Rising Employment Means Improving Market

We’ve covered this in previous posts, but felt it worthwhile to repeat it now as employment figures are again going up.  Improving employment always bodes well for the housing market because if more people are working, then there are more buyers out there...

Housing Affordability Drops

Well, sooner or later, as home prices keep climbing, and mortgage interest rates along with them, the number of folks who can afford to buy a home drops.  As the following bit of info indicates, affordability has gone down in recent months, and may continue to do so...

Foreign Buyers Still Major Force in California

For quite a few years now, buyers from outside the United States have played a major role in the local housing market.  Name a foreign country and the chances are that money originating there has found its way into Bay Area real estate.  Much of that has been...

What Does It Really Cost to Own A Home?

Often, when calculating the cost of home ownership, the figure most often used is the monthly mortgage payment.  Sometimes, folks will do some basic math and add on the monthly cost of real estate taxes and, in some cases, insurance.  But the overall cost goes far...

Low Paying Jobs Lost Slows Employment Growth

Regular readers of this blog know that I’ve periodically stated that the housing market is often affected by the employment picture.  The reason is simple.  If you have a job, you’re more likely to be able to buy a house.  Well, the latest employment...

Mill Valley A Beach Town–Who Knew?

Just a bit of news for all of my fellow MV residents about why this is such a great place to live.  A website that rates towns across the country as best of various categories lists the best beach towns in the US.  The site, WalletHub, has its latest list of best...