Marcy Moyer

Monday, June 15, 2009

East Palo Alto Ikea

The gargantuan IKEA store in East Palo Alto should be a go-to place for anyone seeking inexpensive stylish furniture for their home or rental. Even if you're just after a replacement sofa or a new bedside table, Ikea's got a huge selection, and the prices are low enough to make it worth the hassle of dealing with the store's admittedly stressful checkout experience.
The store is designed with shoppers in mind. There's a restaurant (open from 9:30-8PM) featuring Swedish meatballs with lingonberry sauce for five dollars (a must-have for any true IKEA adventure), pasta dishes, cinnamon buns, and 99 cent mix-and-match kids menu (organic applesauce and mac&cheese are among the offerings). In the mornings there's often a long line for the 99 cent breakfasts of eggs, Swedish potatoes, and bacon.
IKEA gets another huge plus for kid friendliness--there's a colorful play area staffed with babysitters where the kids can hang out until you're done shopping. If anything goes wrong, the staff will page you, so you can go ahead and relax while browsing.
The showrooms are a good jumping-off point for anyone starting from scratch. They are organized by room-purpose (living room, bedroom, dining room, etc.), and an endless variety of styles. Seeing the showrooms already put together can help you get a feel for what goes with what, and how certain pieces of furniture might look in your own space. Here's an example of one--

Some shoppers are put-off by IKEA's mass produced products, and it's true there's a certain automaton quality about the product room with of all its numbered boxes. But still, the prices are unbeatable, and most of the furniture is hardy and reliable. Supplementing heirlooms or antiques with IKEA furniture isn't a bad way to go, and even if your study looks like an IKEA showroom, little touches of personality are all it takes to make a space unique and personal.
Temporary renters should especially consider a trip to IKEA--almost everything in the store is lightweight, easy to dismantle, and comes in do-it-yourself pieces that can fit through any door or tight hallway. If putting together a wall-sized bookshelf is too daunting for you, IKEA offers a builder service for a fee.
In case you've missed it or you're new to the area, IKEA is located at 1700 E. Bayshore Road, directly across the freeway from the Four Seasons Hotel. It's open daily from 10AM-9PM, and the phone number is 650-323-4532. This handy little map shows where the store is located in relation to the surrounding area.



Happy shopping

•· Palo Alto Ca Single Family Home Market Update 06-27-09

•· As of today this is the snapshot of the Palo Alto single family home market:

118 Active listings

57 Pending sales

What does this mean? The inventory of active listings decreased by 7 and pending sales are decreased by 1. We are now getting even closer to a 1 to 2 ratio which is pretty good. During 2006 we were at 1 to 1. Again, the over 2 million market is holding on with 38 active listings and 14 pending sales which is almost unchanged from June 7^th. . Under 2 million there are 80 active listings and 43 pending sales, putting the ratio at little better than to 1 to 2 which is definitely improving. Overall, things are a little better than they were a few months ago, and even better than a few weeks ago with more realistic sellers and more qualified buyers. June is traditionally not the busiest selling time so it will be interesting to see if the improvement holds even further into the summer months which tend to be a little slower in this area. The inventory is less this week, so it will e interesting to see if this continues.

Solds will be in the next post.

•· If you are interested in finding the final selling price of any home, anywhere, you can do it on my web site. Go to www.marcymoyer.com and click on Cyberhome Home Valuation. You can then type in any address next to the search icon and get the county records.

If you need anything else please feel free to contact me. I am here to help you.

Marcy Moyer Intero Real Estate

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

www.marcymoyer.com

•· Palo Alto Single Family Home Market Update 06-07-09

As of today this is the snapshot of the Palo Alto single family home market:

125 Active listings

58 Pending sales

What does this mean? The inventory of active listings decreased by 9 and pending sales are decreased by 2. . We are now getting even closer to a 1 to 2 ratio which is pretty good. During 2006 we were at 1 to 1. Again, the over 2 million market is a little better with 42 active listings and 13 pending sales which is almost unchanged from last week. Under 2 million there are 83 active listings and 45 pending sales, putting the ration at little etter than to 1 to 2 which is definitely improving. Overall, things are a little better than they were a few months ago, and even better than a few weeks ago with more realistic sellers and more qualified buyers. This is traditionally the busiest selling time so it will be interesting to see if the improvement holds into the summer months which tend to be a little slower in this area. The inventory is less this week, so it will e interesting to see if this continues.

Solds will be separate again.

If you are interested in finding the final selling price of any home, anywhere, you can do it on my web site. Go to www.marcymoyer.com

and click on Cyberhome Home Valuation. You can then type in any address next to the search icon and get the county records.

If you need anything else please feel free to contact me. I am here to help you.

Marcy Moyer Intero Real Estate

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

www.marcymoyer.com

1196 Hamilton originally listed at $3,195,000.

1250 Forest originally listed at $3,195,000.

The homes over 2 million with large lots seem to be very popular right now.

•· Palo Alto Single Family Home Market Update 05-23-09

As of today this is the snapshot of the Palo Alto single family home market:

136 Active listings

60 Pending sales

What does this mean? The inventory of active listings decreased by 2 while pending sales are increased by 4. . We are now getting closer to a 1 to 2 ratio which is pretty good. During 2006 we were at 1 to 1. Again, the over 2 million market is a little better with 46 active listings and 14 pending sales which is almost unchanged from last week. Under 2 million there are 90 active listings and 47 pending sales, putting the ration at very close to 1 to 2 which is definitely improving. Overall, things are a little better than they were a few months ago, and even better than a few weeks ago with more realistic sellers and more qualified buyers. This is traditionally the busiest selling time so it will be interesting to see if the improvement holds into the summer monthswhich tend to be a little slower in this area.

Solds will be separate again.

If you are interested in finding the final selling price of any home, anywhere, you can do it on my web site. Go to www.marcymoyer.com

and click on Cyberhome Home Valuation. You can then type in any address next to the search icon and get the county records.

If you need anything else please feel free to contact me. I am here to help you.

Marcy Moyer Intero Real Estate

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

www.marcymoyer.com