit will be the highest since World War II. Partly as a result, the yield on the 10-year Treasury, the benchmark rate against which mortgage rates are pegged, has risen significantly over the past month from under 3 percent and currently closely approaching 4 percent. Therefore, the average mortgage rate on a 30-year fixed loan will likely rise to about 5.5 percent in the second half of 2009. It’s important to realize that 5.5 percent is still an amazingly attractive interest rate for a mortgage. But if the rate tops 6 percent then expect a significant setback not only for a housing market recovery, but also for an economic recovery.

Another potential change down the road: the first-time buyer tax credit is scheduled to expire by November 30th. That means trying to entice buyers to sign contracts by early October in order to get the mortgage underwritten by November. Some ready buyers unable to get out of a longer-term rental contract may not make the deadline. At the same time, unexpected delays are popping up. Appraisals with outside management companies are now becoming more active due to a regulatory rule change; that is costing consumers more fees with less reliable assessment.

But NAR is involved in efforts to insure that home-buying incentives continue. For instance, the Association is working to extend the tax credit deadline and make some changes to the program. Extending the deadline would make the tax credit available to more potential buyers. NAR is also looking to expand the tax credit to repeat buyers and lessen the income restrictions. We are also pushing to make sure appraisals include local experts and not solely be determined by national appraisal management companies that are owned by national banks. NAR is raising concerns with policymakers regarding issues such as the 90-day rule that are limiting appraisals to only non-comparable properties.

So, while you are making plans for your summer vacation, don’t forget to work with your local REALTOR® association to support NAR’s efforts to make sure Congress extends and maintains
federal home-buying programs. Write your Congressional representatives and let them know a true economic recovery won’t happen to any significant degree unless the housing market fully recovers. Home-buying is crucial to that recovery.

And I have a final thought for readers of this column to consider as they think about summer vacation. It’s about politics (not economics). For the most part, incumbent parties have been kicked out in nearly every recent election. The U.S. witnessed it in November and the European Parliamentary members saw it in early June. Brits look eager to shore away Gordon Brown and his Labour Party if given a chance. (As of the writing of this column, Mr. Brown has yet to announce when the next election will take place.) Europe has voted to free itself from suffocating government bureaucracy, while the American electorate seems to have moved away from wild scary rides of free market uncertainties.

But not every incumbent went home. U.S. government spending and budget deficits are not just a President’s doing – Congress is accountable as well. Before leaving office, President George W. Bush had the worst presidential approval ratings in modern history. But the “approval” rating for Congress was even worse. Presidents, though, are term limited; incumbent members of Congress keep getting re-elected and in some cases by wide margins. It’s an interesting conundrum -- people evidently hate Congress as a whole, but generally love their specific Congressional representatives and senators. Political theorists would say there are many hidden but legally permissible political tricks-and-treats in place to keep incumbents in power.

So I have a radical, but potentially very satisfying, proposal to unlock the power of Congressional incumbency. How about every 2 or 3 election cycles, voters are permitted to vote out the whole Congress in one fell scoop. In short, people could choose between “delete all” or “keep the same local vote system”. For instance, voters in Alabama could decide to remove senators and representatives that they don’t like with one single click, but understand that Alabama’s senators would also be removed.

Likewise, New Yorkers could vote to kick out non-New York senators and representatives that they may not like, but their representatives who they like would also get the boot. Those “kicked out” would be allowed to re-enter the race in the next election cycle, but they would no longer have the power of incumbency. Such a new system will force the members of Congress to focus not only on their own district, but also about what is in the best interests of the country.

Of course, I realize that such a radical change would require an amendment to the U.S. Constitution – and it would certainly never happen. But I offer it as a “fun mental exercise” for the summer. It may also perhaps be a way to let Congress know it should serve the public and not themselves.

Are Low-ball Appraisals Hurting Our Market?

Houses are still selling swiftly in East Bay. Limited inventory means that sellers are still experiencing the joy of multiple offers. Unfortunately, spirits are sometimes dampened by low-ball appraisals. Houses get into contract for a fair price, dictated by willing buyers bidding in an open market. This contract price is often diminished through the appraisal process when conservative appraisers are pressed by ridiculously conservative banks.

It's a tough job for appraisers. They have new guidelines for justifying their conclusions of value. They are being asked to provide a greater number of comparable sold properties than they have needed in the past. In addition, the timeline for these qualifying properties has shrunk from data collected within the last six months down to three. Geographical requirements have also been tightened. Some lenders are requesting comparable sales within 1/2 mile radius of the subject property. This process is complicated by our limited housing inventory and low sales volume. In short, appraisers are now required to produce more data, while obeying stricter guidelines, in a market with less turnover.

At the center of this debate is The Home Valuation Code of Conduct ("HVCC"). HVCC regulations prohibit lenders and Realtors from choosing or directly communicating with the appraisers. This means that sometimes out-of-area appraisers are chosen at random and are working to justify home values in a market they do not understand. Due to resulting low appraisals, legitimate loans are being turned down and Bay Area buyers turned away (with dreams crushed.) You can help by signing the petition, Request For Reconsideration of HVCC.

Note: When an appraisal comes in low, the buyer (with an appraisal contingency) can cancel their offer, try to renegotiate with the seller or elect to proceed under the original contract terms. Often the original price is the fair price. Yet, it is difficult for buyers to feel confident paying a price that the "expert", in this case the appraiser, tells them is high.

Berkeley Hills Realty is a Certified Bay Area Green Business

Berkeley Hills Realty is certified as a Bay Area Green Business! On site verification inspections have taken place, and all standards were achieved as of May 14, 2009. As a Green Business, Berkeley Hills Realty has achieved exceptional pollution prevention and conservation of resources. In addition, BHR has met environmental compliance requirements.

Berkeley Hills Realty is a locally owned company committed to our community. We are green and our chain of ownership is clean. Rest assured, there are no larger corporate entities with questionable environmental practices behind the curtain!

Furthermore, some of our Realtor Associates have obtained a Green certification, and several of our agents are on the Berkeley Association of Realtors Green Council. This deeper commitment to environmental education and advocacy benefits our clients in the pursuit of their green housing dreams.

Contact a Berkeley Hills Realty Realtor at 1.800.Hi.Berkeley.

Happy Earth Day!

Be kind to Mother Earth and take a hike! Berkeley Hills Realty has walking maps of Berkeley and Oakland which include many fabulous pedestrian pathways. For a complimentary copy of Berkeley’s Pathways or Walk Oakland!—while supplies last—stop by our office:

Berkeley Hills Realty
1714 Solano Avenue (between Tulare and Ensenada)
Or contact us at 510-524-9888

Introducing Our New Agent - Auggie Wilms

“We’re very happy that Auggie decided to join our company,” says BHR co-owner Tracy Sichterman. “I’ve rarely met an agent with so much energy and drive. Auggie has a great work ethic, and I think his clients will be delighted with his results.”

Auggie Wilms is an agent who really knows how to combine the ingredients of a good real estate deal. A former chef, Wilms has spent two decades combining interesting ingredients with the same talent and skill that he now brings to his real estate activity.

It almost sounds like the setup for a joke, right? “A chef walks into a real estate office... ” But it’s no joke, and it actually began a quarter century ago with the chef’s mother. In 1985, Berkeley Hills Realty co-owner Nancy Mueller helped Wilms’s mom Barbara Clark buy a house on Pine Street in Berkeley. In 2006, Nancy did the same for Auggie, helping him buy a house on Monterey Avenue. Wilms says the experience was so positive that he decided to go into real estate himself.

Aside for a brief foray to Los Angeles, Wilms is Bay Area born and raised. But after graduating from Berkeley High, he set his sights on the Big Apple and enrolled in New York’s famed French Culinary Institute. Along with slicing and dicing, Wilms learned a valuable life lesson: the importance of doing the job right. “They were very strict at the school,” he says. “You follow a classic recipe, and you don’t mess with it.”

Returning to the Bay Area in 1987, Wilms started his two decades of pleasing local palates. Among other places, he worked as a sous chef at Masa’s in San Francisco and at Lalime’s in Berkeley. In 1994, he started a business smoking seafood for local restaurants, the Ohlone Smoke Company in Emeryville.

Ohlone Smoke scored a major hit in a taste competition in December 2001 sponsored by the San Francisco Chronicle. “We beat everybody,” says Wilms, “including companies much larger than ours.” Wilms says he still hands out samples of smoked fish to his present-day clients. “I give them a small package with my card stapled to it.”

The next few years brought a series of momentous turning points for Wilms. He sold Ohlone Smoke Company, got divorced, bought his Monterey Avenue home, and hung up his chef’s toque for good. “It was time for a change,” he says simply.

But why go into real estate? How does a person move to escrows from escargots?

Wilms argues that his career switch isn’t as strange as it seems. “I’ve always been interested in building and architecture,” he says, “and I’m a hands-on kind of guy. I’ve done a lot of work on my own house, everything from attending zoning meetings to nailing up sheetrock.” In addition, Wilms has lived and worked here all his life, and has a wealth of knowledge about the local real estate scene. “I’m good with people, and I bring tremendous energy to my work,” he says. “As in cooking, my focus is on getting the job done, and doing it right.”

Auggie Wilms can be reached at Berkeley Hills Realty at 510-524-9888 x44, 415-948-6323 (cell), and by e-mail at auggie@berkhills.com.

Buy a House, but Don't Pay the Mortgage!

A new reverse mortgage option, HECM (Home Equity Conversion Mortgage, the FHA term for a reverse mortgage), has been unveiled that may help senior citizens age 62 or older buy a house or downsize from a current home in the Bay Area. Reverse mortgages have been around for quite some time. However, the concept of their use to purchase a home is new.

In the past a reverse mortgage was a way for seniors to access the equity they had built up in their primary residence. The concept is simple; a homeowner receives a check (in lump sum or multiple payments) from the bank against the existing equity in his/her home and the homeowner's obligation to repay the loan is deferred until the owner dies or the home is sold.

The new version of the HECM program allows buyers to use a reverse mortgage as a plan to permanently finance the qualified buyers new home. Through the program, the qualified homeowner may live "mortgage free" and only be responsible for property taxes, insurance and maintenance costs for as long as they live in the home. Beyond living mortgage free, additional financial benefits may be found by freeing a retired homeowner's equity:

The purchase program, in effect, doubles the purchasing power of eligible buyers, several brokers said. Under the program, a couple with a $1,800 monthly payment on a home in which they have $250,000 in equity could sell the house, use $150,000 of their equity to buy a $300,000 condo and never make another mortgage payment.

They would then have $100,000 in cash that could be used for any purpose, such as supplementing their retirement savings or pension income.

Here are few of the fine points:

• Buyers need to be at least 62 years old. The older the borrower, the greater the amount of the home price that can be financed.
• The property being purchased must be a principal residence and owner-occupied.
• Homes can appraise at up to $625,500.
• Buyers need to put up a substantial down payment (often 40% or more) to create the instant "equity". The size of the down payment varies depending on the age of the buyer and the interest rate of the loan.
• Reverse mortgage costs and fees can be substantially higher than for conventional loans.
• Buyers must pay 2 percent of the property's appraised value - up to the maximum value of $625,500 - as a premium for federal mortgage insurance.

Resource: New reverse mortgage opens options for seniors, by Robert Hollis, Special to the Chronicle.