Though these might seem obvious, they definitely bear repeating —

The Redwood City Police Department wants to remind you that during this hectic time of year, don’t forget to take these easy steps to avoid a home burglary:

1. Make your residence look like someone is at home, even when no one is there.

2. On sliding glass doors, use a wooden dowel or a track blocker to prevent opening.

3. Always lock exterior doors and windows.

4. Don’t hide your house key in close proximity to entry doors.

5. Mark valuables with your driver’s license number, using an engraving tool, and take photos of valuables.

6. Secure guns in safes that are bolted to the floor or large enough that someone could not move without a lot of help.

7. Know your neighbors! Establish good neighbor relationships so that they will keep an eye on your home, especially if going out of town (and you do the same for them). Encourage neighbors to call the police if they see suspicious activity around your property. Give them contact numbers for reaching you.

8. Start a neighborhood watch group in your neighborhood.

9. If out of town, have your neighbor collect mail, newspaper, packages; leave a radio and lights on an automatic timer to make it look like you’re home.

10. Report suspicious people, door-to-door solicitation, strange vehicles in area, people asking for work, anyone with stories that don’t add-up, and anyone carrying items from someone’s home, or suspicious persons carrying back-packs or bags in the area.

11. Be careful of who you invite into your home.

It’s happened before, and it happens again.  This time, fortunately, some home break-in suspects were apprehended thanks to some brave citizen calling the police.

This can and does happen in any neighborhood, of course, but it’s still shocking and a little scary to see it in our own backyard.  Always keep your eyes open for people who look like they’re up to no good.  And hide your valuables!!

Police arrested three juveniles yesterday when information on a laptop the youths had led an officer to a Redwood City home where a computer had just been stolen — and two hours later, a separate burglary less than a mile away ended with the arrest of two suspects.  The 15-year old boys, all Redwood City residents, were arrested for the burglary on the 100 block of Turnsworth Ave (here in Edgewood Park).  An officer contacted the trio at about 10am because they appeared to be truants and discovered the laptop, police said.  The suspects had climbed through a window to enter the home, police said.  At about noon, a citizen reported seeing three people in front of her neighbor’s home on Fulton St.  Two of them went into the backyard and the third waited in front on a bicycle, the woman said.  Officers arrested 20-year old Melvin Argueta of Redwood City, who had a bicycle, in front of the home. Two other suspects ran out of the back of the home and began jumping fences. A 16-year old Redwood City boy was taken into custody on Birch St.  The third got away. A rock had been used to smash a window of the residence.

Kudos to the citizen that reported this to the police!

Four words a seller never wants to hear. And a message that us, as realtors don’t enjoy delivering to our clients.

However, it must be said, time and again, that this is a market of supply and demand. Influenced by economic factors, the job market, mortgage rates, and buyer attitude.

Supply and demand. Let’s face it, if no one comes forth offering you the price you want …. your chances of getting your price are slim. The only person who feels it’s worth that price…is you.  And hence, your home is overpriced.

Would it have been overpriced if you tried to sell it in 2004? Probably not, but guess what, the market (and world) has changed, and those “good old days” are long gone.

If your agent is a good agent, he/she will tell you what you NEED to hear, not what you want to hear. An agent who purposely overprices a home just to get the listing is doing the seller an immense disservice.

“But my agent sold more homes in this area than anyone else”.

That should only be the beginning. What’s more valuable — an agent who listed 32 homes and sold 25 – or an agent who listed twelve homes and sold all twelve.  So you need to ask yourself some questions: how many of his/her listings did not sell? How many were reduced over and over before they were sold? How long were the houses on the market?

It’s all about supply and demand.  And pricing your home right the first time is key.

When mortgage rates rise 1%, your purchasing power falls by 10.75%

Why? Because home affordability Is driven by mortgage rates.

Have you talked to a lender about how much home you can afford?  If you’ve ever bought a home, no doubt your agent asked you that question, or you wondered it to yourself. It’s the starting point for practically every home search in this country.

These questions — although rote for agents — serve an important purpose for buyers. (1) They put boundaries on your home search, and (2) They establish a price range for the homes in which you can actually afford to live.

They also put undue focus on “purchase price” as the key variable in home affordability. Purchase price has less to do with home affordability than you think. The real key to home affordability is mortgage rates.

1% Rate Change = 10.75% Purchasing Power Change

Mortgage rates have more influence on home affordability than home prices. If that seems strange to you, think about Q1 2011. Home affordability made all-time records that quarter. It wasn’t that home prices were suddenly lower than ever before. It’s that mortgage rates were.  With each tick lower for rates, purchasing power increased.

The math works in reverse, too. Rising mortgage rates harm affordability.

As an it-could-happen-to-anyone example, a home buyer in the Washington, DC metro area is pre-approved at today’s rates for a maximum $600,000 home, assuming 20 percent down. This is his “purchasing power”.

• The buyer shops for homes, armed with a $600,000 pre-approval.
• While he shops, mortgage rates are rising. They rise by 1 percentage point.
• The buyer finds a home for $600,000 and submits a bid.

Next, the buyer’s loan is denied by the lender. Rising mortgage rates zapped his purchasing power. For each 0.125% increase to mortgage rates, his maximum allowable purchase price fell 1.35 percent.

“How much home can I afford?” he asks the lender. Not $600,000, comes the reply. “Today, you can afford $535,000.”

October 1 Changes In Purchasing Power

The above example is somewhat extreme. It’s rare for rates to rise by a percentage point during the amount of time most people need to find and buy a home. We used the Washington, DC metro area as an example, though, for a reason. Washington, DC and its surrounding regions are part of the government’s “High Cost” areas for home loans. The local conforming loan limit is $729,750.

After September, those limits change. Starting October 1, 2011, in places like right here in Silicon Valley, local conforming loan limits will be lowered $625,500, rendering loans in excess of that amount “jumbo”. Mortgage rates on jumbo loans are often 1 point higher than for comparable conforming loans — and sometimes more. This means that, starting October 1, 2011, anyone whose mortgage will be “jumbo” will find themselves with 10.75% less purchasing power at least. October is less than 3 months away.

The 4th of July Redwood City tradition continues, as the Peninsula Celebration Association (PCA) brings tons of family fun all day long to Downtown Redwood City. It’ll be another great family 4th, and the entire community is invited to join family, friends, and neighbors for a spectacular day of celebration at the finest 4th of July party on the peninsula. All of the day’s details are online on PCA’s website at www.parade.org.

The day starts with a gourmet pancake breakfast benefit by the Redwood City Firefighters Association from 7:30 – 10:30 am at Station 9, 755 Marshall Street ($6 adults/$4 kids). As a special treat, as part of the Redwood City Fire Department’s 150th anniversary, there will be an antique fire engine display behind the fire department, at 700 Bradford Street.

Then comes the annual Parade Fun Run, this year benefitting the Redwood City Education Foundation. Information and registration is at www.paraderun.org. The race starts at 8:45 am at Brewster and Arguello streets, and goes 3.5 miles along the Redwood City parade route. Proceeds from the Parade Run support RCEF funding of music in our Redwood City schools.

After the run, the fabulous 4th of July extravaganza gets fully underway! It’s the 73rd Annual Independence Day Parade starting at 10 am. This year’s featured theme will recognize the Redwood City Fire Department’s remarkable 150 years of service. Leading the parade will be fire-fighting units from a number of local cities, including antique fire-fighting equipment. There will also be a fly-over of a restored Vietnam era Huey helicopter. The fly-over is sponsored by the Living Room Lounge at 2048 Broadway in Redwood City. This year’s parade is expected to have over 1,500 participants representing 78 organizations and will include the newly crowned Miss California, bands, floats, equestrian units, drill teams, vintage vehicles, and local performing groups.

The Annual Independence Day Festival will be going on from 9 am to 5 pm with fabulous arts and crafts vendors, a Main Stage featuring live entertainment, food booths, a children’s entertainment stage, and info booths from local non-profit service organizations. The festival will also have a children’s play area which benefits Adelante School. And, the ever-popular Battle of the Bands between Stanford University and UC Davis, plus a Classic Car Show from 8 am to 4 pm on Broadway featuring custom and classic vehicles with live entertainment in the Court House Square.

Please note that a fireworks display will not be provided this year. PCA reports that in the current economic environment it has been difficult to generate the funding and sponsorship needed to support the fireworks show. Both the PCA and Redwood City regret this situation, but remind the community that this year’s festival, parade, and other activities will be second-to-none. Over 40,000 people are expected to participate, as Redwood City’s 4th of July extravaganza is renowned throughout the region.

The Peninsula Celebration Association is very proud that the members of their organization have been involved since 1939 as a true volunteer group. Their goal is to help make Redwood City not just a place to live, but a real community of people who care. Visit their website at www.parade.org.

FREE Confidential Document Destruction Event for REDWOOD CITY Residents

You can get full destruction of confidential paper documents at this special event in Redwood City!

Saturday, June 11^th – 8 am to 3 pm

Redwood City Public Works Parking Lot

1400 Broadway, Redwood City

Bring your personal documents and confidential materials* for safe and secure on-site destruction – for FREE! No need to worry about paper clips or staples.

*Limit of 5 (five) boxes (10”x12”x15”) worth of materials per household.

Please be prepared to show proof of Redwood City residency.

For more information contact

Mike Gibbons

650-780-7464

mgibbons@redwoodcity.org

Today’s post comes courtesy of our very own Rick Soukoulis, Chairman and CEO of Intero Mortgage, who always has great ‘big picture’ perspectives.

I get asked quite often if the nightmare in Japan is going to bring about global economic problems that will halt our recovery and maybe even send us back into a downward spiral again.

Let me be very clear on this:  Nothing of the sort will happen!

The tsunami and the nuclear reactor disaster have been devastating to the Japanese, but in the strange ways that global markets work, it will most likely work to actually assist the U.S. economy.

The first thing to know is that during scary times, there is a so-called flight to quality.  Institutions around the world want to own only the safest bonds, and we are already starting to see huge inflows of dollars into our debt markets.

Some of it is institutions selling Japanese bonds and buying U.S. Treasuries, and some of it is money that wasn’t invested in Japan, but whose managers want the absolute safest place to put their money.

I’m not just speculating here.  History shows that this happens over and over again, that nervous money always finds its way into U.S. Treasuries and other debt instruments.

When the Southeast Asian Banks all started failing in 1997, tens of billions were moved to the United States markets, and all that buying drove our rates down.

In 1998 when Russia defaulted, the same thing happened. Money flowed out of Rubles and into dollars, and our rates dropped significantly again.

In 2007-8, virtually every country around the globe had massive financial problems, and despite our housing bubble bursting and Lehman failing, we were still perceived as the world’s number one safe haven.  Hundreds of billions of money flooded our markets, and as you recall, this drove rates down further than anyone had ever seen.

It was this move that created the unheard of level of 4.5% mortgage rates.

There was a book called “This Time It’s Different” by Reinhart & Rogoff which looked at financial crises going back over 800 years, and it’s always the same.  Nervous money always goes where it’s safest.

A secondary aspect will be new revenues for American companies involved in the rebuilding of Japan.  Caterpillar will be supplying earth moving equipment and cranes, Bechtel will be rebuilding bridges and dams, and GE will be working on their nuclear reactors.

There is always something to worry about, and housing is very sensitive to the slightest changes in the economy.

But the truly good news is that rates are not going to go up because of Japan, and they are more likely to go down.  This may be a slight stumble for the global recovery, but perversely, all the reconstruction might actually be the stimulus needed to advance

Just a few days ago, Redwood City officials announced that they will rescind their approval of a nine-home subdivision, aka the “Finger Avenue Project”, so that a full EIR (environmental impact report) can be prepared before deciding if the development is a good fit for the 3 lots on Finger Avenue.  The official notice of the preparation for an EIR can be found on the City’s website here.

The City Council agreed on a return to the drawing board for the Project last July as part of a stipulated judgment reached with The Friends of Cordilleras Creek and Finger Avenue Pride Committee.  The settlement ended a lawsuit filed in Nov. 2009 in which the two groups claimed that Redwood City violated fundamental state requirements for development by approving the project without a complete look at its impacts and feasible alternatives.

On Nov. 22, the City Council approved a consulting contract for an EIR but still needs to formally rescind the approvals for 50, 80 and 88 Finger Ave. The plan calls for NINE homes on THREE lots, plus a U-shaped private road.

Ok, so here’s my Devil’s Advocate editorial, on the outside using my inside voice,: putting nine homes where there were once THREE?  Can you say “greed”?

The first three words that come to my mind: “Remember Palomar Oaks?”

This was that development on Edgewood Road, bordering Palomar Park — where 4 or 5 McMansions (all at or above 4400 sq. ft. of living space) were built with the anticipation of building at least 6 or so more. When the first one finally came to market in 2006, the high end market in Redwood City had already shot its proverbial wad…”Sounded like a good idea to build these in 2004, didn’t it? Heck, absolutely let’s charge $3.2M for a house on a huge lot with a really unusable steep backyard, where you can hear the white noise hum of cars going up and down Edgewood Road — heck, buyers are suckers, right?” — So what happens? Only the 5 get sold, at a much steeper sale price than the original list prices,  the developer loses his shorts (and his parents’ and grandparents’ shorts), and the remaining lots are foreclosed on and sold on the steps of City Hall for a FRACTION of what the developer paid for them.

I’m not opposed at all to new development, heck, I’m all for enriching neighborhoods for the better. That IS the Carousel of Progress… But I guess the location of these proposed new Finger Ave. homes makes me kind of scratch my head — because, not only would you be really, really close to El Camino Real, but you’d have the fortune/misfortune of the frequently wafting smells emanating from the KFC on the corner of El Camino and Avondale (one block away).  Now, if that’s what you LIKE, well hey, more power to you.  But I can only imagine that these new homes will be (a) very nice, (b) high end, and (c) probably well over $1.6M apiece (if not close to $2M)….If anyone reading this out there has more accurate data points, please speak up, I’m all ears.  All I know is, if I’m a home buyer spending close to $2M, am I going to want to live in a home with the constant white noise of cars going 40+ mph, plus the smell of fast food chicken whenever the wind blows? Mmm, like many buyers, I might take my money elsewhere, to a quieter street, maybe an older home, and maybe a better school district.  Do these builders ever talk to prospective buyers to know this? If not, maybe they should.  Call me naive, but you can’t just create a high end market, nor convert a mid-range market into a high end market — and brick entry posts won’t fool anyone either.  Of course, I’m no Nostradamus, so I could very well be wrong — time will certainly tell.

Lastly, the projects’s original approval was far from a smooth process.  Opponents are concerned that the buildings would be placed within a 25-foot creek setback required by the city’s stormwater control ordinance adopted in 2005.