Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Palo Alto 3 Bedroom Homes Under $1,500,000 Are Like Dodo Birds

Buying a Palo Alto home
One and a half million dollars is a lot of money to spend on a home almost anywhere except if you are buying a home in Palo Alto. If that is your budget, then I suggest you look somewhere else. 
The chart above is a breakdown of all homes sold in Palo Alto from June through November of 2013 with at least three bedrooms and at least 2 baths. There were a total of 187 sales of these homes during this time period. Of these 187 homes a total of 8 sold under 1.5 million, and a total of 17 sold for 1.6 million or less. so as you can see if you want to buy a home in Palo Alto your chances are slim if you your budget is less than 1.5 million. The bulk of the homes sold in Palo Alto were over 2 million, 63 homes. What is interesting is that there were more homes sold over 3 million, 36 of them, than between 1.8 and 2 million 31 homes.

So if you want to buy a home in Palo Alto with at least 3 bedrooms and 2 baths and your budget is 1.5 million or less what should do? Here is my advice:
Examine very carefully why you want to buy a home in Palo Alto and look for those attributes in another city. In other words, cast a broader net. Buying a home in Palo Alto will get you a lot of wonderful things, but maybe you can get what you want somewhere else.
1. Schools: Many people want to buy a home in Palo Alto for the great schools. There are other excellent school districts including Menlo Park, San Carlos, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Cupertino.
2. A vibrant downtown area: Many people want to buy in Palo Alto to be close to University Ave. There are also thriving downtown areas in San Carlos, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Burlingame.
3. Charming older homes: If you want to buy in Palo Alto because of the character of homes in Professorville or Old Palo Alto you can also find this type of home in Willow Glen, the Rose Garden, or Burlingame.
I am not saying to stop looking to buy a home in Palo Alto, but if you want to buy a home in the next few months, you will need to expand your search because the numbers are not in your favor if you limit your search to just buying a home in Palo Alto.
If you have any questions about buying a home in Palo Alto or any of the surrounding areas please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer
Keller Williams Realty Palo Alto
Cal BRE 01191194
650-619-9285

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