Mountain View Market Update, Jan 25th: Single Family Homes

As of today, here's the snapshot of the Mountain View single family home market:

65 active listings

12 pending listings

2 closed sales in the last week

What does this mean? There hasn't been much change since last week. Active listings are up by 3 and pending sales are the same. The ratio of pending to active is still not very healthy with over a 1-4 number, but the sky isn't falling either. 

If you're interested in finding the final selling price of any home, anywhere, you can do it on my website. Click here to get to my site, and once there click on Cyberhome Home Valuation. You can then type in any address and get the county records.

If you need anything else, please contact me. I am here to help!

Marcy Moyer Intero Real Estate

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

Sunnyvale Market Update, Jan 21: Condos

Here is today's market update for condos/townhomes in Sunnyvale:

88 active listings

25 pending sales

2 sales in last week

What does this mean? The inventory of active sales is up from 73 last week, with pending sales also up a little--they were at 23 last week. Solds are down slightly, from 4 last week. The ratio of pending to active sales is still between 3-4 to 1, so the change isn't huge. That ratio needs to get a little closer to stabilize prices, but we'll have to see how things go. 16 of the pending sales are for condos less than $500,000, so it is quite obvious that the lower end of the market is doing better than the upper end. 

If you are interested in finding the final selling price of any home, anywhere, you can do it on my website. Click here to go to my site. Once there click on Cyberhome Home Valuation. You can then type in any address next to the search icon to get the county records.

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

Marcy Moyer Intero Real Estate

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

Palo Alto Market Update, Jan 19th: Single Family Homes

Here's today's snapshot of the Palo Alto market:

65 active listings

16 pending sales

1 sold in last week

What does this mean? Not much change from last week. The inventory is still pretty low. All of the pending sales are under 2 million. The ratio of active to pending sales overall is about 1 to 4, but then ratio of active to pending under 2 million is less than 1 to 2. There are 43 active listings under 2 million. I maintain my prediction from last week that the under 2 million market is fairly healthy right now, and I don't see any drops in prices. The over 2 million market is stagnant. Those homes may be sold at large discounts if the sellers are motivated. What we don't know is how many of these sellers are motivated and how many are willing to wait, or will just snatch those homes off the market.

If you are interested in finding the final selling price of any home, anywhere, you can do it on my website. Click here to go to my site. Once there, click on Cyberhome Home Valuation. you can then type in any address to get the county records.

If you have any questions please, contact me. I'm always here to help!

Marcy Moyer Intero Real Estate

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

Mountain View Market Update, Jan 17th: Condos and Town Houses

Here's today's snapshot of the condo market in Mountain View--

61 active listings

19 pending sales

2 closed sales in last week

What does this mean? First of all, there's been a huge jump this week in pending sales. Last week there were 58 active sales, and 9 pending sales. The active sales only increased by 3, but pending sales skyrocketed up by 10. Not only that, but we're very close to the 1-3 ratio of active to pending sales that I think will stop the bleeding of home sale price decreases. However, this is only one week--so it's still to early to decide if this is the start of a trend.

If you are interested in finding the final selling price of any home, anywhere, you can do it on my website. Click here to get to the site. Once there, type in Cyberhome Home Valuation. You can then type in any address to get the county records. 

Please contact me if you have any questions whatsoever. I am always here to help.

Marcy Moyer Intero Real Estate

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650-619-9285

Mountain View Market Update, Jan 17th: Single Family Homes

Today's snapshot of the Mountain View single family home market:

61 active listings

12 pending sales

1 closed sale in last week

What does this mean? Not much has changed since last week. Active listings are down by 2, and pending sales are up 2.  There's really not enough for me to say that the market is turning around, but at least this week it isn't getting worse.

If you are interested in finding the final selling price of any home, anywhere, you can do it on my website. Click here to get to my site. Once there, click on Cyberhome Home Valuation. You can then type 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! 

Palo Alto Market Update, Jan 11th: Single Family Homes

As of this afternoon here is the snap shot of the Palo Alto Market: 

62 Active Listings                                                                                                                                           15 Pending Sales                                                                                                                                               6 Closed Sales in the Last Week

Closed Sales:

4212 Suzanne Dr.: Listed for $1,089,000 and sold for $1,151,000

2351 Santa Catalina St.: Listed for $1,695,000 and sold for $1,675,000

Interesting observation on the pending sales:

1 pending sale is at $3,995,000, 3 pending sales are hovering at the 2 million mark, and 14 pending sales are under $1,588,000. These are all list prices. The higher end market, (ie. over  2 million) is not healthy right now. The number of active listings over 2 million is 21, with one pending sale. THIS IS A VERY BAD RATIO.

 There are 41 listings under 2 million and only 14 pending sales, which is a 1 to 3 ratio, more or less. Not terrible, but not great. At this ratio I would expect either a leveling of sales prices, or maybe a small decline. If you drop the price range down to 1.3 and lower,  there are 19 active listings and 6 pending sales, exactly the same ratio as for 2 million and under.

So my preliminary prediction is that the market over 2 million will decrease, and the lower end is not going to get hit as badly. It may even hold its own. I reserve the right to change that prediction every week, but I would love to hear your thoughts regarding what these numbers indicate for the future of the Palo Alto market. 

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 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 Market Update, Condos: Jan 11th

As of this evening, here is the snapshot look at Sunnyvale's condo/townhome market--

73 active sales

23 pending sales

4 closed sales Jan 2nd 

What does this mean? The inventory is only by 3 since my last report. The active to pending ratios still hold between 3-4. It's still too early to make any predictions on what will happen in the next few months, but here's some clues on what to watch for: if the active listings go above 100 and/or the active/pending ratio gets worse, we will see more declines. If the active to pending ratio gets to 1-3 we will see prices stabilize. If it goes 1-2, we'll see appreciation. 

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

If you need anything else, please, contact me!

Sunnyvale Market Update, Single Family Homes: Jan 10

As of this evening, here is a snapshot of the Sunnyvale single family home market inventory:

124 active listings

58 pending sales

7 closed sales in last week

What does this mean? We are probably at the bottom of inventory for a while. The number of homes for sale should increase over the next few months, whether the market is good or bad. Things to watch for: is the inventory of homes over 150 listings? How are the pending sales going? Even if the active sales stay under 120, if the pending sales don't go up to at least 2 for every pending listing we will see some more price decreases. If we can get up to 2 to 1 we won't see much change in prices. If we go better than 2 to 1 we will see appreciation. I personally think we'll see better numbers of sales in the lower price range, as jumbo mortgages remain very expensive. We'll have to see how things shake out over the next few months.

If you are interested in finding the final selling price of any home, anywhere, you can do it on my website. Click here to get to my site, and then click on Cyberhome Home Valuation. You can then type in any address to get the county records.

If you need anything else, I am here to help! 

Marcy Moyer 

marcy@marcymoyer.com

650 619 9285

www.marcymoyer.com

Mountain View Market Update, Jan 9th: Single Family Homes

As of this evening this is a snapshot of the Mountain View single family home market:

63 active listings

10 pending sales 

2 closed sales in the last week

What does this mean? We are probably at the bottom of inventory for a while. The number of homes for sale should increase over the next few months, whether the market is good or bad. Things to watch: is the inventory of homes over 80 active listings? How are the pending sales going? Even if the active sales stay under 70, if the pending sales do not go up to at least 3 active for every pending listing we will see some more price decreases. If we can get up to 3 to 1 we won't see much change in prices. If we go better than 3 to 1 we will see appreciation. 

If you are interested in finding the final selling price of any home, anywhere, you can do it on my website. Click here to go to my website. Once there, click on Cyberhome Home Valuation. You can then type 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!

Mountain View Market Update, Jan 10th

As of this morning, this is the snapshot of the Mountain View real estate market--

Single Family Homes:

Active Listings: 57

Pending Sales: 9

Sold Last Week: 1

Condos/ Town Homes:

Active Listings: 57

Pending Sales: 12

Sold Last Week: 4

So what does this mean? Not too much. There wouldn't normally 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, although it is a little better for single family homes. The result may be a little off, however, because there are more new condo/town homes on the market than single family homes, so these numbers are not an exact picture--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 don't 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 the 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 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 website. Click here to go to my website. Once there, click on Cyberhome Home Valuation. You can then type in any address and get the county records. 

If you need anything else, please contact me! I'm always here to help you. 

Marcy Moyer Intero Real Estate

650-619-9285

Market Updates: What they are and why they help you

On a weekly basis, I intend to provide readers of this blog with an insider's look at specific markets in the Bay Area. I focus these snapshot market updates on Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Sunnyvale. These are the towns I've had the most experience with, and the places where I currently work. My predictions can give you the insight you need to track the market or make an informed decision about what you're buying, where you're buying it, and when to finally pull out your wallet. 

I predict market movement based on the number of active listings in a given area, pending sales, and closed sales in the last week. By looking at these numbers in relationship to each other, as well as considering the selling prices and exact addresses of sold homes, I can usually come up with an accurate forecast for the short-term (and sometimes long-term) future of nearby housing prices. It's also a handy way to determine the length of time a house might sit on the market before being sold. 

The value of reading my market updates is at least twofold. First of all, they leave you armed with knowledge about your area (if you are a Palo Alto/Sunnyvale/Mountain View resident), which is always an invaluable asset. If you're a buyer considering a home in one of these areas, my market updates can keep you abreast of the market's trends and upcoming shifts (or plateaus). Finally, these market updates can help you make sense out of the real estate market around you. After reading enough, you'll be able to make your own predictions! 

If you have any questions pertaining to your market or real estate in general, I am always happy to answer anything. If you disagree with one of my market predictions, please, let me know! 

Palo Alto Market Update, Jan 6th: Condos

As of this evening, here is a snapshot of the Palo Alto condo/town home market--

Active Listings: 20

Pending Sales: 5

Sold in Last Week: 1

Sold Details:

2579 Park Blvd. X102: Listed for $639,950 and sold for $630,000

What does this mean? We are probably at the bottom of inventory for a while. The number of condos for sale should increase over the next few months, whether the market is good or bad. Things to watch for: is the inventory of condos over 35 active listings, and how are the pending sales going? Even if the active sales stay under 30, if the pending sales don't rise to at least 2 active for every pending listing we will see some more price decreases. If we can get up to 2 to 1 we won't see much change in the way of prices. If we go better than 2 to 1, we will see appreciation. 

If you are interested in finding the final selling price of any home, anywhere, you can do it on my website. Click here to go to my website. Once there, click on Cyberhome Home Valuation. You can then type in any address and get the county records. 

If you need anything else feel free to contact me-- I am always here to help! 

Palo Alto Market Update, Jan 5th: Single Family Homes

As of this morning, here is a snapshot of the real estate market in Palo Alto:

Single Family Homes:

Active Listings: 60

Pending Sales: 11

Sold in Last Week: 4

Sold Homes Included:

1. 1018 Los Robles: listed for $1,350,000 and sold for $1,390,000

2. 821 E Meadow: listed for $1,298,000 and sold for $1,350,000

3. 1151 Middlefield: listed for $1,495,000, reduced to $1,295,000, and sold for $1,600,000

4.  2774 Randers Ct: listed for $799,000, and sold for $800,000

What does this mean? We are probably at the bottom of inventory for a while. The number of homes for sale should increase over the next few months, whether the market is good or bad. Things to watch for: is the inventory of homes over 130 active listings, and how are the pending sales going? Even if the active sales stay under 100, if the pending sales do not go up to at least 2 active for every pending listing we will see some more price decreases. If we can get up to 2 to 1 we won't see much change in prices. If we go better than 2 to 1 we will see appreciation.

The fact that all four sold homes went for over asking price is interesting--I don't know if it's a fluke or not. They were all listed under 1.5 million, which is the lower end for Palo Alto. If this trend continues, I'll have more comments--but if not, then I guess it is just a fluke.

If you are interested in finding the selling price of any home, anywhere, you can do it on my website. Click Here to go to my website. Once there, click on Cyberhome Home Valuation. You can then type in any address and get the county records. 

I'm always here to help, so feel free to contact me with questions or comments. 

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, 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. 

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! 

Why Should Anyone Buy a Home in This Market?

Owning a home can get complicated. Your home is often your biggest investment, a tax shelter, and that first giant step into adulthood. The most important and most overlooked aspect of home ownership is emotional--homes are the centerpieces of lives and families. Your home is your castle, a place to be with family, friends, and pets. It's where you make your mark on your internal world, not your mark on the outside world. 

The values of home ownership aren't debatable--but in today's market, it's more important than ever to reflect on the pros and cons before making the big decision. Should anyone buy a home in this market? Is the economy too unpredictable? Should you wait? 

These issues are plaguing many families right now, and there is no simple answer. 

I've put together a list of essential questions to help you discover if now is a good time for you to buy. First there are the simple mathematical questions, and then there are the more existential ones:

1. Can you afford to put 20% down and carry a 30yr mortgage, or put 10% down, carry a 30yr mortgage, and pay PMI (private mortgage insurance), or put 5% down and get an expensive FHA loan? There are some shorter fixed periods than the 30yr fixed which may be good in some circumstances, but I am going to take the conservative route and ask you if you can afford payments on a 30yr fixed loan. Can you weather the economy's ups and downs? If no, then you should not try to buy now. If yes, move on to the next question. If you do not know, search out a good lender and talk with them. DON'T use internet calculations. They won't provide a dependable answer.

2. Are you planning on staying in this home for at least 5 years and maybe longer? If you have to move can you afford to to keep your home as a rental? If you don't know, don't buy. At this moment in the Silicon Valley I can't think of any homes worth less than they were 10 years ago. Most are still worth more than they were 5 years ago. If you can't commit to at least 5 years stop here. If not, move on to the next question. 

3. Do you have a very specific goal in mind that can be achieved in a specific location? For example, are you trying to buy a home in Palo Alto so your children can attend schools there? Has the soft market enabled you to do that? If so, then this is a great time to buy. If you do not buy soon prices or interest rates could conceivably go higher and lock you out. It's also possible that prices could go lower, but are you willing and able to take that gamble with your children's education? If you are willing and able, then wait, and you might get a better deal.

4. Are you easily pleased, or specific about what you want and need in a home? If you are flexible regarding what you want in a home, and are more interested in getting the best prices, then there is no reason to rush into buying if you think prices will drop or inventory will skyrocket. However, if you are very picky or have specific needs that aren't found in many homes, when you find what you want, BUY IT. For example, if you're sound sensitive and find an affordable home where noise is not an issue in an area that has few quiet places to live, then you are a good candidate for buying now. Are you looking for a one story town home that has central air, a nice patio, and an attached garage? Trust me, these are not a dime a dozen. If you find what you want, buy it! 

5. Do you want a new home in an area where there is not a lot of room to build? Right now there is a large inventory of new homes. If you live in a city where there is little room to expand this is probably a great time to buy a new home. Builders are very generous with their upgrades and a few years from now there may not be as many developments to choose from in centrally located areas. There are a number of new developments in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties right now, but there is not a lot of empty land. There may not be as much new inventory in coming years.

We're still left with the question: Why should anyone buy in this market? Clearly, the answer isn't simple, although hopefully my guide brought you closer to understanding your options. With some soul-searching and advice from a trusted Realtor and Lender, the answer will get clearer for you. Good luck! 

Selling When You Have To

What do you do when you have to sell your house, but you can't wait until the market turns around? The Wall Street Journal published a helpful article that addresses this increasingly common problem.

How to Sell a House, When You Have to Sell It Now


They lay out 7 really good tips anyone hoping to sell in this market should follow--

1. Don't Wait Around
2. Fix it Up and Clean it Up
3. Price it Cheaply
4. Hire a Top Real Estate Agent
5. Promote, Promote, Promote!
6. Play the Banker
7. Take the Offer

The truth is, in many areas the housing market hasn't even reached bottom--so potential sellers praying for a quick turnaround in the next year or so need to start brainstorming ways to maximize profits in the current conditions. Often this is difficult--it's a big adjustment to accept that your house's value has dropped, and separating emotional attachment from the price tag is also a struggle. Following the above tips will help ease the process and make it easier to get that house sold.