The value of Dublin Ranch homes, whether they be single-family homes, or condos and townhomes have stabilized for the time being. That’s good news. The concern is how long that change is going to be around…

It’s true, there are a LOT more loans that are in default right now than are actually being foreclosed. I remember reading recently that only about 5% of the loan modifications from the “Making Home Affordable” program are actually going through, and that’s not good. Last year, 4.75% of the total homes in California had a foreclosure filed against it. When you consider that a greater portion of those homes don’t even HAVE a mortgage against them, it’s a pretty staggering scenario!

So has Dublin Ranch hit bottom yet? Honestly, I really don’t know. Here’s what I do know: next week I’m attending an orientation for Vendor Resource Management (VRM) in Sacramento, CA. VRM is an asset management company based in Texas that I worked with when selling Freddie Mac REOs last year. They did one of these orientations in Oakland last month, and are supposed to be doing another in Los Angeles next month. After perusing their website today, I noticed that not only are they hiring real estate agents but they’re also hiring more asset managers (the people Realtors actually work for…). Their website says they have five open positions.

So, while supply of Dublin Ranch homes is currently limited, I’m wondering if that’s going to continue to be the case. Only time will tell. What I can tell you now is that your real estate team at Dublin Ranch Lifestyle is pursuing relationships with as many asset managers as possible to bring you the very best investment properties in the East Bay as they come available. We’re excited to help Dublin Ranch residents build wealth in their investment portfolios, and we’ll definitely keep you posted as things progress.

If you’re looking to buy in the Dublin Ranch area and detached homes are your thing, you’re likely to find you’re not the only one. I suppose that went without saying, considering just how desirable this neighborhood is. The point I’m trying to make is that the number of available homes in Dublin Ranch is significantly low. With less than a month of inventory on the market you’re going to be dealing with serious competition.

Not all of that is bad, though. We expect values may continue to increase steadily throughout 2010, which is a good reason to buy sooner as opposed to later. While sold prices are up 15% from last January they are still down 19% from two years ago. Those are solid savings if you’re looking at the bigger picture.

Speaking of the bigger picture, the recent years have been a bit of a disappointment for Dublin Ranch investors. Not only are prices down, but tenants can be hard to find. The federal (and possibly state if our Governor gets his way!) tax credits available to new homeowners have given many renters the ability to buy with their payments being the same amount as they would be paying in rent. Investors fortunate enough to have a renter have taken a steep discount on the rent.

The good news is, if home values continue to rise, affordability will decline and investors should have an easier time finding tenants. If you’re interested in investing in a Dublin Ranch home there’s still time to lock in a good price and profit in the near future!

Download this month’s housing report for Dublin Ranch homes.

Real estate investors in Dublin Ranch who have a desire to fix and flip homes or condos just got a HUGE favor from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development: they no longer have to wait 90 days from their date of purchase to sell a flip property to an FHA buyer!

Before this change, if you purchased a home -- regardless of condition -- you had to wait for 90 days to be able to sell it to an FHA buyer.. With so many buyers today qualifying to purchase through FHA financing, this wiped out a significant portion of prospective buyers. I’ve never understood this rule in the first place, and I’m glad to see it go. The reality is, a recently re-habbed house with good disclosures is probably one of the best-quality homes on the market. For an investor to have to risk vandalism and higher holding costs to allow a sale to an FHA buyer is just plain silliness.

But this new development is not a permanent change. It is effective for homes purchased after February 1, 2010 and is good for one year unless the FHA Commissioner decides to extend it. There’s some additional conditions that go along with the new waiver; to see them, check out the press release from the HUD website.

If you’re interested in putting our team to work to find fix-and-flip homes for you to invest in, we’d love to hear from you. We’ve done this quite a bit and are well-experienced in what to look for to maximize your profits.

A new opportunity to purchase a Dublin Ranch condo in the Villas is here, and it’s a beautiful home that any Dublin Ranch buyer should take a serious look at. It features a hardwood floor on the main level, stainless steel appliances, cherry cabinets, an open view to the south out the entrance of the community, and is literally a few short steps to the community fitness center and the pool.

4092 Clarinbridge Circle is being offered for sale at $349,900 by Majed Sartipi, a RE/Max agent. It is not available to show until Friday, January 15th, but I’ll be happy to show it to you and write you an offer if this opportunity seems interesting to you.

There’s a couple of catches with this home, though, that I should probably make you aware of here. The first is that it’s a short sale, and it’s the most difficult kind of short sale to deal with -- there are two loans and they are with two different lenders. After reviewing the tax records on this property, I can tell you that the second will likely not be due anything from the short sale (the value is below the balance of the first…) and that always creates a tug-of-war in the negotiation process trying to get the second mortgage to cooperate with the sale. They don’t have to, and they can drag the first into foreclosure if they choose to.

The second catch is that this home shares a common wall with the fitness center, and the Villas used to have complaints from the neighboring homes in this building about noise. This has been decreased since a rubber floor was installed in the fitness center but if you’re a light sleeper, or if you work nights, this may not be the best home for you.

Still, it’s a great price; for a buyer who’s interested in getting a great deal on a Dublin Ranch condo and has time to wait for the short sale to be negotiated, this is a great opportunity.