While the media is quick to jump on any story which appears sensational, one wonders why the sharp increase in Belmont's median price of over 19% last month wouldn't have raised any eyebrows.Don't miss this month's article explaining how this data needs to be interpreted.We publish these graphs each month in order to keep Belmont homeowners apprised of the market. Of course you are always welcome to visit our web site MorganHomes.com for more detailed graphs and of course our blog for insightful analysis.And if you are a Belmont resident, help us go green and sign-up for monthly reports. We'll take you off of our snal mail list and dobate a dollar to school force!(Click on the picture for a full zized view) 11/15/2007

This is the continuation of an article on understanding median home values... This graph illustrates what the median size home sold for in Belmont during the preceding 12 month period. Note this does not take into consideration individual characteristics of the home such as updating or level yards which greatly affect the home's value. Applying a trend line to the same graph shows us that the median price is approximately representative of current market conditions-prices are not rising at the same rate as they were a year ago and may in fact be on a decline. Looking at all of San Mateo County, a much larger market sample, the median price is clearly rising despite fewer sales. While data supporting the theory that larger homes are selling is unavailable for this period, which likely is... 11/15/2007

Continued from Part I.Data from the country tax records indicate that the median home is a three bedroom, two bath 1820 square foot home on a 6,600 square foot lot. If the median size of sold homes during a given period were greater than that it would account for the median price also being more. Quickly surveying the sales from September to October (closed homes) we indeed see that more large home sold in October-6 0% of the homes sold were over 1820 square feet as opposed to only 46% in September. Since there was a shift in the median size home sold (up 14%), it stands to reason that the median home price would reflect that change-as it did. Yet applying the median price per square foot for the homes which sold, to the true median size home in Belmont (1820 Sq. Ft.), we return the fol... 11/15/2007

Or did it really? What do you do when you know the numbers must be wrong? Numbers are of course just data and need to be interpreted well in order to be of any use. Clearly there's more inventory, there are fewer buyers and homes are sitting on the market longer. All this should equate to homes selling for less. Yet last month Belmont's median home price shot up from $980,000 to $1,170,000. Are you thinking more expensive homes must have sold? Read on... Granted, Belmont is a small market sample and is subject to dramatic swings in data on a month-to-month basis. Yet examining the last several years, though there are wild fluctuations, overall the trend appears rather clear and recent history reveals this to be an anomaly. Often times the median home price will spike in a given period d... 11/15/2007

I have reviewed the October MLS statistics for Condominiums & Townhomes in Belmont, California. Please listen to my podcast to learn about the key trends and indicators in this area. If you have any questions about the market, feel free to give me a call at 408-829-4141 or e-mail JohnPinto@jvpinto.com Thank you, John V. Pinto 11/13/2007

I have reviewed the October MLS statistics for Single Family Homes in Belmont, California. Please listen to my podcast to learn about the key trends and indicators in this area. If you have any questions about the market, feel free to give me a call at 408-829-4141 or e-mail JohnPinto@jvpinto.com Thank you, John V. Pinto 11/13/2007

Belmont is the second to last of our seven cities. It, too, is now a Cool Buyer's Market.  The median price of $948,000 was reflected over 51 homes for sale.  Belmont is a small communities sitting between San Mateo and San Carlos, generally up in the hills.  There are some fabulous views from some of these homes and of course, the better the view, the more the house costs.Belmont is the home to Notre Dame de Namur University, a private Catholic co-ed university in the heart of the town.  The Belmont-Redwood Shores Elementary School District has four elementary schools and one intermediate school.  They feed into Sequoia Union High School District's Carlmont High School or children attend the private Notre Dame High School.Prices for homes in Belmont are heading down a bit.  Altos Resea... 10/28/2007

Well almost, actually it was 1:52 pm.Today marks the 126th anniversary of the famous "Gunfight at the OK Corral" in Tombstone Arizona-then called the Arizona Territory. Here are some quick trivia facts about Wyatt Earp and the shootout at the OK Corral: Wyatt Earp was first and foremost a simple business man who lived to be 81 and died in Los Angels in 1929. (I happen to own a copy of his death certificate.) Wyatt Earp was never a U.S. Marshall The "Shoot-out at the OK Corral" was started by an argument over some stolen mules? Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday stood trial for their part in the shooting which lasted a month-they were both acquitted. Wyatt Earp's favorite city was San Francisco until he stood accused of throwing a prize fight in which he was asked to referee-it made all the pape... 10/26/2007

Today marks the occasion of the "Hunter's Moon". A full moon which occurs each October but this year is special.  Tonight's full Moon is the biggest full Moon of 2007. It's no illusion.  The Moon's orbit is an ellipse with one side 30,000 miles closer to Earth than the other. The full Moon of Oct. 25-26 is located on the near side, making it appear as much as 14% bigger and 30% brighter than lesser full Moons we've seen earlier in 2007.This can be found on NASA's web site, "According to folklore, October's full moon is called the "Hunter's Moon" or sometimes the "Blood Moon." It gets its name from hunters who tracked and killed their prey by autumn moonlight, stockpiling food for the winter ahead. You can picture them: silent figures padding through the forest, the moon overhead, pale a... 10/26/2007

One DOJ web page provides this insightful comment in a subtitle:"B. The Internet's Effect on the Real Estate Industry""With individuals assuming more of the responsibility to gather and assess information, less time and effort is required by real estate agents in assessing market conditions (for sellers) and in identifying and showing houses [(for buyers)]. The cost of an agent's service, therefore, should go down reflecting this shift in burden."124First this implies that everyone is assuming more responsibility gathering their own information. Some are and some are not.The second part of the sentence: "...less time and effort is required by real estate agents in assessing market conditions (for sellers)..."Nothing has changed in regard to the amount of time we spend to understand our ... 10/11/2007

I have reviewed the September MLS statistics for Single Family Homes in Belmont, California. Please listen to my podcast to learn about the key trends and indicators in this area. If you have any questions about the market, feel free to give me a call at 408-829-4141 or e-mail JohnPinto@jvpinto.com Thank you, John V. Pinto 10/09/2007

I have reviewed the September MLS statistics for Condominiums & Townhomes in Belmont, California. Please listen to my podcast to learn about the key trends and indicators in this area. If you have any questions about the market, feel free to give me a call at 408-829-4141 or e-mail JohnPinto@jvpinto.com Thank you, John V. Pinto 10/09/2007

Belmont View Ordinance-Only a Vision?Belmont-or beautiful mountain (beau mont)-is one of the most unique and charming cities on the peninsula. It's heavily forested hillsides and undulating hills make for a delightful backdrop against the busy peninsula transportation arteries.Belmont offers impressive views of San Francisco and the open space around Sugarloaf Mountain, the San Francisco Bay, and on any clear day Mt. Tamalpias, Mt. Diablo and Mt. Hamilton.Belmont's attributes are many but its highly coveted views are among the top reason people choose to live in Belmont. The hills of Belmont weren't always so heavily wooded as suggested by this rendering-published in "Heritage of the Wooded Hills-A Belmont History, by Ria Elena MacCrisken and available at the Belmont Historical Society.... 10/08/2007

Belmont Sales Activity-September 2007In an effort to cut down on paper generated by our industry, as well as lower our overhead to continue to offer price matching of our services, and hopefully someday reach more customers, we have discontinued the mailing of our monthly sales updates for Belmont, and are posting the information on-line. This will enable us to provide more information than before and we hope this move towards virtual based services will positively impact our environment while allowing more people to contact us.Please feel free to comment about the new forum we have implemented. 10/07/2007

The schools in Belmont continue to receive accolades as Carlmont High School wins another distinguished school award as reported by the district.The Sequoia Union High School district won a total of three Distinguished School awards. On their site they say:"Carlmont, Menlo-Atherton, and Sequoia high schools have all been named Distinguished Schools for 2007.Carlmont, Menlo-Atherton, and Sequoia are three out of the 95 high schools designated Distinguished Schools in the State of California.  Schools were eligible to apply for the award based on curriculum, instructional program, and support for students and school climate.  The schools will maintain their title of Distinguished School until 2011."That's great news for Belmont, though it is increasing difficult to get an intra-district t... 10/07/2007

Not all agents are as adept at others when it comes to advertising. That's why it's critical for a seller to understand the capabilities of their agent. The seller should ask to see examples of an agent's work prior to enlisting their services.Virtual agents are quick to denounce any advertising which costs money-printed advertising especially. Instead they'll post your listing on virtual message boards in the hope that everyone is internet savvy and looking in the right place.Not all agents will provide the same level of advertising. Therefore we have decided to list some of the services we offer as an example. A four color-two page flyer with in depth information available at the property AND at curb-side. Print advertising in local papers and major news outlets Virtual tours prepared... 10/07/2007

Intimate Local Market Knowledge By their own admission, virtual companies cannot compete on a local level against agents specializing in a particular market. Instead they have to rely on volume in an expansive market area. This is problematic for a virtual company who does not have agents working in a specific area of expertise. It's even more problematic for a seller who is replying on local market expertise to gain a competitive edge.Local market knowledge will benefit sellers in a challenging market. These are some of the advantages in working with a professional full service real state agent:Having intimate local knowledge will enable an agent to understand a seller's neighborhood attributes and market them effectively. An experienced local agent will understand the niche market and... 10/02/2007

Networking With Local Agents Local real estate agents will no doubt know many of the agents that work in a particular area. This advantage over virtual agents can be priceless, though near impossible to quantify.Networking benefits a seller in several ways:When an agent prepares and offer for your home, your agents; ability to fall back on past experience with that agent may enable them to offer you the best advice on the style agent you may be working with throughout the escrow period. Some agents have an excellent track record for closing transitions and others, who perhaps push their buyers too hard initially into a sale, have multiple occasions of buyer's remorse and cancelled contracts. Having experience in your local area may be the best attribute your agent can offer. A cancelled... 10/02/2007

Presenting Offers & Negotiating in Person Anyone who has experience in negotiations will likely confer that to negotiate well one must know their adversary. Local real estate professionals have an upper hand in any negotiation when they have access to this information.Having experience with how other agents may likely coach their client could be of great value in a particular negotiation.Virtual agents and on-line companies in an effort to stream-line the process and be able to cut their overhead, have designed elaborate schemes to complete a paperless real estate transactions. And while this contribution to the industry is admirable since the industry creates mountains of somewhat useless paperwork, in negotiations it's best to be face-to-face. Note: This is a piece in a multi-part art... 10/02/2007

It's essential to price a home properly. Failing to do so could cost a seller thousands of dollars as they attempt to chase the market.Knowing a local real estate market can only come with experience-gained by visiting homes first-hand. Weekly real estate tours are designed to allow agents to view new listings and failing to keep up on the inventory of homes can be catastrophic to an agents' career.Real estate agents have a distinct advantage over home appraisers since agents get a first hand look at homes before they sell. An appraiser is relegated to driving around a list of sold homes they use as comparables in an effort to derive a value for their appraisal. That's why many appraisers will contact local agents for inside information about a home which has sold.Virtual agents don't t... 10/02/2007