Homes for Sale in the Dana Estates Neighborhood of Concord
The Dana Estates Neighborhood Garage Sale is coming up on September 18th. There is still time to register your household for the event.
Please go to SellingDanaEstates.com/Garage-Sale to complete the registration and let us know what you will be selling.
In past years we have had over 40 households participate. Register now so that we can make sure your house is on the map for neighbors entering our community.
The San Francisco Business Times is reporting that the City of Concord is on the hunt for a new developer for 2,300 acres of the former Concord Naval Weapons Station (CNWS).
The city has put an accelerated timeline on the RFQ process. With the RFQ slated to be released on April 16th and responses due by potential developers by June 16th.
The City has some stringent demands for any potential developer:
In the new RFQ, the city stipulates that bidders have to honor Concord’s 40% local hire policy; pay prevailing wages on all construction to avoid driving down area wage standards; and utilize a training and employment program for military veterans. Respondents also must explain how they intend to maximize business opportunities for local companies.
SF Business Times
The requirements of local hire and prevailing wage (union wages) will likely increase the costs to any potential developer.
As well, “The city expects the selected developer to rehabilitate a number of community facilities and build two new ones on land set aside for a veteran’s facility,” likely adding additional costs to the project.
The East Bay Times reports that the transfer won’t take place until the Navy has completed their cleanup.
The U.S. Navy, meanwhile, will be responsible for cleaning up toxic chemicals that may have built up at the site over its years as a weapons station. The Environmental Protection Agency is currently assessing the site’s soil for PFAS, a highly toxic fluorinated chemical.
Hopefully, this process is smoother and without the ugliness of the previous process.
CA Dreaming Docuseries
Have you seen the docuseries produced by ABC television stations in California about the Future of the Golden State?
Then entire video is about 28 minutes long, but has been broken up into a number of shorter segments on the following topics.
Episode 1: State of the State
First, we’ll look at the population flux. Many of our friends, neighbors and co-workers are moving out, but most of us are staying put. We’ll find out where people are going and staying — and why.
Episode 2: Wildfires
We’ve sweated it out in record heat. We’ve stood strong against raging wildfires and stared in dismay at our smoke-filled skies. Now, we’ll share stories from the fire lines and gather wisdom from our brightest minds. Their big ideas that could save the West Coast.
Episode 3: Cost of Living
We share the same beautiful state, but live in completely different worlds: the wealthy and those who struggle financially. With the world’s fifth largest economy, what can we do to bridge California’s economic divide? It’s not only a question for the experts. We talked to everyday people tackling challenges they never imagined – and succeeding.
Episode 4: Earthquakes
THE BIG ONE. We’ve been warned about it for decades. With the disruption we’ve faced in 2020, have we forgotten about California’s most destructive environmental threat? There’s hope. We’ll check out the newest technology helping us prepare.
Episode 5: The California Dream
Californians have always shown resilience, no matter what comes our way. Maybe it’s the sound of the surf or the dependable sunshine that inspires us to rise together day after day. Meet the people making waves, and discover the places that still make the California dream come true for everyone.
California is a beautiful state in which to reside. It faces many challenges, but offers a number of opportunities.
If you have a real estate question, please reach out to Peter at 925-385-8798.
Having a knowledgeable and experienced real estate broker on your side helps protect your interests and ensure you make the best possible decisions. We are dedicated to keeping on top of the real estate market and keeping you informed of changes. You can rest easily knowing you made a well-informed decision based on experience and insight into the Concord California market.
Questions about where the real estate market is as of December 15, 2020? Here are a few answers in the video below. (Hint: read the sign.)
Having a knowledgeable and experienced real estate broker on your side helps protect your interests and ensure you make the best possible decisions. We are dedicated to keeping on top of the real estate market and keeping you informed of changes. You can rest easily knowing you made a well-informed decision based on experience and insight into the Concord California market.
To reach Peter Maclennan please call 925.385.8798 or email at peter@maclennaninvestments.com.
Have you noticed that homes are in short supply even though we are in the midst of a pandemic?
JVM Lending published a great blog on the single-family home shortage last week. In the article he named the following as top reasons for low inventory:
An additional reason touched on in the article for low inventory is the addition of Wall St. Money to the home purchase market place. Just this week, the largest home owner in America announced that they had raised another $1 Billion (with a B) to buy homes in suburban neighborhoods.
America’s Largest Landlord Adds $1 Billion for Its House Hunt WSJ.com
GlobeSt.com is forecasting that demand for single-family rental market will continue to grow.
Doing an address search for the mailing address of Invitation Homes provided approximately 350 homes owned by the company in Contra Costa County.
Tricon American Homes, the second largest home rental company, appears to own over 230 homes in Contra Costa County.
Combined this is nearly 600 homes that we should not expect to sell anytime in the near future as the investment model of these two companies is for long-term cash flow.
What’s the conclusion we can draw from this? Housing inventory remains extremely low despite high demand and low interest rates.
Sellers can expect a properly price property to sell quickly.
Buyers should realize that the market is competitive and they should write a very strong offer.
If you are thinking of selling, now is a great time to capture equity and position yourself in cash for the next purchase. I would love to discuss this option with you.
Peter Maclennan
Real Estate Broker
925-385-8798
DRE #01801793
I enjoy reading smart people and Jay Voorhees at JVM Lending is a smart guy. He writes this:
… Here is my point: efficient markets theory applies to housing too, which means that subsidies in any form will usually drive up the price of housing.
Why Low Rates Are BAD For Homebuyers
And very low rates fostered by the gov’t policy are a subsidy of sorts, and they will push up the price of housing – again.
In the short run, lower rates are definitely a gift for most borrowers, but over the long run, housing prices usually adjust to reflect the impact of lower rates.
We are seeing a huge surge in demand for housing now, driven by pent up demand from buyers who were on the sidelines b/c of COVID-19 and by demographics overall.
But another reason demand is so strong is low rates, and we are already seeing the results.
July Bidding Wars Jumped 5x From 2019, according to this article from National Mortgage News.
Demand for housing is strong in the East Bay. Some clients are moving out of denser areas and moving to our area for outdoor space, a bigger house, and for better schooling options in a Covid-impacted world.
If you are thinking of buying a home, be prepared to write a strong offer and to face competition. Make sure you have your financing lined up and that you are working with an experienced real estate agent.
With high demand and low rates, buyers are competing for well priced homes. It is a great time to sell your Dana Estates home!
Peter Maclennan
Broker
DRE#: 01801793
925-385-8798
To reach Peter Maclennan please call 925.385.8798 or email at peter@maclennaninvestments.com.
Flowers of Dana Estates
Not only does the Dana Estates neighborhood have some wonderful real estate. It is home to some wonderful gardeners as evidenced by the beautiful flowers that abound.
All of the photos have been taken while walking around the Dana Estates Neighborhood under the Shelter-in-place.
Unfortunately, I don’t know all the names of the flowers. If you know the names, would you share them in the comments below?
Having a knowledgeable and experienced real estate broker on your side helps protect your interests and ensure you make the best possible decisions. We are dedicated to keeping on top of the real estate market and keeping you informed of changes. You can rest easily knowing you made a well-informed decision based on experience and insight into the Concord California market.
To reach Peter Maclennan please call 925.385.8798 or email at peter@maclennaninvestments.com.
Search for the newest homes for sale in Concord by map (click the map below):
At a video meeting on Tuesday March 24, 2020 the Concord City Council voted against extending the exclusive negotiating agreement with Lennar to be the Master Developer of the Concord Naval Weapons Station (CNWS).
According the the SF Business Times:
The city and the Contra Costa Building Trades Council have been at loggerheads with Lennar for several months over how much union labor the developer would use on the $5 billion project.
SF Business Times
It is unclear what the path forward will be after this vote.
By refusing to extend an exclusive negotiating agreement with Lennar that expires next week and rejecting demands the developer made in January, the council effectively sent the project back to the drawing board.
EastBayTimes.com
The City is going to review the impact of COVID-19 on the city’s finances and also on the Bay Area economy.
The Dana Estates neighborhood in the 94519 zip code is home to residents from various stages of life.
A desire among many seniors is to “age in place.” According to the Senior Resource Guide, the term means,
“…that you will be remaining in your own home for the later years of your life; not moving into a smaller home, assisted living, or a retirement community etcetera.”
There is no doubt about it – there’s a comfort in staying in a home you’ve lived in for many years instead of moving to a totally new or unfamiliar environment. There is, however, new information that suggests this might not be the best option for everyone. The familiarity of your current home is the pro of aging in place, but the potential financial drawbacks to remodeling or renovating might actually be more costly than the long-term benefits.
A recent report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (JCHS) titled Housing America’s Older Adults explained,
“Given their high homeownership rates, most older adults live in single-family homes. Of the 24 million homeowners age 65 and over, fully 80 percent lived in detached single-family units…The majority of these homes are now at least 40 years old and therefore may present maintenance challenges for their owners.”
If you’re in this spot, 40 years ago you may have had a growing family. For that reason, you probably purchased a 4-bedroom Colonial on a large piece of property in a child-friendly neighborhood. It was a great choice for your family, and you still love that home.
Today, your kids are likely grown and moved out, so you don’t need all of those bedrooms. Yard upkeep is probably very time consuming, too. You might be thinking about taking some equity out of your house and converting one of your bedrooms into a massive master bathroom, and maybe another room into an open-space reading nook. You might also be thinking about cutting back on lawn maintenance by installing a pool surrounded by beautiful paving stones.
It all sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? For the short term, you may really enjoy the new upgrades, but you’ll still have to climb those stairs, pay to heat and cool a home that’s larger than what you need, and continue fixing all the things that start to go wrong with a 40-year-old home.
Last month, in their Retirement Report, Kiplinger addressed the point,
“Renovations are just a part of what you need to make aging in place work for you. While it’s typically less expensive to remain in your home than to pay for assisted living, that doesn’t mean it’s a slam dunk to stay put. You’ll still have a long to-do list. Just one example: You need to plan ahead for how you will manage maintenance and care—for your home, and for yourself.”
So, at some point, the time may come when you decide to sell this house anyway. That can pose a big challenge if you’ve already taken cash value out of your home and used it to do the type of remodeling we mentioned above. Realistically, you may have inadvertently lowered the value of your home by doing things like reducing the number of bedrooms. The family moving into your neighborhood is probably similar to what your family was 40 years ago. They probably have young children, need the extra bedrooms, and may be nervous about the pool.
Before you spend the money to remodel or renovate your current house so you can age in place, let’s get together to determine if it is truly your best option. Making a move to a smaller home in the neighborhood might make the most sense.
Having a knowledgeable and experienced real estate broker on your side helps protect your interests and ensure you make the best possible decisions. We are dedicated to keeping on top of the real estate market and keeping you informed of changes. You can rest easily knowing you made a well-informed decision based on experience and insight into the Concord California market.
To reach Peter Maclennan please call 925.385.8798 or email at peter@maclennaninvestments.com.
Search for the newest homes for sale in Concord by map (click the map below):
As part of the Concord Naval Weapons Station redevelopment, a new park is being formed. The City of Concord and East Bay Regional Park District is seeking input on the new name for the park. It is currently being called the Concord Hills Regional Park.
Concord Residents can take the survey here that will help the Park District determine the permanent name for the park. Voting is open until March 9, 2020.
The new park, will encompass approximately 2,540 acres when completed. It will include future amenities such as a visitor center, staging areas, public access points, and miles of recreational trails for hiking, biking, and nature viewing.
In July of 2019 a ceremony for the transfer of 2,216 acres from the Navy to the Park Service occurred. Currently, the park is in land bank status and not available to the public.
The East Bay Regional Park District has made a brochure on the draft plan for the park available.
The full EIR plan is also available from the East Bay Regional Park District.
