We celebrated the New Year at our new condominium with a lake view in Tahoe City at the Tahoe Marina Lodge. The plan was to spend the week there and come home Sunday. However, the New Year's Day weather forecast projected one of the worst storms in the last 5 years -- blizzard conditons--, so we headed home Thursday night. We figured, better to be home than snowed in and without electricity in the mountains, right? However, back at home we found high winds and sideways rain in the middle of the night that took out our power and most of our lawn furniture! As you all know it was a good decision since we would probably be snowed in if we had stayed in Tahoe.

I love this time of the year. It is a "fresh start" as I make new goals and continue with the ones in the past. I am very optimistic about this year especially when I look back at 2007 and see that the home values in San Francisco went up an average of 8.2% last year-- a year that was supposed to be the worst in a long time. Predictions for 2008 are very positive as interest rates are very low and of course it is an election year which is traditionally good. Of course, my crystal ball broke when I got into real estate 33 years ago. 

I do know that the first property I bought then for $52,000 (with interest rates at 8.5%) is now worth over $1,000,000! I have continued to invest in property. In 1987 I showed a client a 4 unit building on Arguello which was listed for $500,000. She declined to buy it so I bought it. I lived there and converted the building to condos, I did some improvements over the years, rented them out and then in 2004 sold them individually for a gross sales price in excess of $3,000,000. So the lesson is don't wait to buy or move up--- it will only get more expensive.

This is a reminder that we have a strong network of agents in other areas to whom we can refer with confidence. We've already sent some happy buyers and sellers outside of San Francisco, and have had a few referred to us, so if you or someone you know needs to buy or sell property somewhere else in the country, keep us in mind. In return for the lead, we'll give you a chance to win our Rewards for RE-ferrals contest for a weekend in Tahoe.

The January 2008 Real Estate Market Report for December is now available on our website. December sales histories may be seen here.

Want to vacation in North Lake Tahoe? We have a very nice 2 bedroom, 2 bath condominium available for rent in Tahoe City at Tahoe Marina Lodge, a lake front complex. This unit has panoramic lake and mountain views yet is within walking distance to shops and restaurants. Tahoe is an excellent place to get away from the fast pace of city life and enjoy nature. This is the condominium we use for our Rewards for RE-ferrals.

Want to sit on the beach on the Big Island of Hawaii? We have a fabulous 3 bedroom, 3 and 1/2 bath beach front condo at Waikoloa on the Big Island available for rent with ocean views and steps from the "A" Bay beach. Kolea is a gated community close to all of the amenities of Waikoloa-- swim with the dolphins, golf, swim, snorkel or just enjoy the sun. Send us an e-mail or call for details. This condo is also on the market!

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