Moving Forward…..Finally.
The San Carlos real estate market was knocked to its knees in 2008 and 2009. It stood on one leg in 2010 and two in 2011. 2012 will see it take its first step forward.
All of the building blocks for a solid foundation are in place: high demand, an improving economy, solid local employment and cheap money. The sentiment among San Carlos buyers and sellers is refreshingly different. The market is not going to go crazy, but it will be in the black. Multiple offers will be more common and the competition will increase. If you plan to be involved in the market on one side or the other…or both, keep the following in mind:
(1) Have An Aggressive Plan. The wait and see attitude of recent years will not work in 2012. You and your agent will need to be aggressive in all facets of your home search. Do your homework ahead of time and have a strategy.
(2) Understand The Hot Sub-Markets. Looking for that move-up home with four bedrooms in White Oaks and Howard Park? So is everyone else. It will be the single most difficult home to come by this year. There are strategies that you and your agent can use to catapult yourself ahead of some of the competition. Other hot sub-markets are 3/2s from $800,000-$900,000 and any home sub-$725,000 on the west side.
(3) Your Financing. You have to operate on the assumption that you may face competition for your prospective home in 2012. With this in mind, there are two things that will do you more harm than good with regard to your financing. First, make sure your mortgage broker is local. Few things make listing agents as nervous as an out of area mortgage broker, for all of the obvious reasons. Second, there is currently one major bank (that shall go unnamed) that is having a terrible time finalizing home loans. After my last experience with them I swore I would never take an offer where they were the financing bank again (at least until they get their act together). Your agent will more than likely know the bank I am speaking of…..many others doing business on a regular basis in San Carlos are aware of the issue as well.
Don’ Forget!
San Carlos Educational Foundation Package. As I wrote about a few weeks ago, I am pleased to announce my partnership with SCEF with regard to buying and selling real estate. To learn how you can complete your real estate transactions and benefit our schools at the same time, please click here.
The 2011 Complete Year-End Real Estate Report. This completely unique and informative report gives you the details on every home sold in San Carlos in 2011. The report also breaks down the data between the six Areas of San Carlos. Click here for the report.
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