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APRIL 10, 2009
THEPRESS.NET
Trevor’s Weekly Mortgage Matters By Trevor Frey
For the Fearful Did you know that fear and greed are the two most compelling and determining emotions of the human species? And, for the most part, when logic doesn’t compel, fear is the motivating factor? To quote Warren Buffet, considered by many the best investor of the 20th Century, “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful.” With that said, many people are fearful of the future, which makes now the perfect time for first time buyers to do their homework and research home ownership in our local real estate market. Brentwood’s population has more than doubled in the last eight years (2000-2008) increasing 117%, per the California Department of Finance’s report of Population Estimates prepared by Daniel Sheya. The next city in Contra Costa County to come close to such a growth spurt, in Mr. Sheya’s report has been San Ramon with an increase of 32% respectively – a stunning 85% difference. That being said as of September 13, 2008 eager buyers had been waiting in line, camping out eight days to solidify a purchase of a certain developments latest phase in San Ramon. No one is exactly sure where the bottom is real estate wise, but with people camping out eight days, logically we have to assume we’re pretty close. Again, using very sound logic, even if home prices continue to drop five or so percent, that’s very close to your standard real estate commission (with commissions being six percent) and shouldn’t be
a determining factor in the least for anyone jumping into the market. However, one factor that should receive a huge chunk of a potential buyer’s report card…especially with Spring Break officially over and California Standardized Testing and Reporting, or STAR, testing right around the corner...are the local schools. Whether you are a first time buyer or an investor, local school performance is very important, for in the long run either your children’s education and/or your re-sale value, are going to be directly affected by a district’s performance. To put it in perspective Brentwood’s new (2005) high school, Heritage High School, recently earned an Academic Performance Index (API) growth of 33 compared to the state’s target for the school of 5. Combine that with Heritage’s score of 7 on the API Statewide Rank of one-hundred similar schools across the state versus the average score of 3 (ranked by parent education, poverty, student mobility, and student ethnicity), and you have an A+ for schools. Put that A+ for schools with an already historically impressive interest rate market and amazingly low prices per square foot and you have to ask yourself, how many more statistics before logic overcomes my fear! If you have any real estate lending related questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to write me at tfreymortgages@yahoo.com or call me directly at 510-798-0060.
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J OHN M. A LLEN ATTORNEY AT LAW
Serving East Contra Costa County “Best of Brentwood” Attorney Retired Superior Court Judge
JOHN M. ALLEN
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