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Palo Alto, CA Real Estate News

By John Souerbry, Homes, Land & Investments
(Cordon Real Estate)
Alpine Apartments on Curtner Avenue in Palo Alto closed escrow on April 1st. Description:  17 units with swimming pool, laundry, covered parking.  Close to Stanford U., downtown Palo Alto. Price:  $3,405,000 Listed by John Souerbry
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By John Souerbry, Homes, Land & Investments
(Cordon Real Estate)
Earlier this month I posted "Basic Screening Criteria For Buying Single Family Rentals," a blog that suggested three initial screening criteria for rental purchases:  location, price range, and configuration.  Today, let's go beyond the basics on our journey towards acquiring profitable investment properties.  We'll take a deeper look at properties on our screened list of investment candidates to see if there is one really worth buying. To recap, we want to buy rental properties that are in neighborhoods that we have determined are good rental markets, and may be good future sale markets, too.  The asking price needs to be within our budget, and the configuration of the property should fit the area (number of bedrooms and bathrooms).  Now we have a list of properties that meet our basic...
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By John Souerbry, Homes, Land & Investments
(Cordon Real Estate)
Looking for bank-owned (REO) or short sale (SS) properties in the heart of Silicon Valley?  There are a number of properties still on the market, some of which are great deals.  Here are bank-owned and short sale properties offered for sale under $1,500,000 as of today (March 26, 2011). Palo Alto Type Bed/Bath Price Square Feet Single family, REO 5/3 $1,169,000 2,065 Condo, SS* 2/1 $435,000 885 Condo, SS* 2/1 $425,000 885 * In same complex Menlo Park Type Bed/Bath Price Square Feet Condo, SS 3/2.5 $879,000 1,640 Single family, REO 3/1 $857,000 1,150 Condo, REO 3/2 $844,000 1,450 Single family, REO 2/1 $685,000 1,090 Single family, SS 3/2 $450,000 1,410 Single family, REO 2/1 $399,150 1,700 Single family, SS 3/2 $369,000 1,680 Single family, REO 4/3 $329,900 1,730 Single family, SS 3/1 $...
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By Marcy Moyer, Probate, Trust, and Investment Specialist
(eXp Realty of California Silicon Valley Probate, Trust, and Investment Sales)
I was asked an interesting question recently. What is the percentage of cash buyers in Palo Alto?  It may not be what you think.   Homes under 1 million in the last year: 67 total  Sold with all cash:  9 Homes from 1-2 million:  255     Sold with all cash:  31 Homes from 2-3  million:  64  Sold with all cash:  20 Homes over 3 million:     21   Sold with all cash:    14   So despite what you hear about cash being king and so many buyers being beat out by all cash investors, in Palo Alto, a very high number of buyers are still purchasing homes with loans.   If you have any questions about buying or selling a home in Palo Alto please feel free to contact me.   Marcy Moyer Kelle Williams Realty www.marcymoyer.com marcy@marcymoyer.com 650-619-9285 D.R.E.  01191194  
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By Francis Rolland, - Since 1985
(Coldwell Banker)
The inventory of available homes in the area is a sure sign of where prices are going.  Lack of inventory = trends up in prices for the most part. For the County of Santa Clara, available homes and condominiums combined are as follows, as of March 21, 2011: 2008 = 6899 homes. 2009 = 5979.   2010 = 3467.   2011= 3501. For the area comprised of Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, the figures are as follow: 2008 = 392 homes.  2009 = 685.  2010 = 483.  2011 = 369 This latter figure explains why, currently, about half of the homes offered in Palo Alto receive multiple offers and prices are going up as a consequence.  What I experience is that the best products for sale right now are very much in demand, and based on the number of offers on some of these prop...
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By John Souerbry, Homes, Land & Investments
(Cordon Real Estate)
Buyers, sellers, investors, welcome back to another installment of Real Estate Jargon, aka, simple explanations of real estate terms normally not found in nature. A common question put to real estate people as they run into acquaintances at the local Starbuck's is - "how's the market?"  Not wanting to appear ignorant or pessimistic, the common reply is "great!"  Unless the two people in this conversation are reading each other's minds, no useful information has been exchanged.  Is the question about the national housing market?  Local market conditions?  Whether or not the agent will have to send his daughter to Happy Valley U. instead of Harvard?  When we call our stock broker at Discount Stocks & Storm Door Company, we could care less whether the Dow Jones is up 20 points or down 100....
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By Marcy Moyer, Probate, Trust, and Investment Specialist
(eXp Realty of California Silicon Valley Probate, Trust, and Investment Sales)
I hope all my fellow Midtown Palo Alto residents made it through the storm last night. It was pretty wild out there. Since it looks like we are in for a prolonged period of wetness I hope everyone gives their gutters a second cleaning for the season.  I know most people will get their gutters cleaned in Nov or Dec after the leaves fall and before the big rains.  However, since we are getting so much rain at the end of the season it is a good idea to get them cleaned again this week because there is probably a big accumulation of debri in them by now, and the rain could cause problems with the leaking into the house.  
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By John Souerbry, Homes, Land & Investments
(Cordon Real Estate)
Single family homes are often the property of choice for residential property investors.  Operating margins are generally better than condos and the purchase price is more affordable than multi-family properties.  In many communities, dozens of homes come on the market each month, providing opportunity to begin investing or to add to an existing portfolio. How, then, does an investor sort through the many available homes to find one that can be operated profitably?  I recommend three primary screening criteria:  location, price range, and configuration.  Location.  Create geographic "green zones" where you prefer to own property.  These zones could be as large as a town or zip code, or as small as a street with house numbers between X and Y.  Many MLS systems now have a feature that all...
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By John Souerbry, Homes, Land & Investments
(Cordon Real Estate)
The mountain of sensitive personal information collected during a real estate transaction can be huge.  Whether buying, selling or applying to rent, someone wants to know just about everything about you.  Where you live, how much money you make, how much you have in the bank, tax identification numbers, birthdays, plus all the private bits of information that it takes to verify those things. While providing this information is necessary, it can also be risky.  The potential for identity theft or fraud is substantial.  Here are just a few things buyers, sellers, borrowers and renters can do to protect their personal information during a transaction. 1.  Verify that the people you are doing business with will safeguard your private information.  Ask your agent, loan officer or landlord ab...
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By Marcy Moyer, Probate, Trust, and Investment Specialist
(eXp Realty of California Silicon Valley Probate, Trust, and Investment Sales)
Not everyone is cut out to be a short sale buyer. It is a long, and sometimes frustrating process. It is not for everyone. so how do you know what makes for a good short sale buyer, one who will stick it out for the duration and be committed to the process. Here are some attributes I think contribute to being a good short sale buyer:   1.  Really want the house, not just make an offer because it is a short sale so probably a "good deal"  It is difficult for the seller and listing agent to really access the buyer's motivation, but if you are a buyer trying to get a good investment property or a home it is a waste of your time and the seller's to make offers on homes you really do not want and are not willing to fight for. 2.  Does not have a problem with authority.  When you are involved...
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By Marcy Moyer, Probate, Trust, and Investment Specialist
(eXp Realty of California Silicon Valley Probate, Trust, and Investment Sales)
I got a call a few days ago from a buyer of a home in southern California. He made an all cash offer on a foreclosed property which was countered at a higher price because there was a second offer from and FHA buyer for more money. He agreed to the higher price and then did his inspections. there were a number of issues that made this buyer feel like he paid too much and wanted my advice about how to get the bank the lower the price. The FHA buyer was given back up position for the purchase of this home. After telling this buyer that I would not interfere with someone else's contract and did not represent him, I said I could tell him what I would try if this happened to one of my clients.  FHA loans can have lower down payments than a conventional loan, but they come with conditions.  T...
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By John Souerbry, Homes, Land & Investments
(Cordon Real Estate)
There are hundreds of real estate pundits filling the airwaves, blogs and print media with advice to "Buy Now! Buy Now! Buy Now!"  Well, I'm an active broker and I can honestly tell you - I don't know if this is a good time for you to buy.  In fact, no broker or agent can tell you that. Sure, home prices and interest rates are low.  Political, economic, and financial events leading to this moment have created one of the great home buying opportunities of this generation.  If you've got a steady job with good pay, money in the bank and great credit, this could be your time to buy.  But those things are just the preamble to getting ready for possibly the biggest purchase of your life.  As a broker, I can tell you the opportunity is there, but I can't tell you that you're ready for it. Is ...
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By MichelleCherie Carr Crowe .Just Call. 408-252-8900, Family Helping Families Buy & Sell Homes 40+ Years
(Get Results Team...Just Call (408) 252-8900! . DRE #00901962 . Licensed to Sell since 1985 . Altas Realty)
New Signs=New Calls? Geoff Grist wrote a great post on his new SOLD sign that includes his name and phone number-and that it's bringing in new calls. I work in Silicon Valley, California (San Jose, Cupertino, Saratoga, Palo Alto, etc.-you know the birthplace of Apple Computer, Google & FaceBook). Santa Clara County is arguably one of the most multicultural real estate markets in the world. Our home buyers are from everywhere - Taiwan, Kerala, Honshu, etc. What I noticed next after Geoff's sold sign was the icons along the sign. Makes it appear the home is a 3 Br, 1 Ba, 1-car garage property...but peeking underneath that sold sign I see the phrase "2 bedrooms"... An intriguing idea about both of these signs.  Is this icon use common in Australia or other parts of the world?
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By John Souerbry, Homes, Land & Investments
(Cordon Real Estate)
Buyers, sellers, investors, welcome back to another installment of Real Estate Jargon, aka, simple explanations of real estate terms normally not found in nature. Although the term interim management is easy to understand, applying the concept to real estate is something that many brokers fly right by as far as offering it as a service.  Since this is something we do in my business every day, I'll offer some real-life examples of how interim management can be of service to investment property owners and others. Like many real estate firms, we offer property sales and property management services.  Our management contracts may be for a specified period of time, perhaps one year, or could run until either the property owner terminates the contract or sells the property.  As is standard in...
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By John Souerbry, Homes, Land & Investments
(Cordon Real Estate)
Buyers, sellers, investors, welcome back to another installment of Real Estate Jargon, aka, simple explanations of real estate terms normally not found in nature. In the world of real estate, sellers are often categorized in terms of whether they A) won't sell, B) may sell or C) must sell.  In today's market, many of the "must sell" sellers are offering significant incentives to get their property sold.  Many are including lots of personal property in the sale, such as lawn and garden tools, pool equipment, high-end barbeque grills, and premium quality household appliances such as refrigerators, clothes washers and dryers, and wine storage units - anything to make their property more attractive to potential buyers.  What else can sellers do, other than asking a reasonable price, to make...
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By Marcy Moyer, Probate, Trust, and Investment Specialist
(eXp Realty of California Silicon Valley Probate, Trust, and Investment Sales)
I recently got a newsletter from a mortgage broker at Princeton Capitol, confirming what I have been telling clients for the last 16 years.  If you are purchasing a home, or accepting an offer to purchase a home and the contract is "As-Is" do not discuss the specific inspection reports in the contract.  The reason for this is that if there is mention of a termite report, property report, etc. Fannie and Freddie are getting very picky about wanting to see those reports, and in the case of termite, they will want to see a clearance.  If you do not mention the report they will not need a termite clearance.  This does not mean that the buyer does not have the right to any inspections, they are just not specified on the contract.   I know this is not logical. If a contract is "As-Is" then it...
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By John Souerbry, Homes, Land & Investments
(Cordon Real Estate)
Palo Alto is a great place to work and play.  There's great dining downtown, mall walking at Stanford Shopping Center, vast open spaces to hike, and a growing list of high and low tech companies are hanging out a "We're Hiring" sign. Palo Alto is also one of the most sought-after places to live on the peninsula, making home-buying expensive for single family homes and for condos.  With home prices ranging from a little over $350,000 up to $20,000,000, condos are sometimes the best choice for affordable homes when first moving to the area.  As of today, there are 26 condos on the market in Palo Alto, of which only nine have been on the market longer than two months.  Of the 26, 14 have been on the market for less than one month.  Over the past 90 days, 15 condos have been sold in Palo Al...
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By Lottie Kendall, Helping make your real estate dreams a reality
(Compass)
Johnson Park,  near 360 Everett Avenue, in downtown Palo Alto CA 94301 If you live or work in downtown Palo Alto, California, you might already be familiar with Johnson Park, a great place for a relaxing noon-time break and to enjoy the winter sunshine.   And if you're looking for a place to call home, a very large 2-bedroom, 2-bath condo at 360 Everett Avenue will be on the market soon, and is less than 1 block from Johnson Park. This could be your opportunity to enjoy easy living in dynamic downtown Palo Alto. If you'd like to learn more, please contact me, or have your real estate adviser give me a call.
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By John Souerbry, Homes, Land & Investments
(Cordon Real Estate)
Since the days of pre-historic man, location has been the primary consideration when choosing a home.  In the beginning, buyers looked for a cave above the flood plain, near firewood (after they discovered fire) and plentiful sources of food and farmland.  Today, man is still guided by location when searching for a new home. We may be upgrading and know the local neighborhoods or be moving in from out of state.  In either situation, it's a good idea to consider all the features of the locations that we will include in our search before we start looking at individual homes.  There are many things to consider - overall quality of the neighborhood, home prices and affordability, local taxes and regulations, schools, shopping, transportation.  With so much to consider, how does a home buyer...
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By Francis Rolland, - Since 1985
(Coldwell Banker)
In the Silicon Valley where there is a limited amount of land to build on, a condominium or a townhouse is often a good alternative to a house. In general, for the same amount of money, one gets a larger and newer property in a PUD or CID (Planned unit development - Common interest development) than in a house. In our local towns (Los Altos, Palo Alto or Mountain View) a lot of the house value is in the land. Consider that an average piece of land ~ 6,500 sq.ft. would easily fetch in Mountain View between $400k and $500k, and this would not be in a prime location. Therefore, when one considers a purchase around $600k to $800k, a PUD is often more appealing to live in. Some other reasons to prefer a PUD could be safety, or lower maintenance, as various parts of the property are maintaine...
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