Beginning May 1st, a new policy was put into place by Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac designed to make appraisals more impartial and immune from bias. Before this, lenders (including banks, Mortgage Companies, and Mortgage Brokers) had their own appraisal contacts that they would use for appraisals on loans. Lenders learned over time …

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I’m not sure this is what industry insiders are talking about when they mention green building trends. This house in Wales was built by the owner using all green materials (I mean really green) such as mud, stone, wood scraps, straw, and lime plaster.
Photo courtesy of simondale.net
I wonder what our local …

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Have you seen this video?
CBS News Video
This story was aired on KPIX Channel 5 in San Francisco, a CBS affiliate, a couple of days ago. Among other things, the reporter explained how Pleasanton was a “hotbed of real estate activity”, bucking the trend of slumping real estate sales in the bay area. …

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The Pleasanton real estate market saw a spike in sales in April, mainly in the lower end of the market. It seems that more buyers are jumping into the Spring market, spurred on by a combination of low interest rates, higher conforming loan limits, and a renewed sense of optimism that we are at …

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The Dublin real estate market continued to show strong gains in April, and the market appears to be hitting the stabilization point, at least for now. Activity was up sharply, with 50 pending sales of single family homes in April, up from a robust 44 in March. In fact, this is the first …

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The San Ramon real estate market saw a continued surge in sales in April, with 100 pending sales of single family homes for the month, up sharply from 74 in March and 52 in February. This is the highest number of pending sales in over 2 years, and many of the previously decimated neighborhoods …

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