Silicon Valley Real Estate Blog - 1SiliconValley.com

"That’s a lot sooner than I expected," she said as we walked out of the open house towards my car.  He nodded and I mentally went back over my notes about their priorities.  We hadn’t seen that many homes so I wanted to ask a few gentle questions to make sure they were getting what they wanted before putting in an offer. 

This wasn’t their first time buying a home.  Their family had done it a couple times before, here in Silicon Valley and in a different state.  But each time, there was a mad dash.  "It was never clear when we needed the money," she intimated after taking a sip from her water bottle.  She and her husband looked at each other with a knowing glance and he chimed in, "We lost a couple places because of liquidity before."

There are a lot of moving parts in buying real estate, but for the buyer, the lynchpin for the transaction — and the greatest source of stress — is getting money to the right place at the right time.  I want to ensure that my clients have a transaction that’s as stress-free as possible, and part of that is reducing the uncertainty in the process. 

Here are some of the tips I provide my clients on how to prepare their money for buying a home and they impact the strength of their purchase offers.

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May.30.2007 [ Filed under: Mortgages, Home Buyers, Silicon Valley News ] Comment Here »

They found it.  Sort of.  Sure, most of the buzz in the area goes to Santana Row and Westfield's Valley Fair, and it gets overlooked when driving to eBay's distinct presence on the other side of San Jose's border.  Add the fact Campbell doesn't carry the obvious prestige its neighbor to the south, Los Gatos and it's easy to think that the city is just easy access to 280, 85 and 17.

Campbell is a hidden gem of Silicon Valley real estate — a place with an undeservedly brusque reputation, relatively inexpensive homes, a strong town center at the Pruneyard, and an improving historic downtown area.  Yes, there are pockets of Campbell which a lot of folks are put off by, but builders are betting on a very bright future there as evidenced by the Onyx and Park Town Place developments. 

The two schools Campbell Union High School District, Del Mar High and Branham High, recently received their first California Distinguished School award.  And the numbers say that Campbell is completely hidden no longer.  But that big spike in townhome and condo prices isn't what most people think.

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Apr.30.2007 [ Filed under: Silicon Valley News, Campbell ] 1 Comment »

One Macy's, one Target and one very unused shopping mall on 25 acres of prime downtown real estate.  The City of Sunnyvale approved the demolition of the long-shuttered Sunnyvale Town Center Mall not long after Friday sale of the 25-acre site to Downtown Sunnyvale Mixed Use LLC, a partnership between real estate investment manager RREEF and Sand Hill Properties (see my previous article Downtown Sunnyvale Revitalization Gets Desperately Needed Kickstart).

Bolstered by the recent success of the Vallco Mall re-branding to Cupertino Square, the downtown Sunnyvale project includes the creation of a "Redwood Square" which features the six stalwart redwood trees whose preservation is a critical component of the new revitalization. 

The complete redevelopment area includes (basically) the area enclosed by Mathilda, El Camino Real, Carroll, and Evelyn.  Macy's and Target will remain open during the process, and a new single-story Target built above a parking structure is planned to replace the current double-decker Target.  No word yet on what kids in the store will do for fun without the shopping cart escalator.

Apr.29.2007 [ Filed under: Silicon Valley News, Sunnyvale ] 1 Comment »

I confirmed that, beginning Monday next week, Cupertino Square will be holding several charity events (not open to the public) leading up to the ribbon cutting at the AMC Cupertino Square 16 movie theater on Friday, April 27.

The Cupertino Chamber of Commerce is offering previews on Wednesday during its mixer from 5:30-7:00pm, with movies at 7:10.  Tickets are $5 and they're advertising free popcorn.

Apr.20.2007 [ Filed under: Silicon Valley News, Cupertino Square ] 1 Comment »

I've completely reorganized the Silicon Valley Home Buyers Guide so that it more closely follows the decision-making process of my clients and includes the latest articles.  Please have a look and let me know anything you'd like to see!

Apr.19.2007 [ Filed under: Silicon Valley News ] Comment Here »

Blame Palo Alto, Mountain View and Saratoga.  One of the ways I try to help my clients make the most of their money is to look for statistics that are out of place. 

Sometimes a good Silicon Valley neighborhood has an increase in housing inventory, which causes prices there to soften up, other times you'll see an area become a better value when there's been recent (but correctable) bad news.  There are a myriad of opportunities to find good deals or spot areas where you may have to overpay to play.

When I ran the numbers for Santa Clara County this month, I had a picture in my head of what the graph should look like.  After all, since non-real estate folks depend on both my knowledge and intuition, I tour hundreds of houses, both with clients and for my own research, in a year.  It's my responsibility.

The picture basically looked like this, the San Mateo County graph which has a slight lull after the insanity of 2005 and a modest increase from March 2006 to 2007 — which in this case is 3.5% for single-family homes. 

Lower priced homes (ones below the Silicon Valley aggregate median) go more quickly and increase in price faster because more people here can afford them.  Because of that, the large increase in the price of townhomes and condominiums in San Mateo, a gain of 7.3% year-over-year, was expected.  I'd sent out letters to prospects in February about this.

Like in San Mateo County, the median price of condos and townhomes in Santa Clara County's part of Silicon Valley also increased considerably: 8.2% year-over-year.  No surprise, a lot of people are competing to buy affordable properties.  

What I didn't expect, though, was the magnitude of the increase in single-family home prices year-over-year in Santa Clara County: 9.2%.  This isn't bad news for most buyers and there are softer areas that Silicon Valley home buyers can take advantage of.

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Apr.13.2007 [ Filed under: Silicon Valley News, Market Updates ] Comment Here »

I'd like to take a moment to thank all my readers and subscribers.  Over the past couple weeks, we've covered a lot of ground, and since many of the recent articles are longer narratives, I wanted to pull out some of the key points from those essays.  You'll find answers to questions like:

- What does the Silicon Valley housing market look like? 

- How much does my commute cost me? 

- What are people afraid of telling their agents when looking for a house? 

- How do Silicon Valley school systems rank? 

- Am I better off buying in an area with a great school district?

- How do nearby houses affect the price of your house? 

- How do buyers and their agents perceive it when you price your house too high?

- What is the disclosure packet and why should I read it carefully? 

Thanks again, and if you find this information helpful, please tell your friends about us!

Apr.05.2007 [ Filed under: Silicon Valley News ] Comment Here »

Welcome, have a roll of the dice and a thank you to the two dozen people who sent in their great content.  Here we go…

A deuce and a one: hop, hop, hop and onto the purple tile of Juniper Networks.  Coming in with the fifth largest market cap in this game, $11.44 billion, we have Maureen Francis and her 10 Things You Can't Do If You Want to Sell Your Home.  Jonathan Greene covers this ground from a different perspective in his 5 Ways to Be Awesomely Awesome (and Get It Sold).

Have another roll.  It's a nine.  Let's move quickly, it'd stink to have to spend an entire turn talking to the guy in jail about his backdated stock options!  For the money he made, he can afford his own fifty bucks to get out of there.

Ah, the Electric Company, PG&E.  Coming in with the fourth largest market cap of $17.34 billion, we have Nigel Swaby and his Real Estate Questions and Answers - All About Purchases.  His story about due diligence is an important read for consumers.

Okay, boxcars, nice roll!  Twelve spaces ahead brings us to big red Oracle.  Coming in with the third largest market cap in the game, $93.26 billion, is Toby Boyce and his What Does an Experienced Realtor Provide for You?  He runs the numbers and the results are surprising.

Lucky seven brings us to Cisco green and the second largest market cap of $153 billion.  Hauling in this kind of dough is YBother's techie post on 10 Reasons Why Smart Homes Can't Get Into Your Home.  [ed. Geek alert.] Those of us with piles of unused X10 switches feel your pain.

A pair of fours.  On the bright blue Boardwalk square, winning the Google prize with the number one market cap of $143 bill… oh wait, uh, oops… is Dan Melson and his How to Effectively Shop for a Listing Agent.  The format and length can be intimidating but for consumers there are gems in there.

Again, thank you to all who sent in your work.  You made it really hard to choose only five.  Please pass GO and collect your well-earned $200 from the next host, the Salt Lake Real Estate Blog.

Apr.03.2007 [ Filed under: Silicon Valley News ] 3 Comments »

Bubble bloggers everywhere rejoice as their lightning rod David Lereah, Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors resigned today.  "I'm leaving to spend more time with my family," he is quoted as saying. 

Pat Verdevoogd Combs, President of the National Association of Realtors announced in her press release, "We appreciate the service and dedication David has provided us over the years.  He's been a valuable contributor and spokesman."

Insiders tell a different story, though.  People from NAR headquarters in Chicago are quoted as saying there was a fallout between Mr. Lereah and his information staff.  Sources inside have stated Mr. Lereah was heard mumbling, "The sky is falling, the sky is falling," as he was leaving his office just last night.

"We presented him with data about job market expansion, but he wouldn't hear anything of it," lamented an anonymous source.  "He just wanted to talk about fear.  It's as if he had an agenda." 

Upon hearing the news, entrepreneur and serial masochist Casey Serin said, "I'd like to comment but I'm busy promoting myself around the country."

However, noted housing bubble blogger Inflate This said on his blog, "This is a great victory for all consumers because now, the mouthpiece for radicalism has effectively been eliminated.  The balance to The Force has now been restored." 

Hundreds of thousands around Silicon Valley are lining up to sell their houses while they still can.

Happy April Fools! 

[ed.  Someday, the voices of pragmatism will be as loud as the radicals on either side.  Come April 2, may level-headed people balance the Force once again.]

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Apr.01.2007 [ Filed under: Silicon Valley News ] 4 Comments »

One great way to spend weekend mornings is to check out the freshest produce, delivered right into your town by the local Northern California farmers.  Not only do you get to pick from the best fruits and vegetables the area has to offer, but you also help your dollars go back into the local community.

The Pacific Coast Farmers Market Association publishes a detailed calendar to where you can find the local farmers markets (and what vendors will be there) in your area and the SFGate publishes a more comprehensive list of cities, but no vendor information. 

Here's a sampling of the farmers markets in the cities across Silicon Valley and the rest of the Bay Area; many are open year-round and some of them are open during the weekdays too.

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Mar.17.2007 [ Filed under: Activities, Bay Area Info, Silicon Valley News, Neighborhoods ] 2 Comments »