Bernard’s San Ramon Valley Blog

2007 and 2008 have been stressful years for many homeowners, particularly those who bought their homes within the last couple of years. The vast majority of these are doing fine, even though they have seen the equity in their homes decreasing but the people who bought homes with little or no down payment and those who borrowed money on the basis of “stated income” just because they could not otherwise qualify are those that got into trouble.

Many of these people have been forced into “short sales” and others have been foreclosed on. The reaction of lenders, who many believe are largely responsible for this mess any way, was to suddenly decide that they didn’t really want to lend to anybody with less than 30% down so loans became hard to get.

The Good News

Now there are signs that things are getting better. From June 1st, Fanny Mae scrapped its “Declining Markets” policy which effectively meant that the largest available loans to most people was 90%. Now with 95% loans available again, first-time buyers can qualify for a loan, thus stimulating the market from the bottom.

The increase in conforming loan limits in March is also just starting to have an effect. $417,000 was the previous limit for lower cost conforming loans but now, with the limit at $729,750, buyers can get a first loan up to that figure at a low interest rate, topping it up with a second loan for the balance of financing needed, rather than take out a large, expensive, jumbo loan.

Higher limits for FHA loans are also starting to have an impact. With just 3% down a home buyer, even with less than stellar credit, can qualify to buy with a loan up to $729,750.

The Market Will Recover

All of this is helping to move the real estate market towards recovery. And it will recover. Fully. A new study from the Joint Center For Housing Studies of Harvard University finds the country poised to see an increase in housing demand over the next decade. The reason? Our population is growing.

From 2010 to 2020 the population will grow by an average of more than 1.4 million people per year. That is a lot of growth.

And note that this is a nationwide study. If you look at Danville or San Ramon for example, you will see that we almost always have a buoyant housing market.

Our Market Is Resilient

Even now, with all the talk of doom and gloom, there is less than a 6 month supply of homes for sale based on the latest figures. 3-6 months supply is generally considered a neutral market. Less than 3 months is a sellers’ market and over 6 months is a buyers’ market. You can find a buyers market in Brentwood or Pittsburg or Antioch or even Concord but you won’t find it here. That’s why our prices have stopped plummeting. Sure there are some low priced homes to be found but they are mostly bank owned foreclosures, many of which are in pretty bad shape. An increasing number of the rest are selling above list price and with multiple offers.
All of the above has to be good news for the real estate market and home owners as a whole.

Soon, things will get back to normal with moderate 2-4% annual increases in value backed by sensible lending policies.

Situated across from the KFC and just inside the San Ramon border, Incontro Ristorante is a relative newcomer to the San Ramon restaurant scene and located as it is, in premises that has seen a multitude of restaurants fail, it seemed that opening yet another Italian restaurant was a brave move.

But owners Gianni Bartoletti and Luigi Troccoli obviously knew what they were doing. Incontro was an immediate hit with San Ramon foodies and if you want to eat here at the weekend, you better call a couple of days ahead for a reservation. This place is popular.

Incontro has an ambience that equals the best in the area, very reminiscent of a quality restaurant in Europe. This, combined with authentic, well prepared Italian food and attentive but unobtrusive service is the secret of its success.

Sylvia and I recently visited Incontro on a Tuesday evening in June. On entering, we immediately got a feeling that this was a cut above the average San Ramon restaurant. The combination of attractive surrounding with wood paneling and subtle pale yellow walls and a quiet buzz, even though only a few tables were occupied, was very encouraging.

For an appetizer, we shared the house salad - baby spinach with bell pepper, goats cheese, toasted almonds and a balsamic vinaigrette. This was the perfect appetizer and one portion was just about right to share.

Moving on to our main courses, Sylvia had  a flatiron steak with a port wine sauce which came with sweet and sour onions. The texture was firm, rather than chewy and the flavor of everything was superb. I went for the pan seared duck breast which was served with an Italian grape must reduction. Possibly served a little too pink for some people, this is exactly how duck breast should be in my opinion and this is one of the best I have ever tasted. It was absolutely outstanding. We accompanied this with an excellent bottle of Verdicchio from their predominately Italian wine list.

Now as regular readers know, we don’t often do dessert but we made an exception in this case having spotted a Panna Cotta on the dessert menu. Italians seem to understand desserts better than most. For those who don’t know, Panna Cotta is an eggless Italian vanilla custard and in this instance it was served with a wild cherry preserve. This is not an overly sweet dessert but the flavors are just phenomenal. The perfect end to an excellent meal.

Try it and you’ll like it! We will be back. Find out more at their web site at www.IncontroSanRamon.com.