• Ep 15: 5 Things to do Before Selling Your Home,The Rama Mehra Team

    Ep 15: 5 Things to do Before Selling Your Home

    Selling your home is not an easy task but it doesn't mean that you cannot do anything to help your realtor in selling your home.  The first and the second tips are almost fully in your control as the seller, while the 3rd to 5th will definitely be more effective if you partner with a realtor who knows what they are doing and have partnered with many vendors in the area.  Watch the 5 tips here: 5 THINGS YOU CAN DO BEFORE SELLING YOUR HOME 1. Declutter you home  Simple. Easy and anyone can do it. Removing excess items from your home, especially if you have rooms that function as a storage room for all the items that you are not actually using, will help display the space of your home. It will be easier to move your furniture around when the stages come and you will be cutting the time in half in decorating the interiors of your home.  Additional benefits of decluttering your space is finding items that you can sell, and using the money you earn to add to any additional expenses you might be having as you prepare your home.    2. Remove all those personal items from your home. Having family portraits hanging on the walls of your rooms is nice, but if you want to showcase your home, remove photos, drawings of the kids, and other personal items around the house.  More importantly, if you have expensive items of display around the home, keep them in a secure place to avoid any possible misunderstandings along the way.  It's also for your personal peace of mind that your sentimental stuff are kept well while your home is being staged or being toured by potential buyers.    3. Neutral paint palette. Have a neutral paint running throughout your home. Whatever your taste is, having a neutral paint around your home is a big plus because it allows potential buyers to easier envision how they would be redecorating your home as their tour your space.    4. Small fixtures throughout the home. If you have a leaky faucet or a broken window, make sure you fix them. Many are good in making a listing presentable on the outside but forget to these small fixtures that could greatly impact the decision ofyour home.  Check if all the lights in all rooms are working. Make sure the flow of water in the kitchen and bathrooms are uobstructed and functions well.  Not all potential buyers will look at every nook and cranny, but don't miss your chance of making a transaction by investing on these little things.    5. Hire a professional stager. Having a professional stager is worth every penny and will go a long way in showcasing your home as a model home for potential home buyers. You might have a great idea in showcasing your home, but stages have the right tools, furniture and home decor that would further elevate the beauty of your home.    Hope this was helpful. See you again soon!   If you're done with 1 and 2, and you think you're ready to sell, don't hesitate to give us a call: 925-415-0835!  Still undecided and want to know more about the market? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here to make sure you know the latest real estate market trends! 

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  • Local Lowdown: East Bay October 2022 Market Update,The Rama Mehra Team

    Local Lowdown: East Bay October 2022 Market Update

    EAST BAY UPDATE Quick Take: Great news: East Bay’s housing market is cooling after a huge appreciation over the past two years. Sales and new listings are on the decline, which will reduce inventory as we head into winter. Months of Supply Inventory indicates that the market is trending toward more balance, but still favors sellers despite the higher mortgage rates.   Price contraction after explosive growth is normal These price contractions we're witnessing is a combination of the normal seasonal trends we've observed, and the result of the increase in mortgage rates.  We are indeed moving into a new chapter in the housing market and it doesn't involve leaps in price increases and homes receiving 20 offers or more on its first day being available in the market.  Home prices in East Bay, as compared to the rest of the country, grew at an unsustainable rate. The price reduction we see now is a normal response to that growth.  From January to May, single-family home prices grew 33% in 2021 and 35% this year. We are now seeing a slower pace of growth. Real estate has proven itself to be one of the best investments and is, on average, the largest store of wealth for an individual or family. It is predicted that price will appreciation at around 5-6% in the years to come.  Fall sales slowdown Sales for both single-family homes and condos declined, with fewer listings entering the market.  For the second month, inventory has declined and will likely decline as we approach the end of the year. East Bay market has not yet returned to its pre-pandemic condition. For the past two years, homes were sold faster, and new listings were in demand! This year, there's a drop in inventory (new listings and homes sitting in the market) by 22% as compared to the 4% drop last year.  New listings are not only tied to supply, but also by demand, especially by sellers who are also buying.  Softening demand has brought the market closer to balance despite low inventory. Months of Supply Inventory implies a sellers’ market Months of Supply Inventory (MSI) quantifies the supply/demand relationship by measuring how many months it would take for all current homes listed on the market to sell at the current rate of sales. The long-term average MSI is around three months in California, which indicates a balanced market. An MSI lower than three indicates that there are more buyers than sellers on the market (meaning it’s a sellers’ market), while a higher MSI indicates there are more sellers than buyers (meaning it’s a buyers’ market). MSI has drifted higher (toward balance) over the past six months but remained below three months of supply across the East Bay, indicating we are still firmly in a sellers’ market.  SUMMARY Even though we are still seeing a seller's market, it has definitely cooled down as compared to the first few months of the year.  Inventory is still at its all-time low that's why you have to be smart with your next move. Home prices are reducing, mortgage rates are going up and the market is ever-shifting.  Don't be confused. Partner with a realtor who knows the market well. If you think, we're a good fit, call us at 925-415-0835 today!  National Market Update for October 2022 can be read here. Want exclusive market updates from us? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here. 

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  • Ep 10: Hopefully, this new CALMS you down! (Asante Stories) ,The Rama Mehra Team

    Ep 10: Hopefully, this new CALMS you down! (Asante Stories)

    (Posted on Jun 22, 2022) What is the growth situation of the home prices today?  The prices are going up too fast! Is the market going to crash?  Whether you're a buyer or a seller, get sound financial advice from Rama today:  WHAT'S HAPPENING IN TODAY'S SAN RAMON MARKET?  So I hope that my background calms you down in the crazy world that we’re in and uh, listening to a lot of noise about the stock market, about the housing market, and hopefully the waves and the palm tress calm will you down. Well guess what? Markets go up. Markets go down. It’s cyclical. So don’t get scared. And don’t get carried away and buy into the narrative that’s being fed to you. All the people who are talking about the narrative, “Oh my god! The market’s on fire! It’s never gonna go down. It’s always gonna be on the up and up.” IS THERE A CHANGE IN THE SAN RAMON MARKET THIS 2022? I had already started feeling the slow down Q4 2021. I had been talking about it. We were doing the best we can for our sellers and buyers. And the bottom line is here: NEWS OF THE HOME SELLERS IN SAN RAMON For the sellers, if you want to count paper money and paper appreciation as a loss in this market today, then that’s entirely your judgment call. I’m not an economist and I’m only gonna speak from experience. In the marketplaces in the last 2 and a half years, we saw over 30% growth year-over-year. I’ve been in the business since 2004, and if we reach 7% appreciation in a year, that would be considered as phenomenal. And from 2008 to 2012, I was a participant and a witness to the horrific recession and crash that happened in the housing market. I can assure you I don’t see it happening. With the amount of equity people have in their homes. I don’t see people dumping their homes. And guess what? The rents are still gonna continue to rise. NEWS OF THE HOME BUYERS IN SAN RAMON So for the buyers, if you have been sitting on the sidelines thinking, “Oh my god. The market’s gonna crash.” Please be aware that it may not crash the way you’re thinking it will. And so greed on both sides needs to be curtailed and everybody makes a decision based on your personal financial situation. HOW SHOULD YOU LOOK AT THE SAN RAMON REAL ESTATE MARKET? So for the sellers, you know, calm down on your expectations. The market’s shifting. You can still walk away with a lot of equity and cash out with a lot of money. For buyers, please be aware that yes, there is room for negotiation on prices, and if the prices are reasonable you’re gonna get it at a good price. But if you think that you’re going to write offers like we used to maybe 3-4 years ago, $50,000 lower, $100,000 lower, $150,000 lower, that’s still not gonna happen. We wrote an offer, one of my team members wrote an offer on a condo in Dublin last night, and although it was aggressively priced and our buyers could only come in at list price they got a counter offer this morning for $120,000 more because there were 3 other offers on the table that offered that much money. So you’ve got to keep, everybody’s got to keep their balances in check, and please know that the sky is not falling for anybody. You’ve got to look at the positives. You’ve got to look at the opportunities. And like I said I am no economist or a forecaster of what’s the market gonna do. I am very conservative in my approach and very stoic in my approach. But we’re here to guide our sellers and buyers in whatever decision-making process they wanna do. So if you have any questions or or concerns, feel free to call me at 925-698-1815. Trust me. We will make it through.    ___ Got any questions? If you'd like Rama and our team to help you buy or sell your home, don't hesitate to give us a call at 925-415-0835!  Read about our 350+ 5-star reviews on Zillow here!   

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