Total filings were down 33% for the year to 2.7 million, according to RealtyTrac, the online marketer of foreclosed properties.  Read this article for more details:

http://money.cnn.com/2012/01/12/real_estate/foreclosures/index.htm

“Zillow says my house is worth….” is one of the most frequent comments I hear when it comes to real estate. This Wall Street Journal article gives a solid analysis of where Zillow and similar sites are both strong and weak.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204554204577026131448329006.html?

As pointed out in this article, the American dream isn’t dead.  The desire to own a home coupled with affordability are excellent reasons to purchase real estate.

http://agbeat.com/real-estate-news-events/top-reasons-cited-for-purchasing-real-estate-new-report/

Image via Wikipedia

This whole “Real Estate Crystal Ball” question is really getting out of hand. When you look strictly at the statistics in our beautiful and prolific Silicon Valley, we presently have 34 more single family homes for sale than this time last year. It would be important to know how many homes are under contract or pending sale- well, there is only a 2.7% difference from this same time last year. These statistics which a few years back would speak volumes of what is going on in the local market, now give mere muddy rear view mirror glimpses!

Due to the fact that these statistics are full of reluctant home sellers that are awaiting a “possible” Short Saleapproval from the lender that holds the mortgage or heaven forbid, the multiple separate lenders that hold the 1st, 2nd and possibly 3rd mortgages; they are slight indicators at best. Short Sales confuse the statistics as so many of them never actually close escrow. A large percentage end up in the lender foreclosing and a very small percentage of sellers end up achieving a “Loan Modification“, a VERY small percentage. 

So how do you figure out what is REALLY going on? I know the answer is going to be way too obvious to those that understand they can’t know everything about everything- ask an active, professional, Realtor®with years of experience reading real estate markets! You would think that was a no-brainer! But time and time again, Buyers and Sellers who only purchase and/or sell a home a maximum of 3 times in their lifetimes, think they know more than reputable real estate agents and brokers.

Who else has more intimate and real time knowledge about the Real Estate market and what is presently happening than an active, professional Realtor? Where else can you take up a professional’s time, energy and pick their brain to your heart’s delight and initially not pay a dime for it? Call, email, text, tweet or face book your professional Realtor and ask them what is happening in your local market, they will be more than happy to answer! If you’d like, you can always contact us if you don’t know a Realtor you can trust- you’d be amazed how much information we can supply you with and all for the cost of a cup of coffee…. that’s what you call a pretty good deal!

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• Silicon Valley is abuzz with bubble and recovery stories – too soon?(venturebeat.com)