What exactly are Cryptocurrencies? You'll read or hear about Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies everywhere you turn. But what exactly is "Crypto"? Cryptocurrencies are digital or virtual currencies secured by cryptography. Encryption makes them impossible to counterfeit or double-spend. Cryptocurrencies store value and can be used as a means of payment, backed by a secure database of transactions known...

Let's quickly go over April's monthly data. Home prices continue to go up as the Spring real estate season kicks into full gear. San Mateo County, as usual, continues to lead the price scoreboard. On the other hand, Marin County had the highest percentage increase compared to the previous year. In the last month's post, we explained that the effect of the interest rate jump will not show up in the...

Life is unpredictable Life is constantly changing, throwing us curveballs, and challenging our assumptions. The same house we thought we would live in until retirement or until our children are all grown up might need selling. And fast! There are many reasons for this to happen. Some are positive, for example, a great job offer in another City or State or a business opportunity far from your current...

There isn't a whole lot of change to the real estate market in the past month. The trend of prices going up continue from last month's trend. Mortgage Demand This month, one of the biggest news is 30-year fixed mortgage interest rate broke 5% for the first time since 2011. Many of our clients are wondering how this is going to impact the demand for real estate. To answer this question, I'd like to...

The Golden State Most experts agree that our beautiful state of California has an abundance of natural and human resources. If measured separately from the rest of the U.S., our state would be the world's fifth-largest economy. After all, we nurtured the planet’s leading tech, entertainment, and defense industries. In addition, older economic sectors, such as agriculture, significantly contribute to...

Highest gas prices in America It is no surprise to us who drive that gas prices have climbed to unprecedented highs. In the Bay Area, the price per gallon has reached $5.00, and above, Californians pay the highest taxes for gasoline in the U.S., further increasing its cost.  No signs of improvement Relief is nowhere in sight for two reasons. First, the war in Ukraine has nearly closed Russian oil...

A difficult balance Relationships between tenants and landlords are usually complicated. Both parties have vital interests: to maximize their investment via a steady flow of rents for landlords. And for tenants to have the enjoyment of a safe, convenient home at the lowest possible monthly cost and for the longest time possible.  Government gets into it Federal, State, and Local governments do their...

Is a Spring collapse coming? As Russia's invasion into Ukraine continued, money flew into the US stock money just as our last month's blog post predicted. This inflow gave temporary support to the stock market. Looking at February 2022's market data, we can see that the % of sales dropped pretty much across all the Bay Area counties. Many youtube videos (here and there, for example) have concluded...

Almost every landlord is into the real estate business to earn more income. However, there is no guarantee that you will make more money once you own a rental property. The amount of income you can generate from your rental property depends on how you manage it. Although real estate is among the most lucrative businesses, several things can kill rental property profit and destroy your source of income....

A Trend-Setting Group The average life expectancy in America, now around 79 years, grew significantly during the 20th and 21st centuries. One consequence is the appearance of generations of Americans with very distinct views on life, including homeownership.  Millennials are the Americans born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s, as per the most accepted definitions. We are talking about...