The Saratoga Real Estate market has really picked up steam.  Over the past 2 weeks in February there has been 18 homes that has gone into contract. 

Homes that weren't selling previously are now sold.  There are two homes in particular that come to mind that gives me key indications of a changing market. 

First one is: 15145 El Quito Way which is off of Maude Avenue.  Small house only 1510 sf, 3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths, asking $1,450,000, fixer type and they had 13 offers.  Some over asking.

Second: 14631 Horseshoe Drive- again another fixer situation.   61 years old but livable. 2300 sf. on 32,000 lot.   Nice location.  Currently has 5 offers and asking $1,798,000.

As of today there are only 65 homes on the active market in Saratoga from $674,000 to $17,500,000.  I would call this a pretty tight market right now.  Feels as if it's picking up steam as demand is at present outpacing supply. 

There was an excellent article on the front page of the Mercury News this morning regarding the boom in commercial real estate leasing, and the shortage of space for companies that are hiring in the South Bay.  It further stated that developers are scrambling to build more R & D space.

 I think this is just another indication that we are at the early stages and on the road to an economic and  real estate recovery (at least here in the Silicon Valley area)

http://www.mercurynews.com/www.mercurynews.com/real-estate/ci_19923094#.TzQPzxpM2CM.email

Housinfdsg Inventorysfsf Snapshot		January 28, 2012
	Average List Price	Median List Price	Average Days On Market
Santa Clara County, CA
Single Family under $1M	$567,901	$548,500	71
Single Family over $1M	$2,475,049	$1,700,000	85
Condo/Townhome under $600K	$343,782	$337,500	76
Condo/Townhome over $600K	$784,247	$729,000	85
San Mateo County, CA
Single Family under $1M	$590,432	$562,071	87
Single Family over $1M	$3,588,160	$1,799,000	95
Condo/Townhome under $600K	$349,198	$339,000	84
Condo/Townhome over $600K	$882,931	$730,000	92

Luxury home prices in Silicon Valley moved higher once again last month as the region’s high-end market continued to gain momentum, according to Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, the South Bay’s leading provider of luxury real estate services. 

The median sale price for a million-dollar-plus home in Santa Clara County reached $1,471,000, up 8.9 percent from a year ago and 6 percent from November, when it stood at $1,387,000.

While prices moved higher, luxury sales were flat as the year came to a close. Some 155 homes sold for more than $1 million, down fractionally from 158 sales in December 2010. Sales were down more sharply from November, when they stood at 232.

However, the number of multimillion-dollar sales climbed to 33 in December, up from just 22 a year ago.  There were 46 sales of more than $2 million in November.

The figures were derived from Multiple Listing Service data of all homes sold for more than $1 million last month in Santa Clara County.

“There continues to be solid demand for homes priced above $1 million in Silicon Valley and throughout the Bay Area, for that matter,” said Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. "We've seen really good activity in the upper end of the market for the better part of the past year. That’s a healthy sign for the overall market because history has shown that sustainable recoveries in the housing market typically begin with the luxury segment.”

Turley said the challenge for the South Bay’s real estate market continues to be a shortage of homes for sale, not lack of buyers.

“I think it’s important for sellers to get the message that the market is getting better in many areas and there are buyers willing to pay competitive prices for homes,” he said. “If you’ve been thinking about putting your home on the market, you shouldn’t wait any longer. It’s time to jump in.”

·         The most expensive sale in Silicon Valley last month was a five-bedroom, seven-bath 6,143-square-foot home in Los Altos that sold for $5.65 million;

·         Los Altos also boasted the most million-dollar sales with 34, followed by San Jose with 24, Palo Alto with 21, Saratoga with 19, Los Gatos with 18, and Cupertino and Mountain View with 11 each;

·         Homes sold in 65 days on average, up from 54 days the previous month and 59 days a year ago;

·         Sellers on average received 98 percent of their asking price compared to 99 percent the previous month and 97 percent a year ago.

The Silicon Valley Luxury Housing Market Report is a monthly report by Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, a specialist in high-end real estate sales. Through its internationally renowned Coldwell Banker Previews® program, the company is recognized around the world for its expertise in the luxury housing market. 

Housing Inventory Snapshot		December 31, 2011
	Average List Price	Median List Price	Average Days On Market
Santa Clara County, CA
Single Family under $1M	$557,975	$548,000	84
Single Family over $1M	$2,578,401	$1,825,000	109
Condo/Townhome under $600K	$336,111	$325,000	85
Condo/Townhome over $600K	$748,455	$709,995	89
San Mateo County, CA
Single Family under $1M	$566,288	$525,000	91
Single Family over $1M	$3,589,378	$1,880,000	110
Condo/Townhome under $600K	$355,955	$359,000	93
Condo/Townhome over $600K	$802,679	$698,250	96

Bay Area home prices expected to stabilize in 2012

After years of decline, housing prices are expected to stabilize or even increase in some parts of the Bay Area this year, according to a new forecast.

Stabilizing prices are a sign of a healthier market, even though homebuyers still face challenges -- tight credit, not many homes for sale and competition from investors paying cash.

In a report to be released Monday, Clear Capital, a real estate valuations company in Truckee, predicts that prices will remain almost flat this year -- compared with a 4.7 percent drop in 2011 -- in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metropolitan area, including Contra Costa County. Silicon Valley should see a 1.6 percent increase in home prices, compared with a 2.5 percent drop last year, the company said.

"This region overall is doing pretty well," said Clear Capital research director Alex Villacorta.

In three of the past four years, Bay Area home prices have declined from the previous year, including a dramatic 35 percent drop for the San Francisco metro area in 2008 and a 28 percent drop in Silicon Valley that year. Only in 2010 were there slight increases, followed by last year's drop.

"We haven't seen any stretches of normal activity for the last 20 years or so" in the Bay Area, he said, noting that prices had rocketed upward in the years before the decline. "It's really been a roller coaster, with exception of now, when things are settling and leveling off."

Nationally, the company sees a 0.2 percent gain in home prices in 2012, compared to a 2.1 percent drop in 2011. The San Jose area's expected performance was in the top third and San Francisco was in the top half of 50 major metropolitan areas analyzed.

Across the country, housing could help repair the economy, said economist Sung Won Sohn at Cal State Channel Islands. Sohn, who recently released his own economic forecast, is predicting a housing-led recovery for the U.S. this year based partly on low interest rates and renewed multifamily home construction, which usually brings gains in the overall housing market. And prices, he said, are about as low as they can go.

"No one is expecting a dramatic fall in house prices," Sohn said. "That gets people buying houses."

The Bay Area, especially Silicon Valley, is already doing better, he said, "because the underlying economy seems to be doing better. I think we will see a somewhat faster recovery in the Bay Area."

In the past two years, home prices bobbed up and down in response to government programs to encourage sales, as well as fluctuations in the number of foreclosures and short sales, in which homes are sold for less than is owed on them.

But agents say too few homes are on the market, and buyers still face tight credit.

"People are in escrow forever, and they finally give up," said Richard Calhoun of Creekside Realty. "That is what I see as the biggest hindrance on the market."

Investors paying cash for lower-priced houses remain a big obstacle for people like Nicole Collison, 25, a San Jose schoolteacher trying to buy her first home.

Motivated by the high rent she's paying and the market's current low interest rates and prices, Collison has looked at nearly 50 houses since October and bid on half a dozen of them, only to lose out every time to cash buyers.

"We're always outbid," she said. "It has been quite a challenge."

But she hasn't given up.

"We're going to keep at it. We're hopeful after the beginning of the year more things will come on to the market."

In the East Bay, about 20 percent of the homes are selling rapidly, said Unhei Kang with Grubb Co. in Berkeley. A nicely presented home in a desirable area will draw multiple bids, she said.

"I don't know what the future will hold, but to me it seems like it is stable. There are definitely buyers out there. Maybe it has to do with the low interest rates. A lot of buyers are feeling it's not going to get any better than this," Kang said.

The housing market is "spotty" in Contra Costa County, with some areas doing well and others not, said Barbara Safran, president of the Contra Costa Association of Realtors. "I think we've dropped about as low as it can get, unless some crazy thing happens in the economy and the world."

The median price for single-family homes dropped about 4 percent last year, Safran said, with condos dropping about 4.6 percent.

"We're predicting that it's probably going to stay the way it is for a while. I think we're going to continue to see a lot of short sales. The foreclosure market is still iffy. It's a question of how quickly banks are going to put out those foreclosures."

Here's what's going on out there. I have been feeling this for awhile now:

Investors Playing Major Role in Bay Area Housing Market

 

While the Bay Area housing market has had its ups and downs much of this year, a couple of segments of the market remained resilient through much of 2011. In previous columns, I’ve talked about the strong rebound in the luxury market from Silicon Valley up through Marin. But one other sector has also played an important role in keeping the overall real estate market going: the investment segment.

 

According to DataQuick, the La Jolla-based real estate information service, absentee buyers – real estate investors for the most part – bought one out of every five single-family homes and condos in August. Buyers paying cash accounted for more than a quarter of sales. And short sales – those transactions where a home sells for less than the homeowner owes on the mortgage – added up to another 20 percent of sales.

 

The trend has caught the attention of the local news media with the San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Mercury both running long articles on the topic in recent weeks.

 

In her article, Chronicle reporter Carolyn Said noted that, “Real-estate investors have become a potent force in a moribund housing market…” She went on to say that, “despite record low interest rates, many consumers simply don't have enough confidence in their economic outlook to buy houses. Investors have kept prices from falling further…”

 

Today’s market is extremely attractive to investors. Record low mortgage interest rates, coupled with very favorable asking prices for distressed properties and other entry level homes, mean that rental income can easily cover the expenses for a new landlord owner. And given the volatility in the stock market and with other investments, real estate is looking like a better and better alternative.

 

While not everyone would agree, I think real estate investors are playing an important role in our market. When they buy, they’re often upgrading properties that in many cases are badly in need of maintenance. They’re helping to clear out the supply of vacant, bank-owned properties that can be a blight on neighborhoods. And in general, they’re reducing the huge inventory of distressed properties that serve to keep all home prices down.

 

"The market would be quite a bit sicker were it not for investors snapping up a lot of the properties," Andrew LePage, an analyst at DataQuick, told the Chronicle. "They account for a meaningful portion of the demand. To the extent to which there's at least a temporary floor under this market, they've helped to build it."

 

However, real estate investors – many of whom are paying all cash for entry-level properties – are making it hard for some first-time buyers and others to compete for those homes. Given the choice, it’s understandable that a seller would opt for a cash offer that’s likely to close quickly rather than take their chance that a buyer can secure mortgage financing.

 

Unlike past investors, today’s new landlords are generally not expecting to quickly flip a home for a profit, according to the Chronicle story. Instead, they see are seeking reasonable returns by simply owning and managing a rental property.

 

Realtors who work with these buyers say that many are first-time investors who like the long-term potential of investing in real estate over other investment vehicles. With prices and interest rates this low, they reason, there may never be a better time to jump in.

 

It’s also important to remember that most housing recoveries are preceded by a rise in rental housing rates.  This has two effects, both positive for our housing recovery.  The rise in rents attracts more investors as purchasers.  As we noted earlier, they also unfortunately cause stiff competition among first-time buyers; but in some areas these investors are necessary to help stabilize hard-hit foreclosure areas and thus stabilize pricing.  The other effect of rising rental rates?  It causes more renters who qualify for homeownership to consider a purchase, especially with today’s interest rates.

 As we approach a New Year, we are expecting more and more of both types of buyers in 2012 to come to the same conclusion.

Silicon Valley – Steady sales activity is reported in Cupertino. With inventory declining, open houses are busier than ever. In Los Altos, sales activity is increasing including a small increase in the $2 million and up market. Open houses are well attended at new single-family listings. Our Los Gatos manager says that overall, the high end continues to remain strong. Inventory remains low in most entry-level markets. The San Jose Almaden office says sales activity has been steady. Properties are selling, but buyers wish there was more to choose from.  Pending sales in this region are 10% up over last year at this time but listings are down 33%.  Low-end buyers are having trouble competing against all-cash or large-down payment buyers.  All properly priced listings are getting multiple offers.  The San Jose Main office also has seen a continued drop in inventory but activity at open houses is very strong. There are multiple offers on most homes in a variety of price ranges. Low interest rates and low inventory are main factors in the multiple offers we are currently experiencing. And our Willow Glen manager reports that regular sales are taking a little longer to close than expected and banks are slowly approving short sales. The Saratoga market seems like it’s slowing, which is normal this time of year.

 

Housing Inventory Snapshot		October 31, 2011
	Average List Price	Median List Price	Average Days On Market
Santa Clara County, CA
Single Family under $1M	$583,435	$570,500	74
Single Family over $1M	$2,350,751	$1,700,000	90
Condo/Townhome under $600K	$342,652	$335,000	78
Condo/Townhome over $600K	$773,380	$725,620	73
San Mateo County, CA
Single Family under $1M	$604,021	$569,500	74
Single Family over $1M	$3,174,102	$1,750,000	89
Condo/Townhome under $600K	$346,125	$339,000	87
Condo/Townhome over $600K	$833,664	$738,000	80

I saw this interesting article that i wanted to share with you about Warren Buffet,  who predicts that there will not be a double dip recession in the economy. 

Warren Buffett's $24 Billion Bet on the U.S. Market

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

BY KERRI SHANNON, Associate Editor, Money Morning

Investing legend Warren Buffett must be feeling good about the U.S. market and economic outlook - he's bet $24 billion on them.  Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B) invested $23.9 billion in this year's third quarter, the most in at least 15 years.  The company bought almost $7 billion in stock last quarter, a 90% jump from the $3.62 billion in the second quarter and a staggering 739% increase from the $834 million purchased in the first. The $23.9 billion also included the $9 billion acquisition of specialty chemical company Lubrizol Corp., finalized in September, and $5 billion in preferred shares and warrants in Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC). 

These billion-dollar investments by the "Oracle of Omaha" are another move signaling his bullish outlook on the U.S. market.

He's said repeatedly the United States won't see a double-dip recession - and he's putting huge money behind that forecast.  "He sees something, and it's big," Thomas Russo, a partner at investment management firm Gardner, Russo & Gardner, toldBloomberg. 

Housing Inventory Snapshot		September 27, 2011
	Average List Price	Median List Price	Average Days On Market
Santa Clara County, CA
Single Family under $1M	$589,221	$579,000	73
Single Family over $1M	$2,327,412	$1,695,000	88
Condo/Townhome under $600K	$347,547	$341,990	79
Condo/Townhome over $600K	$765,523	$714,900	76
San Mateo County, CA
Single Family under $1M	$618,299	$588,000	78
Single Family over $1M	$3,190,702	$1,849,000	80
Condo/Townhome under $600K	$366,207	$359,000	89
Condo/Townhome over $600K	$801,133	$705,000	86

Luxury home sales in Silicon Valley dipped in August but the median sale price edged higher over the previous month and a year ago, according to Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, the South Bay’s leading provider of luxury real estate services. 

A total of 207 homes sold for more than $1 million in Santa Clara County last month, essentially flat from the previous month’s 208 transactions but down from the 221 sales recorded in August 2010.

However, the median sale price of a million-dollar home in the South Bay climbed to $1,387,000, up 2.7 percent from the $1.35 million median sale price recorded in July and August of last year.

Other metrics also showed the high-end market continues to recover: There were 41 multi-million-dollar sales last month, up from 34 in July and 36 in August 2010. And sellers received 100 percent of their asking price on average, up from 98 percent a year ago and 99 percent the previous month.

Luxury home sales in Silicon Valley dipped in August but the median sale price edged higher over the previous month and a year ago, according to Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, the South Bay’s leading provider of luxury real estate services. 

A total of 207 homes sold for more than $1 million in Santa Clara County last month, essentially flat from the previous month’s 208 transactions but down from the 221 sales recorded in August 2010.

However, the median sale price of a million-dollar home in the South Bay climbed to $1,387,000, up 2.7 percent from the $1.35 million median sale price recorded in July and August of last year.

Other metrics also showed the high-end market continues to recover: There were 41 multi-million-dollar sales last month, up from 34 in July and 36 in August 2010. And sellers received 100 percent of their asking price on average, up from 98 percent a year ago and 99 percent the previous month.

The figures were derived from Multiple Listing Service data of all homes sold in Santa Clara County for more than $1 million last month.

“The luxury segment of the Silicon Valley housing market continues to strengthen, along with the high-end markets in other parts of the Bay Area,” said Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. “Both sales and prices are firming up in the South Bay, San Francisco, the Peninsula and Marin County. That could be a leading indicator of how the overall market will fare in the months ahead.”

Turley noted that the high-end market often recovers first following a downturn. Last month, DataQuick, the La Jolla-based real estate research firm, reported that overall sales in the Bay Area last month rose 12.2 percent, although the median price dipped 3.9 percent.

Some key findings from this month’s Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage luxury report:

• The most expensive sale in Santa Clara County last month was a five-bedroom, nine-bath 6,400-square foot home in Los Gatos that sold for $5.2 million;
• Los Altos boasted the most million-dollar sales last month with 43, followed by Palo Alto with 33, San Jose with 32, Saratoga with 29, and Cupertino with 17;
• Homes closing last month stayed on the market an average of 38 days, the same as the previous month and up from 36 days a year ago.

. 

Another stat that you may find useful in determining a trend is the actual sale price to list price ratio.  I ran these stats for the past 5 years for Saratoga and this is what i came up with.

In 2006 Sales Price to List Price had a ratio of 98.1%, in 2007- 98.7%, 2008- 95.9%, 2009-92.5%, 2010- 94.1% and in 2011- 95.2%. 

In reviewing these stats it appears to me that in 2007 was the high and 2009 was the low for this Sales Price to List Price ratio.  In 2011 the ratio as of this writing has been better than 2010 and close to the 2008 ratio.  Are we on the road to recovery?  I think we have definitley bottomed and it all depends on many different variables as to how fast an upturn we are going to see in the mid to long term.  If inverntory remains low and demand high, then of course the recovery will be much faster. 

Here are some very interesting stat I just pulled up.  You know how stats can lie, right? As you all know stats can be an aberration and subject to interpretation but here is a stat that I think is very solid evidence of a trend.

In this case I chose closed sales dollar volume of $3M+ homes in Saratoga for the past  5 years dating back to 2006 for an accurate barometer of a trend.  Here are the stats:

2006- $78,468,000

2007- $133,493,092

2008- $75,405,000

2009- $37,948,985

2010- $36,575,000

2011- $50,053,000 (YTD)

My interpretation from these numbers are that the high was in 2007 ( easy in hindsight right?) and that we came thru some tough times in 2009 & 2010, but in 2011 with the year not even over and one more pending transaction not counted in these stats, i would say that we are on solid footing in the high end luxury market here in Saratoga. 

I have a friend living in China whose brother in law just applied for a EB-5 investment visa, which has to do with investing $500,0000 into the United States to get a visa.  One of the purposes of this visa was to have his 17 year old son go to high school here in the States to learn better english in preparation for his college education here. 

As such he is now looking to buy a home in our local markets particularly Saratoga for this duration.  This is just one example of the multitude of changes I am now seeing in our area.  There are more and more influx of buyers coming from overseas and to them our real estate prices are cheap.  I am not just saying that, but having been and studied the real estate market in Hong Kong ( which is like a mini New York City) and Shanghai, i do understand their mindset. 

With the wide array of technology, business sector, great weather, and close proximity to Asia, this area is a sure bet to have more and more buyers coming to the States for investment and or second homes.

I personally think that our market has bottomed in 2009 and we are on our way back.  May not be as fast as we think but there is clearly more  demand then supply right now. 

I have a client that I helped buy a home in Los Altos in 2008.  After going and doing a Competitive market analysis for him to lower his real estate taxes, we both came to the conclusion that the real estate market has come back in that area such that it would be hard to challenge the tax assessment department with comps that does not support a drop in prices to warrant a real estate tax reduction. 

I have been following the Sold stats and here are some interesting info for your perusal:

Solds in Saratoga Real Estate Market for 2011:

$1M- $2M= 126 homes sold

$2M-$3M= 30 homes sold with 5 pending transactions

$3M+= 16 homes sold and one pending transaction asking $3,549,000.

Based on last year stats in 2010 the $1-$2M has slowed down some. ( Last year was 200 units).  The $2M-$3M range had 48 units, and over $3M+ had 11 units.


Of course the year is not over but from what these figures show me is that the upper end market has performed already better than 2010 in the $3M+ range, and the $2M+ range is slightly off of last year numbers. 

In the $1M+ range although sales have been less than in 2010, I can not say that this market in terms of appreciation has slowed.  One home in the triangle on 19887  Lanark Lane which was only a 3 bedroom 2 bath home 1904 sf,10,500 lot sold for a whopping $1,630,000 with multiple offers (5).  That puts this home at $856/sf which is a new high for the triangle in 2011. 

What these numbers say to me is that because of the all time low interest rates, potential sellers are not readily putting their homes on the market and are digging in.'  Demand is still very strong so it's a matter of supply vs. demand right now,  and that's why I feel the $1M-$2M market has lagged not because of lack of demand, but low inventory.  If this trend continues, it bodes well for sellers.

With interest rates at all time lows, the market in general is very solid. Just last week there was another home at 20221Argonaut Drive inside the Golden Triangle went over the asking price.  This house sold in only 10 days had 5 offers and the buyer is closing in 14 days. Now is that competition or what?

In the $3M+ market in 2007 there were 32 homes sold during that time followed by 20 in 2008, 13 in 2009, and 11 in 2010.  In 2011 having registered 16 closed sales and one pending looks to me as a recovery not to previous numbers but better than what they have been.  I think this market is just waiting for good inventory. 

Silicon Valley’s million-dollar home sales reached their highest level in three full years in June as the high-end market continued to bounce back from the recessionary downturn, according to a new market report by Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, the region’s leading provider of luxury real estate services. 

A total of 284 homes sold for more than $1 million in Santa Clara County last month, up from 230 sales in May and 266 in June 2010. The 284 transactions were the most million-dollar deals in the county for any month since June 2008, the period leading up to the Lehman Brothers collapse and the subsequent crash of the financial markets.

The median sale price of a million-dollar home in Silicon Valley also moved higher in June to $1.4 million, up 6.8 percent from last year’s $1,310,000 median and up 2.3 percent from May’s level of $1,368,500.

Other metrics continued to show steady improvement for the South Bay high-end market. Multi-million sales jumped sharply to 52 transactions last month, up from 42 in May and 36 a year ago. And sellers received an average of 101 percent of their asking price last month due to multiple offers bidding up sales over the listing price.

The figures were derived from Multiple Listing Service data of all homes sold in Santa Clara County for more than $1 million last month.

“After a fairly quiet spring, the housing market really is heating up this summer and Silicon Valley’s luxury market in particular is gaining momentum,” said Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. “The high-end segment normally leads the way for the rest of the market in a housing recovery, so this is encouraging news for the entire market.”

Turley said Coldwell Banker is seeing similar improvement in other luxury markets around the Bay Area, including San Francisco, the Peninsula and Marin County. All of those markets have bounced back from their recessionary lows and in some cases are nearing their pre-recession levels in sales.

Here is an article I came across that I thought was very interesting

“Home Prices Exploding in Silicon Valley amid more Millionaires” – June 15,2011 article by Bloomberg News

A surge in wealth from technology stock sales and initial public offerings is spilling into the Silicon Valley real estate market as newly rich workers bid up home values in suburban cities south of San Francisco.

The median price of single-family houses sold in Palo Alto, home of Facebook Inc., climbed 20 percent in May from a year earlier to $1.63 million, the biggest jump since 2008, according to preliminary figures from research company DataQuick. In Mountain View, the base of LinkedIn Corp., prices rose 3.1 percent to $957,500, the ninth year-over-year gain in 12 months.

The advances are defying a U.S. housing slump that has sent national values to an eight-year low. Share sales such as the IPO of LinkedIn -- which doubled on its first day of trading -- and an expected offering from Facebook will fuel a boom in some Silicon Valley cities into 2013, said Kenneth Rosen, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley.

“It’s just the beginning of the story and I suspect we’ll see an explosion in the next couple years,” Rosen, chairman of the school’s Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics, said in a telephone interview. “You’ve got young people with real money, and it’s not surprising they want to have a house.”

IPO Filings

Almost 300 companies have filed for IPOs in 2011, the most for any year during the same period since 2000, and more than 10 percent of those are in California, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Silicon Valley is the U.S. hub for early-stage companies, receiving almost 40 percent of the $23.3 billion in venture-firm investments last year, estimates from the National Venture Capital Association show.

Pandora Media Inc. climbed 8.9 percent today as shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The online radio company, based about 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of Silicon Valley in Oakland, raised $234.9 million in its IPO. Shares were priced at $16, above the expected $10 to $12 range.

The real estate gains in Silicon Valley, located primarily in the San Jose metropolitan area, are mostly occurring in towns where million-dollar values are already the norm. The median price in Cupertino gained 12 percent last month from May 2010 to $1.08 million, and values in Saratoga rose 4.7 percent to $1.62 million, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.

U.S. Price Declines

Housing in much of the rest of the nation is struggling as foreclosures and unemployment of more than 9 percent weigh on consumer sentiment. Home prices in 20 U.S. cities dropped 3.6 percent in March from a year earlier to the lowest since 2003, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values. The measure has declined 33 percent from its 2006 peak.

In Palo Alto, traffic at home showings has tripled in the last three weeks, with the average age of potential buyers dropping from about 50 to the mid-30s, said Daniel Siciliano, an associate dean at Stanford Law School who attends the tours because he’s in the market for a bigger house.

“People at startups have a lot of pent-up demand and tend to spend a portion of their new liquidity pretty quickly,” Siciliano said of his newfound competition for residential real estate. “They want to manifest their wealth.”

Past Silicon Valley property booms started in Palo Alto, adjacent to the Stanford campus, and Cupertino, home of Apple Inc. (AAPL), because of those institutional links and their coveted public schools, said Stephen Levy, director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy in Palo Alto. Buyers from China have also been drawn by education resources in prestige valley locations and pushed up demand.

‘Happening Place’

“We’re a happening place because of the university and a lot of the folks that have been buying are relatively young,” said Levy, who has viewed downtown condominiums selling for double what he paid in 2005. “We have the best train service to San Francisco. I can be downtown in 35 minutes.”

Sean Scott, head of sales for Redwood City-based software firm Ingenuity Systems Inc., looked at a four-bedroom, two-bath home in Palo Alto last month priced at $1.8 million. The house has “soaring ceilings and generous living spaces,” two patios and a “lush backyard garden,” according to a marketing flyer.

A sale is pending for more than 20 percent above the asking price, or at least $2.2 million, after five bids were received, said Denise Simons, the listing agent at Alain Pinel Realtors.

“The market seems to be returning to the crazy days and the question is whether or not it is a false recovery or a sustained recovery,” Scott said in an e-mail after viewing two more homes at $1.25 million or more, and declining to make any offers. “I suspect that it is a sustained recovery, given the planned liquidity events with social-networking companies.”

Facebook IPO

Speculation that Facebook will go public in the next year is mounting even as the world’s largest social-media site remains silent about its plans. The company may have an IPO in the first quarter of 2012 with a valuation as high as $100 billion, cable channel CNBC reported June 13, citing people familiar with the matter.

Some investors have already cashed in equity in their companies through private share sales, boosting Silicon Valley housing demand and contributing to price gains, Rosen said. Stakes in closely held firms can be sold on secondary exchanges such as SharesPost Inc., which connects buyers and sellers. The exchange values Facebook at almost $53 billion.

Shares granted to employees of public companies can’t be sold until 180 days after the IPO, under U.S. securities rules.

New Millionaires

“You will probably see hundreds, if not thousands, of newly minted millionaires in the next two or three years,” said Steve Eskenazi, a tech investor in Hillsborough, north of Palo Alto, where the minimum lot size is a half acre (0.2 hectare). He sold his portion of an online advertising network to Sunnyvale-based Yahoo! Inc. in 2007.

“Most people in their 20s who find themselves millionaires feel it’s their inalienable right to buy real estate, and they’re typically not price sensitive,” Eskenazi said.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, 27, bought a house this year in Palo Alto, said Larry Yu, a company spokesman. He declined to disclose details. Zuckerberg paid $7 million for a 5,000-square-foot (465-square-meter), seven-bedroom home in a “leafy and affluent” neighborhood, the San Jose Mercury News reported May 5, without saying where it got the information.

The purchase was made before Facebook’s scheduled move to Menlo Park, just north of Palo Alto.

15 Miles

As more firms go public and workers cash in shares, real estate within 15 miles of the office will climb, said Rosen, who gave a presentation at Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Mountain View headquarters before the company’s 2004 IPO to educate employees on housing. Sales are usually concentrated in the “middle to upper end,” he said.

In Cupertino, about 12 miles from Palo Alto, a three- bedroom home listed for $908,000 got more than a dozen offers and sold for $950,000 on June 8, said Albert Kao, an agent at Giant Realty Inc. in the city. The prior owner, who bought the property in 2002, decided to sell after her children graduated from the public schools. She made a $290,000 profit before commissions, Kao said.

Lower-priced areas are still struggling with weak demand. In all of Santa Clara County, which encompasses some Silicon Valley cities, prices decreased 5.1 percent in May from a year earlier to $498,000 as distressed sales pulled values down in the broader market, DataQuick said in a report today. The drop was smaller than in the rest of the San Francisco Bay area, with the nine-county median in the region tumbling 9.3 percent.

Groupon, Zynga

Groupon Inc., an online coupon provider based in Chicago, filed for an initial share sale June 2 and is hiring engineers in California, according to its website. As early as March, Groupon was in talks with bankers about an IPO that would value the company at as much as $25 billion, two people familiar with the matter said at the time.

Zynga Inc. of San Francisco, the largest maker of games for Facebook and valued at $8.8 billion on SharesPost, may file for an IPO by the end of the month, a person with knowledge of the matter said June 3.

Those firms are among the companies that will help Silicon Valley grow by about 20,000 workers in 2011, said Levy, the California economist. Software publishers and Web portals accounted for 5,600 of the 13,400 jobs added in the year through April in the San Jose metropolitan area, according to the California Employment Development Department.

“We’re at the beginnings of an expansion of the job base,” said Levy. “There will be a lot of hiring.”

Simons, the agent for the four-bedroom Palo Alto home, said there were five “excellent” offers for the 2,257-square-foot residence. It was constructed in 1973 by California developer Joseph Eichler, who built thousands of “progressive” tract houses in middle-class neighborhoods, according to a website devoted to the properties.

“There are people who want to get in and they’re willing to pay,” Simons said outside the home, which was repainted, landscaped and staged with furniture before the public showings. “We’re just starting to see the market come back.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Dan Levy in San Francisco at dlevy13@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kara Wetzel at kwetzel@bloomberg.net

 

 

I hope you will find the following snapshot of local Real Estate inventory interesting. The table represents aggregated values based on MLS data for the specified date. ousing Inventory Snapshot May 28, 2011   Average List Price Median List Price Average Days On Market Santa Clara County, CA Single Family under $1M $588,143 $575,000 65 Single Family over $1M $2,319,217 $1,700,000 69 Condo/Townhome under $600K $329,561 $325,000 72 Condo/Townhome over $600K $838,689 $718,000 67 San Mateo County, CA Single Family under $1M $614,193 $585,000 73 Single Family over $1M $2,588,569 $1,615,000 67 Condo/Townhome under $600K $364,457 $350,000 83 Condo/Townhome over $600K $808,433 $735,000 69

If you know someone who is considering buying or selling a home, please give me a call. I will provide professional & courteous service along with knowledgeable guidance through the process.

I hope you will find the following snapshot of local Real Estate inventory interesting. The table represents aggregated values based on MLS data for the specified date. Housing Inventory Snapshot April 27, 2011   Average List Price Median List Price Average Days On Market Santa Clara County, CA Single Family under $1M $587,140 $569,000 67 Single Family over $1M $2,392,407 $1,768,000 76 Condo/Townhome under $600K $325,441 $305,000 71 Condo/Townhome over $600K $808,318 $719,000 72 San Mateo County, CA Single Family under $1M $613,168 $579,000 73 Single Family over $1M $2,644,063 $1,689,000 69 Condo/Townhome under $600K $348,193 $333,000 87 Condo/Townhome over $600K $800,756 $747,000 76

If you know someone who is considering buying or selling a home, please give me a call. I will provide professional & courteous service along with knowledgeable guidance through the process.

We hope you will find the following snapshot of local Real Estate inventory interesting. The table represents aggregated values based on MLS data for the specified date. Housing Inventory Snapshot March 28, 2011   Average List Price Median List Price Average Days On Market Santa Clara County, CA Single Family under $1M $576,113 $551,800 73 Single Family over $1M $2,460,628 $1,749,000 83 Condo/Townhome under $600K $321,809 $299,000 75 Condo/Townhome over $600K $776,561 $725,000 65 San Mateo County, CA Single Family under $1M $609,388 $579,000 75 Single Family over $1M $2,743,290 $1,695,000 78 Condo/Townhome under $600K $369,377 $355,000 92 Condo/Townhome over $600K $789,595 $718,888 71

If you know someone who is considering buying or selling a home, please give me a call. I will provide professional & courteous service along with knowledgeable guidance through the process.

I hope you will find the following snapshot of local Real Estate inventory interesting. The table represents aggregated values based on MLS data for the specified date. Housing Inventory Snapshot February 28, 2011   Average List Price Median List Price Average Days On Market Santa Clara County, CA Single Family under $1M $565,437 $539,000 74 Single Family over $1M $2,466,665 $1,700,000 86 Condo/Townhome under $600K $318,485 $295,000 77 Condo/Townhome over $600K $779,605 $719,000 60 San Mateo County, CA Single Family under $1M $609,045 $585,000 80 Single Family over $1M $2,697,169 $1,695,000 84 Condo/Townhome under $600K $373,697 $367,000 85 Condo/Townhome over $600K $765,841 $708,000 74

If you know someone who is considering buying or selling a home, please give me a call. I will provide professional & courteous service along with knowledgeable guidance through the process.

I went to see Eric Clapton last night at the HP Pavilion.  I am not a real big fan of Eric Clapton but got a call from my favorite ticket broker and he gave me a price I couldn't refuse to go so there I was in the front row.  Sorry for the poor resolution but I shot this with my poor blackberry. 

 The concert was pretty good, however he did not do the one song I was really waiting to hear which was "Layla".  That was disappointing.  He did play it, but the slow version.  He played some from his new album as well.  I'd have to rate this concert at 6.   One of my friends who went with me and a real Clapton fan as he plays guitar, rated it an 11, so there you are. 

 Living in the Bay Area really allows you so much with the weather, concerts, plays, theatre,location etc... It is truly in my mind one the premiere places to live. 

 Just last week Prince was at the Coliseum almost unannounced.  He gave 3 days notice and filled the place right away.  Unbelievable. 

I just pulled some Sold stats for Saratoga dating back from 2006-2010 to give a better perspective and reference point of where this market is and comparing the past 5 years.   

Looking at the stats below it clearly shows that the peak was in 2007 with sales of homes in the
 $1-2M=209, $2-$3M=69 and $3M+= 32.

In 2010 home sales in the $1M-$2M with 195 units sold was almost as high as 2007 levels. In the $2-$3M range with 48 units sold, you can also see it made a dramatic turnaround from 2009 levels. 

If this trend continues we shall see prices slowly creeping up but not as quickly as the past.  The statistics also shows that the $3M+ range is still lagging which bodes well for buyers, but with the strong demand in 2010 for homes in the $1M-$3M range, at some point with the job market and mortgages starting to stabilize somewhat the demand will be back.

 
 Saratoga Sold Home Statistics 2006-2010

   

I hope you will find the following snapshot of local Real Estate inventory interesting. The table represents aggregated values based on MLS data for the specified date.

Housing Inventory Snapshot January 28, 2011   Average List Price Median List Price Average Days On Market Santa Clara County, CA Single Family under $1M $543,117 $509,000 83 Single Family over $1M $2,319,089 $1,649,000 100 Condo/Townhome under $600K $314,632 $294,168 88 Condo/Townhome over $600K $829,202 $729,000 85 San Mateo County, CA Single Family under $1M $591,918 $565,000 92 Single Family over $1M $2,808,558 $1,570,000 101 Condo/Townhome under $600K $372,637 $369,000 95 Condo/Townhome over $600K $765,818 $709,888 78

 

MORTGAGE. National Averages (January 28, 2011)* 30-year fixed Rate - 4.78% APR - n/a% 15-year fixed Rate - 4.08% APR - n/a% 5/1 ARM Rate - 3.42% APR - n/a%

* Mortgage rates were collected from publicly available sources (yahoo.com) on the date stated. The accuracy of the information and the availability of these rates are not guaranteed by the publisher. Rates are provided for informational purposes only and are subject to change without notice. Actual market interest rates may vary.
** There are not enough listings in this category to compile comparative analysis.
*** MLS doesn't provide access to this data.

I just saw a very pretty home today in Saratoga with really nice backyard.  What makes this home unique is that there is a separate unit with it’s own bedroom/bath, kitchen and it's own separate entrance as well. 

Perfect for those of you with extended families or occasional visitors for any length of time. Tell me type of home and community you are looking for.  I know I can help.

Anthony 

Hi,
I hope all of you had a very happy and restful holidays.  I wanted to update you all on the inventory in Saratoga's housing market.

As of January 25,2011,  Saratoga has 72 active listings ranging from $745,000 to $15M and there are another 34 homes in contract ranging from $750,000-$3,850,000.

Just a quick summary.  At the beginning of 2010 the Saratoga market was really heating up, homes that previously didn't sell sold, then it started slowing down again around the summer time. At this time it feels like due to pent up demand,lack of good inventory,and the feeling that the worst is behind  us, we may be starting to see another run in this market. 

Good homes have sold quite rapidly as exemplified by a home on 20542 Wardell Road,  This home was 2696 sf/ 17,250 sf lot and it was in the Saratoga School district. 
 
This was a very well maintained home but basically in it's original condition.  It was snapped up in 9 days.  Wardell is one of those streets in Saratoga that has 2 school districts Saratoga and Cupertino, depending on which side of the street you are on. 

If any of you have any further questions or would like to learn more of homes not even on the market, please do give me a call at: 408 839-7896.  Take care and hope you have a great day.

Regards,
Anthony

Saratoga High's Girl's tennis team took the CCS Championship last month beating out Monte Vista
this was the second year in a row that Saratoga has won this event.

They are now in the finals to play today at Cupertino High School for the CIF Norcal Championshops which actually started in Sacramento and should have been over but
they have encountered 2 rain delays on two different dates so today hopefully they are looking to
rap up the season weather permitting.  I am very proud of the team as well as my daughter Sarah  who is in her 3rd year there.

Median sale price edge up 2.8% from last year to $1.33 million

 

Million-dollar home sales in Silicon Valley dipped slightly in September compared to a year ago but the median sale price edged higher, according to Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, the South Bay’s leading provider of luxury real estate services.

 

A total of 183 homes sold for more than $1 million in Santa Clara County in September, down from 188 properties in September 2009. It was the first time in eight months year-over-year sales in the luxury market didn’t increase.  However, the median sale price was up 2.8 percent to $1.33 million from a year ago.

 

Both sales and the median sale price were off from August when 221 homes sold for more than $1 million. The median sale price was fractionally lower from the August level of $1.35 million.

 

But other measurements offered encouragement for a gradually improving market. It took just 45 days on average to sell a million-dollar home in Santa Clara County, down from 54 days a year ago. Sellers also received 98 percent of their asking price, up from 94 percent last year.

 

Additionally, the upper end of the luxury market continued to see increased sales. There were 24 homes that sold for more than $2 million in the county, up from 18 a year ago. And four of those homes sold for more than $3 million compared to just one a year ago.  Finally, the most expensive home sale was nearly $8 million, more than double the highest-price sale in September 2009.

 

The figures were derived from Multiple Listing Service data of all homes sold in Santa Clara County for more than $1 million last month.

 

“Silicon Valley’s luxury housing market continues to show signs of stabilization and gradual improvement,” said Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. “The recovery has been coming in fits and starts – much like the economy itself. Not every month has seen equal gains, but in general we appear to be moving in the right direction – especially in the top end of the luxury market.”

 

Some key findings from this month’s Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage luxury report:

 

•The most expensive sale in Santa Clara County in September was an eight-bedroom, six-bath 5,505-square foot home in Palo Alto that sold for $7,995,000;

•San Jose boasted the most million-dollar sales with 35, followed by Palo Alto with 33, Los Altos with 27, Los Gatos with 23, Cupertino with 21, and Saratoga with 20;

•It took an average of 45 days to sell a million-dollar home in the county, down from 54 days a year ago but up from 36 days the previous month.

The Santa Clara County Million-Dollar Home Report is a monthly report by Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, a specialist in high-end real estate sales. Through its internationally renowned Coldwell Banker Previews® program, the company is recognized around the world for its expertise in the luxury housing market.

 

Saratoga:

As of the first Quarter this year in Saratoga there were 38 closed sales, the average days on market was 95.  Average Sales Price was $1,805,000 and the median average was $1,599,900.  % of listing price received was 95.16%.  Total Sales Volume was $66,806,800 for that quarter.

At present there are 108 listings active from $849,000 to $7,800,000 and 53 homes pending. 


Los Gatos/Monte Sereno:


As of the first Quarter this year for Los Gatos/Monte Sereno there were 60 closed sales, the average days on market was 95.  Average Sales Price was $1,429,257 and the median average was $1,125,000.  % of listing price received was 93.27% with total Sales Volume of $81,467,700.

At present there are 181 homes active from $649,000 to $19,950,000 and 69 homes pending. 

Market Update:

The real estate market for this first quarter and up to the present time has been very postive. Peoples attitudes has improved a great deal.  With all this doom and gloom for the past 2-3 years maybe we have turned the corner here.  Stay tuned. 

As of today the Saratoga Real Estate Market has definitely come back quite a bit.  We are now getting multiple
Offers on homes and even some homes that were on the market for a long time have been selling.

The demand for good properties in Saratoga has not waned.  We just might be out of the woods now with this economy getting somewhat better and having better indicator numbers by and large to support the theory that we are finally out of the recession.  

I am aware of quite a number of properties in Saratoga and Los Gatos that are not on the market, in fact I just sold one in Saratoga.   Please do give me a call for a private consultation whether you are looking to either buy or sell @ 408 839-7896.  . Thank you.

As of today the Saratoga Real Estate Market has definitely come back quite a bit.  We are now getting multiple
Offers on homes and even some homes that were on the market for a long time have been selling.

The demand for good properties in Saratoga has not waned.  We just might be out of the woods now with this economy getting somewhat better and having better indicator numbers by and large to support the theory that we are finally out of the recession.  

I am aware of quite a number of properties in Saratoga and Los Gatos that are not on the market, in fact I just sold one in Saratoga.   Please do give me a call for a private consultation whether you are looking to either buy or sell @ 408 839-7896.  . Thank you.

I have noted that the activity in the past 3-4 months in Saratoga and Los Gatos has definitey picked up.  Homes that were previously on the market for a long time has been selling at a pretty decent rate. 

The sentiment has definitely improved.  A the moment there are 133 active listings in Saratoga from $499,000 ( Land value) to $19.5M,  and there are 39 homes under contract.  I can also send you data for recent transactions and up to the minute information on other transactions as well. 

Let me know if I can help you in this area as well as Los Gatos.  Thanks.

Here is a very nice piece of property located in the unincorporated part of Menlo Park.   The lot is approximately 11,165 sf and in the back is a flowing creek.  Very tranquil setting.Excellent Schools.  The lot can be purchased for $999,000. 

The builder also has architect plans for a 4900 sf 2 story home 5 bedroom/4.5 baths home to be built on this lot. Price upon request. 

The location is right off of Alpine Road/280.  Any questions please feel free to contact me: anthony@apr.com or call my cell: 408 839-7896