Updates on Wine and Real Estate in Napa Valley
Some Highlights:
Real estate has outranked stocks/mutual funds, gold, savings accounts/CDs, and bonds as the best long-term investment among Americans for the last 6 years.
Stock owners are more positive about real estate than stocks as an investment.
Of the 4 listed, real estate is the only investment you can also live in!
Some Highlights:
If you are thinking of buying a home, you may not know where to start.
Here is a simple list of 10 steps that you will go through to purchase a home.
Make sure to ask your agent for details about each step and what else may be required in your area!
The housing crisis of the last decade was partially caused by unhealthy levels of mortgage debt. Homeowners were using their homes as ATMs by refinancing and swapping their equity for cash.
When prices started to fall, many homeowners found themselves in a negative equity situation (where their mortgage was higher than the value of their home). As a result, they walked away. This caused prices to fall even further.
Headlines are again talking about record levels of mortgage debt, making the comparison to the challenges that preceded the housing crash. However, cumulative debt is not an important data point. If we look at the debt as a percentage of disposable personal income, we are at an all-time low.
Here’s a visual representation of mortgage debt as a percent of income:Furthermore, according to a new report from ATTOM Data Solutions, more than 1-in-4 homes with a mortgage have at least 50% equity. The report explains:
“[O]ver 14.5 million U.S. properties were equity rich — where the combined estimated amount of loans secured by the property was 50 percent or less of the property’s estimated market value — up by more than 834,000 from a year ago to a new high as far back as data is available, Q4 2013.”
Unlike 2008, homeowners have a comfortable level of mortgage debt and are sitting on massive amounts of home equity. They will not be walking away from their homes if the housing market begins to soften.
I know a lot about the Condominiums in St. Helena and Yountville in Napa County and have seen an uptick in the interest to purchases. Condominiums are more affordable in a lot of ways which makes them a great starter home, second home or downsize.
When deciding to buy a home, people are presented with many different options. The type of home you buy depends on your needs, budget, and in many cases, the desired maintenance level. For many millennials, their choice has been buying a condominium!
According to CoreLogic,
“Last year about 43% of all condo home-purchase mortgage applications were submitted by FTHBs… Similarly, the data show condos were more popular with young homebuyers and empty nesters. For instance, 21% of all condo home-purchase mortgage applications were submitted by buyers aged 18 to 30, compared with just 17% of all single-family home-purchase mortgage applications by the same group in 2018.”
With home prices increasing year-over-year, it makes sense millennials are buying condos instead of a single-family house. As a result, the demand for this type of home has been increasing.As this graph explains,
“The younger millennials are the largest cohort and are likely to drive much of the condo demand in the coming years”.
If you are a millennial considering buying a home, understand that there are many options available. You may find yourself in a condominium as your first home. If you would like to determine which type of home best fits your needs, sit down with a real estate professional that can help evaluate your options! I’m happy to help if you are in northern California.
kate.spadarotto@compass.com
c. 707.321.6231
If you have ever tried to sell something you understand the importance of setting the asking price. When consulting your local experienced Realtor keep these tips in mind:
We have calculation methods through cross market analysis of similar properties in your area and any improvements, etc you’ve made to your home.
Location, Location, Location: proximity to schools, town, local attractions…all of these will influence your listing price.
Don’t set your price too high: Across all our markets, homes selling after price reductions sell for substantially lower average dollar per square foot values, i.e. overpricing loses sellers money.
We have local knowledge regarding trends in the area. These elements combined with our gut instincts from being on the front lines of property transactions creates the ideal real estate team.
If you have any questions, I’m happy to help. Email me at kate.spadarotto@compass.com or call me at 707-321-6231
There are thousands of new scams every day, trying to get your money and/or your identity. Follow these tips to help protect you and your families.
If you are involved in a Real Estate transaction be aware of wire fraud. I have a disclaimer on the bottom of my signature stating: “If you receive an email / text providing wire instructions or requesting personal financial information that appears to come from me or any Compass representative, do not respond, send or wire any funds. Instead, call me immediately. Be advised such instructions may be fraudulent. To ensure authenticity contact the escrow/title company to verify the authenticity of the wire instructions. Do not call the number provided with the wire instructions. There have been instances of wire fraud in connection with real estate transactions, observe this protocol to protect yourself.”
These other tips are very helpful and were supplied by the Better Business Bureau:
Never send money to someone you have never met face-to-face. Seriously, just don’t ever do it. And really, really don’t do it if they ask you to use wire transfer, a prepaid debit card, or a gift card (those cannot be traced and are as good as cash).
Don’t click on links or open attachments in unsolicited email. Links can download malware onto your computer and/or steal your identity. Be cautious even with email that looks familiar; it could be fake.
Don’t believe everything you see. Scammers are great at mimicking official seals, fonts, and other details. Just because a website or email looks official does not mean that it is. Even Caller ID can be faked.
Don’t buy online unless the transaction is secure. Make sure the website has “https” in the URL (the extra s is for “secure”) and a small lock icon on the address bar. Even then, the site could be shady. Check out the company first at bbb.org. Read reviews about the quality of the merchandise, and make sure you are not buying cheap and/or counterfeit goods.
Be extremely cautious when dealing with anyone you’ve met online. Scammers use dating websites, Craigslist, social media, and many other sites to reach potential targets. They can quickly feel like a friend or even a romantic partner, but that is part of the con to get you to trust them.
Never share personally identifiable information with someone who has contacted you unsolicited, whether it’s over the phone, by email, on social media, even at your front door. This includes banking and credit card information, your birthdate, and Social Security/Social Insurance numbers.
Don’t be pressured to act immediately. Scammers typically try to make you think something is scarce or a limited time offer. They want to push you into action before you have time to think or to discuss it with a family member, friend, or financial advisor. High-pressure sales tactics are also used by some legitimate businesses, but it’s never a good idea to make an important decision quickly.
Use secure, traceable transactions when making payments for goods, services, taxes, and debts. Do not pay by wire transfer, prepaid money card, gift card, or other non-traditional payment method. Say no to cash-only deals, high pressure sales tactics, high upfront payments, overpayments, and handshake deals without a contract.
Whenever possible, work with local businesses that have proper identification, licensing, and insurance, especially contractors who will be coming into your home or anyone dealing with your money or sensitive information. Check them out at bbb.org to see what other consumers have experienced.
Be cautious about what you share on social media and consider only connecting with people you already know. Be sure to use privacy settings on all social media and online accounts. Imposters often get information about their targets from their online interactions, and can make themselves sound like a friend or family member because they know so much about you.
Access to this beautiful two legal parcel site, totaling 87.25 +/- acres, is over a private gated bridge entrance. The parcels boasts spectacular vineyard views, a lake, 11 stall breezeway barn with tack room, covered arena, round pen and ranch office with arena activity viewing, bathroom and storage. Also listed as MLS #21915527
Click here for more information!
Access to this beautiful two legal parcel site, totaling 87.25 +/- acres, is over a private gated bridge entrance. The parcels boasts spectacular vineyard views, a lake, 11 stall breezeway barn with tack room, covered arena, round pen and ranch office with arena activity viewing, bathroom and storage. Also listed as MLS #21915527
Mark Fleming, Chief Economist at First American was interviewed today on the podcast by Bloomberg Radio’s Denise Pellegrini and had positive things to say about the Housing Market. According to Mark Fleming:
Affordability is increasing and fastest in certain cities including but not limited to Portland, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Interest rates remain consistently low.
The labor market is improving.
Wage growth continues to grow.
House prices nationally, in our concept of real buying power adjusted terms, are 18% below the year 2000.
All of these bullet points bode well for millennials. We just have to be patient and allow them to get educated so they become future home owners.
With debts are increasing, so are home prices which makes it very difficult to purchase and/or rent homes especially in certain markets. With that being said, Google is trying to help their employees.
Google Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) indicated this morning that Google plans to give $1 billion toward affordable housing efforts in the San Francisco Bay Area. $750 million of the funds will go toward rezoning Google-owned property from commercial to residential use.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced the investment in a blog post on Tuesday, saying it is the company's responsibility to be a good neighbor in the area where it originated 20 years ago and where it is one of the largest employers. Across the region, he said, "One issue stands out as particularly urgent and complex: housing. The lack of new supply, combined with the rising cost of living, has resulted in a severe shortage of affordable housing options for long-time middle and low income residents."
Google's investment won't come in one big check. Pichai said over the next ten years his company will repurpose at least $750 million of its land from its current office/commercial zoning into residential housing. This should support the development of at least 15,000 new homes. These will be for all income levels including options for middle-and-low income families.
Next, they will establish a $250 million investment fund for use as incentives for developers to build at least 5,000 affordable housing units across the market. An additional $50 million will be available through Google.org as grants to nonprofits focused on the issues of homelessness and displacement.
In addition, Pichai said the company will continue to work with local municipalities to make changes that allow residential developers to build quickly and economically. "Our goal is to get housing construction started immediately, and for homes to be available in the next few years. In Mountain View, we've already worked with the city to change zoning in the North Bayshore area to free up land for housing, and we're currently in productive conversations with Sunnyvale and San Jose," he said.
