The week of October 17-24 Pleasanton had more sales then new listings. Inventory has decreased to a total of 234 homes for sale in Pleasanton. There were 14 new listings that came on the market this week. 2744 Foothill Rd. is a custom home on the market listed at $1,389,000. This is a great lot in a good location but probably should be listed at 1.2 million. This home was built in the mid 1980’s and has not been upgraded. Benjamin Ct is a beautiful home available in Town Square. This home is only 2 blocks from Downtown Pleasanton and is listed at $699k. 7370 Hillsdale is great single story home in the Stoneridge neighborhood. It is priced well at $745k but the entire yard is pool. Pools can help a home but more often then not they hurt a home! The best buy of the week is 7717 Cottonwood Ln on the Westside of Pleasanton. This home is 4 beds 2 baths with 1600 sq ft and listed at $615k. If you would like to view any of these homes we are always available to show any of them!
What is a good deal?
A good deal in today’s real estate market is based on what? Getting a lower price then the last comparable? Getting a historically low interest rate? Homes being purchased on the MLS are generally all sold within the perimeters of other recently sold properties. Occasionally a buyer will find a seller willing to take a much lower price but those deals are not that common in most areas. A good deal really is within the eye of the beholder. If a buyer feels he got a good deal then great! Although the people willing to take the most risks are really the ones getting the good deals though! Buying homes on the court steps is a risky business but there are people making a killing at it. When a home is foreclosed on it gets auctioned off at the courthouse steps for each county. Teams of investors constantly research these properties to find these deals. This is no business for anyone; there is a lot at risk. These investors are buying homes without inspections and most importantly without title insurance. Title insurance often gets overlooked but it is a must when buying a home! The research that is done prior to the auction date is primarily on the property lien holders but also on the sellers. Liens that the seller has can often attach themselves to these properties. If an investor buys a property and overlooks something he could be responsible for those liens. Also if a house has a foundation problem there is no giving the property back. These investors are backed with a lot of money and generally are good at what they do. That is why they are making some really good money flipping these homes. Again this is not a business for anyone but they are the ones really getting the good deals!
Hot Pleasanton Listings!
Pleasanton has 13 new listings the week of Oct 10-17! Pleasanton Valley has a Heritage model that has just hit the market at $875k. This is the largest model in the ultimate family neighborhood. The home has some nice upgrades, but needs a little more. The location is perfect near two parks and on the quiet end of Blackbird. Windsor has a new listing on Meadowlark Dr. which is listed at $691k, and it backs up to open space. This home is in very clean condition with a little view on the Pleasanton hills. 2987 Liberty Dr is in Shadow Cliffs and this home also backs up to open space. The floor plans is a little chopped up but it is in good condition. Bridle Creek has clearly the nicest home on brokers tour today. 838 Sunny Brook Way is a stunning home in South Pleasanton. The home is 6 bedrooms 5 bathrooms with 4455 sq ft of living space. The backyard has a beautiful pool with a waterfall and spa. The home is listed for $1,599,000. You can view these homes by clicking here!
Why Isn’t My Home Selling?
This a common question these days and there are a lot of variables that go into answering this question. Certain markets are cruising right along, and others are not. In both cases there are homes that are not selling and there are certain things to look at. First of all is your home on the local MLS? Having your home on the MLS is a must. Realtors working with buyers use the MLS as the backbone to placing buyers in homes. All of our research is done on the MLS, are commissions set and we need the MLS. Secondly how is your home being marketed? The days of print advertising are dwindling away and the internet is helping 90% of buyers finding their homes. What websites is your house on? The three most important ones are zillow, trulia, and realtors.com. It is essential that your home is on these websites and hopefully many more. How does your house show? Meaning if an agent calls to make an appointment to view the home are you opening the blinds and turning on the lights? Have you moved out as much clutter as possible? Do you keep the lawns mowed, and the beds made? You have to make your home a presentable as possible. Sometime staging is necessary or in other case you might need to store some of your belongings in storage. Finally how is your home priced? Over the past couple of years values have come down and pricing is the most important factor. Your realtor should have a comprehensive market analysis for your property to be sure your home is priced well to start with. So if all of these aspects have been covered and it still has not sold then what? Well you gauge how your home is doing based on what the buyers are saying. It is the realtor’s job to contact each agent and find out the positives and negatives of your home, and ask as many questions to get back to you. Based on what buyers are saying is the direction you can take to help sell your home. Open houses are a good tool to expose your home but really agent showings are the best way to get honest feedback. Now if you are not getting agent showings then you have a problem. If all the aspect have been covered that were just explained then you have to dig a little deeper. Are any other homes selling? What do they have that I don’t? Is my selling commission the same as the others? At this point you need to gather answers to these questions and then try some different things to jump start your home. You can take it off the market and place it on again as a new listing. You can increase your selling commission to selling agents. You can maybe make some cosmetic changes if needed such as carpet or paint. Finally you can reduce the price to make it even more competitive. Remember your home is only worth what a buyer will pay for it! Good Luck!
Pleasanton Market Update
On the weekend of Oct 10th Pleasanton had 5 properties go pending. Val Vista’s Inglewood Dr. went pending after being on the market for 44 days. This property was listed at $629k. Olympic Ct. in Valley Trails went pending after 110 days on the market. The list price was $639k. Meadowlark Dr. in Windsor went pending after 24 days on the market. Winged Foot is located in lower Golden Eagle and this was a short sale that is pending after 62 days on the market. Finally 1515 Germano Way in Ruby Hills is finally pending after 211 days on the market. This custom home has 12,740 sq ft of living space and it was built in 2007. The list price was 7,499,000! Overall this was a good weekend and congratulations to the buyers and sellers of these homes.
New Pleasanton Listings
The week of Oct 3-10 introduced several nice properties to the market. 4246 Katie Ln. is nice house in a good location in Sycamore Place. This home is well price at $595k with 3 beds 2.5 bathrooms. 647 Bonita Ave is a beautiful home in Pleasanton Heights. This home is a “pottery barn special” with every detail looking perfect. 5080 Black Ave is a Country model in Pleasanton Valley. This is an original Country model what has an add-on off the back two bedrooms. The add-on is a little too deep which created some wasted space. The finest home of the week is 5881 Stonecliff Vista Ln in Canyon Oaks! This beautiful home is 4 bedrooms 4 bathrooms with a 2 car garage with 3365 sq ft of living space. This home has great views of the valley and Mt Diablo. The home was built in 2004 and it still looks brand new!
