Tom McEvoy

As you may know, I serve on the Board of Directors and am Treasurer of Sunnyvale Community Services. Our mission is to prevent homelessness and hunger in our local community.

I’d like to personally invite you to:

· Sunnyvale Community Services’ (SCS) annual holiday auction

· 5-7:30 p.m. Thursday, December 1^st

· Location at SCS, 725 Kifer Road, Sunnyvale

The SCS auction features delicious food and beverages, as well as the chance to bid on exciting gifts, all donated by local businesses and friends of SCS! Auction items include platters of home-made cookies; gift certificates to local restaurants and businesses; gift baskets in diverse themes; tickets to A’s, Giants, and Sharks games; vacations in Cancun and Sonoma County; wine and olive oil tastings; a red Radio Flyer wagon filled with toys; Leslie Lawton’s Luscious Limoncello; a hiking and camping adventure; jewelry; electronics; and group dinners hosted by community leaders!

100% of all proceeds go to provide food and financial support during the holidays and throughout the year. You can do your holiday shopping and help others at the same time by joining in this fun community event!

For a list of auction items, please visit our website: www.svcommunityservices.org

Admission is free, but we ask that you bring a bag of non-perishable food or a new unwrapped gift to donate. SCS is especially in need of canned meals, peanut butter, gift cards for teens, and gifts for children ages 7-11. This is a festive night of food, friends, helping out, and having fun, and I would personally love to see you there!

If you can’t make it to the holiday auction, you can still help local families by making a financial gift to SCS. We’re striving to raise more than $500,000 during the holiday season to serve more than 7,000 individuals in the coming year. Every dollar donated makes a difference, helping to keep struggling families housed and fed. For example, a gift of $50 keeps a family sheltered for one night, and $1,000 buys 300 jars of protein-rich peanut butter!

To donate to SCS or learn more about our services, our clients, or how our funds are used, please visit www.svcommunityservices.org . I would be delighted to talk with you further about our work. You may also contact Marie Bernard, Executive Director at Sunnyvale Community Services, at 408-738-0121.

Best Wishes for a healthy and happy Holiday Season!

Here are my observations of the most recent October transactions for Santa Clara County real estate and San Mateo County real estate. Your comments and questions are always welcome. If you see something in your neighborhood that you are curious about or have a question, please don't hesitate to share with us. If you have questions or a comment, please leave them here, or feel free to contact me through my website.

> General Market Observations and Comments -- Closings as well as the number of homes available for sale have decreased these past few months in both counties. Inventory, or the number of single family homes available for sale (supply) has stood at 2,200 in Santa Clara and 1,203 in San Mateo County. These figures are substantially less than those in the year prior. 73% of the inventory in Santa Clara County are traditional and the balance are lender-controlled (short sales 19%; bank-owned/REO's 8%); San Mateo County saw these figures at 77% for traditional, 16% for short sales and 7% for bank-owned/REO's.

Much different with condos/townhouses where 55% in Santa Clara County and 48% in San Mateo County are lender-controlled. Demand continues to point to single family residences (SFR) and away from condos/townhouses so my advice for buyers: if you prefer the life-style of a condo or townhouse, there are better buys possible. Yes, they have homeowner association dues but those often cover additional ownership features and benefits (e.g., some utilities, pool/spa, exercise rooms, and the like). One thing about it is that the owner doesn't have to worry about these items.

As for the available homes for sale -- we're seeing a bifurcated market. How I can tell is that homes available for sale have a median days on market of 69 whereas those homes that closed escrow have a median days on market of just 31. Homes priced well and in good condition, sell quickly and get the most activity (i.e., higher prices, quicker sale). Overpriced homes or those in poor locations or in poor condition (bank-owned or short sale homes are mainly in this category) stay on the market far longer.

Days of unsold inventory (DUI) for Santa Clara County stands at 57 for SFR's, 48 for condos/townhouses. San Mateo County stands at 83 for SFR's and 72 for condos/townhouses.

Days of Unsold Inventory is a calculation I use to gauge whether the market is a Buyer's market, Seller's market or what we call a Balanced market and is the intersection of supply and demand. In Santa Clara County, the Buyer's market exists for those areas above 90 DUI, a Seller's market would have a DUI reading under 45 and a Balanced market exists in between those numbers.

Mortgage rates remain very favorable in the range in the low 4% area. Since most buyers need a loan to purchase a home, mortgage rates are a major consideration in the decision and ability of the buyers to purchase. Even with lowered sales figures, escrow companies seem to be busy with loan refinance or refi activity.

For October, SFR median prices, half above and half below, stood at $550,000 and $675,000 for Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, respectively. Condos/townhouses stood at $316,500 and $355,000, respectively.

Thanks for reading my blog. I'm Tom McEvoy, Realtor with RE/MAX Santa Clara Valley -- Let me know your comments, questions, observations you may have or any future topics you'd like me to address.

Here are my observations of the most recent May transactions for Santa Clara County real estate and San Mateo County real estate. Your comments and questions are always welcome. If you see something in your neighborhood that you are curious about or have a question, please don't hesitate to share with us. If you have questions or a comment, please leave them here, or feel free to contact me through my website.

> General Market Observations and Comments -- Closings increased a bit more in May than in April but continues to be less than the average May over the past ten years. Inventory, or the number of homes available for sale (supply) has increased but it, too, continues to grow at a slower rate than the ten-year average.

Demand continues to point to single family residences (SFR) and away from condos/townhouses. My advice for buyers: if you prefer the life-style of a condo or townhouse, there are better buys possible. Yes, they have homeowner association dues that often cover additional ownership features and benefits (e.g., utilities, pool/spa, exercise rooms, and the like) but the owner doesn't have to worry about it.

As for the available homes for sale -- we're seeing a bipolar market. Homes priced well and in good condition, sell quickly and get the most activity (i.e., higher prices, quicker sale). Overpriced homes or those in poor locations or in poor condition (bank-owned or short sale homes are mainly in this category) stay on the market far longer and eventually sell with lower prices or as "fixer uppers" or "fix and flips".

As was the case last month, one of the hot markets was the area comprising the cities of Mountain View, Los Altos and Palo Alto. This area had the lowest DUI reading in Santa Clara County of just 37 days, clearly a seller's market. Next door, Sunnyvale and Cupertino had a DUI of 50, balanced to seller's market. Some of us are calling this the "Facebook" effect. By contrast, the DUI for Los Altos Hills is 153, clearly indicating a buyer's market.

Days of unsold inventory (DUI) for Santa Clara County by price range is interesting. Overall, the DUI reading was 58. The DUI for homes priced under $450,000 was just 35 days; those priced from $450,000-600,000 was 59 days; those priced from $600,000-750,000 was 74 days; from $750,000 to $1 million was 66 days; from $1.0 million to $2.5 million was 74 days; from $2.5 million to $5.0 million jumped to 225 days and finally, those priced above $5.0 million was 1,330 days! Clearly, the higher priced homes may have to undergo more aggressive price concessions to move in this bipolar market environment.

Days of Unsold Inventory is an indicator I use to gauge whether the market is a Buyer's market, Seller's market or what we call a Balanced market. In Santa Clara County, the Buyer's market are for those areas above 90 DUI a Seller's market would have a DUI reading under 45. Balanced markets are those in between.

Reversal for Reverse Mortgages -- Wells Fargo, following Bank of America's lead a couple of months ago, announced they were leaving this market. This means that the two large banks controlling 50% of the this market left! This does not bode well for the future as less competition means even higher rates and fees, something not pleasant for the consumer. Reverse mortgages were inherently high-cost items to begin with and in the past I've recommended clients being extremely careful of them. In theory reverse mortgages were good but more difficult certainly in practice.

Mortgage rates remain very favorable in the range in the high 4's. Since most buyers need a loan to purchase a home, mortgage rates are a major consideration in the decision and ability of the buyers to purchase.

Thanks for reading my blog. I'm Tom McEvoy, Realtor with RE/MAX Santa Clara Valley -- Let me know your comments, questions, observations you may have or any future topics you'd like me to address.

Here are my observations of the most recent April transactions for Santa Clara County real estate and San Mateo County real estate. Your comments and questions are always welcome. If you see something in your neighborhood that you are curious about or have a question, please don't hesitate to share with us. If you have questions or a comment, please leave them here, or feel free to contact me through my website at www.thomasmcevoy.com .

> General Market Observations and Comments -- Closings increased a bit more in April than in March, indicating continued strength in the various real estate markets in Silicon Valley. Inventory, or the number of homes available for sale (supply) has increased but it continues to grow at a slower rate than the average of the past ten years.

Demand continues to point to single family residences (SFR) and away from condos/townhouses. My advice for buyers: if you prefer the life-style of a condo or townhouse, there are better buys possible. Yes, they have homeowner association dues that often cover additional ownership features and benefits (e.g., utilities, pool/spa, exercise rooms, and the like) but the owner doesn't have to worry about it.

As for the available homes for sale -- we're seeing a bipolar market. Homes priced well and in good condition, sell quickly and get the most activity (i.e., higher prices, quicker sale). Overpriced homes or those in poor locations or in poor condition stay on the market far longer and eventually sell with lower prices or as "fixer uppers" or "fix and flips".

Last month, I stated that one of the hot markets was the area comprising the cities of Mountain View, Los Altos and Palo Alto. For April, this continued to occur but the market with the fewest days of unsold inventory was Sunnyvale and Cupertino. The DUI reading was only 34, clearly a Seller's market! My most recent Sunnyvale listing in the Cupertino Schools attendance area garnered about 200 people in a single weekend of open houses and sold in six days, above list price. This home listed above $1 million.

Days of unsold inventory (DUI) by price range is interesting. The DUI for homes priced under $450,000 was just 32 days; those priced from $450,000-600,000 was 56 days; those priced from $600,000-750,000 was 75 days; from $750,000 to $1 million was 67 days; from $1.0 million to $2.5 million was 73 days; from $2.5 million to $5.0 million jumped to 325 days and finally, those priced above $5.0 million was 443 days. Clearly, the higher priced homes may have to undergo more aggressive price concessions to move in this bipolar market environment.

Days of Unsold Inventory is an indicator I use to gauge whether the market is a Buyer's market, Seller's market or what we call a Balanced market. In Santa Clara County, the Buyer's market are for those areas above 90 DUI a Seller's market would have a DUI reading under 45. Balanced markets are those in between.

Mortgage rates remain in a very favorable range in the high 4's, actually decreased from last month. Since most buyers need a loan to purchase a home, mortgage rates are a major consideration in the decision and ability of the buyers.

Since there were continued problems obtaining accurate detailed statistical information on April transactions, I thought to at least provide you some of my observations. I'm available for consultation if you are seeking marketing intelligence and strategies as you firm up your real estate plans.

Thanks for reading my blog. I'm Tom McEvoy, Realtor with RE/MAX Santa Clara Valley -- Let me know your comments, questions, observations you may have or any future topics you'd like me to address.