Laura Ingalls Wilder (of Little House on the Prairie fame) moved SEVEN times when she was a little girl in the 1870s (from Wisconsin to Missouri to Kansas to Wisconsin to Minnesota to South Dakota). She failed to mention three of the moves in her famous books because they didn't always work out well, and life was […]

Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, and Concord are practically neighbors. Same BART line, same highway, same grocery stores. But the cost of living across these three cities is not the same, and the gap is bigger than most people expect. If you're trying to figure out where your housing dollar goes furthest in central […]

“What’s good for General Motors is good for America!” That is a slight bastardization of a quote famously uttered by GM’s CEO in 1953 – and he was largely right. What is ironic, though, is that the opposite is true for the mortgage industry (and for real estate). The post Woohoo! Another Financial Crisis Is […]

The Bay Area housing market heading into spring 2026 looks different from the past three years. Mortgage rates have dropped to their lowest point since early 2023. Inventory is slowly The post Bay Area Real Estate Market Report in 2026 appeared first on JVM Lending.

Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill share a border, a BART line, and a lot of the same suburban appeal. Both are in central Contra Costa County, both draw families and The post Walnut Creek vs. Pleasant Hill: Pros and Cons for Homebuyers appeared first on JVM Lending.

Pleasant Hill is one of those East Bay cities that people describe the same way: quiet, family-friendly, and easy to get to everything. With a population of about 34,000, it The post Living in Pleasant Hill, CA: What Families and Buyers Should Know appeared first on JVM Lending.

NOTE: Rates have been rising again on more oil market news. My Marketing Director, however, told me that I can’t blog about “the stupid oil markets” again. 😊 So, suffice it to say that oil market jitters (and inflation concerns) resulting from the Iran war continue to drive rates higher. The post The Coming […]

When you see that the typical home in Walnut Creek is over $1 million, it's easy to assume the market just isn't for you. But the purchase price is only part of the story. What actually matters is the monthly payment, and once you run the real numbers, the picture often looks a lot more manageable than the headline […]

Dallas-Fort Worth is one of the fastest-growing metros in the country, so it might surprise you to hear that home prices actually dropped in 2025. Nearly 6% down from the year before, with more inventory, less competition, and real room to negotiate. If you've been waiting for DFW to cool off before making a move, […]

Austin's housing market has done a complete 180 from the chaotic, over-asking, multiple-offer frenzy of 2022. Prices are down nearly 20% from their peak, inventory is at pre-pandemic levels, and buyers finally have room to breathe — and negotiate. If you've been waiting on the sidelines for Austin to come back down […]