Washington High School--Huskies Basketball

After a few late appointments at my real estate office, I hopped in the car (could have walked) and drove to Washington High school Gymnasium where the Huskies were playing the Livermore High school team.

As you can see in the final scoreboard, the Huskies bit the Livermore High School team 70 times while the Visitors nipped back a mere 33.

It was good sportsman's ship to see fallen players helped back up after a fall from the opposing side more times than one. All in all, a good night out with the family.

Better luck next time Livermore.

Holiday Shopping in Fremont

It's not a good picture, but behind the small crane operator is a sign that says, "Shop Fremont." It's a nice sign and it shows some artwork of candles surrounded by sparkles, very noel.

I thought about how much Fremont has changed. Vince, my building manager at the Murco Plaza on Capitol and Paseo Padre has a long history of the landscape in Fremont. He remembers that the Western Dental building building on the corner of Paseo and Mowry used to be a chicken ranch. I recall some things too. I watched Target get built on Walnut and Fremont. Before that women used to complain that in order to buy a bra, you had to leave Fremont and go to Newpark Mall.

So, where to shop in Fremont? The Hub has Target, Pier 1, Borders, and Hallmark to name a few. Raleys Shopping Center has some smaller gift shops there, well, like The Gift Shop. but you can get some shopping done in Fremont. I have some links that take you to areas of interest in and near Fremont on the links page on my site.

To me the best shopping experience around here is at the Stanford Mall, just a straight shot over the Dumbarton. I still remember the Saks Fifth Avenue which had no escalator, only an elevator. After all, my Dad was the head fitter (a person who instructs tailors on how to alter the suits) in the Men's Department for around 35 years. It since has closed, consolidated and moved to the San Francisco store many years ago. My Dad went with the move as well. The Barn at Stanford used to be a food buffet and food mall with very high class stuff. I still remember the candy shop that sold solid red and black liquorice cords, honeycombs and more. The Stanford Mall has a great deal more class than say--the Hub. The difference is night and day. Plottage, architecture, vendors, landscaping and the surrounding area being Stanford says it all.

Feel free to shop Fremont, I will. And, don't forget to shop online too, but if you cannot afford a trip to Rockefeller Plaza and the Saks in New York, go to Stanford mall once or twice this year.

My Christmas wish list is posted on my website. Just kidding.

Fremont Mission Hills Real Estate

Some of you know that from 1987 to 1999 I worked for UPS, a driver in fact. I delivered packages out in the Mission San Jose area of Fremont. In the morning deliveries to businesses came first, then some residential, then business pick ups, then go back out and deliver residential again. I saw a lot homes to say the least.

About mid route, I also delivered to small business center where I would find my new dentist Dr. Karen Gianotti, my insurance agent Mike Qutermous at State Farm, my Optometrist, Dr. Marvin Mah (I may need glasses soon) and the VCA Mission San Jose Pet Hospital where we take our pets. They are all there in the Mission San Jose Business center on the corner of Luzon and Washington Blvd. I especially grew fond of where one of my driver buddies lived off of Luzon and Castillejo. That is near Washington Blvd. and 680. I just liked it. It had some character, some views too.

Call me old-fashioned, but I'd rather have a slightly older home with character made with a mix of wood and brick than the new ones made with sprayed on stucco and weak stucco architecture that has foam underneath it.

As one who values long-term relationships, and even though I no longer drive for UPS, I still retain customer relationships with them all.

Even in the middle of busy day at the real estate office, I can find time to drive into Mission and get a check up and find no cavities, but also be told that a little more flossing couldn't hurt. And, as a small aside--I met my wife there when she worked at the pet hospital back in 1993.

Asking Price .vs Selling Price In Fremont

On average, the "sold" prices for real estate owned homes in Fremont over the last 3 months or so have been selling for over the asking price. I ran just a quick list of all the homes that sold during that time, averaged the sales prices, averaged the listing prices, subtracted for the difference then divided the difference by the listing price. It sounds like a real estate question from the state exam. Doesn't it? Anyway, below in wonderful Excel colors are the results.

Asking Price Avg.	Sold Price Avg.	Avg. Difference	% Over Asking
$434,138	$458,711	$24,573	5.66%

We have not heard a lot of the "we bought our home for half the listing price" kinds of stories in our office. Actually, in order to get the house--most of the time, one has to offer over the asking price.

Please remember that these are averages and only performed by the method I showed above. I'm sure there is a more sophisticated RMS method of (root means squared) or something, but here you have it. If you want to buy a home in Fremont most of the time, they go for more. The test only included REO properties. It's very telling.

Some home buyer "to do's" for your agent would include:

• After you like a property, have your agent perform a CMA for your property so you know the estimated market value of the home. Remember it still has to appraise for for your offer amount in order for your loan to go through.
• Make sure you have your deposit check photocopied for your agent to present your earnest money.
• Have a fresh "direct lender' approval letter on the ready.
• Go over the Buyer's Net Sheet again to make sure you understand your closing costs.
• The rest is up to you and your agent working together to create a good offer.

Again, these are the basics. If you need more attention to detail, please give us a call or send us an email. We are full-time real estate agents in Fremont.

Shrinking Inventory For Fremont CA Real Estate

Just real quick--the number of homes for sale in Northgate, Centerville, Mission Hills and other areas of Fremont are shrinking. Usually this is followed or accompanied by rising prices.

In my last blog post, I simply laid out the fact that the home prices in Fremont were getting a bit of a boost upward. So, this could be the culprit. What do you think? Let me know.

Antelope Hills Fremont Distressed Homes

If you go to my site TriCityHome.com, you will find distressed homes for sale in Antelope Hills Fremont.

No matter where you are in the US, you are effected by the decreased value of homes. Antelope Hills is nice but not immune to the crunch. Just go to my site and wait for the thumbnails (small images of homes that change on the screen) to appear. There you will find distressed homes for sale in just about all categories and price ranges. The site uses IDX scripting, so I cannot embed it here, but go and try the site. It is just a click away.

Home Prices In Glenmoor

Homes for sale in Glenmoor are showing changes in pricing, and this area has always been one of the most desired places to live in Fremont CA that have home values from 500k up to over 1 million.

I like the area too, but I happen to live in the Parkmont area of Fremont. Glenmoor homes for sale have also felt the effect of the price drop. Homes sales since 2007 have dropped on ave

rage of 35%. Some areas only fell 30%. That would be Glenmoor. But recently there has been an increase of about 5% take a look at this chart. It's hard to see, but it shows that over the last 180 days, home prices in Glenmoor increased by about 5%.

Other areas hit by the 30% instead of 35% are:

• Parkmont
• Niles
• Mission San Jose
• Indian Hills

They are recovering at the moment. Let's see. Next blog post I will post the supply and demand levels over the last 90 days. It is very interesting.