From the President of Coldwell Banker

"A number of key housing market reports have come out over the past week, and they’re giving more evidence to the belief that the nation’s housing market is at long last gaining some solid momentum as summer gets underway. This week the Commerce Department reported that sales of newly built homes rose in May to the highest level since the recession. New-home sales increased 2.2% over the month to an annual rate of 546,000. That marked the best month of sales since February 2008, and it followed an 8.1% surge in sales in April. Although purchases of new homes are only about a tenth of all home sales, the report comes amid a other signs that home buying in general is on the rise, thanks to stronger job growth, wage increases, historically low mortgage rates and a gradual easing of lending requirements." All of this is probably true, but I just read from NAR, National Assoc. of Realtors, that investors are coming into the market. This is bad news, investors are always late, just as home buyers are lemmings, Don't buy when everyone else does, by after the adjustment. Here's my personal "Chriswold" prediction (nema nema), the market will readjust in 2016. So rent a little longer and then buy after the adjustment. I know, I am supposed to get you to buy today, but if you really can't afford it, for goodness sake, wait.

Spruce Up Your House on the Cheap

Are you a little bored with your house; or are you thinking of selling it, and you think it's a little drab? Here are a couple of inexpensive suggestions.

First curb appeal: Bright colorful flowers in the front yard. Paint the front door a bright color. Little better budget? Paint the front door, the trim, and the garage door an unexpected glossy color. Do you still have single pane windows? Are they corroded aluminum? If the toilets were installed before 1995, you might replace them. It's not that expensive, and the water savings may pay you back. What about the bathroom vanity? There are some slim new ones which will make the bathroom feel a bit larger. Hire some handy person to do the top dozen of those honey dos that you can do, but never quite get around to.

It's like a car. Do you find yourself walking up to a boring silver Prius, or an equally boring white pickup truck. Buy a colorful one, it puts a smile on your face. True story, I had a friend who was going to paint his Ranchero, brown. Are you kidding, brown?

I talked him into maroon. After all he had spent a lot of time sanding and priming, shouldn't the finished product be fun? So I hounded him until he relented. He took the prepared truck to Earl Schibe, for a 29.95 special. Did I just date myself? The truck came back beautiful. The best Earl Schibe job I had ever seen. All that prep work paid off. But it was Purple. He had a fit. Dave, what do you care it looks great. You were going to paint it brown. Well he took it back, he wanted maroon (my color suggestion) and he got it repainted, and he got orange peal. Sigh.

Preparing your home for sale

It is already February, and in many areas, including our San Mateo Coastside, the biggest market surge is in the spring. This means spring cleaning; before you put your house on the market.

Do I have to clean and prepare my house for sale, I live in a clean way, can't I just sell it?

The answer is you can sell any house in any condition, but most sellers, those who have the time and energy, and who want to squeeze the highest dollar they can out of their house, need to prepare the house.

Preparation comes in a couple of ways, fixing all of those

honey-dos

, getting a home inspector to examine the house and take care of some if not all of the simple repairs recommended in the report.

There is also the question of a pest report. I am nervous to tell you that even if you firmly believe you have no pest or dry-rot issues in your home, you may be wrong. Pest control inspections, include all wood destroying issues, so not only are we talking wood boring beetles, carpenter ants, dry-wood termites, and damp wood termites, to name a few, there is also the issue of dry rot from water damage, including areas such as door jams, incorrectly installed windows, sliding doors, water damage in the bathroom, near showers, toilets, and under sink leaks.

There are a couple of trends in this market worth noting: One is pre-inspection, paid for by the seller, and thus giving the seller a chance to study the problem. The seller may choose to provide a

clearance

, meaning the seller has the pest company repairs all of the damage, and warranties the house as free of infestation for one year, or the seller merely provides the report to the buyers, pre-offer, so they can determine whether they wish to receive a clearance, or simply write an

as-is

offer. Because of all of the as-is type offers sailing around this fast paced market, some sellers are opting to only provide the home inspection, and not the more specific pest inspection. Although this method of saving money is working in this seller's market, I do not recommend it in a more balanced market. ...and don't forget colorful plants, inside and outside when you stage your home for market.

whe must a house be fumigated

I received a call recently asking if

it was a law that a house be fumigated in California.

The short answer is no.

Okay then how often does a house need a fumigation?

Short answer, only when the house has too many wood destroying bugs to locally treat for them. Here's what I found on the pest control boards web site.

When drywood termites or wood boring beetles are found, does the structure always have to be fumigated?

No. Fumigation is not always required for treating drywood termites and wood-boring beetles. Fumigation is an all-encompassing treatment in which the gases permeate the entire structure, eradicating both visible infestations and termites that are otherwise inaccessible. If only a small area is infested, local applications may be used. The inspector will decide which treatment is necessary. You should be aware that the localized treatments will not eradicate hidden infestations elsewhere in the building.

Will fumigation eliminate all the termites and pests in the structure?

No. Subterranean termites require separate treatments to create a barrier between the structure and their nest in the ground. Under ideal conditions, the target pest will be dead or obviously dying by the end of the fumigation. Drywood termites can remain alive as long as a week after a lethal dose of a fumigant. Lethal doses vary for different pests, depending on the fumigant used. It is possible for household pests (such as spiders or cockroaches) to survive a fumigation.

So what are my alternatives?

Are there alternative methods to fumigation?

There are several alternatives for localized chemical treatments. There are, however, only two methods for whole-house eradication of drywood termites: fumigation and whole-house heat treatment. Other methods such as electro gun, microwave, and freezing with liquid nitrogen are local or spot treatments designed to eradicate termites in a specific area. These methods are not intended for whole house eradication and therefore are NOT alternatives to fumigation. The University of California, Berkeley, conducted a study for SPCB on these methods. A free, condensed version of the study is available on SPCB’s Web site, www.pestboard.ca.gov/howdoi/research.shtml.

First time buyer affordability; from the Cal. Assoc. of Realtors CAR.org

Housing Affordability Index - First-Time Buyer C.A.R.'s First-time Buyer Housing Affordability Index (FTB-HAI) measures the percentage of households that can afford to purchase an entry-level home in California. C.A.R. also reports first-time buyer indexes for regions and select counties within the state. The Index is the most fundamental measure of housing well-being for first-time buyers in the state. Download the complete historical series: XLS First -Time Buyer Housing Affordability Index Methodology 2014 Q3 First-time Buyer Housing Affordability Index STATE/REGION/COUNTY Q3 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2013 CA SFH (SAAR) 52 53 54 CA Condo/Townhomes 61 61 63 Los Angeles Metropolitan Area 55 55 57 Inland Empire 68 68 71 S.F. Bay Area 44 42 45 r US 75 75 74 S.F. Bay Area Alameda 42 40 44 Contra-Costa (Central County) 43 43 45 r Marin 29 30 37 Napa 44 48 r 52 San Francisco 34 32 36 r San Mateo 34 33 36 Santa Clara 44 42 45 Solano 71 72 76 r Sonoma 53 53 r 56 r Source: CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® r – revised Note: The effective interest rate series previously used to calculate C.A.R.’s First-Time Buyer Housing Affordability Index (FTB-HAI) was discontinued in 2008. Beginning with this news release, the FTB-HAI will incorporate an effective interest rate that is based on the one-year, adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) from Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS). The effective rate accounts for both the one-year ARM rate and the points/fees as reported by Freddie Mac.

The job market is stronger With the recession behind us, more and more companies are adding new employees to the payroll. The unemployment rate has dropped 5.8 percent and 321,000 jobs were opened up in November. All of this work equates to improved consumer optimism; The Conference Board's latest Consumer Confidence Index highlighted confidence weighing in at 19.5 percent higher than a year ago. As jobs continue to stabilize and moods lift, more potential homebuyers will enter the market as they become more eligible for a mortgage, and more capable of taking on those pesky mortgage payments. according to Zoe Eisenberg is RISMedia's Associate Editor. 17,000 jobs in April, pushing down unemployment rates to their lowest levels in nearly six years, according to the Mercury News. MLS reprots an 18% raise in home prices in San Mateo County.

CALIFORNIA HOME PRICES RISE

HOME PRICES RISE YEAR OVER YEAR IN SEPTEMBER Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased 5.6 percent in September 2014 compared to September 2013, according to the September CoreLogic Home Price Index report. This change represents 31 months of consecutive year-over-year increases in home prices nationally. On a month-over-month basis, home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, dropped 0.1 percent in September 2014 compared with August 2014.