• Is This The Right Time?
• October Sales Activity
• Interesting & Helpful Websites

Is this the time to buy or sell a home, before the holidays? The answer is, yes, of course it is. With some caveats that follow:
If you see a home you like now, buy it. Waiting for prices to come down is like waiting for the next earthquake. Who knows when that will happen and how bad could it be? There is a lot of property on the market so you have choices you haven’t had before. And since every home is different why would you pass up one that meets most of your criteria. Interest rates are still low (remember, I purchased my first home when the rates were 12%). Also, weigh in the factor of tax benefits – rather than tax consequences and take into consideration some long term planning.

Should you sell now or wait until after the holidays? To me this is a really loaded question. If you are considering selling, and ready to go, then yes, now is the time. For the same reason I mentioned for buyers. Would you rather wait for the prices to come down or for the next earthquake? This is a market we know…we don’t know what the market will be after the holidays. If you are not ready – house needs painting or there are other old projects still not done, you have two weeks to get ready. The market date should be either before Thanksgiving or December 1. The longer you postpone the sale, the buyer pool diminishes. The next push would be the third week in January.

If you choice is to buy or sell next year, then you should use this time to get everything in order. Have your tax return information ready come early January for loan approval and use this time for becoming acquainted with market prices, style of homes, size, location, and if selling, begin with termite inspections and gather other documentation necessary for a sale. Start with your list of past improvements, costs associated with and permits if applicable. And of course, begin interviewing real estate agents who are specialists, like me, so this becomes a road easily traveled and seamless in effort once the decision is made.

Which ever you decide, use your Thanksgiving holiday for serious reflection, for gratitude and creativity, for patience and giving and do be wise and thoughtful.

Here are more statistics to compare the number of real estate transactions (Active, Pending and Sold) within Albany, Berkeley, Kensington, El Cerrito, Oakland and Piedmont for the month of October, 2005 versus October 2004.

Albany: 51/26
Berkeley:179/136
El Cerrito: 69/41
Kensington: 17/10
Oakland: 834/624
Piedmont: 28/21
I will update this next month.

INTERESTING & HELPFUL WEBSITES

» Thanksgiving Cooking Tips
Visit www.eatturkey.com/consumer/main.html for links to help you in your preparation of the perfect holiday turkey including - Storing and Thawing, Pre-cooking tips, Oven preparation, Carving and Gravy and more.
» What to do in your garden in November
Sunset magazine has a wonderful article covering everything from bulbs to winter greens and houseplants.
Visit www.sunset.com
» Berkeley Artisans Holiday Open Studios
November 26 to December 18. Over 100 artists and craftspeople open studios to the public. Maps for participating studios in the East Bay Express. Thanksgiving weekend Nov.26-27, and Dec. weekends through Dec. 18--weekends only. Artisans Studios, West Berkeley
Visit www.berkeleyartisans.com

Diane@DianeVerducci.com | 510-654-1280 ext. 449

Copyright 2005, Diane Verducci. To unsubscribe send a blank email to unsubscribe-news@dianeverducci.com

This is not intended as a solicitation if your property is currently listed with another agent. Diane Verducci and The GRUBB Co. believe all information to be reliable, but assumes no legal responsibility for its accuracy.