A Daily Shot of News

In October 2008, the median home price of homes sold in San Jose, California was $490,100. This is down from $495,000 in September and $600,000 back in July. This is significantly lower than the median home price of $737,000 in October 2007.  The number of homes sold has increased dramatically from as few as 191 in February 2008 to as many as 515 homes sold during the month of October 2008.

Since this summer, the number of homes for sale in San Jose has fallen but it’s still up on a year over year basis. As of October 2008, the number of homes for sale in San Jose was over 3,537 compared to a high of 3,951 homes for sale in July of this year. In October 2007, there were only 3,129 homes for sale.

The increase in the number of sales and the decrease in the median home price can be credited to the fact that banks have lowered the asking prices for foreclosures they are trying to sell. Currently, foreclosures make up a large percentage of monthly home sales and these have caused the median home price to drop. An increase in the number of homes for sale, similar to what we saw over the summer, also caused a decrease in home prices in most cases.

So, the question in everyone’s mind is “have we hit the bottom?” The answer is No. Although, that depends on what type of house you want and where in San Jose you are looking to buy – which will be the subject of another article.

Please do keep in mind that the statistics above are from M.L.S Listings Inc, and account only the homes sold through this multiple listing service. These statistics are only for single family residences and do not take condominiums or other property types into account.

When you want to buy or sell a property, it is important to have a real estate agent. But why should you hire a real estate agent? Basically, you are able to buy or sell a property without the help of an agent. But most people who do not hire a real estate agent when they buy or sell a property ends up getting the wrong side of the deal. Real estate agents can help you make the right decision. Here are seven reasons why you should hire an agent:
1. A real estate agent has more experience and is well educated in real estate than you are. You wouldn’t have to know everything about buying or selling real estate if you have an agent with you. You hire them simply because they are smarter and way more experienced than you in terms of real estate selling or buying.

2. A real estate agent is able to prevent you to negotiate with others who are not serious about the business. If you are a buyer, your real estate agent will prevent builder’s agents to get to you. If you are a seller, your real estate agent will filter your callers so that you need not talk to buyers that are not serious and talk only to those that really want to buy a real estate.

3. A real estate agent can bring you the information that you need. They can give you a similar list of sales and data on demographics, crime and schools on the locality.

4. A real estate agent can guide you to make the right decision. For example, there is a listing that is at 7%, which means that an agent has 7% interest while the client gets a 93% interest. A real estate agent will be able to use all the information they have and help the client make the right decision. He/she can also work out his own negotiation strategy that is based on demand, conditions and market supply.

5. A real estate agent is able to relate market conditions to help you sell or buy real estate. Many aspects on the market establish how you should continue on buying or selling real estate. Real estate agents gather information on the average of both the days on market and the square foot cost of similar homes. They also get information on median and average sales price. These data are important for you to make a wise decision.

6. A real estate agent can help you work with other professionals that will then offer their service for you to buy or sell real estate. They can give you information on different vendors that has a good reputation for competency, competitive pricing and efficiency to help you make a good choice.

7. A real estate agent has a good negotiation skill that will help you buy or sell properties. You need their skill in order to buy or sell real estate. Furthermore, they can make the client’s information confidential.