Did you know:

More than 16% of Marin’s children live in poverty and more than 35% of households live below the basic self-sufficiency income for a family of three (one parent and two children).

Food pantries have seen increases as high as 70% in the number of people in need of food compared to the same month last year.

That’s why now through December 31st, all Alain Pinel Realtors of Marin offices will be accepting donations of non-perishable food, as well as new or gently-used coats and other clothing items. Donations can be made during business hours at any of our APR Marin County offices in Mill Valley, Corte Madera, Ross or Novato. Or you may also drop off your donation at any of our Sunday open houses and one of our Realtors will deliver your items to a donation center for you.

For more information about this program, please call 415-755-1111 or email my Marin County manager, Steve Dickason at sdickason@apr.com.

Nobody can do Everything, but Everyone can do Something

I have a few clients that have donated their homes to the fire department and in return have benefited from a whopping tax deduction for a home they were planning to tear down anyway in order to replace it with a new home. Looks like the IRS is challenging this practice. Here’s a link to the first article I’ve ever seen about this:

http://www.wral.com/news/national_world/national/story/6078418/

Alain Pinel Realtors (APR) is pleased to announce further growth in the Marin County real estate market with the opening of a new boutique office in Ross. This comes on top of the opening of two offices in Marin County earlier this year, with new branches opening in both Corte Madera and Novato in March. There are now 31 APR offices in Northern California and approximately 1,300
agents.

The new APR Ross office, a space shared with SL:ID STUDIO, founded by principal designer Samantha Lyman, is a place where Ross Valley homeowners and prospective homeowners can obtain information and advice about Ross Valley real estate. Visitors can view a slide show of Ross Valley homes for sale as well as samples of Lyman’s furnishings and accessories. In the conferencing area, real estate counselors will provide information about the Marin marketplace, Ross Valley amenities such as schools, shopping, police and fire protection, parks and recreational facilities. “We’re very excited to announce the opening of our third Marin office,” said Larry Knapp, President of Alain Pinel Realtors. “It establishes a stronger presence in the luxury Marin market where our plans include more offices in the future.” Steve Dickason, Vice President of Alain Pinel Realtors Marin office, will oversee the Ross office and ensure delivery of our comprehensive services and support to local agents and clients. “We are delighted to be opening an office in Ross and, with Samantha’s vision, to be able to provide such a uniquely pleasing, living room environment for our local clients to meet with their agents,” said Dickason.

Alain Pinel Realtors (APR) is the largest privately-owned and independent residential real estate company in California. APR was ranked the eighth largest residential real estate firm in the United States based on its sales volume in 2008, and has been consistently ranked in the Top 10 firms in the country. The firm has approximately 1,300 agents in its 31 offices throughout the Bay Area. APR was founded in 1990 by Chairman and CEO Paul Hulme, and is based in Saratoga, Calif. For more information about APR, please visit our website at apr.com.

Founded by Samantha Lyman in 2005, SL:ID STUDIO is an interior design practice based out of Ross, Calif. The studio offers comprehensive interior design and interior architectural detailing for both new construction and renovation projects, primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area. Although relaxed modernism is the signature of SL:ID STUDIO, Lyman and her partner Sam Penman are fluent in several styles and periods. Projects evolve from a client’s personal style, the architecture and the site itself. Lyman studied journalism at NYU and launched her career at fashion magazines in New York. This early experience continues to exert a major influence on her work today.

The following is a recent statement from the Federal Open Market Committee:

“the Federal Reserve is in the process of buying $300 billion of Treasury securities. To promote a smooth transition in markets as these purchases of Treasury securities are completed, the Committee has decided to gradually slow the pace of these transactions and anticipates that the full amount will be purchased by the end of October.”

An analysis of the Committee’s statement by Mortgage Daily News:

Plain and Simple: Instead of abruptly ending the program, the Federal Reserve will gradually ease their way out of it. The broad based perception of mortgage and real estate professionals is that housing remains very weak. Most believe the expiration of the Treasury purchase program will result in higher Treasury yields and consequently rising mortgage rates, which will further dampen the housing recovery. The gradual phase out of Fed Treasury buying should serve to alleviate some of the stress of lost demand side support. Furthermore the Fed’s MBS and Agency Debt purchase program remains in tact. In the coming weeks we should see the market’s reaction to the termination of the Treasury purchase program.

And here is what Warren Buffet has to say about inflation:

“the US economy is in uncharted fiscal territory because of massive government spending to avoid a deep recession. Enormous dosages of monetary medicine continue to be administered, and before long, we will need to deal with their side effects. For now, most of those effects are invisible and could indeed remain latent for a long time. Still, their threat may be as ominous as that posed by the financial crisis itself.”

The Bottom Line:

1. The Fed will discontinue its purchasing of Treasury Securities by the end of October but the Treasury will continue to flood the market with Securities.
= HIGHER INTEREST RATES.

2. As the economy improves and the job market stabilizes, inflation will return.
= HIGHER INTEREST RATES.

Of course, no one knows how much interest rates will increase in the next 6 months, but 0.5-1% is likely.

The Point:

If you’re planning to buy or sell this year or early 2010, sooner is probably better.

We are starting to see more homes sales in Marin and interestingly some areas are getting more action than others, with some areas a buyers market and others more balanced. Will we soon be seeing a sellers market anywhere? If only I had a chrystal ball!

What kind of activity do you think we’ll be seeing in your town over the next year and why?

There are laws governing yard sales! I didn’t know that (but now I do and so can you): It’s illegal to sell recalled items. Check out today’s article in the WSJ for more information:

Home sales are starting to finally pick up! Not necessarily prices, but activity indeed and even in the higher price ranges. Many buyers are once again facing multiple offers on homes of their choice. (Interestingly, just because a home receives multiple offers, it doesnt necessarily mean the home ends up selling above the asking price. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t.) ‘Tis the season to buy and sell!

Saturday May 9th is the annual Ross Garden Tour. Totally worth checking out and a wonderful way to spend the day.
I do the photography for the tour and can tell you the gardens are all fabulous and each one special in their own unique way. For more information go to:
http://www.rossgardentour.org

Stay tuned for details about the new lifestyle salon, LIVING ROOM, opening at 3 Ross Common in downtown Ross. It’s an exciting venture between my real estate company Alain Pinel Realtors—the largest independently owned real estate brokerage in the Bay Area and the seventh largest residential brokerage in the US by volume—and Samantha Lyman’s hot interior design studio SL:ID STUDIO, LLC. LIVING ROOM is an innovative integrated retail concept offering an entrée to dream residences and the information, resources and goods to transform them into homes.

Just in from my mortgage friends at www.cleanapproval.com:

WOW! Today was one of those rare days when it’s ‘OK’ to ‘pop the corks’ and do a little celebrating. Mortgage Bonds gained a whopping 138 basis points!!! This means that conforming interest rates (loan amounts below $625K – we do not yet have guidelines and rates for loan amount $625-729K) decreased today and should (hopefully) continue to do so…

As widely expected, the Fed kept their target for the Fed Funds rate at 0.00% to 0.25%. For bond traders, expectations were running high that the Fed would offer new programs or expand existing bond buy-back programs. And the Fed delivered on both counts in a huge way. In a new move, the Fed said they would spend up to $300 billion during the next six months to buy long-term Treasury bonds. They also stated they will expand the existing $500 billion buy-back program for mortgage-backed securities with another $750 billion, bringing their total commitment to a staggering $1.25 trillion. The Fed will also raise its buy-back of direct Fannie and Freddie debt to $200 billion. All of these moves are designed to lower interest rates for mortgages and other forms of consumer debt to help the economy recover from a deep recession. We should now see conventional 30-year rates stabilize near historic lows providing excellent refinance opportunities. The stock market also reacted favorably with the Dow reclaiming 90 points to close at 7,486. The broader S&P 500 Index added 16 points to end at 794 while the NASDAQ Composite Index picked up 29 points to close at 1,491.

Best Jumbo Interest Rates
(Loan Amounts $625,550-$3M!!!)
720+ FICO, 20-25% Down Payment, FULL DOC, SFR, 1 Point
15 Yr Fix/40 Yr Interest Only 6.375%
7/1 ARM Interest Only 5.750%
5/1 ARM Interest Only 5.250%
3/1 ARM Interest Only 5.000%

Best Jumbo-Conforming Interest Rates
(Loan Amounts $417K – $625,550…soon $729,750)
720+ FICO, 60% CLTV or below, FULL DOC, SFR, Purchase or RT Refinance
30 Year Fixed (0 Point) 5.625%
30 Year Fixed (1 Point) 5.125%

Best Conforming Interest Rates
(Loan Amounts up to $417K)
720+ FICO, 60% CLTV or below, FULL DOC, SFR, Purchase or RT Refinance
30 Year Fixed (0 Point) 5.000%
30 Year Fixed (1 Point) 4.750%
15 Year Fixed (0 Points) 4.875%
15 Year Fixed (1 Points) 4.250%
5/1 ARM (1 Point) 4.125%

Sofia Nadjibi, Doris Le & Michael J. Peck
Sr. Loan Consultants
Guarantee Mortgage Corp
2257F Larkspur Landing Circle
Larkspur, CA 94939
W: 415-462-2775
http://www.CleanApproval.com