By Don Dunning | August 30, 2009
I had a double reason to visit Oakland’s Montclair Farmers’ Market this morning. Started in 2005, the market has been a huge success. A large section of LaSalle Avenue is closed to traffic and filled with vendors whose stalls are brimming with gorgeous fruits, vegetables, pastries, ethnic foods and so much more. The primary reason […]
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | August 28, 2009
With the East Bay’s wonderful Mediterranean climate, I’ve been able to grow everything from tomatoes to garlic to several varieties of peppers in our Oakland garden. In March 2008, my wife, Sonia, brought home a packet of Padrón pepper seeds she picked up at Berkeley’s Spanish Table. Although an avid gardener for many years, I […]
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | August 22, 2009
Sometimes it’s difficult to make social appointments when you work in real estate. My wife and I were planning to join this morning’s tour of Oakland’s Mountain View Cemetery, “Noted, Notable and Notorious,” but work intervened. It may seem strange to some to go traipsing among the tombstones, but think about it as a place […]
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | August 21, 2009
Before you know it, I will be doing posts about how higher rates are our new reality and what buyers and sellers should do about it. The information is out there – rates are low now, but this cannot last. Read this article about Ben Bernake’s upcoming challenges, “Bernake’s Tough Task: Withdrawing Emergency Aid.” Go […]
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | August 17, 2009
Yesterday, I held an open house in Oakland. A woman walked in and said she was “just checking prices in the neighborhood.” After a quick spin around the home, she came over and started chatting me up. Seems she bought a home in the same area, closing escrow in December 2009. I told her that […]
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | August 13, 2009
Some stories make it appear that real estate, especially in the Bay Area, is rebounding. Others talk about what is going wrong. Where does that leave you as a buyer or seller needing to make important decisions? I just read “Silicon Valley Real Estate: the Bidding War is Back” in the San Jose Mercury News, […]
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | August 10, 2009
“We learn from history that we learn nothing from history.”
– George Bernard Shaw.
After 30 years in real estate, I have witnessed this wisdom, especially in how home buyers function.
Today’s market is a great opportunity for some to find tremendous values and to finance them with near-record low interest rates. It is also a time when others are repeating mistakes made by buyers in the not-so-long-ago seller’s market. Purchasers need to learn quickly or risk years of regret and potentially significant financial losses.
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | August 7, 2009
Experts are predicting continued large numbers of foreclosures in California as those in trouble with their home loan has increased from six per cent a year ago to almost ten per cent in June. These figures come from a recent Los Angeles Times article. An industry analyst was quoted as saying that sixty per cent […]
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | August 3, 2009
Although I have been doing hourly real estate consulting for nearly half of my 30 years in the business, there are not many fee-based real estate consultants out there. Many may say they do by-the-hour consultation, but few really understand what that means. Recently, a couple interested in purchasing a Northern California home listed in […]
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