The newest version of Microsoft Excel has not been quite friendly to users like us, and most especially to those who have been well-versed with the older versions of Excel. Creating a line chart is like a discovery game, and the icons that you used to find with ease, are now playing hide and seek with the new version.   So, here is an attempt to make life a bit easier with creating trend charts, something I use regularly for my market reports.         "This post is written as a submission to the ActiveRain Kodak Video Challenge contest. I have the chance to win the KODAK PLAYTOUCH Pocket Video Camera, great for realtors looking to create wide angle home tours and real estate marketing videos!"         01/26/2011

  The trip to DMV in Fremont, CA proved to be a very smooth one, contrary to my expectations. I went there to register my new address (finally!) after learning that DMV’s fine for failing to notify them of an address change within 10 days has increased to a whopping $214! DMV did say that the fine may be reduced with proof of correction…but still.   As I entered the DMV office, there were long lines cutting across different directions. All windows were loaded with lines of people who seemed to have accepted the long wait ahead of them. I scrambled to look for the window with the sign “START.” In 5 minutes, I was talking to the DMV person at the window, gave her the completed form, and she gave me back a card. That completed my task, mission accomplished, no need to get in another line.... 01/22/2011

Absorption rate: 5.9 months (this means it will take 5.9 months to clear out the current housing inventory)   Here is the rest of the real estate activity in Fremont for these past 7 days:             About Fremont Fremont is located on the southeast side of the San Francisco Bay, and is a city of about 213 thousand residents, making it the Bay Area’s fourth largest city. Fremont boasts of its highly-rated schools, as well as beautiful parks, like Lake Elizabeth.     It is wise to assess the market condition, including home prices, before making that giant step in pursuit of the American dream!   Always available for your questions,     01/22/2011

Front yard in Fremont, CA.         01/19/2011

  Fremont’s real estate activity in December 2010 posted an improvement compared to both the previous month (Nov. 2010) and 12 months ago (Dec. 2009). This increase was recorded on the following parameters:   -         Increase in the number of sold homes -         Increase in median price of sold homes New listings were slower to come in December, which is typical for the season. Regular sales continue to dominate the market, although the majority of pending sales are short sales.       About Fremont   Fremont is located on the southeast side of the San Francisco Bay, and is a city of about 213 thousand residents, making it the Bay Area’s fourth largest city. Fremont boasts of its highly-rated schools, as well as beautiful parks, like Lake Elizabeth.     It is wise to assess the marke... 01/10/2011

Finally had a chance to try out Five Guys Burgers and Fries, which opened its first East Bay location in the city of Fremont (Northern California) earlier this year. I must say all the buzz about its unique selling points pushed me to slightly compromise the diet that I have so firmly committed to. Oh well, it's not an everyday thing. And it was not difficult to understand why Five Guys won the numerous awards and recognitions it has reaped for many years (you'll know what they are once you are inside the store, as they are pasted all over their walls).  Best Burger in Baltimore 2006. Best Burger, Best of the Beach 2007. Voted Best Bargain (Cheap Eats) '00 thru '07, Washington Magazine.  Etc. Etc. Five Guys accommodates online ordering, so you avoid long lines during busy hours. And re... 12/22/2010

  Fremont is located on the southeast side of the San Francisco Bay, and is a city of about 213 thousand residents, making it the Bay Area’s fourth largest city. Fremont boasts of its highly-rated schools, as well as beautiful parks, like Lake Elizabeth.   Fremont’s real estate market continues a downward trend which is typical for this time of year. Current homes on the market are made up mostly of regular sales, while short sales are still held up in the pending pipeline.   The rest of the real estate transactions data are below:       It is wise to assess the market condition, including home prices, before making that giant step in pursuit of the American dream!     12/20/2010

Do you love it when a provider "finally" gets it? By provider in this case I mean the Multiple Listing Providers or MLS providers for Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. This month our Alameda and Contra Costa County Bay East Association of Realtors created a shared database with Santa Clara County and many others. You heard the expression, "less is more?" Well I am happy to report that when I am using a computer to search for homes for sale ion Fremont, more is MORE. Multiple Organization Reciprocal Exchange. Cool? Yes it is.  A while back I wrote about an awesome work around to get new listings from different MLS providers forwarded to me automatically here http://tricityhome.blogspot.com/2010/01/handheld-device-redfin-new-killer-tool.html I still use the work around a lot. In short, I... 12/16/2010

      Ardenwood is a small Fremont community located on the northwestern part of the intersection of I-880 and Hwy-84. It is next door to Union City on Fremont’s western border. About 16 thousand residents call Ardenwood their home. Real Estate Based on past 6-month sales, Ardenwood home values are higher than Fremont's median prices.    There are currently 22 properties for sale in Ardenwood. This is broken down by property type as follows:            Single family homes    11             Duets                               2             Condo                             5             Townhouse                     4 By sale type:  Short sale           6             Bank-owned       1             Regular             15 By list price:              Median list price       $560,000       ... 12/15/2010

I just did a BPO in my Fremont neighborhood, and I was surprised by the wonderful view of fall showing off its colors right before my eyes. The hills of Niles Canyon served as a striking backdrop to the trees’ seasonal colors – truly amazing! I don’t remember fall being this beautiful. I’m glad I captured it in this photo…thanks to the BPO!   12/08/2010

If you are thinking about buying or selling a home in Fremont, Newark or Union City. Or, if you know someone who is, you can take a look and listen to what Jeff Pereyda's observations are. Naturally, there are many aspects of choosing a good real estate agent in Fremont, Newark and Union City and the slide cast is presenting the idea of choosing a good real estate agent in a unique point of view. You click here if the slide screen is not below http://www.tricityhome.com/podcasts.html Broker/real estate agent Jeff Pereyda shares his experiences from "behind the desk" and "out in the field." If you or someone you know has finally decided to buy or sell a home in Fremont, Newark and Union City--See if this helps to choose a god real estate agent. Good real estate_agent View more webinars f... 12/05/2010

I wanted to put something together for the would-be Fremont, Newark, Union City home buyer who may not know about short sales and how they affect all of us in some way. If you have a moment or two, please take a listen to this Slidecast on Short Sales here http://tricityhome.com/podcasts.html and click Short Sale How To. Pass on any knowledge to those who may not have insight on how to approach these short sales when looking for a Fremont, Newark or Union City home. Some may recognize the format I use (chalkboard in Powerpoint (tm)), but I re did the audio a little with a change or two. Thanks for listening. How to Buy a Short Sale View more webinars from Jeff Pereyda. 12/05/2010

  Fremont is located on the southeast side of the San Francisco Bay, and is a city of about 213 thousand residents, making it the Bay Area’s fourth largest city. Fremont boasts of its highly-rated schools, as well as beautiful parks, like Lake Elizabeth.   Fremont’s real estate market experienced a slowdown for the month of November both in terms of value and volume. Current homes on the market are made up mostly of regular sales, while short sales are still held up in the pending pipeline.   The rest of the real estate transactions data are below:                   Map of Fremont (courtesy of fremont.gov)   It is wise to assess the market condition, including home prices, before making that giant step in pursuit of the American dream!        12/02/2010

There are 567 homes for sale in Fremont, as of 11/21/10. The majority of these listings are regular sales. There are signs that marketing time is slowing down as current active listings have an average 65 days on the market, which is longer than the average days on market for pending (42) and completed sales (52).   Meanwhile, short sales continue to be held up in the pending pipeline.   Here are the rest of the transactions data in Fremont:         It is wise to assess the market condition, including home prices, before making that giant step in pursuit of the American dream!   11/21/2010

  The Open House was already scheduled, Saturday, 11/20 from 2-4 PM. So was the rain… Surprisingly, there were a lot of open homes in Fremont that Saturday, despite the forecast all-day showers. Or perhaps, it’s no surprise after all, if you consider that the following weekend is the Thanksgiving weekend, Black Friday included! Of course, you couldn’t pull shoppers away from Best Buy, Target, or even Walgreen’s! Not even cookies and drinks will lure them into an open house.   So, it made sense to hold the open house on the Saturday prior, regardless of the rain. And so we did.                 And they came…all 3 of them.   But it’s not about quantity, but rather it's about the quality of those who came. Who would come to an open house on a cold, rainy day, when snuggling in bed and wat... 11/20/2010

Driving up to my Fremont real estate office, (get directions here) I noticed something just a little out of place. I knew about the crane, but it is another thing to see it in action on your way to the office. Turns out our office needed a new air conditioner. I wonder if my new tenant had anything to do with it. I do not mind a comfortable 70 degree office, but the moment he steps in the Fremont Real Estate office, http://www.tricityhome.com/fremont-office-visit.html he needs to turn the AC on. He says it keeps him focused. Before you think ill of it. Adam Arant, Attny at Law is my Estate Planning attorney in Fremont. I trust him with--well basically my life. I have referred Adam to other friends and co workers, and they are glad I did. Adam has great ethics which is well needed in th... 11/17/2010

Jane Pacheco | Pacheco Realty | (510) 791-7644 3413 Pennsylvania Cmn, Fremont, CA OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY, 11/20 FROM 2-4 PM. 2BR/2BA Condo offered at $249,900 Year Built 1981 Sq Footage 944 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 2 full, 0 partial Floors 1 Parking Detached garage for 2 cars Lot Size 0 HOA/Maint $325 per month DESCRIPTION Stunning REO!!! Gated complex in beautiful, cozy Pennsylvania Common. Ground floor corner unit facing the pool! - Plantation shutters throughout! - Dual pane windows! - Central A/C for those hot summers! - Gas burning fireplace in living room! - Detached garage for 2 cars! - Plenty parking for your guests! - Minutes to BART, hospital, parks, shopping! Call for more information! Toll-Free 800-474-0341 see additional photos below ADDITIONAL PHOTOS Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3 Phot... 11/17/2010

Fremont home buyers have changed they way they search for Fremont homes from 10, even 5 years ago. I have been selling Fremont homes since 1999, and I have seen an interesting change in the goings about. Apart from the recent Fremont short sale homes and Fremont REO homes for sale causing havoc, the ease to search real estate in Fremont has never been better, and for all of us searching for these Fremont homes, the Internet has certainly arrived. Back in '99 you could search for Fremont homes on the Internet using some giant sites. Realtor.com was the biggest real estate search platform for searching Fremont homes for sale. Regardless, now, there are hundreds of sites that do the same thing. Moreover, if you add up all the IDX sites you'll reach perhaps a million.* However, Fremont hom... 11/17/2010

  We’ve always read that the way to remember things that we need to do is to write them down. Keep a list. Clean car. Buy cereal. Pay PG&E. Enroll in belly dancing. Make appointment with vet for Mitzy. And so on.   For real estate agents, the list may look like this:   - Call client Becky about setting up time to look for homes. - Call lender re short sale in progress. - Upload listing on AR. - Update website. - Follow up offer submitted on Mowry home. - Check out Womens Council of Realtors(R). - Check out pocketlistings on iPhone. - Call Lindy re listing her property, if already vacant. - Post listings on craigslist, AR, facebook, Trulia, etc. - Prepare flyer for mail campaign. - Explore blogging on wordpress.   And as things come up, the list grows…and grows.   But you really don’t w... 11/15/2010

It was a welcome surprise to discover this Thai restaurant situated alongside a row of shops on Walnut Avenue. My husband and I were going for Japanese food in this same area, but were disappointed to find that it was not open on Saturdays.         Then, there it was, the big sign beckons!     It holds an impressive record – twice in a row at that. In 2009, Bangkok Thai Cuisine was voted Best of Fremont for its Vegetarian Food. This year, 2010, it duplicated this award, and even added another: Fremont’s Best Thai Restaurant. Not bad for one that opened its doors only two years ago.   And so we tried what they had to offer. The ambiance was perfect – it had the look of an elegant dining place, but not too classy that it would give us a price scare.     And it was indeed one of the fines... 11/08/2010