According to DataQuick, foreclosures accounted for 25% of Bay Area homes purchaed in April. We’ve seen a lot of press over the last year on foreclosure activity in Conta Costa County and the Greater Bay Area. This is the first report, I have seen on the impact foreclosure purchases are having on home sales.

We’ve reported on foreclosure activity in San Ramon & Danville, Dublin, and Concord CA. We also noted how investor activity is increasing with foreclosure purchases. And, we have have also been reporting on how lenders are trying to help expedite the purchase of REOs (bank owned properties).

It is no surprise to us to read this news from DQ. In fact, it’s not really news to those who have been following the local real estate markets except for the actual figure.

Every week at the local Realtor marketing meetings in San Ramon, Pleasanton and Concord, we hear reports from our fellow professionals on increased home sales activity in Contra Costa County.

Craig, our foreclosure expert, has been talking with as many past clients as he can about the investment opportunity that exists today with all of the available REOs on the market. We are also noticing more buyers approaching us with an interest in bank owned properties.

We expect this 25% figure to rise. It will come as no surprise to us to see foreclosure sales account for 40% of all home sales in Contra Costa County by the end of the year.

If you have an interest in purchasing a foreclosed property (REO, bank owned), contact Craig – (925) 984-4910

Related Article:

One Sign That Markets Are At Bottom…

Walnut Creek CA News Flash !! - Is a broken water main responsible for this flooding in downtown Walnut Creek CA?

We know it isn't the heavy rains because we haven't seen any rain in months.

It isn't the melting snow pack or the creeks of Walnut Creek overflowing either.

How then to we explain all of this water at the recent ground-breaking ceremony in Walnut Creek.

Blame it on WaterEfect.net where you can upload any image to create this effect. Whew! I don't know what we would do with that kind of flooding in Walnut Creek.

Maybe we can solve the San Joaquin Valley's water problems with some Internet magic.

My friend, Holly Beck, called yesterday and said they (The Balloonman) were doing a big balloon arch for the ground-breaking ceremony for the new library in Walnut Creek CA. She wanted to know if I was interested in stopping by – so I did.

I don’t know how big this sucker was, but the winds came up and we were hard pressed to keep the balloon arch looking like an arch.

Walnut Creek Mayor Gwen Regalia and the City Council were on hand to give speeches, dig dirt and have pictures taken to celebrate the launch of the construction phase of the project.

After the speeches, we had to move the arch to the bare dirt area of the site where everyone grabbed a shovel and dug a little dirt while photographers on top of the building across the street took pictures.

The Balloonman is extremely busy right now with graduation events. Holly tells me the next six weeks are the busiest time of the year for them, though New Year’s Eve remains the single busiest business day for them. The Balloonman is in their twentieth year of business.

It seems the time is about right to share the love – Link Love. Here is a list of the blogs I currently follow:

I use Netvibes as my reader and organize the blogs I read under tabs.

Real Estate – Tech – Business – Boomers – Creative – San Ramon -Blog

Here is what is under Blogs, San Ramon, Creative and Boomers

• http://www.lipsticking.com/
• http://www.readwriteweb.com/
• http://zillman.blogspot.com/
• http://www.pr-squared.com/
• http://imonlinkedinnowwhat.com/
• http://lifehacker.com/tag/collaboration/
• http://www.copyblogger.com/
• http://www.researchbuzz.org/wp/
• http://www.blogher.com/
• http://courtneytuttle.com/
• http://publishing2.com/
• http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/
• http://blog.startwithalead.com/weblog/
• http://deansguide.wordpress.com/
• http://www.open-secrets.com/
• http://coffeemessiah.blogspot.com/
• http://www.ibabuzz.com/lip/
• http://eastbay.bizjournals.com/eastbay/latestnews.html
• http://hwebbjr.typepad.com/openloops/
• http://blogtillyoudrop.wordpress.com/
• http://money.cnn.com/pf/retirement/?section=money_retirement

Tomorrow, I’ll get around to the real estate blogs

It’s getting easier to buy forclosures and bank owned properties in Danville and San Ramon CA. With increasing inventories of REOs (bank owned properties), lenders are finally speeding up the processing time to help get this distressed real estate off their books.

Today’s buyer interrested in picking up a foreclosusre or bank owned property does not have to put up with the bidding hassles on the courthouse steps. There is more than enough REO inventory to provide a great selection for buyers looking for real estate deals.

RealtyTrac is showing the following for San Ramon California:

• 182 – Pre-Foreclosure
• 66 – Auction
• 106 – Bank Owned

Here are the figures for Danville, California:

• 89 – Pre-Foreclosure
• 25 – Auction
• 39 – Bank Owned

The best course of action for purchasing foreclosures or bank owned properties in Danville or San Ramon is to contact Paul Mees – 925–963–4246. Paul is leading the effort for our team with REO’s and distressed properties.

We deal with many of the major lending institutions that are carrying inventories of bank owned proeprties like Countrywide Home Loans, Bank of America and Wells Fargo.