THE CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS RELEASED THE RESULTS of its April pending and distressed property sales survey recently, and the news for homeowners remains good throughout California, and in particular the Bay Area. Distressed property sales are defined as homes that sold either through a bank-owned or short-sale process. In other words, these homes were […]
Making $ense of Real Estate: Reversing course
FOR MANY AMERICANS, THE EQUITY IN THEIR HOME is their biggest retirement planning asset. Many folks who are entering retirement will sell their home to cash in on the equity they have built up over many years of ownership. Often, retirees will sell their homes in high-cost areas and relocate to lower-cost areas where their […]
Making $ense of Real Estate: Shelter vs. investment
WHEN YOU BUY A HOME, is it for shelter or is it just an investment? Or is it perhaps for both? When my parents were buying homes back in the ’60s and ’70s, properties appreciated some — enough that if they wanted to move they could sell the old place and be able to buy […]