This is not an article about why you should buy a Pleasanton home because everyone buys for different reasons. This may be a bad time for you to buy that condo in Dublin Ranch, but it may be a great time for you to buy that Danville home. This article is what we have observed from working with Tri Valley home buyers over the years.

In 2004 and 2005 the question for many tri valley home buyers and tri valley home sellers was ‘how long will this last?’ Meaning how long will prices increase. Today the question is ‘when will the bottom hit?’ And in 2007 the question was ‘Why would anyone buy a home in this market?’ In the papers and on the television the thoughts were similar. Last year you could pick up the paper and a headline would read ‘Where is the bottom of the market.’ Today I opened the paper and the headline was ‘Housing bottom coming into view.’ Real estate is always looked at in trends of month to month sales or year to year pricing. Since we are tri valley realtors we have a good look at the ‘emotional’ trend of buyers in the Pleasanton, Dublin, Livermore, Danville and San Ramon markets. As you could probably guess the trend or question we get now is ‘When should I buy a home?’ Today we have a lot of clients who want to buy a home, they just want to time is right. From the National Association of Realtors to CNBC many economists are pointing to some point in ’09 to be the bottom and a stabilization moving forward from the end of 2008. Before you say we have a bias opinion, we also see first hand the buyers in the Pleasanton, Dublin, Livermore, Danville and San Ramon markets who are waiting for the right point to purchase. Think of it like a group of runners at a start line shoulder to shoulder holding everyone else back waiting to sprint or ‘jump’ into the market. The number of people waiting is huge and once the media is in line with what those buyers at the start line want to hear or see in the data trends, the real estate market will explode. My point is this – Don’t try to time the market, you will have a hard time doing it because every markt is different, but buy a home for the reason our grandparents did! When the time is right for you, buy and hold.

Buy smart and do your homework!

Median Prices of Homes in Pleasanton have obviously increased from 1988. As well as Dublin Home sales and Livermore prices.

Here are some numbers for Median Prices of Single Family Homes…

1988 Pleasanton Home in January was $189,000 (interest rate 10.38)

1991 Livermore Home in January was $200,000 (interest rate 9.64)

1999 Dublin Home in September was $320,000 (interest rate 7.82)

FAST FORWARD… May of 2008

Pleasanton Home $1,044,570

Livermore Home $518,469

Dublin Home $640,717

Here is a full report of Median Prices of Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore Homes

 Pleasanton Median Price History 

Livermore Median Price History

Dublin Median Price History 

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What helps Pleasanton Home Values and Tri Valley Home Values? Convenience!

Think about this…

Your office is in the Hacienda Business Park, what city is more convenient, Danville or Pleasanton.
Your child attends The Athenian School, what is more convenient, a Danville home or Livermore home
You collect sea shells, what is more convenient, a Malibu home or a San Ramon home
You are a professional golfer, what is more convenient, living on 17 mile drive or above a barber shop downtown.

So if everyone wants great weather, access to BART or the ACE train for work, amazing schools, great dining (the list goes on)… and the closer you are the more you will pay, convenience is important.

A home in Superior, WI is less expensive than a home in Pleasanton, CA because of convenience. It may be harder to find a job, a longer trip to get to a store, farther to drive to go to school, longer seasons…

When you look for a home, pay close attention to convenience - the person who buys it from you will be! Price is important, but dont be fooled by a ‘deal’, there is a reason the Central Valley is seeing a lot of foreclosures. Buyers were lured in by pricing and forgot the #1 rule in real estate, convenience A.K.A. LOCATION! Whats the #2 rule in real estate? Hire a top agent who understands that.