Chuck Barberini Real Estate

    Check Out This Weeks Newsletter Cash buyers just hit their lowest share since 2020. Here's what the data means for financed buyers and the script to get them off the sidelines. For the past few years, financed buyers have had it rough. On top of affordability challenges, cash offers were everywhere, and sellers loved them. Buyers without a pile of liquid money felt like they were showing up to a gunfight with a water pistol.  A lot of those buyers eventually just stopped showing up.  Good news for those buyers? The water’s getting warmer. According to a new Redfin report, 28.8% of U.S. home purchases were made in all cash in March 2026. That’s tied for the lowest March share since 2020, and it’s down from 29.8% just a year ago.  The all-cash surge that peaked at nearly 35% in 2023 is cooling off, and the buyers who got squeezed out during that run should be on your call list right now. The conditions that made cash offers nearly impossible to beat have ...

  “Just Thinking" On May 27, 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge officially opened for a pedestrian day, which was unlike anything the city had ever seen. Thousands of people stepped onto the newly finished span, eager to celebrate the much-anticipated opening and to take advantage of a chance to stroll high above the churning waters of the Golden Gate. By the end of the day, more than 200,000 people had crossed the bridge. There was no single “first walker”, just a surge of humanity claiming the moment together. One person of note was Donald Bryan, a college sprinter who made his mark by becoming the first person to cross the entire span, running the full distance. The following day, the bridge opened to automobiles, transforming it from an engineering marvel into a vital artery connecting San Francisco to Marin County and beyond. Frank Pierce Doyle, the Santa Rosa banker often called the “father of the Golden Gate Bridge,” is credited with being the first to ride across, while his chau...

  Check Out This Weeks Newsletter A new NAR and Realtor.com report finds middle-income households can access only 23% of listings nationwide, and the U.S. needs 311,000 more homes priced under $261,000 to close the gap. More listings have hit the market over the past year, and that’s great news. The problem? Most of those listings are priced in a range that leaves a huge chunk of buyers out in the cold. A new joint report from the National Association of REALTORS and Realtor.com has the numbers to back that up. They built something called the Listing-Income Alignment Score, a metric designed to measure how well the homes available for sale actually match what local households can afford to spend. Long story short: things are getting better, but the difference between what’s for sale and what buyers can afford to buy is still wide enough to keep a lot of people on the sidelines.  Here’s what the data shows, and what it means for the conversations y...

  Let's be real with each other for a second about affordability. Because you deserve someone who will be honest and transparent about what’s going on, especially if you’ve got a move on your mind. Here’s the full picture of what’s happening and why. The good – and the bad. So, you know what it truly means for your move. Because while rates are certainly a big part of affordability, they’re not the only factor at play. Mortgage Rates Have Been Rising After a year or more of rates trending down, they’ve started to climb again. And, if you’re looking to buy, that’s not what you want to see. But it has happened. And here’s why. Uncertainty is the enemy of mortgage rates. And with lingering global uncertainty, ongoing tensions in the Middle East, and inflation refusing to fully cool off, there’s a lot that’s having an effect on rates. Colin Robertson, Founder of The Truth About Mortgage , put it plainly: "You can't have $100 a barrel oil and not expect inflation to rise, which...

  As Memorial Day rolls around each year, it’s easy to fall into the usual routine. The barbecues get fired up, people hit the road, families get together, and just like that it feels like the unofficial start of summer. And there’s nothing wrong with any of that… it’s good to be around the people you care about. But somewhere in the middle of all that, it’s easy to lose sight of what the day is really about. Memorial Day isn’t really a celebration, it’s more of a pause. A moment to step back and remember the men and women who gave their lives serving this country. The ones who never made it home. The ones whose stories don’t always get told but are carried quietly by the families they left behind. Behind every flag that’s folded, there’s a life. A story. A family that still feels that loss. And the thing is, remembering doesn’t have to be anything big or complicated. It can be as simple as taking a minute of silence, stopping by a local memorial, or just talking about someone who ...

“Just Thinking" I have spoken before about our hearty forefathers. When reflecting on the Donner Party, what stands out beyond the tragic reality that they were stranded for a winter in the High Sierras, is the courage that it took to begin the journey. These were families who left Springfield, Il., with all their possessions crammed inside a wagon. They were drawn by the promise of opportunity and a new beginning in the West, yet ahead of them lay hardship, uncertainty, and constant risk. What carried them forward was a deep conviction that the possibilities that lie ahead were worth the dangers along the way. I wrote about our trip a couple of years ago, driving from Boise, Idaho, to Yellowstone, I remember looking out both sides of the truck and seeing nothing but open country stretching as far as the eye could see. It made me think of those families a century ago, making that same journey, covering maybe 20 miles a day. I felt that same sense of awe again while crossing Death ...