See my previous post for more information about the Mission San Jose district.

As well as being a great place to find a home, the Irvington district is Fremont’s largest shopping area, with everything from small locally-owned shops and restaurants to the mainstream shopping stores available at The Hub shopping center and Gateway Plaza, both located close the BART station.  Irvington is also home to Lake Elizabeth at Central Park. The park and recreation area was recently ranked by the San Francisco Chronicle as one of the best urban outings in the Bay Area (March 5, 2009).

The Niles district, another of Fremont’s historic districts, was Hollywood before there was a Hollywood.  It is the famous home of many of the Charlie Chapin and Bronco Billy films. Proud of its history, Niles is a community within a community. Located along Mission Blvd (old Highway 238) and tucked below the green foothills, the homes are both some of the oldest and some of the prettiest in Fremont. Niles is the small town inside the big suburb. It is also one of the best places to find antiques in the East Bay.

The Centerville district is currently one of the more affluent of Fremont’s districts and has one of the most diverse ethnic populations in Fremont.  Containing the newly developed Ardenwood neighborhood, with the high scoring Ardenwood elementary school, it has become the go-to place for many working professionals looking to buy their first home. Centerville is rich with multi-cultural pride.

Warm Springs at the south end of Fremont is the newest of the five districts and the closest to Silicon Valley.  But simply calling it a great place to live while you work in San Jose or Mountain View would overlook its own importance in the Bay Areas economic boom. Within the Warm Springs district, you’ll find the headquarters of many high-tech companies including Nielsen Norman Group, Corsair Memory and Lexar, Elitegroup Computer Systems, Asus and many of the country’s top bio-tech firms. The district is also home to NUMMI, Fremont’s largest employer (a joint automobile manufacturing plant for General Motors and Toyota). With well respected elementary schools, Warm Springs has become a highly desirable place to raise children.  Warms Springs will soon have a new Asian Shopping center near the interchange between highway 680 and highway 880.  What’s more, it is now home to the large Pacific Commons Shopping Center.

Including all the schools listed above, Fremont is served by the Fremont Unified School District. Fremont has 29 elementary schools, five junior high schools and six high schools: Mission San Jose High School — which was ranked as the 49th best high school in the nation; American High School, Irvington High School, Washington High School, Robertson High School and Kennedy High School.  Alsion Montessori Middle/High School and California School for the Deaf are also located in Fremont as well as a number of private schools.  For advanced studies or summer enrichment courses, Stanford, the UC Berkeley main campus and University East Bay in Hayward are within 35 minute drives.  UC Berkeley also has an extension campus located in Fremont. And as I mentioned, Ohlone College is a top community college with highly regarded nursing, computer science and green technology programs.

Fremont is a wonderful place to live with a great deal of home buying opportunities currently available. As a Fremont realtor with over 15 years of experience here, I’d be glad to provide you with more information on the Fremont real estate market.  Feel free to get your Fremont homes search started on my website today.  

Fremont has 201,334 residents situated over 92 square miles, according to the census of 2008, making it the fifth largest city on the Bay Area.  Its established itself as the Bay Area home of many high-tech and bio-tech firms and is known for its attractive, manageable commutes to other tech companies located in the South Bay and on the Peninsula. In addition, San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley are accessible within 60 minutes on BART. 

The historic Mission San Jose district is a very desirable area for home buyers and families.  It is located just off of Highway 680 and sits below the foothills of Mission Peak. The district prides itself on maintaining a small town feel – for example, the Olive Festival is held annually, Independence Day parades bring residents out onto the sidewalk in summer, and in winter a Christmas tree lighting event is held close by. Ohlone College (see more below) is the hub of activity in the area and a number of small commercial businesses, retail shops, and eateries are within walking distance. The Mission San Jose district is a short drive away from The Hub shopping center in the Irvington district, Gateway Plaza near the BART station, the newly developed Pacific Commons Shopping Center in the Warm Springs district and NewPark Mall in the city of Newark.

The Mission San Jose district is also home to cultural and community centers like the impressive Smith Center for Performing Arts at Ohlone College and the Olive Hyde Art gallery.  In addition, Fremont has plenty of indoor and outdoor recreation areas. The popular and highly ranked Lake Elizabeth (Central Park) with golfing, a dog park and sporting fields will soon house a new water park opening in May of 2009.  Additionally, residents and visitors enjoy Quarry Lakes Park, sections of the Alameda Creek trail, Fremont Teen Center, Fremont Senior Center, and of course the mountainous hiking trails of Mission Peak.

As for schools, Fremont is served by the Fremont Unified School District, and families flock to homes in the Mission San Jose district to enroll their children in Mission San Jose High School, ranked as the 49th best high school in the nation.  Known locally as “Mission” or MSJ, the high school was founded in 1964 and is known for its strong academics, sending 93% of its graduates to post-secondary schools.  For advanced studies or summer enrichment courses, Stanford, the UC Berkeley main campus and Cal State University East Bay in Hayward are within 35 minute drives.  UC Berkeley also has an extension campus located in Fremont.  Ohlone College (a community college) with highly regarded nursing, computer science and green technology programs has its main campus located in the Mission San Jose district. 

Mission San Jose is a wonderful place to live with a great deal of home buying opportunities currently available. As a Fremont realtor with over 15 years of experience here, I’d be glad to provide you with more information on the Fremont real estate market.  Feel free to get your Fremont homes search started on my website today.  

As part of the economic stimulus package, President Obama signed into law a first-time home buyers tax credit of $8,000. First-time homebuyers who purchase a home this year between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1 may be eligible for the tax credit.

Additionally, The City of Fremont offers loans through its First Time Home Buyer Program of up to $40,000 to eligible homebuyers for down payment assistance

UPCOMING WORKSHOP – CITY OF FREMONT FIRST TIME HOME BUYER PROGRAM

Tuesday, April 21, 2009.  Registration is now open. 

Registration is mandatory.

Visit the City’s First Time Home Buyer webpage to register for the April workshop.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the City of Fremont First Time Homebuyer Program and CalHFA financing may be able to assist with down payment assistance for a Fremont home, provided that you meet certain qualification.  According to the City’s website, you are eligible for the program if you:

• Attend one of the mandatory two-hour First Time Homebuyer Workshops.
• Live or work in Fremont currently, or previously lived in Fremont.
• Have not owned a home in the last three years.
• Meet the income guidelines (see Income chart).
• Are able to secure a mortgage and have good credit.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: In February 2009 the city published a list of lenders in Fremont (available here) which are approved for the Fremont First Time Home Buyer Program. The list includes select branches of: Bank of America, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Countrywide Home Loans, Diversified Capital Funding and Jacinto Mortgage Group.

To see if you are eligible, or for further information, please contact me.  As a Fremont realtor, I’d be glad to provide you with more information on making your home ownership dream a reality.

Veena Grover, RE/Max | http://www.FremontHomesTeam.com | 510.378.7546   

As a Fremont realtor, I understand how appealing and important access to an open park setting can be to those who are looking to buy a home here. The park is a short driving distance from most Fremont homes and many are within walking distance. The surrounding area has a good mixture of residential homes and shopping at Gateway Plaza and The Hub. 

Families who live near the park send their children to high ranking schools like: John Gomes Elementary School, William Hopkins Junior High School and top performing Mission San Jose High School. The homes are also conveniently located near important public services like the Fremont Main Library, Fremont Teen Center, Washington Hospital and the Kaiser Permanente campus, California School for the Deaf and the Fremont Police station.

Lake Elizabeth is a wonderful park and is one of the many things that make Fremont and great place to live. Its great to see it receiving the applause it deserves.

You can read the full SF Chronicle article here.

Veena Grover, RE/Max | http://www.FremontHomesTeam.com | 510.378.7546   

• Median house price in Santa Clara County was $515K, down 34% vs. Oct 2007.  However, the number of single-family homes sold was 1022, up 24% vs. the prior year. 
• Although there is certainly some depreciation in the value of homes, a major factor behind the decline in median home prices is the number of REO property sales.  In both Alameda and Santa Clara County, there was a marked increase in sales of these bank-owned homes.  For example, over 33% of the home sales in Santa Clara County last month had been foreclosed on within the prior 12 months.  By contrast, in October 2007, REO properties comprised less than 4 percent of sales.
• In addition, sales of higher-end homes declined as a percentage of the total.  For example, only 11% of homes last month were sold for greater than $1M.  By contrast, in October 2007, almost 30% of homes sold at the $1M+ level.  
• As we head into the holiday season now, we can expect the market to hit its seasonal slowdown, as inventory (number of homes for sale) and demand quiets down until the new years. 

In my view, given the seasonal slowdown, there are very good deals to be had here in the Bay Area.  Furthermore, with an incoming Obama administration that is more likely to push for policies helping homeowners facing foreclosure, I believe that the number of homes entering foreclosure will gradually stabilize over the next year and then decline.  Regardless, its certainly a good time to start searching online for properties that interest you.  You can do this search and get automated email updates on homes that match your criteria on my website (www.FremontHomesTeam.com), by clicking here.  

• Lower the interest rate
• Stretch out the term of the loan to 40 years
• Lower the amount of the loan
• The underlying goal is that monthly payments should not exceed 38% of a family’s monthly income. 

While the plan is certainly helpful, it isn’t as broad as the plan championed by the FDIC chairwoman, Sheila Bair.  This is because the Bush administration plan focused on the Fannie and Freddie guaranteed loans, which are “conforming” loans (i.e., less risky vs. subprime loans).  Bair’s plan had called for a $50BN government plan to modify loans. 

I suppose one’s preference here depends on how far they believe the government should extend itself in terms of loan modifications.  Regardless of your views here, based on President-elect Obama’s previous voting record on real estate or loan-related issues, I expect that a much broader loan modification program will work its way to Congress once the new term gets rolling in 2009.

Veena Grover  |  RE/Max Accord, Fremont CA  |  http://www.FremontHomesTeam.com

From a Bay Area real estate perspective, I believe increasing the FHA-backed loan limit is really important. The 2008 conforming jumbo loan limit in the Bay Area is $729,750, making it difficult for buyers of higher-end properties to get financing. This limit expires on December 31, 2008, when the lower conforming loan limit of $625,500 takes effect. It certainly explains why higher sales volume has recently been in the mid-range properties. For example, in September, the median price of a home sold in Alameda County was $389K, vs. $555K the previous September. Simply put, the more difficult financing environment has resulted in more unsold inventory (less sales) in higher-end properties, but more sales in mid-range properties, where loans are more easily available.

From a Bay Area perspective, while I applaud the government’s effort to call for a “cooling off” period from the time a homeowner receives a default notice from a bank, in terms of actually staving off foreclosure, the key will be a recovery in bank lending. Lets not forget that a lot of homeowners facing foreclosure in the Bay Area signed up for interest-only loans, which generally carry about a ½ point premium vs. a fully amortized loan these days. So, it all comes down to what type of risk the banks are able / willing to take – if they are willing to creatively work with homeowners to refinance during the 90 day period, great. If not, the 90 day period could simply be delaying the inevitable foreclosure for the homeowner.

Example: Non REO property in Union City: 4BR, 2BA home in Union City; 2200 sq. ft, 4500 sq.ft lot, 10 years new: $700K

Assume a 6.6% interest rate on a 30-yr fixed rate, but tack on an additional 0.5% as an investor. Total interest payment = 7.1%.

With a down payment of 20%, the loan balance would be $560K. Multiplying this by the 7.1% rate results in a monthly mortgage payment of $3750.

A glance on Craigslist and HousingMaps to view rental property prices in Union City tells us that a rental property of this size would rent for about $2800/month. (Note that I don’t see a rental home in the same community, so I’m looking at comparables). Net-net, there’s a delta of $950/month on the rent, or about $11K per year. Factoring in property tax of 1.2% would result in another $8.4K, or about $19K per year.

In the event you could get such a property at a 20% discount or more, then certainly the financials get more interesting and rent gets closer towards mortgage payment. But at current price and interest rate levels, as you can see, one would run a cash flow loss on a monthly basis and as an investor, would bet on an increase in home values in the future or a decrease in interest rates to re-finance at more attractive terms.

According to the City’s website, you are eligible if you:

• Have not owned a home in the last three years
• Live or work in Fremont currently, or previously lived in Fremont.
• Meet the income guidelines (see Income chart)
• Are able to secure a mortgage and have good credit
• Are able to attend the mandatory 2 hour First Time Homebuyer Workshop

To see if you are eligible, or for further information, please contact me.  I’d be glad to provide you with more information on making your home ownership dream a reality.

Veena Grover  |  RE/Max Accord, Fremont CA  |  http://www.FremontHomesTeam.com