Posts Tagged ‘Silicon Valley Real Estate’

Top 10 Silicon Valley Real Estate Trends for 2009

By Dawn Thomas | December 16th, 2009 0 Comments

As 2009 draws to a close – you’ll soon be reading lots of  top 10 lists for the movers, shakers, and trends of the year and the decade!   In the spirit of being just a little ahead of the crowd, here’s our list of the top Silicon Valley Real Estate trends of 2009:

1. Low Interest Rates – with More Strings –  Interest rates have been low this year, with periodic dips into historic record  ”low” territory.   These great rates, though, come with seemingly ever-changing requirements and conditions.  Selecting a great financing source who can get you great rates AND help you navigate through the process has never been more important.

2. We’ve Got to Keep It Together For Longer – With the changing lending guidelines, it’s been taking longer for properties to close escrow and having a signed purchase contract did not automatically mean a closed escrow in 2009.   Having a black belt negotiator on your real estate team has been critical this year.

3. “Turn Key” is Hotter than Ever – A few years ago – buyers could purchase a property & count on some quick appreciation to pay for a remodel in just a little time.  Now – buyers can’t count on home appreciation to finance a remodel in the near term & are looking for great condition, move-in ready homes to buy  (as if location and condition ever go out of style in the world of real estate!).  On the other hand – for buyers seeking to purchase a property in a high-demand area like Palo Alto or Cupertino – it may pay to look for properties needing some work.  If you can see the potential in a fixer – you may have fewer competing bids from other potential buyers.

4. Buying a Silicon Valley Foreclosure is not as Easy As It Sounds - Some of the busiest agents in any real estate office are the ones listing “Real Estate Owned” or REO properties for the banks.    Buying one of these properties means navigating a maze of bank-specific requirements for making the offer, competing against multiple offers (some properties are getting 20, 30 or even 50 offers), and positioning your offer against “all cash” investors.  Finding a deal & making sure it stays a “good deal” through the process is not for the faint-of-heart!

5. No Shortage of Short Sales – over the course of 2009 – we continued to see properties listed for less than what is owed to the lender(s) – resulting in a short sale requiring lender(s) approval to go through.   We’re starting to see short sale listings where the lender has approved a short listing price – allowing the whole process to go smoother and quicker.

6. The Year of the First-Time Buyer – with more affordable home prices, the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit, and sweet interest rates – many of the homes sold in 2009 went to first time home buyers.   In the final months of the year – we are starting to see more and more “move up” buyers rousing the mid and higher-end price points.  Welcome!  Please bring friends!   This is a trend we want to see continue & grow in 2010!

7. Deal Hunting in Palo Alto – Where’s the deal on a single family home in Palo Alto for less than $300,000?  The media in 2009 did a fantastic job of painting the picture of real estate in free fall, and we went through a period in the spring where every day brought Internet inquiries looking for the extraordinary deal in Palo Alto.  According to the MLS – the least expensive Palo Alto single family home sold so far in 2009 went for $703,000 for a 67 year old, 703 square foot cottage with foundation issues.

8. Your Home May Have a Bigger Electronic Footprint than You Do - Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are 2009 Trendsetters above and beyond the world of buying and selling dirt.  In real estate, though,  the savvy home seller now ensures that their Real Estate agent is marketing  their property through multiple Internet channels.    Wouldn’t  you want 30 million visitors at your open house – especially the ones who can’t leave foot prints on your new carpet?

9. Welcome to California! – We are working with an increasing number of clients who are relocating to Silicon Valley for a new job.  It looks like both our job market and our real estate market are picking up!   Welcome!

10. Less to Pick From, More Competition – And finally, in many areas of Silicon Valley – we are seeing fewer homes on the market.    In fact, for Silicon Valley overall – more homes are “pending sale” than are actively for sale.  For buyers – this means that there are fewer homes to consider and more competition to get  your offer accepted. For sellers – it means that there are fewer competing properties.  This sets the stage for an even brighter 2010!

We wish you the best holiday season & look forward to serving you and your referrals in 2010!

  • Get new posts via email
  • Subscribe

What’s New in Los Altos?

By Dawn Thomas | October 9th, 2009 0 Comments

Silicon-Valley-And-Beyond-Presents-New-Homes-In-Los-Altos-CABuyers often contact us – looking for a new home.  With the limited land available in Silicon Valley – most folks start off with a home that could be 30, 40, or even 50 or more years old.  And even though – these older homes might be extensively remodeled and in wonderful condition – the dream of owning a brand new – never lived in – home remains.

In Los Altos – there are approximately 10,000 homes and the median age of Los Altos homes on the market is currently 47 years.  So what’s new in Los Altos?   What is available on the market that is brand new?

Currently – there are 11 new homes on the market.

Here’s the range of new single family homes in Los Altos -

High End: A brand new home with over 6700 sq feet of living space – 6 bedrooms, 4+ bathrooms, a wine cellar, and full basement on a 14,000+ sq ft lot.  List price:  $4,995,000.

Low End: A brand new home with 4000 square feet of living space – 4 bedrooms, 2 ½ bathrooms, and a basement on a 7000 sq foot lot.  This home is located on a smaller corner lot on the edge of a busy street.  On a larger lot on a quieter street – I think this home would sell for significantly more than its current list price of $1,599,000.

Just the Dirt - Note that there is one more brand new “single family” home listed for sale in Los Altos for the bargain price of only $998,888.   On closer inspection – though – it turns out that this home is actually just a nice piece of dirt.  It’s a 6750 square foot lot with approved plans and permits for a 4 bedroom, 2 ½ bath home.   You supply the general contractor, materials, labor and construction budget to build your new dream home.

The median new home on the market in Los Altos is listed for $3.2 million and features 5 bedrooms and 4+ bathrooms.  It has 3557 sq feet of living space on a lot that is approximately a quarter acre.    The spec builders in Los Altos are making these new houses “big” with lots of amenities like

  • wine cellars, outdoor kitchens and dedicated theater rooms
  • basement “suites” for the extended family (a place for your teenagers)
  • decadent master suites with huge master baths and walk-in closets bigger than my first apartment
  • great rooms combining a gourmet kitchen, walk-in pantry and family room
  • dedicated offices with built in bookcases and enough high tech wiring to make your favorite geek grin

In Los Altos, I expect to see a trend in the coming years towards slightly smaller single-level homes with an ongoing emphasis on special amenities and high end finishes.   We need our toys.

If you’re not quite ready to buy or build your brand new dream home in Los Altos, here’s a market snapshot of the overall Los Altos real estate market for single family homes:

Market Snapshot:
All  Los Altos CA Single Family Homes
As of October 5, 2009
Median List Price $1,950,000
Average List Price $2,241,075
Least Expensive Listing $998,888
Most Expensive Listing $4,995,000
Asking Price per Sq. Foot $695
Average Days on Market 123
Total Single Family Homes on Market 78
Median Home Size (sq ft) 2915
Median Lot Size (acre) 0.25- 0.50
Median Number of Bedrooms 4.0
Median Number of Bathrooms 3.0
Median Age 47
  • Get new posts via email
  • Subscribe

Intero Insider: Are We Out Of The Woods Yet? No, But There’s Light Breaking Through Yonder Trees.

By Gino Blefari | August 28th, 2009 0 Comments

It might be a little early to start cheering, but we are seeing some signs of recovery in the real estate market.

Yes, even in California!

Though home prices have fallen to levels not seen since 2003, there is news that might have us exercising cautious optimism about improvements in the real estate market. The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index Survey was released on August 25th, and we’re encouraged by their report.

Nationally home prices, while still down almost 15% from the second quarter last year, rose almost 3% from the first quarter of this year. That’s good news. One of the biggest reasons for a positive outlook is that this marks the first time in three years that there has been a quarter-over-quarter increase.

Since this Spring, market activity has been markedly higher, and we expect that trend to continue into the Fall.

What does this mean for consumers? Well, recently, fewer homes on the market have had price reductions than compared to Spring this year, which is typically the busiest time of the year for real estate sales. This is good news for sellers, as it means that their end point, while not at the level it might’ve been three years ago, is likely not going to keep declining.

Only time will tell.

The next couple of months will be critical in determining if we’re on a true upswing. Generally, the market sees a nice burst of activity in the early Fall, prior to the Holiday Season, and December 1 marks the end of eligibility for the Homebuyer Tax Credit. Those events will likely have a surge of buyers flowing into the market.

Only time will tell. But from where we sit, we hope that time will have good things to say.

  • Get new posts via email
  • Subscribe

The Intero Insider: Online home search – make sure you get the complete picture

By Gino Blefari | August 7th, 2009 0 Comments

There are lots of places to search for properties online. National sites, local sites, broker sites, agent sites.

After a while they all start to look the same.

But they are not the same.

In fact, there are important differences you probably didn’t know about.

Let me explain.

The electronic life of a property listing begins the moment an agent enters it into the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). There are thousands of MLS’s nationwide, and they serve as central regional databases that all REALTORS use to share information on properties. They are as close to a complete picture of what’s on the market as you can get.

In the past, REALTORS shared this information only amongst themselves. But in 2000, the National Association of REALTORS formalized something called IDX (Internet data exchange). IDX allows brokers and agents to show each other’s listings on their own websites.

So, for example, if you visit broker A’s website, you will see broker A’s listings, but also the listings from brokers B through Z. This is good for brokers – who get to market their listings more widely – but also good for consumers, who get a full picture of homes for sale in their market.

Everybody wins.

Now consider some of the most popular home search sites on the Internet – those run by media companies or start-ups, not real estate brokerage companies like Intero. These sites look good, but what you may not know is that many of them show you just a slice of the listings. Because they are not members of the MLS, they cannot participate in IDX.

And you, the consumer, see an incomplete picture.

Think about it: If you were shopping for digital cameras online, it might be OK to miss a few models. But homes? Not seeing all your options is a big deal.

So next time you go online to look for homes, make sure you’re on a site that gives you a complete picture.

  • Get new posts via email
  • Subscribe

Protect Your Investment & Pick Your Home Inspector Carefully

By Theresa Wellman | June 4th, 2009 1 Comment

house1Today with many of the homes available for sale being REOs and short sales, there is even more to watch out for. Typical REOs and short sale homes had owners who did not take care of their homes or worse yet, left damage. So choosing a thorough property inspector is an essential piece of a home purchase process.

Why Can’t You Do It Yourself?

I know, now that you are getting your own home, you want to care for it and desire to know its ins and outs. The inspection period when buying a home is not the time for this. Even the most experienced homeowner lacks the knowledge and expertise of a professional home inspector (Do you inspect 2-3 homes per day as your job?). An inspector is familiar with the elements of home construction, proper installation, maintenance, building codes and home safety. He or she knows how the home’s systems and components are intended to function together, as well as why they fail. Above all, most buyers find it difficult to remain completely objective and unemotional about the house they really want, and this may have an effect on their judgment. For accurate information, it is best to obtain an impartial, third-party opinion by a professional in the field of home inspection.

How Do You Choose a Home Inspector?

1. Work with your real estate agent’s recommendation.

a. Agents who have experience in the business can tell a thorough inspector from one who just breezes through a quick checklist. Agents do not get anything from recommending one inspector other than piece of mind that a professional is looking at the home. If a property inspector misses something, there could potentially be a lawsuit and no experienced agent wants to risk that.

2. Check your local ASHI (American Society of Home Inspectors) chapter for recommendations in your area. It is very important that your inspector be aware of the area and what is normal for local homes or what items to look out for. Be wise making one of the largest investments in your life and hire a qualified home inspector!

Any other recommendations on how to find a good inspector?

  • Get new posts via email
  • Subscribe

Has the Silicon Valley Real Estate Market Hit Bottom?

By Dawn Thomas | May 22nd, 2009 0 Comments

The Silicon Valley Real Estate Market continues to pick up momentum.  The question is, have we hit bottom and are we heading out of this or is this just a short upswing before the bottom really falls out?  I wish I had the answers to that question.  My suggestion right now would be that if you are considering a real estate purchase, jump in now.  You simply cannot go wrong.  If you are selling or need to sell—list now and price your home to move fast.  If this is a short upswing then you don’t want to miss your chance to sell now during an upswing.

 

How long of a window might we have?  Who knows???  I would guess that we might see a better market for at least the next 60-90 days.  The longer term problem could be increased interest rates or the increase in inventory of short-sale and foreclosed homes.  Any of these could have a negative impact on our local market.  My suggestion is don’t watch national trends, but focus mostly on what you see taking place in our community and listen to your Real Estate professional for the best perspective on what’s really going on.  Your Realtor® has his/her ear to the ground every day and knows the pulse of the local market.

Have you noticed that mass media has stopped talking about Real Estate since the drama is no longer left in the story and there’s no more “tragedy?” Take notice of this, my readers!

Let’s Talk Trends
For Silicon Valley Real Estate as a whole, check out these trends. Bottom line—if the trends continue, we will see a shortage of inventory in the not-so-distant future. The last time this happened was in 2005.

In Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, and Mountain View, we are seeing some upward momentum in certain areas and fairly regular activity in others (stats from April 2009):

Los Altos—New listings increased (118% of April 2008); Inventory is 203% of April 2008; Closed sales are 45% of April 2008.

Los Altos (comparing April ’09 to March ’09)—17 more new listings entered the market in April, making the current inventory of active homes 132. Closed sales were down a bit—11, which was 78.5% of March’s closings.

Los Altos Hills—New listings increased – 1.5 times more in April 2009 than in April 2008; Inventory is 159% of April 2008; Closed sales were right on point with April 2008.

Los Altos Hills (comparing April ’09 to March ’09)—27 more listings came on in April, making the current inventory of active homes 70. Closed sales were 6, which is the total of combined sales for all of Dec. ‘08 – Mar. ’09). This is an excellent trend for the higher-end!

Mountain View—New listings increased (115% of April 2008); Inventory is 200% of April 2008; Closed sales are 133% of April 2008—another great upward momentum indicator for our market!

Mountain View (comparing April ’09 to March ’09)—45 more listings came onto the market in April, completing month-end active inventory at 108. April’s closed sales exactly doubled March’s at 20!

So, I will ask you—have we hit bottom? I would love hear your comments!

 

 

  • Get new posts via email
  • Subscribe