Palo Alto, Market Update, Dec 28

Palo Alto Market Update 12-28-08

As of this morning this is the snapshot of the Palo Alto Inventory of homes:

Single family homes:
Active Listings: 68
Pending sales: 15
Closed in last week: 0

Condos/town homes:
Active listings: 22
Pending sales: 6
Closed in last week: 0

So what does this mean? Not too much. There would normally not be too many closed sales at the end of the year because of the holidays. The condo market and the single family home market have a similar ratio of pending to active listings. The results may be a little off though because there are more new condo/town homes on the market than single family homes, so these numbers are not an exact picture since not every new home in a development is on MLS. The inventory of both classes is shrinking, but that is to be expected as most sellers do not put their homes on the market at this time of year, preferring to wait until after the New Year. I will have a better idea of where the market is going a few weeks into January. If the inventory goes up a lot faster than the pending sales, we will see price declines. If the inventory stays the same and pending sale rate stays the same, we should have some stability in prices. If the inventory goes down and pending sales stay the same or increase, we could see some appreciation. I will let you know when I think there is a real trend that I can put my finger on.

If you are interested in finding the final selling price of any home, anywhere, you can do it on my web site. Go to www.marcymoyer.com and click on Cyberhome Home Valuation. You can then typed in any address and get the county records.

If you need anything else please feel free to contact me. I am here to help you.
Marcy Moyer Intero Real Estate
marcy@marcymoyer.com
650-619-9285
www.marcymoyer.com

Sunnyvale CA. Market Update, Dec. 27th

Sunnyvale Ca. Market Update 12-27-08

As of this morning here is a snapshot of the inventory of homes in Sunnyvale:

Single Family Homes:
130 Active listings
56 Pending Sales
4 homes sold in last 7 days

Condos/Town homes:
76 Active Listings
20 Pending Sales
2 Closed sales in last 7 days

What does this mean? Right now the market in single family homes is better than condos, as evidenced by a better ratio of active to pending listings. Otherwise, there is not much we can garner from these numbers. There wouldn't normally be too many closed sales at the end of the year because of the holidays. The inventory of both classes is shrinking, but that is to be expected as most sellers do not put their homes on the market at this time of year, preferring to wait until after the New Year. I will have a better idea of where the market is going a few weeks into January. If the inventory goes up a lot faster than the pending sales, we will see price declines. If the inventory stays the same and pending sale rate stays the same, we should have some stability in prices. If the inventory goes down and pending sales stay the same or increase, we could see some appreciation. I am not betting on any of those scenarios over another at this point.

If you are interested in finding the final selling price of any home, anywhere, you can do it on my web site. Go to http://www.marcymoyer.com/ and click on Cyberhome Home Valuation. You can then typed in any address and get the county records.

If you need anything else please feel free to contact me. I am here to help you.

Marcy Moyer Intero Real Estate
marcy@marcymoyer.com
650-619-9285
www.marcymoyer.com

Mountain View Market Update, Dec 26

As of today, here's a snapshot of Mountain View's home inventory--

Single Family Homes:

64 Active Listings

7 Pending Sales

3 Closed Sales in last 7 days

Condos/Town Homes:

60 Active Listings

17 Pending Sales

1 Closed sale in last 7 days

So what does this mean? Not too much. Normally, there wouldn't be too many closed sales at the end of the year because of the holidays. The condo market is still better than the single family home market, with a significantly better ratio of pending to active listings. The inventory of both classes is shrinking, but that is to be expected--most sellers do not put their homes on the market at this time of year, preferring to wait until after the New Year. I will have a better idea of where the market is going a few weeks into January. If the inventory goes up faster than the pending sales, we will see prices decline. If the inventory stays the same and the pending sales rate stays the same, we should have some stability in prices. If the inventory goes down and pending sales stay the same or increase, we could see some appreciation. I am not betting on any of those scenarios over another at this point.

If you are interested in finding the final selling price of any home, anywhere, you can do it on my website. Go to www.marcymoyer.com and click on Cyberhome Home Valuation. You can then type in any address and get county records. It's a very helpful tool. 

Please, contact me if you need anything else--I'm always here to help!

It's a Wonderful Life in Palo Alto, California

Every year on Christmas Eve, Stanford Theatre on University Ave. in Palo Alto shows Frank Capra's classic film It's a Wonderful Life, starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. For the last 21 years, this special showing has been a Christmas tradition, and every year it sells out. It is THE place to be on Christmas Eve in this wonderful little city.

The theater is gorgeous, built in the 40's and renovated in the mid 80's by Dave Packard, or Little Dave as he is known around here. His father, Big Dave, was one of the founders of Hewlett Packard, who famously started Silicon Valley in a garage on Addison St. Before the show begins, a huge Wurlitzer organ rises from under the stage and plays Christmas music. Then Dave comes onstage to talk about the theatre and the film. Last night he talked about how the film was originally released in May or June (I can't remember!), instead of Christmas. Little Dave passionately believes movies need to be seen in a theatre, with other people, and on the right day. He is certainly correct about It's a Wonderful Life. I think it is this belief that keeps Dave from showing any movie made after 1960 at Stanford Theater.

The magnificent red velvet curtain goes up and the movie begins. The audience is as much a part of the evening as the characters onscreen. Old friends see each other yearly here--I saw Caroline Spangler, who I hadn't seen since last Christmas Eve. Our kids grew up together, but now that they're adults we don't see each other much. Caroline's children Nick and Starr just won the TV show The Amazing Race and I hadn't congratulated her yet--but I figured I'd see her at the movie, so I didn't feel too guilty. My kids saw friends from elementary and high school and got caught up in person, instead of just on Facebook. My sister just moved here from Bethesda and was introduced for the first time to a piece of Palo Alto social and cultural life. She was impressed!

During the movie the audience claps, boos at the bad guys, and is totally transported to Bedford Falls. My favorite part is when the names of two of the characters, best friends Bert and Ernie, are finally said together. The newbies in the audience get a huge laugh out of this, when they realize for the first time where Jim Henson came up with his Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street. 

So if you are anywhere near Palo Alto next Christmas Eve, be sure to catch this heartwarming film in the ideal setting. Tickets usually sell out three or four days ahead of time, and can't be bought online. However, the line forms to get a seat a few hours before the show, and there are always people there giving away extra tickets. They rarely sell the extras, and no one scalps. It really is a wonderful life in Palo Alto. 

For Home Seekers-- Life Made Easier

How many times have you gone out to look at properties, either on your own at open houses or with agents, and realized around the 5th house that you'd totally forgotten the 1st?

The Home Seeker's Checklist is a good solution.

Just take a stack of these check lists with you and put the address of the house at the top of the list. Circle the things that apply, and add a few notes. When you get home, you can look the house up on the internet and you have a detailed list of whether the house has the features you're looking for. You can always use my site, www.marcymoyer.com, to search for homes without having to register with anyone. You can also use my website--just click on the link Cyber Home Valuation to look up the last sale of any property and get other interesting county information as well as an estimation of the home's current value. Just type in the address of the property you are interested in, which you have saved on your Home Seeker's Checklist. 

If you have any questions about check lists, real estate, or anything else--contact me! I'm here to help.

You cut and paste this list into a word doc and print it on your own, or create a new one featuring what you really want in a home. 

Home Seeker's Checklist

Home Address:

Exterior

1. wood, stucco, shingle, siding, brick
2. windows: single or double paned
3. front yard landscaping
4. back yard landscaping
5. lighting
6. sprinklers
7. garage: 1,2,3, or 4 car
8. driveway: paver, cement, asphalt, pebbles, dirt
9. location

Entry

1. formal
2. flooring: wood, tile, marble, granite

Kitchen

1. gas or electric
2. galley or square
3. breakfast room
4. kitchen/family room combo
5. counter top: granite, tile, marble, corian, silestone
6. cabinets: oak, maple, cherry, beech, metal, melamine, painted
7. floor: tile, wood, vinyl
8. appliances: stainless, white, black
9. microwave: built in, on counter
10. dishwasher: built in

Dining Room

1. separate or part of another room

Family Room

1. separate or part of another room
2. fireplace
3. flooring: tile, carpet, wood, vinyl

Living Room

1. flooring: tile, carpet, wood, vinyl
2. fireplace

Master Bedroom

1. has own bath
2. room for king-sized bed
3. closet: walk-in, along a wall with sliders, small with a door that opens
4. floor: wood, carpet
5. fireplace
6. sitting area

Master Bath

1. tub with jets, shower over tub, stall shower
2. floor: marble, vinyl, tile
3. vanity: 2 sinks, oak, cherry, maple, beech, painted, melamine

Hall Bath

1. tube with jets, shower over tub, stall shower
2. flooring: marble, vinyl, tile
3. vanity: 2 sink, 1 sink, oak, cherry, maple, beech, painted, melamine

Additional Baths

1. 1/2, 1,2,3,4

Additional Bedrooms

1. 1,2,3,4,5,6
2. flooring: wood, carpet

Additional Rooms

1. library
2. mudroom
3. basement
4. attic
5. den/office

Additional Amenities 

1. heat: central, wall, baseboard, pellet stove
2. air conditioning: central, room
3. balcony
4. deck
5. air filter
6. wine celler/storage
7. high ceilings
8. dog run
9. horse pasture
10. barn
11. creek
12. pool
13. spa
14. tennis court
15. home theater

Mountain View Market Update, Dec 17th

Mt. View market activity as of this morning--

Single Family Homes--

71 active sales

11 pending sales

2 closed sales in last week

Condos/Town Homes--

65 active sales

17 pending sales

3 closed sales in last week

So the single family home market continues to be very slow in Mountain View. The ratio of 11 pending homes to 71 active sales is similar to last week, with the number of active homes extremely high for Mountain View.

Condo/Town home sales continue to outpace single family home sales. The ration of pending to active is much healthier than the single family homes ratio. There is such a difference between conforming loan rates and jumbo loan rates that it may be why there is so much more activity in the lower costing condo market.  

Palo Alto Market Update, Dec 15th

Single Family Homes--

Active Listings: 80

Pending Sales: 18

Closes Sales Last Week: 3

Condos/Town Homes--

Active Listings: 27

Pending Sales: 4

Closed Sales Last Week: 1

So what do these numbers reveal? There isn't much change from last week, except for a 10% decrease in inventory. This is absolutely to be expected as very few sellers put their homes on the market during the holiday season, although buyers in the past have still be in active in December. Pending sales are still low compared to listings, and single family home sales are better than condos right now. 

Los Altos is Wealthiest City

Forbes.com just released a list of 20 cities with the highest income in the country, and our own Los Altos came in third, with a medium $158,745. They came in behind South Lake, Texas and Darrien, Connecticut. Saratoga came in thirteenth with a median income of $137, 270 and Danville came in twentieth with a median income of $126,797.

Besides having many owners with great incomes, Los Altos has very few renters, not too many smaller condos, and most homes are on very large lots. Since land value is so much higher than house value it costs more to buy a home per square foot in Los Altos than in many places, like neighboring Palo Alto, which tends to have smaller lots. For example, many tracts from the 50's in Los Altos are on 10,000 square foot lots, while similar tracts in Palo Alto are on 6,000 square foot lots, so if you have two similar home in size, condition, and age, the home in Los Altos will probably cost more than in Palo Alto--simply because of lot size.

One interesting difference is that if your goal is to move to Los Altos because of the schools, you can move to certain parts of Mountain View that are in Los Altos school district and buy a less expensive home, often on a smaller lot, and still get the Los Altos school district.

This plan is not possible for Palo Alto. The only homes that feed into Palo Alto schools are the ones in Palo Alto, with the exception of a small slice of homes in Los Altos Hills, which is not less expensive than buying in Palo Alto. 

Please contact me if you have any questions about homes or schools in Los Altos, Palo Alto, or Mountain View. 

Sunnyvale Market Update!!!

As of Dec. 10th, 2008

Single family homes--

Active listings: 136

Pending sales: 53

Closed in last 7 days: 1

Condo/Town homes--

Active listings: 81 

Pending Sales: 21

Closed in last week: 0

What does this mean?

The market has a lot of inventory, so there are plenty of choices for buyers interested in Sunnyvale. However, the ratio of pending sales to active listings is not too bad--1 to 4 for condos, and less than 1 to 3 for single family homes. These numbers are better than the ratios in Palo Alto. It is a very good example of how the lower end of the market is more active than the upper end, as jumbo loans are more difficult to get and a lot more expensive than conforming loans.

Sunnyvale is a wonderful city that I have a lot of experience with--if you have any questions about the area or the market, please contact me!

Mountain View Market Update, Dec 8th

As of Dec 8th, 2008, the Mountain View market looked like this:

Single family homes--

71 homes for sale

12 pending sales

4 closed sales the previous week

Condo/Town homes--

70 for sale

20 pending sales

2 closed sales the previous week

What does this mean?

First of all, there are a lot of homes for sale in Mountain View. Traditionally this area has more condo/town homes for sale as opposed to single family homes. 70 is not a huge number for condos, but it really is for single family homes. The ration of single family homes for sale to pending sales also shows a lot of softness in the market. For condos, the ratio is better. I would attribute this to the fact that less expensive condos are easier to sell because money is easy and cheaper to get for these sales.

I am an expert on the Mountain View market, so if you have any real estate questions or needs, please feel free to contact me. 

Steve Papapietro's Mortgage Bulletin: Jobs Report Miles Worse than Expected

For the week of Dec 08, 2008 --- Vol. 6, Issue 50

        Last Week in Review

        "I KNEW THE RECORD WOULD STAND UNTIL IT WAS BROKEN." Yogi Berra. And while last week's Jobs Report wasn't the worst record breaker of all time, it showed a loss of 533,000 jobs during the month of November, which represented the most job losses the US has seen in 35 years. And adding more pain to the Report were heavy downward revisions for September and October, which erased an additional 199,000 jobs. In addition, last month was only the fourth time in 58 years that our economy lost over 500,000 jobs.

 So what does this mean for Bonds and home loan rates? We first have to acknowledge that we are not in a typical trading environment, where weak or negative economic reports always lead to improved pricing for home loans and vice versa. The dynamics of hedge funds de-levering - where fund managers are selling all types of securities with whatever timing they need to, in order to raise capital - have caused unprecedented volatility of late, and it is not quite clear when that will end.

The Fed has indicated that they would like to be a buyer of Mortgage  Bonds, which has resulted in attractive, lower rates right now. But as stated above, the trading environment is extremely volatile, and opportunities to capitalize on lower rates that make sense should be taken advantage of. There have been recent rumors of interest rates being brought down towards 4.5% by the Treasury. This irresponsible release included no definitive plan, no indication of who might qualify, or what the restrictions would be. Like many other recent legislative "solutions", the restrictions might be very tight, with income limits set very low, and as a result, helping very few people. Remember, it may make sense for you to act now, and take advantage of current historically low rates...with the possibility of refinancing should rates decline further.

  In other news to note from last week, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank both cut their key benchmark interest rates in an effort to revive their sagging economies. The reduction in rates was expected as part of a global coordinated effort, and our Fed is widely expected to cut its benchmark rate during its meeting on December 16. While a cut by the Fed often causes home loan rates to rise - because a Fed rate cut can lead to inflation, which is the arch enemy of Bonds and home loan rates - the deflationary environment we are currently in may prevent home loan rates from worsening significantly after the Fed cut.

 Bonds and home loan rates tested their best levels of 2008 throughout last week, but could not improve beyond them. As a result, Bonds and home loan rates ended the week slightly worse than where they began...even in the midst of rumors of rates declining as mentioned above.

 GAS PRICES SURE HIT A RECORD EARLIER THIS YEAR, BUT NOW THAT THEY HAVE IMPROVED, THE IRS HAS ISSUED NEW MILEAGE RATES FOR 2009. SEE THIS WEEK'S MORTGAGE MARKET VIEW FOR ALL THE DETAILS!

        Forecast for the Week

        We will likely see another volatile Friday this week, with the release of several important reports at 8:30am ET. First we have the Producer Price Index, which measures inflation at the wholesale level. Given the recent whispers of deflation, this will be an important report to watch. Consumer Sentiment will also be released...but given the state of the economy, the results likely won't be much of a surprise.

 In addition, we'll get a read on consumer spending patterns with November's Retail Sales Report. This Report is a measure of the total receipts of retail stores from samples representing all sizes and kinds of business in retail trade throughout the nation. Black Friday kicked off the holiday shopping season last week and the National Retail Federation amazingly estimated that shoppers spent 7.2% more than last year...but this is likely a result of the deep discounting seen by retailers, and it could well be that many shoppers who normally wait until December to get started on holiday purchases went out early to take advantage of the sales. Don't be surprised if this is a horrible report, as not only have the holiday shopping lists become shorter, but the amount spent for each individual has likely been reduced. In any event, it will be important to see what the report reveals, as a lousy report should be friendly towards home loan rates.

Remember, as Bond prices move higher, home loan rates move lower. And as you can see in the chart below, Bonds have stalled out in their improving direction for the time being, after making some great gains over the last month. Home loan rates currently stand at historic lows.

 I will keep you updated as things progress, but give me a call to talk about the current historically low rates, and how this opportunity might benefit you.

        The Mortgage Market View...

IRS RELEASES NEW MILEAGE RATES

If you drive a car, truck or van for work, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced news that impacts you. That's because the IRS has released the new standard mileage rates for 2009. The rates will be used to calculate deductible costs for driving an automobile for business, charitable, medical and moving purposes. The new mileage rates for business, medical and moving purposes will be slightly lower than the rates for the second half of 2008, which were raised in the middle of last year due to spiking gas prices. The rate for charitable driving, however, is set by law and will remain unchanged from 2008.

 Beginning January 1, 2009, the standard mileage rates for 2009 are as follows:

 *       Businesses = 55 cents per mile driven

*       Medical or moving = 24 cents per mile driven

*       Charitable organizations = 14 cents per mile driven

Overall, these rates reflect the higher transportation costs compared to a year ago. However, the rates are slightly lower than the second half of 2008 to factor in the recent drop in gasoline prices. While gasoline is a significant factor in the mileage rate, other fixed and variable costs, such as depreciation, also enter the calculation.

But before you calculate your deduction, make sure you qualify. The IRS reminds taxpayers that they cannot use the business standard mileage rate for a vehicle after using any depreciation method under the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) or after claiming a Section 179 deduction for that vehicle. In addition, the business standard mileage rate cannot be used for any vehicle used for hire or for more than four vehicles used simultaneously.

Remember, you don't have to use the standard rate! Although the IRS provides the standard mileage rate for ease and convenience, you're not required to use it. If you choose, you have the option of calculating the actual costs of using your vehicle instead of using the standard mileage rates. So keep that in mind as you calculate your automobile usage for business, medical, moving, or charity driving in 2009!

Palo Alto Market Update--Dec, 8th

As of December 8th, there are 85 single family homes for sale in Palo Alto. 19 homes are under contract for sale, and 3 homes sold in the last week--one of off which sold above asking price.

There are 30 condos and town homes for sale, 4 are under contract for sale, and 2 sold in the last week, neither of which sold over asking price.

What does this mean? Sales are still pretty slow in Palo Alto, but inventory is not excessive. This is a good thing--as long as inventory doesn't skyrocket it means there aren't a lot of homes from which to choose, so prices won't plummet. 

Goodbye to The American Musical Theatre of San Jose

It is very sad for me to see a theatre close, especially when it's one that has been a part of my life. In the case of The American Musical Theatre of San Jose, we're losing a landmark that has been a part of San Jose life since 1935. The theatre has been a cultural icon of Silicon Valley since before the tech boom--it started way back when Silicon Valley was little more than a collection of orchards with a struggling community in the middle. What does it mean when a city lets go of something this defining? Something so integral to its identity?

AMT started as CLO (Civic Light Opera), and then it evolved into the San Jose Musical Theatre. It wasn't known as the American Musical theatre until 1995, when the theatre celebrated its 60th anniversary. Originally it was a strictly local company, but began hiring big stars to bring in a wider audience during the 80's. In the early 90's I saw Sally Struthers play Miss Hannigan in a wonderful production of "Annie", which also starred a bevy of local children (many of whom were friends with my sons) playing the adorable orphans. This theatre was the area's major employer of the abundant local musical theatre talent.

In 2002, AMT changed from a local theatre company to a national tour company. Instead of mounting local productions, must of the musicals were national tours of Broadway shows. Many local theatre people and audience members (myself included), were angry, but the theare felt it could get a wider audience by changing the model.

Unfortunately they were wrong, and when they faced a financial disaster in trying to mount a tour of Disney's Tarzan, AMT had to close. I am very sorry for the theatre and the community. I can only hope that maybe this will leave an opening for another local, professional musical theatre company to emerge again. 

Palo Alto Market Update!

There are currently 88 single family homes for sale in the Palo Alto area and 21 home sales still pending (pending homes are homes that have sales contracts but have not yet closed escrow). 

6 single family homes closed escrow in the last week, and of those 6, 5 closed OVER asking price. The price range varied greatly--the lowest price was $905,000, and the highest price was $1,400,000.

These numbers say a lot about current market conditions in Palo Alto. The first thing I notice is that the volume of sales in Palo Alto is low. Last year there were fewer homes for sale and pending sales equalled active listings--the gap between the 88 single family homes for sale and the 21 pending definitely signifies a slower market pace. 

The prices of homes that are selling is very low for this area--even as early as last year the medium home price in Palo Alto was over $2,000,000. Last week the highest sale was $1,400,000. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that the higher ending is hurting. 

If you have any questions about Palo Alto market conditions, please email me! 

Santa Clara High Schools Get Top Grades

Santa Clara County High Schools Score High in US News and World Report "Best High Schools in the US"

Santa Clara County has some wonderful high schools, and many of them have received sterling accolades--including national rankings in US News and World Report's annual list of the country's best. This year, 10 of Santa Clara County's high schools were among the highest rated schools in the nation. 

Gold medal winners include Monte Vista High (which ranked a 73--this list considers schools from all fifty states), Gunn High (74), and Saratoga High (80). The 7 silver medal winners (which were schools that fell between 101 and 200 on the rankings list) include Palo Alto High, Evergreen High, Lynbrook High, Los Gatos High, Leland High, Homestead High, and Mountain View High. 

Congratulations to all the students, teachers, families, and staff that have worked so hard to make Santa Clara County's schools among the best in the country.  Their hard work and the achievement of these schools is just another reason to take pride in this area! 

With all the amazing options around, it can sometimes be difficult to decide which school district is right for your children. If you're looking for real estate in the area and have any questions, I can help.