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Helen and Kathryn's Newsletter | |
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| Greetings! |
Happy New Year!  We are looking forward to a busy real estate market in 2011. 2010 was an interesting year with home sales boosted by the First Time Home Buyers Credit and low interest rates. The market seemed to turn when the credit expired and the fall market was unusually slow. We are hoping for a great spring season and are looking forward to more homes coming on the market. We hope you find this newsletter useful and interesting. If you need more information on any real estate related needs, please let us know. If you don't want to receive this newsletter, please click on "Unsubscribe" at the top or bottom of the email.
Scroll down to see complete newsletter or click on article headlines on right hand side.
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Some Recent Sales in Berkeley
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Street |
List Price |
Sales Price |
Bd/Ba |
Sq. Ft. |
Date
Sold | |
Francisco
nr Grant |
$599,000 |
$700,000 |
3/1 |
1545 |
10/22 | |
Stonewall nr Claremont |
$995,000 |
$1,015,000 |
4/2 |
2410 |
11/2 | |
Colusa nr Hopkins |
$599,000 |
$686,000 |
2/1 |
1273 |
11/12 | |
Blake nr California
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$625,000 |
$620,000 |
3/2 |
1158 |
12/3 | |
Posen nr Carlotta | $599,000 |
$570,000 |
2/1 |
1150 |
12/30 |
Data from Multiple Listing Service
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Some Recent Sales in Albany
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Street |
List Price |
Sales Price |
Bd/Ba |
Sq. Ft. |
Date
Sold | |
Curtis nr Marin |
$819,000 |
$985,000 |
3/3 |
1903 |
10/29 | |
Talbot nr Dartmouth |
$499,000 |
$535,000 |
3/1 |
1085 |
11/22 | |
Evelyn nr Washington |
$599,000 |
$585,000 |
2/1 |
1173 |
11/30 | |
Carmel nr Thousand Oaks |
$641,000 |
$671,265 |
3/1 |
1183 |
12/3 | |
Pomona nr Washington |
$475,000 |
$531,600 |
2/1 |
914 |
12/10 | |
Carmel nr Washington |
$625,000 |
$627,000 |
3/1 |
1093 |
12/28 |
Data from the Multiple Listing Service
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Some Recent Sales in El Cerrito
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Street |
List Price |
Sales Price |
Bd/Ba |
Sq. Ft. |
Date
Sold | |
Hotchkiss nr Colusa |
$598,900 |
$620,000 |
2/1 |
1355 |
10/19 | |
Mira Vista nr Jordan |
$489,000 |
$470,000 |
3/2 |
1280 |
11/4 | |
Tamalpais nr Barrett |
$639,000 |
$660,000 |
3/2 |
1829 |
11/23 | |
San Carlos nr Lynn |
$489,000 |
$500,000 |
2/1 |
961 |
12/1 | |
Santa Fe nr Colusa |
$599,000 |
$585,000 |
3/2 |
1596 |
12/8 |
Data from Multiple Listing Service
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Some Recent Sales in Rockridge
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Street |
List Price |
Sales Price |
Bd/Ba |
Sq. Ft. |
Date
Sold | |
Oak Grove nr Forest |
$699,900 |
$699,000 |
4/1 |
1560 |
10/7 | |
Lawton nr College |
$799,000 |
$839,000 |
3/1 |
1430 |
11/9 | |
Harbord nr Modoc |
$938,000 |
$980,000 |
3/2 |
1891 |
11/12 | |
Auburn nr Claremont |
$695,000 |
$739,000 |
3/1 |
1329 |
12/9 | |
Boyd nr Hudson |
$729,000 |
$729,000 |
2/1 |
1245 |
12/30 |
Data from Multiple Listing Service
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Search for Homes in the East Bay
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Search East Bay MLS
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Mortgage Rates
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National Average
Mortgage Rates
as of 1/20/2011
15 Year Fixed Conforming 4.1%
30 Year Fixed Conforming 4.75%
5/1 Year ARM Conforming 3.5%
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| Should You Move or Remodel? |
When your house no longer suits you, you can move or remodel. Find out which big change is the right investment of your housing dollars.
Deciding whether you should move or remodel? The most important things you need to consider are the four things you can't change: your home's value compared to the rest of the neighborhood, how much you love your neighborhood, the size of your lot, and the cost to move your stuff to a new house.
Just about everything else-remodeling costs, the hassle of living in a construction zone, or the ability to live happily without one more bathroom--is a personal preference. After all, your home isn't just your largest investment; it's also the place where your family lives.
1. Will remodeling make your home better than everyone else's?
To make the right move-or-remodel decision, you have to know:
·Your home's value. Easy. Just ask a REALTORŪ to estimate it and tell you how it compares with the value of the other homes in your immediate neighborhood. Ask her what she thinks your house will be worth after the improvements, too.
·Your neighbors' home value. Hit some open houses. Seeing the inside of area homes will inspire you; help you make good choices about finishes, room sizes, and how much to spend; and, admit it, entertain you.
·Your remodeling costs. Once you've got your renovation vision, get a quote from a home improvement contractor or, if you're remodeling it yourself, tally the costs of the items on your supplies shopping list.
Then add the remodeling costs to the value of your home. If the number you get is more than 10% above the average value of homes in your neighborhood, you're over-improving and probably won't be able to sell for what you put into the remodel.
Here's why: No one wants to buy the most expensive home on the block (your home) if they can spend the same money to get a similar home on a block of higher-priced homes. Would you pay $200,000 to live on a block where all the other homes are valued at $100,000? We hope not.
Make home improvements that are typical for the neighborhood. Don't put granite countertops in a trailer, and don't put laminate countertops in a Trump Tower condo. Your tour of open houses gives you a chance to verify that your planned remodel isn't an over- or under-improvement for the neighborhood.
2. Do you love where you live?
Want to keep your kids in the same school district, but can't find or afford a bigger, better house? Love the neighbors? Have an easy commute to work? Stay put. If you've soured on the traffic, the neighborhood's crime rate, or the nosy neighbors, move on.
3. Do you have room to expand?
If your remodeling plans include increasing the overall size of your home, the size of your lot may be the deciding factor in whether to move or remodel. If you live in a 1,500 sq. ft. ranch on a 3,000 sq. ft. lot, you might be able to add a second story to turn it into a 3,000 sq. ft. two-story, but you're not likely to add 1,500 sq. ft. at ground level. And if you have a septic tank and well, the location of those will limit how and where you add onto your home (or cost you a bundle to move).
4. Can you afford to move?
Consider these moving costs: sale costs for your existing home, shipping your household goods, buying window treatments and possibly furniture for the new house, costs to fix up your existing home before sale, higher utility costs (if your next house is bigger), insurance cost differences, and property taxes.
More from HouseLogic
Q&A: Author Sarah Susanka Talks Budget-Smart Remodeling (http://www.houselogic.com/articles/QA-author-sarah-susanka-talks-budget-smart-remodeling/)
Should You Move or Improve? (http://www.houselogic.com/articles/should-you-move-or-improve/)
Other Web Resources
Average project cost (http://remodeling.)hw.net
Find your local remodelers (http://www.nahb.org)
By: Dona DeZube
Published: August 24, 2010Dona DeZube, HouseLogic's news editor, moved across the same street twice when she remodeled two houses in Columbia, Maryland, before she moved to a house in Clarksville, Maryland. She remodeled that house and then moved back to the same street in Columbia. She despises moving, but her husband loves remodeling.
Article From BuyAndSell.HouseLogic.com
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| Interesting Local Events & News | |
We love the theater and a lot of great plays are coming to the Bay Area. In San Francisco, the plays for the upcoming Best of Broadway Series include Billy Elliott, Next to Normal, Avenue Q and Rock of Ages. Helen has seen Billy Elliott and Next to Normal and would highly recommend them. For more information, please go to http://shnsf.com/.
Also, Mike Daisey, a well known performance artist will be at Berkeley Rep performing in The Agony and the Ectasy of Steve Jobs. The New York Times dubbed Mike Daisey "the master storyteller" and "one of the finest solo performers of his generation." To learn more please go to http://www.berkeleyrep.org/season/1011/4550.asp
And if you want a reminder of the top 100 restaurants from the San Francisco Chronicle, here is Michael Bauer's list http://www.sfgate.com/food/top100/2010/. |
For more information about any of the properties or events listed above, please call us at 510-207-2968 (Helen) or 510-593-7311 (Kathryn), or simply respond to this email. We'd love to share our real estate tips and experience in the East Bay community with you!
Feel free to visit our website at www.helenandkathryn.com for more information as well.
We honor your privacy and requests to be deleted from the mailing list. Simply click on to the Unsubscribe link below if you are receiving this newsletter, but would prefer not to. On the other hand, if you'd like to pass it along, please do so!
Helen and Kathryn
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