Luxury Real Estate

By Jim Walberg of Caribbean Islands Realty

Jim Walberg is in the residential real estate trenches everyday. For the last few months a “sweet spot” has shown up as the hottest price point in the East Bay housing markets - $729,000 and below!

Remembering that all real estate is “local”, the experience we are having in our San Francisco Bay Area real estate markets is close to a “feeding frenzy” when it comes homes selling in the $725,000 price point and below. In fact, real estate is not just local, it is made up of dozens of “micro-markets” within miles of each other. Yesterday, KCBS 740 AM radio did a feature on this very topic and even asked me to comment about it as a Realtor who has been serving this region for over 30 years.

In the East Bay these “micro-markets” are almost 100% based on the price point of $725,000 and below. The words I would use today is, this slice of the residential real estate market is ON FIRE! These “micro-markets” are not just made up of REOs and Short Sales, they are mostly homes that are gorgeous, and in turnkey condition.

We listed a home for sale in the East Bay two weeks ago for around $675,000. It was the former model home in a beautiful community. It was staged perfectly and in move-in condition. Within two days we had six purchase offers presented to us, and it was in escrow within four days - closed in 25 days! Now that is HOT! Because of these results in our communities, you are seeing a trend that is creating a lack of inventory for Buyers to chose from. Months of inventor in some of these communities are as low as ONE MONTH! And when you look at the East Bay communities with price points over $1 million, they have 10 to 20 months of inventory of homes to sell. Do you see the dramatic difference in what price point can have on a community?

There are many factors that come into play that create this type of Buyer and Seller experience. So, this may not be what is happening in other regions of the country, but it is happening in the East Bay. Some of those key factors related to this price point are; mortgage rates are incredible; FHA, VA, Fanny Mae, and Freddy Mac loans allow for as little as 3.5% down for qualified Buyers; a GREAT community to live and work in; and GREAT schools. These are some of the key ingredients required for HOT MARKET conditions.

One of these key factors will not continue for much longer - attractive mortgage interest rates. They just had a dramatic increase the last few days. And…you can quote me on it, “Mortgage interest rates in the $725,000 and below price points will go UP by the end of year - maybe as high as 7%!” My reason for making this prediction is inflation, our country’s debt, bond prices, and foreign countries not buying the U.S. debt vehicles.

The message to Buyers??? If you are thinking of Buying a home in 2009 contact your real estate professional, and your mortgage loan officer TODAY, lock your loan, and see if you can get into the residential real estate market at one of the best times in our economic history. Please contact me today if you have questions or need any assistance in finding your next home. Until next time…your Bay Area lifestyle detective remains on duty!

By Carina de Sousa of IRG International Realty Group

Ole Jespersen, owner and Managing Director of IRG International Realty Group was very proud to be representing 3 of Portugal’s top resorts/developments, Troiaresort, Palácio Estoril Residências, Pine Hill Residences at the Estoril Open 2009 that took place from 2 - 10 May 2009. The beautiful weather contributed to the success of the 20th edition of Portugal's prime tennis event. Hundreds of clients came to visit us at our beautiful stand in the sponsor village and were able to see the best of tennis at the centre court. Indeed this was one of the best PR events ever!

In an exciting final between Albert Montanes (ESP) and James Blake (USA), Albert Montanes became the first Spaniard since former ATP World Tour No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, the 2001 titlist, to capture the Estoril Open title.

For further information please do not hesitate to contact us.

IRG International Realty Group

Marketing Department

T. +351 289 397 653

F. +351 289 397 683

E. info@irgportugal.com

By Jim Walberg of Caribbean Islands Realty

The Four Seasons was the venue where Jim Walberg   participated in the 7th Annual Luxury Real Estate Spring Conference as a panel member of Effective Social Networking & Blogging Tools For Realtors.

Imagine being with some of the brightest and best minds in real estate for three days! Well, that is what the Luxury Real Estate’s Spring conference was like this past week. The sharing of best practices with such a high caliber of professionals and business owners is an enviable experience for any Realtor. I was not only privileged to be a delegate at this conference, I also gathered some incredible business ideas that will continue to improve the customer experience for our clients, and grow our business in this shifting markets.

The featured presentation was the panel on how to use internet tools to dramatically expand your real estate business by increasing your lead generation results - the Strategies & Tactics of Top Real Estate Professionals regarding social networking, blogging, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Victor Lund from the WAV Group was the moderator. Jon Larrance from Perry & Company, Bruce Hiatt from Luxury Realty Group and me from The Bay Area Team, were the panelist. The interaction with the audience demonstrated that it was THE topic that they wanted to explore most in the 2009 world of social networking.

In addition to the various breakout sessions during the conference, one of the keynote speakers was Mary Whipple, the Olympic Gold Medalist from the 2008 Games was the featured presenter before lunch. It was an inspiring presentation about the steps required for the U.S. women’s eight rowing team to prepare and win the gold metal. She translated the attributes to accomplish such a feat to what it takes to have a successful real estate Brokerage.

Tuesday night was the elegant black tie evening honoring Shari Chase, founder and president of Chase International, with the LRE Lifetime Achievement Award presented by John Brian Losh. The impact Shari has made by growing eight real estate offices in the Tahoe, Reno, and now London, has created a result of over a billion dollars of real estate sales through her company. At this evenings elegant evening I had the pleasure of sharing dinner with Jose Ribes from Spain, and with Bente Matdsen from Luxury Real Estate.

The closing session of the conference featured Peter Tongue as the keynote speaker. The subject of his presentation was Heart-Centered Real Estate. Peter’s message was focused on tapping into the acknowledgement of higher energies that attract good things into their lives - embracing abundance, awareness and positive energy. It was another example of how Luxury Real Estate always delivers quality member services.

By Jim Walberg of Caribbean Islands Realty

We currently have the lowest mortgage rates in recorded U.S. history. Is it time for Buyers to take action? YES! Jim Walberg’s conversation with Michael Tacconi.

Two days ago I sat down with one of the key loan officers in the East Bay, Michael Taconni, and had a discussion about what is happening with interest rates in 2009 and when should Buyers take action. It was a very interesting discussion. Here were three of the questions I presented to Michael to address.

When should home Buyers consider buying a home in 2009? Michael’s immediate answer was NOW! He said that Buyers have never had better home mortgage rates (YouTube) to chose from than right now - April 2009! Never in all the years of recording mortgage interest rates have they been so low. The mortgage options available are all in this same category - from five year and seven year adjustable rate mortgages, to 30 year fixed mortgages. He told me that the huge amount of activity of home purchases and refinancing that has hit his firm in the last few weeks has been like a “sumami”.

Will mortgage interest come down further in 2009? Michael’s take on this question was an emphatic NO! He let me know that the Fed rate is between ZERO and .25% (YouTube). He said that there is no further room for it to go down further. Again, the mortgage interest rates have never been as low as today in U.S. history!!! So I followed it up with the next logical question…

Will mortgage rates go up in 2009 and when? He was just as emphatic with his answer to this question - YES, and soon! He gave me some indicators that Buyers need to pay attention to (YouTube). The first one was watching the stock market and see if the March 2009 rally was actually going to be sustainable. If it continues to rally, those that are currently invested heavily in bonds will start moving back into the stocks. He referred to a blog that Elizabeth Weintraub posted late last year titled, Top 10 Real Estate Predictions For 2009. Here were her predictions for mortgage rates.

“Because mortgage rates are influenced by mortgage bonds and mortgage-backed securities, not fed rate cuts, I predict interest rates could rise to 7% in 2009. Maybe more if investors continue to worry about inflation and the government adds a new supply of U.S. Treasuries to the market to offset the looming deficit.”

Michael believes that these record low mortgage rates may not last longer than a month or six weeks at the most. The Federal stimulus package is starting to be felt in a very positive manner throughout the economy. As the consumer confidence begins to change direction, the stock market will continue it’s climb and rates will certainly go up. He even felt it will be a dramatic interest rate climb that will leave many Buyers in the dust who are waiting for a better time to buy. TODAY is the day to contact your mortgage professional, and your Realtor if you want to purchase a home in 2009. Contact me today if you would like to talk about you needs further.