Karen Crowson's Blog

Median home price is down a little from last year. Before we determine if that's a trend or not a bit more data will be needed. Locally, agents have been mentioned that the year started out a slow. And in certain price ranges, inventory is really scare which could throw the numbers off somewhat....

What a difference a year makes. 49% is a significant jump. Many homeowners now have the equity to make a move. Do you? Anytime a percentage point goes up this drastically, it's worth another look. In 2013 an average of 8 days on the market was insane. So, yes it's gone up incredibly at 185% over ...

Big jump from the same time last year (26%), but not terribly out of sync throughout the year. Remember, one very high or low priced home can sway the numbers greatly. (One at $1.9 million - a pretty hefty price tag for Livermore) 68% increase seems incredibly high unless you look at the detail. ...

Depending upon WHEN you want/need to move, you may have few choices about market conditions and whether they favor buyers or sellers. Last season’s hot market certainly favored sellers and buyers were scrambling to complete for low inventory in an appreciating market. Buyers are discouraged when ...

I had the pleasure of working with a young man on his first home purchase. He was motivated!  He’d had to move 4 times in 2 years due to landlords selling (or losing) the homes he’d been renting. He had a decent amount of money saved, but not enough to purchase conventional.  At the time, he qual...

It’s no secret – there are a lot of all cash buyers in the market.  Some of these buyers are investors who pool their funds, some come from out of the country, but others are average folks who have made decisions about how they will accomplish their home buying goals. In a hot market like we expe...

Katie – She was committed. I met her at a First Time Home Buyer Seminar.  She wanted her own home SO bad, but after taking the class learned that she had an enormous amount of work to do to position herself for success. She worked with a credit counselor to figure out what things to do to improve...

Just a tiny change up from the same time last year, but that is probably reflective of specific homes sold, without the typical mix of inventory we might see in the spring selling season. But the trend throughout the past year was markedly up. This chart is actually in keeping with market norms....

Median price is up year over year, but the graph illustrates how that median home price was much higher during the heat of the market when the bulk of the buyers were plentiful and multiple offers were the norm. Last year started off with a very low average for days on market, and it only went do...

Whoa, look at that jump!  56% increase in median price for condos, townhomes and duets. Investers are in the market in a big way. Something undoubtedly skewed the report for the month of November. In checking the actually stats, all but 3 properties in under 30 days during that month. But those ...