Bay Area Real Estate Podcast with Michael and Jenny Chen

Selling a Bay Area Home? Get a free home value reportBuying a Bay area home? Search all homes for saleThrough years and years of selling in the Bay Area, we've pinpointed three problems that you may encounter when trying to sell quickly and for top dollar. We've helped a lot of families buy and sell homes, and we would like you to know these things so that you can have a good real estate experience. We recently had a transaction where we helped a seller overcome these three common obstacles. The home was listed at $499,800 and we managed to sell it for $648,000 - that's $148,000 above asking price! We received fifteen offers and more than 200 buyers looked at this home. On top of this, our 3.68% commission rate was able to save the buyer $8,500.You can listen to the testimonial here. Here were the three major obstacles that we helped the sellers overcome:It's very important for home sellers to get a home inspection and a termite inspection report before putting the home on the market. This allows a seller to foresee potential problems that could prevent the home from selling, and buyers appreciate this proactive approach from a seller. These inspections provide peace of mind to both parties, and that's gold in this industry.This particular seller was an out-of-town owner, so he wasn't around to spruce up the property. However, we have a network of contractors, painters, home stagers, cleaners, and more. We hired people to finish all of the cosmetic work, and they turned this tenant-occupied property into a turnkey listing. The seller didn't have to lift a finger!San Bruno requires an updated sewer lateral report for all homes that are being sold. This home had a problem occurring during the inspection, and this required the seller to pay $7,000 to fix the sewer problem. Unfortunately, the seller had to pay for this problem to be corrected, but we handled all of the inspections required by the city and found the right people to fix the problem for the seller. Once again, we did the work for the seller, and he walked away a very happy client.As you can see, we managed to sell this listing for more than 30% above its list price. The seller enjoyed a stress-free sale and all the work was done for him. If you want a smooth and worry-free real estate transaction in the Bay Area, please don't hesitate to contact us. Last but not least, we want to wish you a very happy and safe Holiday season. Your referrals and your business mean the world to us, and we wouldn't be where we are today without all of your help and support. You are extremely valuable to us, so please do not forget that! Happy Holidays from the MC Investments Advisory Team!

.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; height: auto; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } Selling a Bay Area Home? Get a free home value reportBuying a Bay area home? Search all homes for saleWe're seeing a lot of multiple offers popping up in the Bay Area. Almost every listing in the area is getting multiple offers, and this is especially true for our listings because we use a minimum-bid pricing strategy where multiple offers are common.Buyers in this situation should know that cash is not always king. Sometimes a seller will want the most money, but you can beat out other offers with your terms and conditions. You could amend your offer in order to close faster, and you could offer to pay some of the closing costs. It's also helpful to write a personal letter explaining why you love the home and why your family deserves to win the offer.As a buyer, it's also very important to be pre-approved when you make an offer on a home. This way, sellers know that you can actually afford the home, and this will make you stand out as a buyer. Sometimes if you're not pre-approved, you won't even stand a chance against other buyers.Another thing you've got to know as a buyer is the difference between a lender's loan commitment letter and a loan broker's pre-approval letter. A loan commitment letter by a mortgage lender indicated that your home loan has been approved. If a loan broker says you are approved for a loan, but you haven't supplied any documentation, recognize that the broker is actually saying you are "pre-approved" for a loan, but have not yet secured it.Now, as a seller, you can do a few different things in order to get multiple offers on your home. A pre-inspection is a good gesture towards buyers, and they'll appreciate it in the long run.Once you do get more than one offer, be sure to pick the one that suits your needs the best. You may not need a ton of money for your home, but you may need to move out quickly. Whatever you need out of the transaction, choose the offer that best suits your wants and needs.Thanks for tuning in again. If you have any questions about this, please don't hesitate to contact us. We're always willing to help you buy or sell in the Bay Area!

.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; height: auto; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } Selling a Bay Area Home? Get a free home value reportBuying a Bay area home? Search all homes for saleWe're here to give you a brief market update for San Mateo County. What we're seeing right now is that median home prices have stayed relatively steady ($1.3M). Active listings have dropped by 3.5%, and the average days on market has dropped by 3.2%.Year-over-year, home prices do seem to be increasing by 8.2%, which is excellent news for homeowners in the area. The average home sale price rose by 21%, and the average days on market fell by 21.8% year-over-year. This is placing us in a very nice seller's market. High demand and low inventory are fueling this market, and we don't expect this to change too much in the next few months. This means that if you've been waiting to sell your home, now would be a great time to do so. Inventory continues to drop, so we are in need of good homes to sell.Mortgage rates have risen very slightly in the last few weeks, but we don't expect a major spike anytime soon. With an election coming up next year most people do not expect rates to rise too much until then. What this means for you is that now is your opportunity to buy affordably. If you wait to buy, your buying power will take a big hit even if interest rates rise only by 1%.What this all means is that now is an excellent time to sell, and an excellent time to buy. If you need help doing either in San Mateo County, please don't hesitate to contact me!