Sunvalley Shopping Center, in what will likely be a boost for East Bay retail, will add some major new retailers this year and next, including a Forever 21 mega-store at the Concord mall.

The new retailers are XXI — the mega-store for the Forever 21 brand — A’GACI and Jessica McClintock. All these stores cater to young women.

via Sunvalley mall bags 2 new retailers for young women – ContraCostaTimes.com.

This is a post from Peter Maclennan's blog Peter Pays Paul.

Sunvalley mall bags 2 new retailers for young women – ContraCostaTimes.com

Concord approves plan for weapons station – ContraCostaTimes.com.

This is a post from Peter Maclennan's blog Peter Pays Paul.

Concord approves plan for weapons station

Mr. Stoler accurately states that for new or inexperienced developers the sources of capital are few and far between. He writes:

“The answer for a growing number of these borrowers is alternative, or specialty, lenders that provide financing at higher rates and with stricter conditions.”

Still Lending

While the credit crunch has decreased the supply of funds, specialty lenders are still willing to lend on the right deal. Specialty lenders can be hard money lenders or hedge funds.

In order to obtain a loan from these specialty lenders, borrowers should have lots of cash and a solid project grounded in reality, not the past boom market. Mezzanine lenders and joint venture funds help borrowers with limited cash acquire the necessary equity to gain financing.

Borrowers should expect a rate in the double digits and higher fees to pay for the speed that specialty lenders provide.

If you need specialty financing, please feel free to call me at (925) 280-5388.

This is a post from Peter Maclennan's blog Peter Pays Paul.

Specialty Lenders Thrive in a Challenging Economy

The article reports that those eligible for the tax reduction should expect a card in the mail by this weekend notifying them of the smaller tax bill.

This is a post from Peter Maclennan's blog Peter Pays Paul.

Tax Relief for 20,000 Contra Costa County Homeowners

Why? In many markets, including the East Bay Area of California, the market has returned to a more normal status. The insanity of the seller’s market during 2004 and 2005 has shifted to a buyer’s market. In some areas of the country there has been a price correction for homes.

The buyer’s market is a simple product of supply and demand. Currently, there are more homes on the market than buyers. This creates a surplus of homes. In Concord, California there was roughly a 12 month supply of single-family homes available, according to my calculations.

Two things can resolve the current surplus of homes. 1) More home buyers enter the real estate market. This is the more unlikely solution. Mortgage lenders have tightened their qualifications for loans. Eligible home buyers must have better credit scores and a stable financial situation to qualify for loans. Also, interest rates have increased in the past few weeks, decreasing the amount home buyers qualify to purchase. The combination of these two factors make this solution less likely than the other.

2) Home owners decrease their home prices. Sellers will need to make their home more attractive to the available home buyers in the market. One of the ways will be a reduction in listing price. This can be evidenced through buyer incentives (credits toward closing costs) or by lowering the asking price. Home sellers are forced to compete on price to entice buyers into the home.

Home sellers cannot immediately increase the number of home buyers as a result of their actions. However, a home owner can lower the price of their home to increase the home’s attractiveness to the available buyers. If you can buy more house for less money, why wouldn’t you?

This makes it a great market to buy a home for investment or personal use. I say that with a caveat: The holding period should be greater than two (2) years. I make this caveat because I think that we are near the bottom of the current real estate market correction. I am not sure that we have reached the absolute bottom yet. A two year holding period allows for the real estate market to reach bottom and begin to rise again.

My advice to buyers and investors: Call your agent today and get in the market! This in my opinion is a great time to buy for the long haul.

My advice to sellers: Do not expect to set the terms of the deal. You are no longer in the driver’s seat of the real estate market and need to make concessions to home buyers.

This is a post from Peter Maclennan's blog Peter Pays Paul.

A Great Market to Buy Real Estate