Sometimes it feels like everyone in the Silicon Valley put buying a home at the top of their New Year's Resolutions. Unfortunately for buyers, it would appear that not as many people put selling a home at the top of their New Year's Resolutions. This is especially true in certain markets like Palo Alto, CA.
When you have many more buyers than sellers the prices go up. In this market it is not just up a little bit but the increase in price resembles a hockey stick. This has created a strange market where prices have just sky rocketed but it has happened so fast that appraisals are still back in the dark ages. So what does that mean for a buyer?
It means that you have to a great deal of cash in order to win over the other 10 plus offers. If you really want the house you better have all cash. Or at least act like you have all cash and put in an offer with no contingencies! Yikes! This feels so late 1990's....
Feb 2012 Palo Alto, CA Single Family Homes Sales *
24 homes sold
Average list price just under 2,000,000
Average sales price just over 2,080,000
Average days on the market- 39 days
Closer look at the numbers
25% of homes sold for 200K over asking, one house sold for 605K over asking price
38% of homes sold for 90K or above over the asking price!
This is what the market looks like 
* Data from MLSListings, Inc. reliable not guaranteed
I have lived in the Downtown area of Mountain View, CA for almost 5 years now. One of the things I have heard many times is that we need a grocery store on Castro Street. Funny but there has been a grocery store on Castro Street for years but for many people the traditional Asian grocery store did not fulfill what they were looking for. Downtown Mountain View has finally gotten their wish, what used to be the Castro Market is now Ava’s Downtown Market and Deli.
Ann and Juan are doing an amazing job of keeping some of the standards that the Asian market carried and adding a lineup of items that feels like a “Farmer’s Market” every day at Ava's Downtown Market and Deli. They carry lots of fresh local produce and local meats. Plus meats you don’t get other places like rabbit and goat, which are big in my house. Someone has already posted a recipe on Ava’s website for a rabbit dish with prunes that sounds quite good. I am planning on making rabbit in a red wine sauce this weekend.
So I want to challenge my neighbors and friends to walk over and shop at Ava’s Downtown Market and Deli instead of driving to Whole Foods or Safeway. I have nothing against the chain stores but I love having fresh produce, bread and meat that I can pick up every day and not have to drive. With gas over 4 dollars a gallon it is great to not have to drive to the grocery store. I already had California Market for the essentials; toilet paper, salsa and tamales. Now with Ava's Downtown Market and Deli I can get most of what I want without getting in a car.
Local businesses need the support of the community. Ann and Juan took a leap of faith that those of you that live in the area will really support a local grocery store you said you always wanted.
So this week instead of driving to another grocery store, grab your reusable bag and walk down to Ava’s. The blood oranges are amazing, I highly recommend trying them and they are much better priced at Ava’s than Whole Foods.
I hope to run into you in the aisle!
http://avasdowntownmarket.com/
Stop by my Open House at 50 W Edith Ave #5 in Los Altos, CA 94022 from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm today
See why the Village of Los Altos is one of my favorite lifestyle neighborhoods.
This 2 bedroom 2 bath home is a great place to entertain friends and enjoy the downtown Los Altos lifestyle. 50 W. Edith boasts a WalkScore of 86 and includes two parking spaces in the garage for your cars to vacation.
Sit on the balcony and watch the world go by.
50 W Edith Ave is just minutes from all the wonderful shops and restaurants in Village of Los Altos.
New to Los Altos?
Let me make some suggestions of a few of my favorite places;
For pampering yourself visit Le Petit Salon on Plaza Central. Owner Nancy Tran has been treating Los Altos to the best manicures and pedicures for about 20 years. Schedule a facial for your next visit, your face will love you for it.
Want to show off that new pedicure? Head to Main Street and go to Crismon Mim for a great new pair of shoes. Check out the great selections of clothes while you are there.
Getting hungry? Draegers is a great place to pick up a custom gourmet sandwich & something special for dinner tonight. Don't miss their amazing wine selection.
Want to go out to dinner? I love the old school experience of eating at Beasejour on State Street. Their coq au vin is outstanding, save room for the chocolate souffle.
AND??
Well some local secrets are meant to be kept, but if you visit my Open House I may be willing to share...
Come see why the Village of Los Altos is one of my favorite lifestyle neighborhoods.
I think even if you do not make official New Year Resolutions many of us reflect on the what happened in the past year and what we want to happen in the year that is about to unfold. One of the things I enjoyed most last year was when clients turned into neighbors.
Last year I decided that I was going to really concentrate selling homes in my own neighborhood. In fact my first blog post as part of the ActiveRain community was about my neighborhood, the Shoreline West neighborhood in Mountain View, CA
One of the greatest things that happened in concentrating on my own neighborhood is that I have clients that have turned into neighbors. I tell everyone that one of the greatest perks of my job is picking out new neighbors. After I say that almost always they lean in and ask me; “What do you do if you have a client you don't like?” Lucky for me I have not had that problem. I have however had wonderful clients that I would have loved to have as neighbors and we were not able to find them the right place in Mountain View. Some other community has gotten lucky and has them as new residents.
So as 2012 starts to unfold I am happy for my new neighbors that moved into the neighborhood in 2011 and I am excited to meet new clients that will be new neighbors in 2012!
Almost every news article is full of news about how home sales are down and prices have fallen but I wanted to see if that holds true for the local real estate market in Mountain View, CA. Has the market fallen dramatically and has the number of transactions fallen significantly? I decided to do some research on MLSListings, Inc. and see what the actual sales numbers look like for single family homes (SFH) in Mountain View.
I have had a gut instinct that prices today were fairly close to what they were in 2007 but I wanted to take a look at the real numbers. This is what I found:
Oct 2011 Snapshot
# of SFH listed-31
Cancellations or withdrawls-2
Short Sales/REOs-1
Highest priced SFH-$1,849,318
Lowest priced SFH-$594,500
Average SFH characteristics-
Listed for $1,037,082
3 bedroom & 3 bath home builit in 1959 with 1709 sq ft on a 6938 sq ft lot
Oct 2010 Snapshot
# of SFH listed-31
Cancellations or withdrawls-8
Short Sales/REOs-0
Highest priced SFH-Listed 1.699M sold 1.79M
Lowest priced SFH-Listed 435K sold 380K
Average SFH characteristics-
On the market for 46 days
Listed for $941,332 and sold for $939,748
3 bedroom 2 bath built in 1962 with 1531 sq ft on a 6322 sq lot
October 2009 Snapshot
# of SFH listed-30
Cancellations or withdrawls-0
Short Sales/REOs-3
Highest priced SFH-Listed $1,718,153 sold $1,653,823 took 421 days to sell!
Lowest priced SFH-Listed 399K sold 399K
Average SFH characteristics-
On the market for 55 days
Listed for $905,986 and sold for $905,787
3 bedroom and 2 bath built in 1963 with 1628 sq ft on a 5674 sq lot
October 2008 Snapshot
# of SFH listed-24
Cancellations or withdrawls-17!!!! Or 0ver 70% of homes did not sell
Short Sales/REOs-0
Highest priced SFH-listed for $16,950,000 sold $1,613,000
Lowest priced SFH-listed $828,000 sold $765,000
Average SFH characteristics-
On the market for 61 days
Listed for $1,107,929 and sold for $1,065,809
4 bedroom and 3 baths built in 1957 with 1837 sq ft on a 7702 sq lot
October 2007 Snapshot
# of SFH listed-42
Cancellations or withdrawls-16 almost 40% of homes were taken off the market
Short Sales/REOs-0
Highest priced SFH-listed $1,600,000 sold for $1,595,000
Lowest priced SFH-listed $640,000 sold for $650,000
Average SFH characteristics-
On the market for 22 days
Listed for $1,038,627 and sold for $1,047,014
3 bedroom and 2 baths built in 1958 with 1576 sq ft on a 6818 sq ft lot
The average list price in 2007 and 2011 are very close but the number of listings are down about 25%. So is the news half right? Let me know your thoughts on the state of the market.
also published
 |
|
|
Lifestyle Neighborhood Specialist in Silicon Valley. I specialize in helping you to find the right neighborhood for your lifestyle. Let me show you some great neighborhoods in Silicon Valley
Real Estate has been a passion of mine for years. I have bought and sold several homes in the Silicon Valley myself. I have owned property in three different states; including rental property. I use my own experiences, good and bad, to shape the way I approach real estate for my clients. I am committed to providing my clients as smooth a transaction as possible.
I bring over twenty years of experience from the high technology enterprise to real estate. I have extensive experience in marketing, sales and business development. I have written and read thousands of contracts in the course of my career. I understand that you are the CEO of your home selling or buying experience and I will treat you with respect.
I have a degree in mathematics and a MBA. I follow the trends of the market and can quickly do the research on comparable properties in a neighborhood. I provide an analytical and business approach to the real estate market.
I came up with the term lifestyle neighborhood specialist to describe the type of neighborhoods my clients were looking for. They were telling me that they needed to have access to certain amenities and that they preferred to have these amenities within walking distance. More and more people are concerned with their carbon footprint and they want to have the ability to get around as much as possible without getting in a car. They like having a park to take a walk in as a break in their day. They want to have virtual office space in a friendly neighborhood coffee shop, they want to have a dry cleaner that is close, and they want a grocery store or at least a farmer's market that they can walk to. Many want the option of using public transportation and want that transportation to be within walking distance. They want at least a couple of restaurants in the neighborhood.
There are many neighborhoods in the Silicon Valley that could be described as a lifestyle neighborhood and I keep track of these neighborhoods from Downtown Burlingame in the north to Naglee Park, San Jose in the south. I like to help my clients find neighborhoods that they might not have considered that fit their lifestyle or to find them a place in a neighborhood they love dearly.
Carla is the perfect real estate agent for the busy high tech professional. She understands the time limitations you are working under and knows how to work around your schedule and to find loan officers, home inspectors, and other needed professionals that can accommodate your busy schedule as well. She also understands the types of property and locations that fit a the high tech lifestyle. She helped me find a home in a neighborhood that matched my lifestyle.
Steve H, Sunnyvale, CA
Carla is great because she is able to put herself in multiple positions: the seller, the buyer, the agent--the sign of a true professional. That ... more 
5.0/5.0 Disclaimer: I've known, and worked with Carla for a number of years in other professions. However, she was highly recommended by a colleague of mine ... more 5.0/5.0
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
Powered by the ActiveRain Real Estate Network
© 2012 ActiveRain Corp. All Rights Reserved
