Palo Alto Market Update, Jan 7th: Single Family Homes

49 Active Listings

32 Pending Sales

As 2010 begins we have very little inventory, interest rates are not too bad, and housing prices are probably close to 20% lower than at this time last year. So what's the difference between now and other times when inventory was this low?

Let's start with the similarities. If a house is priced very low it will get multiple offers. There was a house on Bowdoin that listed for $728,000 and got 21 offers. It sold over $900,000. I don't know the final price, but I have a client who offered over 900K and that was not the highest offer. The house was probably worth $850-900K but pricing it so low incited a feeding frenzy that made it sell higher than what I think it was worth. This isn't my idea of how to sell real estate. Call me lazy, but I have no interest in dealing with 20 offers, and it is such a waste of time for so many people. Nevertheless, it's still true that a home priced way below market value will get many offers.

But what about the other homes on the market? This is not 2007, even though the inventory level is similar. Money isn't too expensive, but it's still not easy to get. Down payment and reserve requirements are high, banks are tight fisted with our bail-out money, and appraisers are tight on their appraisals. It's not uncommon to have an appraisal come in 10% less than what experienced realtors think a house is worth. Buyers don't have irrational exuberance and are definitely not jumping at any house in their price range that fits some of their needs. They want value for their hard-earned and ever harder to obtain financing. Job security is non-existent for many people. I think this will be an active year in Palo Alto real estate, with more homes changing hands, but I don't think there will be a lot of appreciation. And of course, as I have been saying for months, the over 2.5 million segment has not hit bottom yet.

· 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 type in any address next to the search icon 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

DRE 01191194

My Dream Cell Phone

I spend a lot of time on my cell phone, which has been a Blackberry for the last few years. I don't answer my home phone, and have no personal phone number at work. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm almost always reachable--I always have my phone, and I answer it. I also use my Blackberry for e-mail and text messages and am just as reachable that way. For a while I tried out the iPhone, but I found it difficult to type using the touch screen, although I loved some of its other applications.

One of the most important ways I use my cell is as a tethering device for my laptop. I attach my Blackberry to my laptop, which gives me constant internet access; I can get online at open houses, when I'm on the road with clients, in hotel rooms, and even in my office when our wireless is acting up. Since the real estate programs I use most frequently aren't mobile enabled, and do not work on iPhones, this tethering is essential to my business. The Blackberry web browser is horrible, and the picture quality even worse, but the previously mentioned functions work wonderfully for me.

So, if I were content to do things as usual, I would be happy with my Blackberry and not have a roving eye. However, I have never been content with the status quo, and even if I were, the world of real estate is not. We are in a fast changing environment and I have to keep moving forward or I will get trampled.

With this in mind, and the fact that I am due for a phone upgrade on Jan 14th, I have been thinking about what I want and need in a phone. As I said I need:

1. A good phone
2. A key board that makes e-mail and texting easy
3. Access to wireless internet on my laptop. I tether for $15 a month. I can get a card for about $50 and then $70 a month if I need to, but I would rather not if I don't have to.

My wants are :

1. A camera that can take pictures good enough for me to post on MLS, my website, my fliers, my virtual tours, my BPO’s, etc. I like being able to take a picture on a cell phone and just e-mail to myself without all the intermediate steps needed by a digital camera. Plus, I don't always have my camera with me.
2. A better calculator than the standard one on Blackberry. Right now it is faster for me to add up numbers on paper than use the Blackberry calculator,
3. A better calendar. The Blackberry Curve calendar is bad news. I just set up Outlook so I think I may be able to sync but I'm not sure yet.
4. A better web browser. This is the least most important thing to me, but it would definitely be nice!

So, if anyone reading this has any suggestions for a phone with a usable keyboard that does what I want and takes great pictures, please give me feedback!

Thanks and Happy New Year!

Marcy Moyer

Intero Real Estate

marcy@marcymoyer.com

www.marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

DRE 01191194