It seems like a simple enough question: “how long does it take to buy a home in Silicon Valley?”  (Not how long to find the perfect house or condo, but how long from the time the offer is accepted until the sale is finalized and you can move in.) The answer has a few factors which can swing the outcome one way or the other, making the escrow time frame short or long.

Variables that make home buying faster or slower:

• whether or not the seller has pre-sale inspections (with a short sale, usually not)
• whether or not the home is a condo, townhouse or PUD (and if so, if the HOA docs are available upfront or are only ordered once the offer is accepted)
• whether the buyer is only pre-qualified or fully pre-approved for a loan
• the amount of cash down – an “all cash offer” can make the sale very, very fast
• the loan type – an FHA loan will need more time to be processed and the sale will close slower
• the contingencies involved and their time frames as written in the contract
• the sale type: regular vs short sale
• buyer needs or seller needs unrelated to the transaction: they can agree on a somewhat longer escrow in the contract (purchase agreement) if so desired
• if it’s a special type of property, such as a luxury home or estate OR a mountain property, there may be additional inspections needed and it could take a little longer to close on these as well

The fastest home sales I’ve seen are the all-cash offers of houses (not townhouses or condominiums) in which the seller already has excellent home inspections (my fastest listing that sold: 5 days, all cash, buyer HAD to buy within a week or would suffer enormous tax penalties). (more…)

“Why isn’t my Silicon Valley townhouse selling?” wonders the home owner. Real estate agents know why the home isn’t getting any offers, or worse yet, any traffic at all. In fact, local Realtors who’ve seen it probably wonder if the owner of the property has seen the MLS printout at all.

1. Terrible  photos (or not enough of them): in our San Jose area MLS we are allowed 9 photos.  How many are in your listing?
2. More on photos: Would it be so hard to turn the lights on in the home when photographing the property? Real estate looks much better when well lit than when dark.  Even beautifully remodeled kitchens can look so-so if the lights are not all on!  A bright room will make you money…a dark room will cost you!
3. Is there a video or virtual tour?
4. Is the listing syndicated so that buyers can find it on multiple websites?
5. How is the pricing? Did you price a 2 bedroom townhouse as if it’s a 3 bedroom? That’s a very common but huge mistake!  Compare apples to apples – the buyers are doing that, and when you bought your home, you did too!  Did you price the home using comps from 6 months ago, or comps from 3 miles away, or a different school district? Huge mistake!
6. What’s your competition?  If you’re a short sale, you need to be competitive against other short sales.  Don’t be satisfied that your home is less expensive than a “regular sale”. They are two entirely different things!
7. MLS description and comments: what kind of comments are in the precious few words allowed to describe your home in the multiple listing service? I have seen inane things use up that space.  It is imperative that the descriptions be strong.  For example, not “nice kitchen” (that could mean almost anything), but instead “slab granite countertops” – specifics that buyers want to hear about!
8. Commission rate: if your townhome is a “regular sale” and everything in your area is selling with a buyer’s agent commission rate offered at 2.5% or 3% but you’re offering 2%, guess what happens? Little or no traffic, that’s what!  Remember that agents are selling homes as their livlihood, and while many will overlook a low commission, many others will not.  (When I list homes I run the CR of similar homes so that my sellers can make an informed decision on this point.)

There are many reasons why Silicon Valley townhouses might not sell. It is hard to sell a short sale listing, for instance, but many do sell and close despite the odds. If yours isn’t selling, have a look at the price, the photos, and the description and see if anything is amiss. These are the most important areas to consider.  Other issues may be at play, but if these are correct your home should sell despite other challenges.
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The sales numbers for Silicon Valley real estate in June 2010 are now out and crunched. How’s the market?  Still extremely competitive in the entry level price points – it is a seller’s market overall in Santa Clara County.  The average list price to sales price ratio continues to be at over 100% (and this is the 12th month in a row for that statistic, so it is more than a fleeting trend!).

Here are the numbers at a glance for houses in Santa Clara County:

And here are the figures for condominiums and townhouses in SCC:

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Mount Umunhum sits high on the Santa Cruz Mountain range, and from there enjoys spectacular views. Looking inland, you can see San Jose & most of Santa Clara County, on a clear day even as far north as San Francisco from Mt. Umunhum. Turning toward the Pacific Ocean, from Mt. Umunhum’s heights you can see Santa Cruz and Monterey on a fogless day.

This magnificent land is now owned by the public, but there’s no public access yet. For some history and an explanation, take in this video from the Mid Peninsula Open Space Preserve:

Click the “more” link to continue reading…
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A lot of angst is caused by computer generated estimates of home values. Most buyers realize that “auto comps” are seriously flawed. Some sellers worry a great deal about the impact that one of these sites might have on their home’s chances of selling at a fair price.

What is the difficulty with these sites (such as Zillow)? Why are they unreliable?

Real estate professionals know that a great many area-related things can impact home values, such as school districts, city boundaries, zip codes, or even being on one side or another of a somewhat main road. Most often, the computer generated estimations of value do not factor these things in.

Additionally, these automated systems rely on county records, which are often incorrect. They don’t “see” remodels, they don’t “compute” deferred maintenance! They cannot factor in a view – good or bad.

To ascertain a home’s probable market value, it’s best to find recently sold homes (pendings and closed sales) that are related to the subject property as follows: within a mile, within 10-15% of the size of the home, similar lot size, similar age, similar condition, and close proximity of time (preferably within the last couple of months). Additionally, the “comps” should be in the same school district and have the same city or town name and have the same zip code.

Many things can “throw” value: odors in the home, high voltage power lines, an overcrowded or unkempt street, noisy neighbors & dogs which bark too much, having apartments too close, being adjacent to freeway walls, train tracks etc.

If you view these types of market analysis sites online and get a “value” provided, please remember that these sites are extremely limited. Please understand that the number you see could be far higher or lower than market value. It is not uncommon, in my experience, to have them off as much as 20%.

What’s the solution? If you read these online valuations, do so with a large “grain of salt”. A better approach is to contact your Realtor and ask for recent comps and if you need to know the precise valuation, ask for that. Your real estate professional can help you to get a handle on your home’s current value, whether it’s to petition for lower property taxes or to decide if you can refinance or sell.

Although Ashland, Oregon, is the west coast Shakespeare magnet, there are many places in the San Francisco Bay Area that offer top notch performances of William Shakespeare’s most beloved plays.  If you’ve never enjoyed these series, do check them out!

Los Gatos: The Los Gatos Shakespeare Festival (happening now, mid July – early August, featuring both A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the Merry Wives of Windsor).

Santa Cruz: Shakespeare Santa Cruz (July 31 – Aug 30, current offerings are Julius Caesar and Midsummer Night’s Dream)

San Francisco: San Francisco Shakespeare Festival – midnight Shakespeare, a special effort of professional theater instructors and inner city, “at risk” youth to bring Shakespeare to school kids and their communities. Ongoing – check the site for their schedule.

San Jose: San Jose Youth Shakespeare presents Julius Caesar in mid-August.

Berkeley: California Shakespeare Theater

Already passed, but make a note for next year:

Menlo Park: Annual Midpeninsula Shakespeare Festival (June)

Locals to the San Jose area (Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County) know, and newcomers often do not, that we have mico-climates here. Our weather is mild everywhere, of course – we enjoy a “sub tropical climate” where citrus grows and palm trees thrive – but it varies a lot nonetheless.

What kind of variation exists in Santa Clara County‘s weather?

Consider that our terrain is shaped somewhat like a funnel with the San Francisco Bay

View Larger Map

Together with our funnel shaped valley, the Pacific Ocean and the San Francisco Bay are the major influencers on our climate. The Santa Cruz Mountains are warmer and wetter than the eastern foothills. The Pacific Ocean brings in the rain, fog and winds pulling storms in from the ocean to the valley. Much of the weather stops at or near the coastal mountains, though, and the influence lessens as you go east such that the east foothills are very, very different from the Santa Cruz Mountains. The areas close to the bay get more breezes than those sheltered by smaller valleys or nooks.

Here are a few basic notes for newcomers:
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