Silicon Valley home buyers (and sellers) are faced with a myriad of questions and choices when completing or reviewing residential real estate contracts to purchase the property.  One of them, early on, is whether or not a particular day is chosen for closing escrow or if instead it’s a number of days from contract formation (acceptance) to closing.

Which is better?

The are pros and cons to each approach, of course.  Many buyers want to be able to plan, without any ambiguity, when they will move in to their new home.  (For some this can be a matter of feng shui, astrology or a sense that some days are more fortuitous than others.)  This can work if negotiations are not protracted.

With distressed sales, though – bank owned properties (REOs) and short sales – and sometimes with multiple offers, the negotiations time frame can be hard to predict and if you pick one particular date, you may well have to change it later or find that you don’t really have enough time because a week or more gotten “eaten up” with counter offers, waiting for a bank or seller to respond or other delays. In those cases you may want to have the flexibility of writing in the length of escrow (number of days) rather than picking a certain date.

As always, talk with your professional real estate licensee for guidance as each case may be different.

In Silicon Valley, it seems the more expensive the neighborhood, the less likely it is that you’ll find a bargain. Saratoga CA home buyers who are working hard to get their feet in the door during this opportunity in the market (with low prices and even lower interest rates) are scrambling to find a creative way to make their budget line up with this high end enclave’s real estate prices.

One solution is to attempt to buy a distressed property in Saratoga – namely foreclosure or a bank owned (REO – real estate owned by the bank) house, condo or townhouse or a pre-foreclosure or short sale listing.

There aren’t many of them to choose from, which makes the few that do come available very prized by motivated buyers.

Below please find a list of all available distressed properties for sale in Saratoga, CA. This city has several school districts so if you are looking for one in particular, please contact me and we can chat about finding you that perfect home.

Note: some of the homes which have a “Saratoga mailing address” with a Saratoga, CA 95070 address actually belong to a neighboring city (or the county), such as Campbell. So you may see some homes in the list below which say Campbell, for instance. Want to read more about Saratoga and its neighborhoods? (I grew up there and graduated from Saratoga High many years ago…) Please also check out this article on my popehandy.com website: Saratoga Real Estate and Saratoga Homes for Sale”. Also check out the Saratoga California real estate market update post on this blog.

Check back frequently – this list is updated automatically!

Frequently I’m asked if I (or another real estate licensee or agent) can help a consumer to purchase a foreclosure.  There are some nuances to this answer, but in short, it depends.

There are several stages in the foreclosure related sales in California.  Often, homes somewhere in this quagmire are listed on our Silicon Valley area MLS or multiple listing service.  If a property is listed in the MLS, then yes, we Realtors can help home buyers with a distressed sale purchase.

1. Pre-foreclosure (where payments have been missed and a Notice of Default or NOD has been filed – often, but not always, these homes are on the market and included in the MLS.  If they’re in the MLS, I can help.  Often these are short sales (but short sales are not always in pre-foreclosure – they may not have missed any payments).
2. Trustee’s sale, or actual foreclosure on the courthouse steps.  No role for a real estate agent here.  There are some big caveats and warnings! First,  often what’s owed against the home is more than it’s worth and the only way to purchase a home here is to pay off all the debts (so it may not be much of a deal!).  Second, if you buy here, you get NO inspection contingency and must pay cash for the house.  End of story – no backing out.  Worse, you cannot inspect it ahead of time!
3. Bank owned or REO.  These are usually listed on the MLS and if so, I can help you with it.  Sometimes banks hold onto them between the trustee’s sale and prior to listing them with a broker.  Often this is only for a month or two but sometimes it’s longer.  If it’s not on the MLS, it’s very very hard, or maybe impossible, to buy it.

While it’s not hard to locate homes where owners have missed some payments, it should not be assumed that these houses are either for sale or that the owners have any intention of selling them.  In my opinion, it would be harassment if consumers showed up on their doorsteps trying to purchase a house where a payment has been missed.  Most, maybe all, of the residents there would be offended.  They may be trying to get a loan modification (a friend of mine got one approved last week!) or have family & friends helping them to get back on track. If it is not listed in the MLS (which you can find at www.MLSListings.com – the public portal of our agent multiple listing service), the odds are overwhelmingly against it being available to you.

Did you buy your house at the peak of the market?

Recently I met with some of my past clients, who purchased their San Jose house close to the height of the market (2005-2007).  In those days it was a hot seller’s market (not unlike many parts of the Silicon Valley real estate landscape today, actually), and buyers routinely purchased their homes “As Is“, meaning no repairs provided by the sellers.  Desperate to get in when prices were appreciating fast, it seemed that most home buyers said “we’ll take care of it after we own it“.

But they forgot.

Actually this didn’t just happen during the peak of the market here in Santa Clara County – there’s always a percentage of consumers who buy As Is to get a better price.  They have good intentions about taking care of the mold, the termites, the roof and whatever else might not be either in good working order or free of infestation.  But once they move in, the “to do list” doesn’t seem to have those items as a high priority, and over time they completely fall through the cracks.

Pull out your old file, find your inspection reports and review them, especially if you are preparing to sell your home

Today I want to encourage you to dig out your old home inspection and pest reports, dust them off, and have a look.  Did you need to address a problem with termites, electrical issues, leaks?  Is there something to take care of with the roof, gutters, dry rot or fungus?  All of those things do not self-correct, but instead grow worse over time. 

If your reports are more than three or five years old, you might consider getting new ones done since in all likelihood there’s more work, possibly in new areas, now. Just make sure you hire a reputable company which won’t gloss over problems, leaving them latent and waiting to cost you more in the end.  Don’t toss your old inspections out – have a look and see if everything that used to be called out is covered.  If you are planning to stay put, is best to correct everything so that your home is kept in good condition for the long haul. If you are planning to sell your home, it’s important to fix it up first if you want to get the most for your sale.  The market is very different from the peak, and having the home improvement work done is more important than ever now.

Are you buying a distressed property (short sale, bank owned, or pre-foreclosure) in Silicon Valley?

If you are purchasing a short sale, pre-foreclosure or bank owned home – let alone one at auction – please be aware that these properties are most often neglected and have more than a normal share of deferred maintenance.

You or your Realtor can look up the sales history for the home.  If it was purchased between 2005 and 2008, there’s a good chance that it was sold As Is and that if any repairs were needed, they weren’t done.

With pre-foreclosures or short sales, sometimes the sellers are well organized and will still have their old reports.  The agent may not be aware that these are available, but they can provide at least some information since pre-sale inspections are usually not provided with distressed sales.

For more reading on this topic:

How often should you get a termite inspection?

Would you recognize signs of subterranean termites if you saw them?

Watch for Dampwood Termites in Silicon Valley!

Yesterday we looked at the types of home sales around Silicon Valley by price point.  Not terribly surprising, most of the short sales and bank owned homes were in the lowest price ranges.  Today we’ll look at this type of information not by pricing tier but instead by geography – in other words, by either town, city or district of San Jose (area).  This post will not cover every area but will be a sampling a few communities, mostly on the west side of the valley (since that’s primarily where I work).

By way of reminder, the small image to the left reflects Santa Clara County’s houses for sale as a whole – all areas and all price points. (You can see the full sized image by clicking on it.) The green area represents “regular home sales” and the brick red and light orange signify distressed  properties listed on the MLS for sale (red is short sales and orange is bank owned or REOs). Next let’s see a few regions within the county to see how things are faring geographically.

1. Almaden Valley area of San Jose – homes listed for sale by type – very few distressed properties on the market!

Almaden is a lovely southwest San Jose suburban community (zip code 95120) that grew up initially with the cinnabar or mercury mining activity.  Today it’s an upscale area of more expensive homes than most of the county, it enjoys really good schools and scenic views of the coastal range as well as the Santa Teresa Foothills.  Housing here is costly but residents love the quality of life. Since the cost of homes for sale here is high, it’s not super surprising, after seeing yesterday’s post, that there are very few distressed homes on the market here. Next we’ll check the other extreme….

2. Alum Rock area of San Jose – this is a less wealthy part of Santa Clara County and generally has been harder hit by the mortgage and housing crisis.

In this east San Jose neighborhood of Alum Rock (near beautiful Alum Rock Park), almost half the homes listed for sale are either short sales or bank owned properties.  That said, Alum Rock has some areas which are much more upscale (and elevated), some with many many acres of land and those pricier properties are not quite so badly hit with the distressed property deluge.

3. Cambrian area of San Jose – a west valley community that often closely reflects Santa Clara County as a whole

The Cambrian or Cambrian Park district of San Jose often has prices, days on market and other trends which are very similar to Santa Clara County so it’s often a good “gauge” of how the area is doing generally.  If you compare this graph to the one at the top of this post, you’ll find them very similar – about 2/3 of listed houses and duet homes for sale are “regular” or non-distressed sales.

5.  Campbell -a little more expensive, great downtown, popular area

Campbell is exceedingly popular as it’s got a charming downtown, enjoys light rail access and is part of the Los Gatos Creek Trail. It’s close to Los Gatos, but more affordable. Here about 70% of the homes listed for sale on our multiple listing service or MLS are regular sales, so a little healthier than most of Silicon Valley.

6. Los Gatos – a more expensive community, fewer distressed houses for sale

In Los Gatos, there are right now just 3 short sales on the market (for houses and duet homes) and NO bank owned homes. As you can see, it’s overwhelmingly “normal sales” and this helps a lot with home values.

A year or so ago, we had a cluster of short sales in one particular east Los Gatos neighborhood and it was really damaging the property values of the “regular sellers’” homes. It’s encouraging to see this correct a bit.

7. Monte Sereno – more expensive still – no distressed houses for sale right now!

Monte Sereno is a tiny city with 4,000 residents. It’s more expensive then neighboring Los Gatos, with whom it shares police, schools, library and more.

With no businesses or commercial buildings, Monte Sereno enjoys a quieter lifestyle.  Most of the activity is either around Daves Avenue School, the post office/city building or the horse trails!

8. Palo Alto -home to Stanford and classy luxury homes

Stately and vibrant Palo Alto is home to Stanford University (and the Lucille Packard Hospital, which is a world class facility).  Schools in this city are top-rated in Silicon Valley.  The city is beautiful and there’s lots to do.  For many reasons, then, Palo Alto is probably the most sought after address in the region, and home prices reflect its desireability. Not surprisingly, then, it’s not likely that home buyers will find many low-cost distressed properties on the market.  When they do appear, they tend to go fast.  As of this writing, there’s just one short sale and no bank owned homes available there.

9. Saratoga – great schools, scenic vista, highly regarded Silicon Valley community

Saratoga is not as costly as Palo Alto, but within Santa Clara County it’s right up there near the top for least affordable.

What I find most interesting here is not the small number of distressed properties on the MLS in Saratoga, but rather that there’s an equal number of short sales as there are REOs (bank owned).  Usually the ratio is more 2 – to – 1.  Maybe it’s a fluke? We’ll have to check and see down the road!

What we see when looking at Silicon Valley houses listed for sale by sale type is that the geographical differences largely mimic the pricing tiers.  The more expensive the area – or the home within it – the less likely you are to find that bargain priced property.

For more info on Silicon Valley Communities, please also see my website’s community information page.

The Silicon Valley real esate market is heating up but it’s not heating “evenly”.  Some price points and areas (or school districts) enjoy a hot seller’s market while other segments are lagging.  A big factor in the overall health of the realty market in the San Jose area is the percentage of listings which are distressed properties, meaning short sales and bank owned homes.  Today we’ll see the ratios of these homes to the regular sales using graphs to get a quick visual take on the market trends and statistics.

Today we’ll look at homes listed on the MLS in all of Santa Clara County (including San Jose, Campbell, Los Gatos, Saratoga etc.) by price point. All of the graphs in this post will reference houses and duet homes combinesd(about 99% houses), not condos or townhomes.

Overall, it looks like about 1/3 of all homes for sale in the county are distressed sales. Next let’s look at this data by price point and then we’ll check it by area.  The images below will be smaller but the colors will represent the same elements in each one (green being regular sales, brick being short sales and light orange being REOs).

Ratio of regular sales to short sales and bank owned homes in Silicon Valley by price point

1. $599,999 and under

This first graph by pricing reflects houses (and duet homes) for sale in Santa Clara County which are under $600,000.

For this group, less than 50% (the green segment) is “regular sales”.  Most of the housing market in this entry-level pricing is distressed properties for sale.

Notice, too, that there are far more short sales than REOs or bank owned homes.

2. $600,000 to $999,999

The next group is homes priced between $600,000 and $999,000 – so these are primarily “move up” home prices, though in some parts of Siicon Valley (such as Palo Alto, Saratoga, Los Altos and a few others), these homes would be a first house, most likely.

3. $1 million to $2 million dollars

The third grouping consists of Santa Clara County houses for sale which are listed between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000.

These are nicer homes but usually not luxury housing per se in most parts of the county. In the more affordable areas such as Morgan Hill, Gilroy, and east San Jose areas, though, these could also constitute estate or luxury homes. (Not in Los Gatos, Monte Sereno or some west valley areas).

It is interesting to see that in this upper price point there are very few distressed sales – almost all of them are “regular sales”.

4. Homes priced at more than $2,000,000 – the Luxury Homes

Luxury homes in Santa Clara County vary but most are in the single million digit prices and very few selling more than $10 or $20 million  (though you may have heard about the recent, history-making $100,000 million sale in Los Altos Hills).

Tomorrow check back to see how these types of numbers shake out by city, town or district – we will view a sampling of them.

A key ingredient in understanding how the Silicon Valley real estate market is faring is the ratio of regular sales to distressed properties on the market (Bank owned or REO listings and short sale listings). Today we’ll study Los Gatos and four areas or districts of San Jose: Almaden Valley, Willow Glen, Cambrian Park, and Blossom Valley.

First, let’s look at the county numbers as a general overview.  In all of Santa Clara County, there are 3537 houses, duet homes, condominiums & townhouses for sale and available (“status 1″ for my Realtor readers) on our multiple listing service. Of those, merely 1964 are “regular sales” (56%), 1105 are short sales (31%) and 375 are bank owned homes or REOs (11%).

Now let’s drill down to a few areas: Los Gatos, Almaden Valley, Willow Glen, Cambrian Park and Blossom Valley.  We’ll check out the ratio of regular sales of houses and condos in each of these areas.  How do these compare to the county average of 56%? Have a look:

This is helpful information for both home buyers & home sellers.  Home sellers need to understand the challenges that come with selling in an area with more short sales or REOs, if they are in one of those parts of the valley.  Or vice versa: if there are few distressed properties on the market, this makes it easier to sell (with less downward pressure on pricing).  Buyers need to appreciate that they will have better luck negotiating in areas where many homes are being sold under some pressure.

A quick disclaimer - if we narrowed this study by school district and even neighborhood school, we might find that these “general numbers” are actually quite different at the hyper-local level.  For example, if you visit a post of mine about the Los Gatos real estate market on my Live in Los Gatos blog, you’d find that when we separated out the various school districts, and even price points, the ratio of distressed properties and their absorption rates change very dramatically.  To see those, scroll down until you see the blue and yellow boxes.

The condo market in San Jose and nearby areas has taken a beating throughout our downturn.  Even so, condos in Los Gatos, Almaden and Willow Glen are faring pretty decently.

Now let’s hone in on each of these five areas and the two main housing types to see the ratio in each of regular sales, short sales, and REOs.
Los Gatos short sales, bank owned homes, and regular sales are next.  Green represents regular sales.  In most areas, it seems that there are about 3 times as many short sales as REOs – but not always. (Read more on the Los Gatos real estate market here.)

It is very dramatic – there are very few distressed houses for buyers to consider in Los Gatos right now: just 5 short sales and no REOs.  (The REOs do come on the market but are gobbled up quickly.)

What about condos for sale in Los Gatos?

This is still pretty healthy compared to most areas we’re considering today, but about 1/3 of the homes for sale are short sales or bank owned homes.

San Jose’s Almaden Valley is another pretty healthy market with relatively few distressed homes. Next I’ll post the graph for houses, then condos, in Almaden.

One of the driving factors for both Almaden and Los Gatos are the great schools. (More reading: check out the Almaden school district and school boundary maps & API scores for all of the Almaden Valley schools.)

Willow Glen, also part of the city of San Jose, is charming, convenient, has great community involvement – it’s always been a highly desirable place in which to live.  Next are the two graphs for Willow Glen houses and then Willow Glen condos:

Cambrian Park, also in San Jose and adjacent to all of the other areas we’re reviewing today, has become more prized over the years, first after highway 85 made it more accessible in the early 90s, and then again recently as the Union Schools began to trend up strongly in the API scores.  (Cambrian has 3 different elementary school districts, ranging from good to great. Read about the Cambrian Park real estate market in more detail here.) Most houses are still normal sales – making it a lot easier for home sellers than is the case for condo owners hoping to sell in the same neighborhoods.

Blossom Valley, yet another San Jose district, is burdened with the most distressed properties by ratio of any of these five places.  For home sellers in the 95123 and 95136 areas, it may well feel like an uphill battle to get a property sold and closed. With condominiums and townhouses especially, this is difficult for sellers there.

Earlier in this article, I gave a “quick disclaimer” about the hyper-local marke.  In Blossom Valley, Sakamoto Elementary School has fabulous API scores.  I have not pulled these numbers out, but I believe that because the school is an enormous draw, homes in that area are probably selling far better than the average in Blossom Valley (and distressed homes are probably selling far faster).

What to do with this information?  If you are buying in a part of Santa Clara County in which there are a lot of distressed homes for sale, you may get a great bargain right now. But be prepared because as more come onto the market, it may hurt your home’s market value.  Conversely, if you wish to purchase in an area with few distressed properties on the market, you may not be able to negotiate as much as you’d like – but those areas may be more insulated from further drops in value.

Downsizing? It may be a dream time for you to move from Los Gatos, Almaden Valley or Willow Glen to other areas where the market is softer.

Moving up?  That may be a little painful, especially if you’re going from an area with more short sales and REOs to another with fewer of them!

No matter what your situation, if you’re interested in buying or selling in any of these areas or nearby, please contact me for a private, confidential consultation.  I’m happy to meet with you and learn if we can work together to help you achieve your goals.

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).

Most buyers today have 20% down and are pre-approved, and most sellers today in the San Jose – Los Gatos – Saratoga areas do have pre-sale inspections done.  Escrows for these typical sales are running for these types of transactions close to 30 days, sometimes more like 35 days.

For FHA home buyers, most of the time it takes 45 days to close escrow once they have an offer which has been accepted. Once in awhile, it’s a little longer.  Sometimes a seller may want a longer escrow for various reasons.

Status of the HOA Docs: If the property being sold is a planned unit development (PUD) or condominium, as opposed to a single family residence, it can take longer to complete the sale sometimes if the home owners and their agents have not already ordered and have in hand the home owner association (HOA) documents for the buyer to review.  This very thick packet is extremely important to get to the purchaser so that she or he knows as much as possible about the community. It includes the meeting minutes (where you find out who’s upset about what), the newsletters (any big neighbor issues may be discussed), the rules, bylaws etc.  It can take a week or more, in some cases, to get this from the HOA.  The sooner the buyer sees it, the faster the sale can go.

In general, 30-45 days is the “normal” amount of time for most Silicon Valley residential real estate sales to close. This is what you’ll most likely find in a regular sale or a normal property.

Sixty days is considered a “long escrow”.  Ninety days is the absolute limit that the buyer’s lender would tolerate, but often is so long as to be inadvisable.  A lot can happen in 90 days – loan rates can jump and even if you’re pre-approved, the loan rate change can lock you out of closing.  Most sellers and their agents will not be enthusiastic about a 90 day close of escrow for that reason.

Ditto that for “contingent offers“., which can take quite a bit of time to close.  In Santa Clara County, offers which are subject to the sale of another home are usually fairly unpopular.  Home sellers frequently do not want to deal with these bids at all, but may consider them if their home has been on the market a very long time and if the home which needs to be sold seems to be very marketable.  (For more information on contingencies of all kinds, please read Competing Against Multiple Offers: Contingencies and Timeframes.)

Bank owned properties, or REOs, tend to close within the normal time periods.  However, the banks often are not as generous as “regular” sellers and may permit only 7 days for inspections even if the buyer legitimately needs more time.  (Caution: banks often utilize passive contingency periods rather than active, meaning that if you say nothing and the date passes, you are presumed to be moving ahead with the sale and if you decide not to complete the sale you could be in default.)

How long does it take to buy a short sale in Silicon Valley?

Short sales are sales with a type of contingency, but instead of it being a buyer contingency (which is usual), it’s a seller contingency.  In these cases, the sale is subject to the seller’s lender approving a short payoff AND of the seller in agreeing to any terms in the short sale authorization from the lender(s).  How long does it take to close escrow on a short sale?  This varies widely.

With a short sale, the seller is still the owner (not the bank), but the bank can say whether or not the sale will be completed – either permit it or not.  Because of this power, the bank can sometimes insist on changing some of the terms of the contract, from time frames or price or downpayment that the buyer’s responsible for to the commission the involved real estate agents will be paid at the close of escrow.

How long does it take to get bank approval or lender approval?

Again, it depends on a few things:

• how many loans are there? (one is fastest, most often)
• if there are 2 or more loans, are they at the same lending institutions or at separate ones? (2 loans at the same credit union or bank will be infinitely easier than 2 loans at different banks)
• how much of the seller’s debt will have to be forgiven by the lender? Often a small amount can go through a more streamlined process than if it’s a large amount and may even be worked through a separate department
• whether or not there was a prior sale that fell through – if yes, then the paperwork is probably in the system and the lender just needs another seller to step in accept the prior terms. In those cases, it may be very quick.

The fastest I’ve seen short sales approved by a bank is 2 weeks and the sale closed 30 days later, so it was 45 days total. That is lightening fast and atypical.  More often, if there’s only one loan it takes the lenders 30-60 days to respond to the offer which has been accepted by the seller.  If there are 2 or more loans and they are not all at the same credit union or bank, it could take much longer to get an answer.  Sometimes there is no answer at all….  This is extremely frustrating and should not happen.

For more reading on the topic of short sale escrows and closings, please also review this article:
“Short Sales Sell But Often Don’t Close: Why?”

If you are buying a short sale, it’s imperative that you be flexible as to the closing schedule because so much of what determines it is beyond the control of buyers, sellers and agents.  Once you get that bank approval and the seller agrees to the terms, then it should proceed like a regular sale in terms of time frames.

Silicon Valley home buyers who are looking for a good deal can’t help but notice that prices on short sales and bank owned homes are a bargain compared to regular sales in the San Jose area. But what exactly ARE they? What’s the difference between a short sale and a foreclosure? What are the risks involved in buying one of these in Santa Clara County? Today we’ll have a look at the various types of distressed properties and the risks associated with purchasing each.

What are short sales?

Short sales are when home owners need to sell their home but there’s not enough equity in the property to pay off the loans and closing costs.  So the only way they can sell is if the bank agrees to accept a “short payoff“.  The bank or banks get paid in short, hence short sale.

What are some of the risks in buying a short sale?

What is a Foreclosure?

Foreclosures – there are really two subcategories here:  (i) when the actual auction happens on the courthouse steps and (ii) after the holder of the first loan takes the home back and sells it as a “bank owned property” or REO (“real estate owned” by the bank).

What are some of the risks in buying a bank owned home or REO?

If you’re looking to buy a Los Gatos home, you may want to consider purchasing a short sale listing or bank owned property as they are usually more affordable, as real estate prices go, than “regular sales”.

There are a few caveats to buying distressed properties in Los Gatos, though. First, be aware that there are hardly any of these foreclosure or pre-foreclosures homes for sale at any given time in the Town of Los Gatos. At last count, it was about 12% of the real estate inventory altogether (both REOs and short sales combined).

How low will the short sale home seller go? Or the bank if it’s an REO property?

Second, there is some confusion about pricing and discounts. Just as with normal sales, if a short sale house, condo or townhouse is offered at a low price (or is reduced to become attractive) they will sell fast and very likely close to list price. Sometimes you can get a home for much less than list price, but you need to check the comps. In some cases, the home may be priced below a reasonable market value already and it may get bid up, especially if there are multiple offers.

Whoever bids first gets the house, right?

Third, a quick reminder that these sales are not like normal ones in which the first person in contract gets the house. With distressed sales there aren’t a lot of guarantees that the buyer will be able to close on the deal even after acceptance by the seller. With a short sale, remember that the bank or lending institution must approve the sale. If the lender thinks the price is too low, the sale won’t go through unless they buyer goes up in price. Other offers may still come in after yours is accepted, and the bank can simply not approve yours and instead decide, with the seller, to work with the higher offer.

When banks own the property, they want to sell to the highest bidder. You may get into contract only to have the bank find a better offer – and kick you out of escrow! This doesn’t happen in a regular sale, of course. (See also this post:  What is a “Kick Out” Clause? )

All disclaimers now made, below please browse the list of available REO listings and short sale listings in Los Gatos, CA.

Browse Los Gatos Short Sale Listings & Bank Owned Properties for Sale

Los Gatos Bank Owned (REO) houses, condos and townhouses for sale and Los Gatos Short Sale houses, condominiums and townhomes

Bargain hunting home buyers have a lot to be grateful for: interest rates are low and house prices are low in Silicon Valley generally and Campbell too.  Oftentimes these are distressed properties which are either short sale listings or bank owned homes. So there will be issues with purchasing these houses, but even so, they are usually sold at a significant discount for the trouble. It’s a great time to buy Campbell real estate!

Least costly houses, townhouses and condominiums in Campbell, CA

Below please find the most affordable homes in all categories of housing & residential real estate!  These are properties currently listed as available on our local MLS.

Lower Cost Campbell Houses for Sale

Specifically looking to buy a house in Campbell? Here are homes which are most affordably priced:

Sorry, but we couldn't find any results in the MLS that match the specified search criteria.

Inexpensive Campbell Townhouses for Sale

If a Campbell townhouse is what you seek, here is a list of the least costly homes available today:

Showing properties 1 - 1 of 1. See more city of Campbell real estate.
(all data current as of 5/23/2012)

1. $335,000 : 1116 Capri Dr, Campbell
   
   2 beds, 1 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 1,336 sq ft

   Lot size: 1,150 sqft
   

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

More Affordable Campbell Condos for Sale

Condos in Campbell are highly desireable, especially when they are close to downtown, the Pruneyard and light rail. Here are the most reasonably priced condominiums on the market right now:

Showing properties 1 - 2 of 2. See more city of Campbell real estate.
(all data current as of 5/23/2012)

1. $175,900 : 2785 S Bascom Av #5, Campbell
   
   1 bed, 1 full bath

   Home size: 588 sq ft

   Lot size: 612 sqft
   
2. $250,000 : 340 N 1st St #4, Campbell
   
   2 beds, 1 full bath

   Home size: 798 sq ft

   Lot size: 2,000 sqft
   

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

For help with home buying here or elsewhere in the San Jose area (Santa Clara County), please call me today!

Right now there are about 4664 active residential real estate listings (homes listed for sale on our local MLS) which are houses, duet homes, townhouses or condominiums in Santa Clara County.  Of those, there are 1255 short sales (27% of the inventory) and 463 bank owned properties, or REOs (9%),  on the market.  So the “distressed properties” segment equals 37% of the Silicon Valley real estate market (or Santa Clara County real estate market).

Some areas are flooded with short sales & bank owned homes. Others are going through this meltdown nearly unscathed. Below please find a sampling of areas in and around San Jose with the percentage of distressed homes for sale (including both short sales and REOs or bank owned properties).  In most areas, there are usually about 3 times as many short sales as bank owned homes, but sometimes it’s a lower percentage, closer to 2.5%.   I pulled the numbers from our MLS tonight – info is deemed correct but of course not guaranteed. 

If you’re interested in buying a distressed property, or would like to discuss selling one, please contact me today! I have a team of experts with whom I work to assist home buyers & sellers throughout the county and with all types of home sale or home buying challenges.

Right now in Santa Clara County (which is the bulk of the “Silicon Valley” area), there are 3392 houses available (not under contract) and there have been 853 which have closed in the last month.  That’s 3.98 months of inventory, or a seller’s market.  (There are 2668 which are under contract, but many are short sales which may never close escrow.)  Four months of inventory for the county is pretty strong overall.

For condominiums and townhouses in Santa Clara County, there are currently 1406 on the market and 289 which have sold/closed in the last month, giving us 4.87 months of inventory, which is technically a seller’s market but is very close to a balanced market. (There are 1096 pendings.)  The average “days on market” for the solds vary from about 50 days to about 115 days, depending on whether or not it’s a distressed sale.

Whether a home is in a buyer’s or seller’s market depends largely on its location, price point and sales type.  It is easiest to sell a home which is a “regular sale” situation, harder to sell a bank owned home and hardest to sell a short sale listing.  It’s easier to sell entry level priced houses, harder to sell luxury townhouses or condominiums.

For information on your part of the Silicon Valley real estate market, please email or phone me today!

Silicon Valley home owners who are thinking of putting their properties on the market are wondering a few things:

• how much is my home worth?
• how long will it take to sell my home?
• how long will it take to close escrow?

Today we’ll discuss how long it takes to sell a home in the San Jose – Silicon Valley areas.

Of homes that have sold and closed in Santa Clara County, the speed of sale and the pending sale time frame depend a lot on the sale type. 

• For short sales, San Jose area homes are typically on the market for about 123 days, then once they are sale pending, it’s approximately 100 days until close of escrow.  Start to finish, it’s about 8 months long! 
• For bank owned properties in Santa Clara County, days on market are often around 75 and the length of escrow 38 days.
• With regular sales, the DOM is a quick 51 and length of escrow averages 39 days.  
• For all sales, the Days on Market was 113.

Let’s look at a particular area within San Jose to see how the numbers might vary.  We’ll take the Cambrian Park district of San Jose for our example (zip codes 95124 and 95118 primarily).  In Cambrian Park, right now there are 184 houses on the market and they average 94 days on the market.  In the same area there 95 pending sales and they average 76 days on the market. In the last month, there were 46 houses that sold & closed and their days on market averaged 52 overall.  Not every home, though, sold so fast or so slowly!

Days on market of Cambrian closed sales in last 30 days:
All combined average DOM = 52
Short sale DOM = 121
Bank Owned DOM = 128
Regular sale DOM = 40

These numbers could be further teased out by price point and school district – but you get the idea.  Some homes will be difficult to sell and some much easier! Even among the “regular sales”, certain homes will tend to sell faster: newer homes, homes on larger lots, houses which are professionally staged, properties which are priced aggressively (rather than “testing the market”).  In many cases, well priced homes that are in good condition and with no “issues” will sell within a month.

Complicate the situation with showing challenges (appt only, no lock box, tenants in the home etc.), a rough condition, difficult sale type or other problems (such as being too close to high voltage power lines, a busy road etc.) and those homes could take much, much longer to sell.

For information on your particular situation and to get a more precise sense on the timing, please contact me today!

A kick out clause refers to language in the contract which permits the seller, in some cases, to cancel the contract with the current buyer.  The current buyer is “kicked out” of contract.

Another expression for the same idea is a “release clause” – the seller can release the buyer under some situations.

When can the seller kick out or release the buyer? 

• If the contract is subject to the sale of another home, there may be a release clause in the agreement stating that if the seller gets a better offer, the buyer may have 72 hours to perform (sell the home) or be let go.  Normally buyers do not begin spending money on reports, inspections and the appraisal until this contingency is removed, so there tends to be little risk for either party.
• With bank owned homes, several lending institutions want to keep offering the home for sale even after there’s a ratified contract so that they keep open the possibility of the home selling for more. It is understandable that they want to mitigate their loss, but it makes buyers in contract very nervous about spending money on appraisals and inspections!  Most of the “risk” is on the buyer’s side.
• If there’s a short sale, the seller has a contingency for bank approval.  If a better offer comes along while waiting for bank approval, the seller can usually release the buyer without much difficulty.

This concept is not usually automatically found in purchase agreements unless it’s a bank owned, short sale or contingent upon the sale of another property deal