Blog
Happy Whatever-Day-It-Is-Today!
In an effort to save the world in the most anti-climactic way possible--literally just sit on the couch and do absolutely nothing--somehow a frenzy of chaos and mayhem have followed.
March Madness
Is everyone else finding it impossible to read the internet or take part in a conversation without the coronavirus coming up? Well, this post will be no exception.
Oakland Bans Criminal Background Checks on Renters
Big news for both renters and landlords in Oakland—the City Council unanimously approved an ordinance banning landlords from inquiring about potential tenant's criminal history or rejecting them based on having a criminal record.
Foreign Investors Putting $$$ in US Real Estate
As coronavirus outbreaks spread across the world, investors are turning to US real estate as the more seemingly stable and safe place to park their money.
Grocery Store Wars
ATTOM Data Solutions, the company that holds the premier U.S. property database, released its annual 2020 Grocery Store Wars analysis, which shows that living near certain stores like Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, or ALDI, can largely impact home appreciation.
Trends of the S&P
While I'm all for the boring and unsexy investment strategy of maxing out my Roth-IRA contributions year after year for the next many years, I'm just going to leave this chart here as a note to self to buy a little extra during the next dip.
House the market, you ask?
After a brutal couple months (which equates to 250937 days in corona years), stats show that the housing market could actually be leading the economy's recovery.
Rising Rates Get Cancelled
Remember when interest rates hit a recent low of about 3.29% a few weeks ago?
Interest Rates Go Down as Corona Count Goes Up
In hopes of protecting the economy from this whole coronavirus fiasco, the Fed just slashed interest rates this week and they are now at a record low of 3.29%!
Fannie and Freddie Increase Loan Limits
Thanks to rising home prices, conforming loan limits just got a boost. Compared to last year's loan limit of $726,525, most of the Bay Area can now borrow up to $765,600 with a mortgage backed by my two favorite F-words........
Why Is Now a Good Time to Buy?
In 2017, Business Insider writer Sam Dogen (also renowned author of my favorite finance and real estate blog Financial Samurai) became a stay-at-home dad after he sold his SF rental property for $2.75 million, leaving him with a $1.8 million profit after paying off the mortgage, taxes, and fees. Umm, can we say GOALS? Now a couple years later, he wants to buy property in SF again.
WWJD (What Would Janet Do?)
Janet, as in Janet Yellen of the Federal Reserve (see confused lady pictured above for reference).
What Pizza Can Teach Us About the Economy
The extent of my pizza knowledge is that it’s delicious and I love to eat it. But there’s also this New York economics idea called the “pizza principle”.
The Weirdest Market We Ever Did See
In a strange turn of events, rent levels and home prices have diverged across the country.
2021 Zillow Predictions
Demand for housing has continued to rapidly grow throughout 2020, and it is only expected to surge even further as economies reopen in 2021.
Boom or Bust?
Amidst a tough year in terms of the pandemic, widespread economic shutdowns, business furloughs, and record high unemployment rates, one of the silver linings in the train wreck that is 2020 has been the boost in the real estate market
Spooky Times
Halloween is coming up, and there's nothing scarier these days than navigating the real estate market in a pandemic world.
The Real MVP of the Economy
Among all of the crazy things that 2020 will be remembered for, a record-breaking year for real estate will definitely be one of its more surprising outcomes.