Celebrating Independence Day in Marin County? There is something for everyone during this holiday weekend. The Marin Real Estate Team is getting excited for some great weather, food and fireworks!

Communities across the Marin observe the 4th of July in their own unique ways. Here’s what’s going on in our communities on the Saturday, July 4.

SAN RAFAEL

• The Marin County Fair (at Marin County Fairgrounds, Civic Center Drive in San Rafael) offers up what is pretty much Marin County's official fireworks display.
•  Fair admission is $15–$17, and includes free carnival rides, exhibits, music, and more. This year's fair theme is "On With the Show".
•  Fireworks begin at 9:30 pm every night from July 2–6. Fair hours are 11 am–11 pm. 

CORTE…

If you are in the Bay Area this weekend, come join the Marin Real Estate team and the green rolling hills of Fairfax at the 38th Annual Fairfax 

festival! 

Known as a very liberal and progressive town,Fairfax offers both work and play with a back yard of some of Marin’s finest landscapes and open trails.The Fairfax festival compliments the energy and charisma this small town has to offer. The weekend event is filled with beer gardens, a farmers market, and local live music. This community celebration is not to be missed! Alongside the festival, the town of Fairfax will be displaying an Ecofest in the towns Pavillon showcasing Marin’s social and environmental issues and civic actions such as pesticides, peace, and water control. The festival is put on…

How safe is my investment? Will I make money if I buy a home and need to sell within 5 years? These are some of the main fears circling in people's minds as they continue to evaluate their decision to buy real estate. Fortunately, there is a panel of economists and real estate experts at "Pulsenomics" that offer expert forecasting.

Here is what the survey revealed:

• Home values will appreciate by 4.3% in 2015.
• The cumulative appreciation will be 19.4% by 2019.
• That means the average annual appreciation will be 3.6% over the next 5 years.
• Even the experts making up the most bearish quartile of the survey still are projecting a cumulative appreciation of 11.8% by 2019.

To view the full survey, here is the link:…

Is real estate the best investment? How does it compare with other economic trends? Shouldn’t I just invest in the stock market?

These are all questions you hear new home buyers ask when considering purchase of a property. There are of course social benefits to owning a home, but what about your long term financial stability? Three recent studies should put your nerves to rest.

RealtyTrac recently released a report comparing home price appreciation to wage growth over the last two years. The study revealed that home price appreciation has outpaced wage growth in 76% of U.S. housing markets during that time period.

 

And we all know the importance of home appreciation in determining the net wealth of most American families. Merrill Lynch just…

One of the main benefits to owning a home is that you are not a slave to rising rents. As a homeowner, you have the power to lock in your housing cost for the life of a lengthy mortgage.

In today’s growing Metropolitan areas like San Francisco and NYC, it’s easy to get caught in the Renter’s trap and succumb to rising rents as the landlord sees fit. The negative feedback loop occurs when increasing rents make it impossible to save enough for a down payment for a home.  

The top 5 markets where renters have seen the highest increase in rents since 2009 are:

• New York, NY (50.7%)
• Seattle, WA (32.4%)
• San Jose, CA (25.6%)
• Denver, CO (24.1%)
• St. Louis, MO (22.3%)

Homebuyers who were able to purchase their home over the same five-year period…

Maybe it’s the very competitive rental market, the recent tech boom in San Francisco, or perhaps the overwhelmingly amount of 20-somethings that can’t finish a meal without checking their Instagram. Whatever the reason, there have been some voiced concern that owning a home, considered part of the foundation of the American Dream, is not important to the younger generations.

However, a recent study by Merrill Lynch has put these concerns to rest and have in fact unveiled that despite the increased sightings of Patagonia vests in the workplace, homeownership is equally important to Millenials as it was for Baby Boomers.

Here are the numbers:

 

Rest assured, not all values are lost in today’s young people. Owning a home will always make more…

This week’s blog is taken directly from “Keeping Current Matters” blog. A very helpful resource for today’s buyers and sellers. http://www.keepingcurrentmatters.com/blog/

If you are planning on becoming a homeowner, or moving up to the home of your dreams in 2015, here are four great reasons to consider buying a home now, instead of waiting until spring.

1. Prices Will Continue to Rise

The Home Price Expectation Survey polls a distinguished panel of over 100 economists, investment strategists, and housing market analysts. Their most recent report projects appreciation in home values over the next five years to be between 11.7% (most pessimistic) and 27.5% (most optimistic).

The bottom in home prices has come and gone. Home values will continue to…

Many Sellers believe that Spring is the best time to put their home on the market because of the abundance of Buyers. However, the next six weeks also presents its advantages in this market.

1) Demand is Strong

• The latest foot traffic numbers show that there are more potential buyers now than any other time in the last 12 months. This includes last spring’s flock of buyers.

2) Low Inventory = Less Competition

• Buyer Demand continues to outweigh Seller Supply of homes. In other words, it continues to be a seller’s dream market. However, more inventory is expected to come in the spring, at which point sellers will see less return.

3) Quicker Escrows

• Since most people buy in the Spring, Lenders and Underwriters are not backed up in the…

The secret is out. Mortgage Interest Rates have dropped substantially below initial projections. Although the rates have now reached historic lows, buyers are still waiting in anticipation of them dropping further.

Why has the proverbial interest rate Santa Claus given buyers such a long-term affordable gift? The answer is multi-faceted. However, the main contributor is less inflation.

Oil prices are always a good marker for inflation. You may have noticed that filling up your gas tank has also become substantially less expensive in recent months. What’s the correlation? According to NAR, the Fed uses inflation indicators such as oil price fluctuations to arrive upon their weekly rates. By that logic, interest rates and gas prices are somewhat…