Gary Watts made the following comments about the media which just loves to bash the real estate market any time it gets a chance - and most of the time it just makes the chances up.
The Media
Remember Y2K, Mad Cow Disease, West Nile Virus, Killer Bees, SARS, Bird Flu and now Housing?
Today’s media plays up […]
Entries from July 2008
The Media - The Sky isn’t falling (part 6)
September 23rd, 2007 · No Comments
Tags: Real Estate Data · Real Estate
A historical perspective - The Sky is not falling (part 5)
September 23rd, 2007 · No Comments
Gary Watts, a real estate economist, recently gave several conferences to San Francisco Bay Area Coldwell Banker agents.
Here are some of his comments:
Brief History of Real Estate
We are in the 24th month of the current housing downturn. Historically, housing downturns average 27 months so we may be near the end. Although there has been a […]
Tags: Real Estate Data · Real Estate
The Sky isn’t falling ! (part 4)
September 17th, 2007 · No Comments
NAR in its most recent statistical update estimates that 5.336 Million homes will be sold this year.
Everyday we read in the newspapers how terrible the real estate market is.
I have consistently maintained that while the market has slowed it is not a disaster but rather just a return to a more normal market.
Let’s look at […]
Tags: Real Estate Data · Real Estate
The Right Attitude
September 11th, 2007 · No Comments
I just received an email from my former assistant, Mary.
Mary and her husband moved to Arizona recently and they had their first child a few months ago. Like many younger couples, they had some consumer debt but they very much wanted to own their own home.
Please read this email and look for how they turned a supposed NEGATIVE […]
Tags: Real Estate · Inspiration
Suunyvale Sales data
September 11th, 2007 · No Comments
Sunnyvale again presents a different picture than either Palo Alto or San Carlos.
Here is the data:
Sunnyvale home sales in the first 8 months of the calendar year increased from 2003 to 2004 - reaching a peak of 698 in 2004.
2005 sales dropped about 10% from 2004 sales.
2006 sales were about 40% below the peak year […]
Tags: Real Estate Data
San Carlos Sales data
September 11th, 2007 · No Comments
San Carlos presents a slightly different data picture than found in Palo Alto.
Here are the number of home sales in San Carlos during the first 8 months of years 2003 through 2007.
The peak for numbers of homes sales in San Carlos was 2003 and 2004.
2005 sales show about a 20% from the peak years of […]
Tags: Real Estate Data
It’s very rare - a balanced newspaper article about real estate
September 11th, 2007 · No Comments
This unusual event took place in this Sunday’s September 9 New York Times.
The headline in the article was “It’s Time to Take a Deep Breath“.
How true !
The following points were made by Ben Stein:
1. The sub-prime mortgage industry helped many individuals to buy a home - without the sub-prime mortgage industry many of these individuals […]
Tags: Sub-Prime Mortgage Issue · Real Estate Finance · Real Estate
The sky isn’t falling (part 3)
September 10th, 2007 · No Comments
Over the past month or so, many people have come up to me and said: “I hear this is a terrible market” or they ask me: “How bad is the market?”.
I tell them not nearly as bad as the media would have you believe.
Let’s look at the numbers:
Here are the number of Palo Alto homes […]
Tags: Real Estate Data
Is our local market seasonal?
September 9th, 2007 · No Comments
One of the most common questions I am asked by buyers and sellers alike is: “When is the best time to buy or sell?”
In a coming series of posts I will track sales in 3 peninsula communities on a monthly basis from January 2003 to present.
Here is the data for Palo Alto.
1/2003 21
2/2003 19
3/2003 49
4/2003 44
5/2003 52
6/2003 52
7/2003 53
8/2003 56
9/2003 47
10/2003 57
11/2003 51
12/2003 36
1/2004 29
2/2004 25
3/2004 51
4/2004 65
5/2004 54
6/2004 80
7/2004 68
8/2004 58
9/2004 38
10/2004 43
11/2004 50
12/2004 34
1/2005 22
2/2005 36
3/2005 51
4/2005 56
5/2005 38
6/2005 68
7/2005 53
8/2005 48
9/2005 45
10/2005 41
11/2005 38
12/2005 38
1/2006 22
2/2006 28
3/2006 46
4/2006 50
5/2006 68
6/2006 67
7/2006 46
8/2006 43
9/2006 34
10/2006 44
11/2006 41
12/2006 27
1/2007 16
2/2007 31
3/2007 52
4/2007 46
5/2007 58
6/2007 58
7/2007 41
8/2007 39
In looking at this […]
Tags: Real Estate Data
A look back in time……
September 9th, 2007 · No Comments
I am holding open my new listing at 125 Mission Drive, East Palo Alto this weekend.
This 2 bedroom 2.5 bath 1580sf end unit townhouse is listed at $520,000.
Virtual tour at: http://www.uBuildTours.com/tour.php?mls=749880
The first home I ever purchased is just 5 doors down at 130 Mission Drive. I became a proud homeowner in September 1980. I was […]
Tags: Real Estate