Silicon Valley Real Estate Blog

_{(single-family home data from MLS listings Inc.)}

Sunnyvale is one of two cities in our comparison that has turned into a seller’s market the past two quarters. Perhaps it is the urgency of the buyers to find an entry-level house (Sunnyvale has the lowest median sales price of our four comparison cities) before the effects of the housing crisis completely recede that is driving demand.

The median sales price jumped 12.7% compared to last quarter, to $851,000. Average days on market remained the same as last quarter, while number of homes sold was just higher than the same period in 2008, at 177. Sales price to list price ratio is 100.95%, meaning most sellers are encountering multiple offers over listing price.

Although the median sales price and total sales volume are still lagging compared to 2008 numbers, Sunnyvale is reporting strong numbers in other areas this quarter, showing that the city has pushed out of its slump.

Categories: Market Updates, Silicon Valley News, Sunnyvale

Home ownership can be for many their biggest financial asset, and as a result, biggest financial concern. But with current mortgages dropping to their lowest point since the 1950s, many Silicon Valley homeowners are saving thousands a year just by refinancing. Is the time right for you? Let’s go through some considerations that cover the why, how, and hurdles of refinancing.

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Categories: Mortgages

_{(Redwood Gate houses)}

The corner of El Camino Real and West Charleston Road has undergone a lot of real estate development in the past few years. First it was the 181-unit Arbor Real on the corner and now on the old Elks Club property, beside Arbor Real, is the new Redwood Gate by SummerHill Homes development. (map.)

The properties are listed as detached and attached single-family homes, which are unlike the the condominiums and townhouses available at the previous housing developments we have reviewed, Altaire and Sterling Park.

Redwood Gate may have better features, a better location and more square feet than its “competitors,” but it also has a higher price tag – $1.15 million to $1.499 million. Continue reading to find out more about this Silicon Valley real estate development and see if it lives up to the old adage: you get what you pay for.

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Categories: Bay Area Real Estate, Palo Alto, Silicon Valley News

_{(Sterling Park exterior)}

Sterling Park is another of the recent housing developments in Palo Alto, which also includes Altaire and Redwood Gate. Located in the Midtown neighborhood, the use of mixed housing and two on-site parks helps Sterling avoid the compact feeling of standard developments in Silicon Valley and lets its residents enjoy some extra space. Click through to find out more about the property.

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Categories: Neighborhoods, Palo Alto, Silicon Valley News

(Altair exterior/flickr)

Altaire, the newest townhouse development in Palo Alto, should be on anybody’s shortlist when looking for an entry-level opportunity to move into the area without forgoing quality accommodations. We’ll cover some important details you should know about the property in this post.

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Categories: Bay Area Real Estate, Palo Alto

In order to help visualize the previous posts on the 2010 quarterly updates for Palo Alto, Los Altos, Mountain View and Sunnyvale, the graphs below show each city in comparison of overall home sales, median selling price and average days on market.

The graphs cover quarterly results from 2008 to 2010 for single-family homes using data from MLS listings Inc. (link)

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Categories: Neighborhoods, Silicon Valley News

_{(Shoreline Lake in Mountain View)}

As in the neighboring cities of Palo Alto and Los Altos, the Mountain View housing market in the first quarter of 2010 has rebounded from the previous year.

The characteristics of Mountain View – situated in Silicon Valley and home to tech companies such as Google, Symantec and Intuit; one of the stronger school districts in California; a friendly downtown area next to Caltrain; and a more affordable single-family home and condominium and townhouse market compared to its northern neighbors – means that homebuyers are returning to the area to take advantage of reduced home prices that have occurred since the real estate crisis a few years back.

In the first quarter of 2010, the median sales price for single-family homes in Mountain View was $875,000, a slight decline from $900,000 in 2009. Though the median sales price dipped, the turnaround for this past quarter was that 50 homes sold with an average days on market of 24 days, compared to 41 sold and 62 days in 2009 during the same time period.

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Categories: Mountain View, Neighborhoods, Silicon Valley News

^{(Jazz festival in downtown Sunnyvale)}

The Sunnyvale housing market was one of the Bay Area cities that were hit harder by the recent real estate crisis.

Before the crisis hit in the first quarter of 2008, the median sales price for the 121 single-family homes that sold was $976,000 (including three short sales). The following year, the number of single-family homes sold during the first quarter dropped to 100 (including 23 foreclosures and 18 short sales) and the median sales price fell 46 percent, to $530,000.

The north region of Sunnyvale was most affected by the housing crisis, including the 94085 and 94089 area codes. Homes in the 94086 area code were slightly affected; and the homes that weathered the best, with sales in the million plus range, were in the 94087 area code.

This past quarter, 97 homes (including 12 foreclosures) sold for a median price of $820,000. Average days on market was 42 days, down from 85 days in 2009. The price range of home sales starts at $371,000, for a foreclosure home, all the way up to $1.45 million.

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Categories: Neighborhoods, Silicon Valley News, Sunnyvale

^{(Downtown Palo Alto on University Avenue)}

Palo Alto is one of the premier real estate markets in California, but that doesn’t mean it was able to pass through the mortgage and housing crisis, just two years ago, without a scratch.

Like most of the Bay Area, Palo Alto home prices and inventory dipped following the crisis but are now showing signs of recovering.

Comparing first quarter results between 2008 and 2010, the number of single-family homes on the market went from 81 to 68, and the median sales price from $1.681 million to $1.518 million. First quarter results in 2009 were even lower, with 66 homes sold and a median sales price of $1.275 million.

Again, because of a location in the Silicon Valley, neighboring Stanford University and a top performing school district (news link), Palo Alto homes are some of the last to be hit by a recession and a bellwether out.

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Categories: Market Updates, Neighborhoods, Palo Alto, Silicon Valley News

^{(Main Street in downtown Los Altos)}

Home buyers and sellers are quickly returning to Los Altos after a hesitant 2009 period. Los Altos is primarily a single-family home market as we can see in the first quarter of 2010 results, with 63 single-family homes and six condos sold. The average days on market was just about 60 days.

The median price of single-family homes sold in Los Altos this quarter was $1.47 million, which is slightly higher than the previous year’s first quarter results of $1.435 million.

The effects of the mortgage crisis in 2008 and late 2007 is more apparent when we see that only 32 single-family homes were sold in the first-quarter of 2009.

Los Altos has consistently held its home values, and even in a weak national market, home prices are beginning to rise as buyer confidence returns. Home sales were also strong through the traditionally slow winter months, and we are already seeing multiple offers on well priced homes again.

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Categories: Bay Area Real Estate, Los Altos, Market Updates, Neighborhoods

Zillow has become a and useful tool for sellers, buyers, and real estate agents, however quite often, when I am trying to explain the market value of a home to a potential buyer or seller, I will hear the famous words: "But Zillow says … !"

Kudos to Zillow for providing a detailed video explanation on "Understanding the Zestimate". Zillow doesn’t have the last say, but is definitely a great tool that you can use when starting to evaluate a home’s value.

Next time you are evaluating the price of a home, don’t forget to check out our article on the hidden factors in calculating your home’s value. 

Categories: Home Buyers, Home Owners

September is the time of the year when the California Department of Education releases its yearly Academic Performance Index (API) scores. Here are the 2009 Growth API Scores for Santa Clara County and San Mateo County. 

We see an overall steady increase in scores compared to last year’s growth API scores.

A few notables in the following Silicon Valley Santa Clara County school districts:

Berryessa Union Elementary School District: Ruskin Elementary School continues to lead the pack and breaks the 900 barrier with a general improvement in most of the schools in the district

Cupertino Union School District: Continues to have a plethora of high achieving schools (Murdock-Portal and William Faria Elementary School and Joaquin Miller Middle School)

Fremont Union High School District: Monta Vista High increase it’s lead over Lynbrook High School from four to nine points.

Los Gatos Union Elementary: Significant increase across the board for most elementary schools

Moreland Elementary School: Leroy Anderson Elementary takes one of the largest increases in scores by an increase of 136 points to 810

Palo Alto Unified: Herbert Hoover and Duveneck Elementary Schools continue to lead the way

Santa Clara Unified: Overall Santa Clara schools had good improvement with notable Rivermark’s Don Callejon as well as Westwood and Briarwood Elementary jumping nearly 40 points.

Sunnyvale School District: Cherry Chase increases 28 points to an impressive while Cumberland drops 26 points to 905

Check out our previous post to find out what’s the difference between Growth and Base API scores and how they are calculated.

Categories: Schools, Silicon Valley News