Dublin Real Estate Update – 11/28/08
Dublin’s average home sale price dipped a skosh this week to $528K. We had a total of 12 home sales reported:
- 3 new – 2 at Sonata and 1 at Elan
- 9 existing – mostly west of Dougherty Road
On a national level, mortgage applications for home purchases rose a seasonally-adjusted 5.3% this past week indicating that demand is strengthening as interest rates have fallen and federal policy changes are in the pipeline. Government-insured loans, by agencies like the FHA, have fueled this growth – as indicated by the 113.6% increase in government-insured loan applications for October 2008 as compared to the same period last year.
The good news for Dublin is that many home builders foresaw the increased reliance on FHA loans and have already taken steps to become FHA approved.
3:01 PM on August 25th, 2009
Greetings Mr. Zukoski,
Thank you for providing us with this great platform to voice and share our opinions/concerns/news about and around Dublin!
My husband and I have been looking for a medium size home/townhome (1600 to 1800 sqf)and realized that the prices on these types of homes have not gone down much (vs the larger homes or smaller condos). As for the very few we have found, we are having problems with the Real Estate Agents. They don’t want to turn in our offers if the offers are under the sales price. It seems like the real estate brokers have a “gentleman’s agreement” among each other to keep the prices steady. It may not be illegal but isn’t it unethical for them to manipulate the market like this? They want us to exclusively work with them but don’t they show the same house to more than one potential buyer? Isn’t this a conflict of interest?
Does this mean the buyers can directly go to the seller’s agent (nowadays, the sellers are mainly banks anyway), who may be more motivated to work with you? Any advice/suggestion by the bloggers would be much appreciated.
6:52 PM on August 25th, 2009
Hello 4Peace – it’s great that you are looking to buy in Dublin. You bring up many excellent questions and concerns. I’ll defer to the real estate experts that are participate on Around Dublin for their guidance.
Thx, John Z.
2:34 AM on August 27th, 2009
Hello 4Peace,
Tyler Moxley’s answer to your concerns was right on. We work for the same realtor. I am currently working with some buyers looking for townhomes/condos in Dublin and have found that while there are many REOs and short sales, there are also great properties being sold by owners and not banks. These are typically well priced and the sellers are open to negotiation to some degree – unlike most banks. People think a bank deal, either REO or Short Sale – is always priced well under market. In fact, in most cases today they are not, yet you still have extended approval times of upwards to 3 months. Of course, any realtor is obligated by law to present any offer to a seller. Banks don’t deal directly with buyers. Hope you find a nice place in Dublin. Its a great placce to live.
John
925-989-4994
10:48 AM on August 27th, 2009
Thank you all for your responses! To respond to Mr. Moxley; I assure you there is nothing more to the story. We have worked with different agents at different times; and I cannot speak for other buyers but this our own experience.
Actually Mr. Ledahl’s comments are more in line with what we’ve been going through. If the REO deals are not necessarily the best deals, so why are we being forced(or strongly encouraged) to make offers above the sale prices. I don’t mean to attack the Real Estate industry but if all buyers are told likewise by their agents, anybody who offers less is obviously at a disadvantageous situation. I just wanted to hear from the other buyers also.
I’m sorry if I sound frustrated but I really would like to know how the REO process works.i.e. Do the banks see only the offers submitted by their agent? Are all the offers, regardless of the amount, submitted to the bank by the agent(s)or do the agent(s) pick and choose the offers? I mean some buyers, although they offer less, may carry less risk for the bank because of their more secure jobs, credit report etc. So, how are the banks able to see offers by these types of buyers?
1:29 PM on August 27th, 2009
Hi 4Peace,
The listing agents are under obligation to submit all offers to the seller, but some sellers instruct the agents to submit offer of only certain type financing or minimum pricing. This is where having good financing and an approval letter come in. You want to show the agent and bank you are a good buyer who will close. The banks many times will take a lower priced offer if the buyer and financing are more secure. I have come across this in the past and had lower offers accepted because they presented less problems when compared to other buyers because of the financing.
Ill be more than happy to discuss this with you more. There are a lot of things to cover when preparing a good offer for a bank.
Tyler Moxley
925.518.1083
Thanks,
6:37 AM on August 28th, 2009
4Peace, what you are dealing with is the extremely greedy nature of real estate agents. You don’t need a real estate agent, and that’s the honest truth that real estate agents don’t want you to know. My wife and I have sold two homes by ourselves, both times in very depressed markets. We’ve bought two homes by ourselves too, without any problems. Going solo saved us tens of thousands of dollars. In fact, when we offered one seller’s agent a lower asking price if he would accept a lower commission, his response was, “No, if you’re not going to pay me my 3% commission, then we don’t have a deal. I showed my client over 30 houses, I EARNED my commission. This is the sale price and it’s as high as we’ll go.” He DIDN’T EVEN TELL his client that he could get the home for a lower price. You tell me: whose interests are these agents looking out for? Certainly not their clients, or else that guy would’ve presented the lower price and lowered his commission. Because, you know, filing paperwork and being a chauffeur for sellers is “hard work.”
Dublin, meanwhile, is a GREAT place to live. Don’t let a couple bad apples (ie agents) spoil the bunch. There is no other city in the Bay Area I would rather live in. But do it without an agent, and you’ll be able to live here with a much bigger sense of pride.
12:18 PM on August 28th, 2009
To 4Peace and Anonymous 6:37 AM on August 28th, 2009
“Purchase agreement. Loan, appraisal, and inspection contingencies. Disclosures on the property, finance, and title. Foreign buyer/seller requirements. Access to licensed inspectors and an understanding of the repair report process. New lending laws. Who pays what for closing costs. and much, much more.”
These are just a sampling of the legal, financial, regulatory, and business parts of every real estate deal. And they don’t start until the buyer firsts finds the right home. Any good realtor (like Tyler) is well trained, backed by a legimate broker, and currently up to date in these areas. Failure in any given area could cause liabilities in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Agents who act like used car salesmen are uncommon. Trained realtors who focus on their client’s needs are common. All quality realtors are also insured.
If you do decide to buy or sell property on your own, PLEASE use a real estate lawyer. It may cost you a few thousand dollars, but you need some protection in today’s litigious world. For every page of the 8 page purchase agreement there are 2-3 precedent setting lawsuits that caused the creation of the page. Things can come back years later to take a bit out of your assets if done incorrectly.
Good luck!
John
925-989-4994
1:38 PM on August 28th, 2009
John, It looks as though Positano Homes are all sold out for now. The development must be doing all right. Also, living at the Terraces we got word that people are moving into building 7. Things must be alright in Dublin Ranch. I know there were several foreclosures in the Terraces, Villas and Courtyards though. It really makes me wonder why no one is stepping up to put a business in Grafton Station. They even lowered their rents for those that sign a lease by August.
3:13 PM on August 28th, 2009
Hi Anonymous – that is fantastic news. I hadn’t heard about all the early phase homes at Positano selling so well. Folks are moving into building 7 and I’m sure that they are getting great deals on option/incentive credits.
Did you hear what the rents were lowered to at Grafton Station for folks signing up in August? Hopefully, we have some restaurants or stores moving in to take advantage of the pent up demand.
Thx, John Z.
6:21 AM on August 29th, 2009
They have a new flyer out for grafton station that said if you sign a lease in August they have specials
11:10 AM on August 26th, 2009
Hi 4Peace,
I’m a Dublin Ranch Realtor, John’s go to guy for real estate info and advice and a resident of Dublin Ranch I need to follow up on the frustration you are having.
Yes, it is illegal to do what you are say, but I assume there is more to the story and Ill be glad to give you my opinion on the situation happening as well as some advice for you.
At this point many of the homes are REO or Short Sales and many times the agent and seller are selling homes in a production line type manner, meaning they could care less about servicing you as a buyer, but rather get the home off their books. I’m not surprised by your comments and what you are going through because I have found myself in situations where I scratch my head at what some banks and sellers do. Feel free to contact me and I can give you some advice on what to do 925.518.1083
Thanks,
Tyler Moxley
5:42 PM on August 26th, 2009
Why are all these realtors using this site for business? Are the blog owners getting paid?
5:57 PM on August 26th, 2009
Hi Anonymous,
The Around Dublin Team knows Tyler Moxley personally, and we have tremendous respect for him as a seasoned realtor wise beyond his years. His helpful response to 4Peace is consistent with the kind of customer service he and his team are known for in the Tri-Valley, and we are grateful for his participation on our little blog.
10:16 AM on August 28th, 2009
Thank you Mr. Moxley for the information and thank you Anonymous for the insight! It’s very unfortunate that there are lots of frustrated buyers (and of course sellers and agents)out there. At least we’re discussing… If you don’t mind I have a couple more questions.. For REOs, can we communicate directly with the bank?? If not, are the bank agents qualified/authorized to decide which offers are the “best” ones since the definition of “best” varies?
11:13 AM on August 28th, 2009
Hi 4Peace,
You could attempt to communicate with the bank, but the hard part is locating the right person in the right department. I have tried to get access to properties I knew a bank owned for a buyer, but they said I had to go through the agent they hired to sell it. Reason is that they hire an agent to do all the work so they can focus on their business. If everyone bypassed the agent then the bank would be flooded, but you could attempt because it may be a portfolio lender and only has a few properties.
The bank could give instructions to the agent to only submit certain types of offers to the bank and many times the agent will decide on the top offers to present, not that it is right since all offers need to be presented. Not everyone plays by the same rules too. I could go on for quite a while on agents some banks hire. Just like different buyers and sellers are attracted to certain types of agents and business models so are different types of agents attracted to different types of properties i.e. REO properties.
If you would like to talk more about how I work, please let me know. Ill be happy to talk more with you.
Regarding Anonymous, that is a blanket statement regarding agents. I do agree you could probably buy a home or sell one without an agent, but not everyone has the knowledge base to allow them to do that. It’s not a matter of doing paperwork and being a chauffer. I personally know I provide a lot of my clients with a high level service and an agent does provide a service based on their experiences and training, but like agents we are talking about above, not everyone operates the same way. Don’t let one experience you had speak for an entire industry. I would probably agree with most of what you say regarding real estate, but for everyone to do it without an agent is not one.
As always, my number is 925.518.1083 for anyone.
2:11 PM on August 28th, 2009
Thank you everyone for your responses and Thank you Mr. Zukoski for enabling this! I feel much more empowered with knowledge now:)) I agree that not all agents employ unethical practices. I guess it’s the nature of the real estate business which makes the “customers” frustrated.. it’s just too vulnerable to “conflict of interest” and therefore to criticism..
Anyway, we love Dublin and we’ll make a decision soon. I’ll keep in mind everything said. I may come back with more questions:))
Thanks again.
3:10 PM on August 28th, 2009
Hi 4Peace – thank you for starting this rich dialog. Good luck with your decision.
Thx, John Z.