How is the Williams Elementary School area of San Jose’s Almaden Valley 95120 doing in terms of the real estate market? Today we’ll look at the Williams area as compared to Almaden as a whole to see. First, the basic realty trends and stats for this nice section of Silicon Valley side by side for this year only (I pulled and crunched all of this data from MLSListings.com myself tonight, “deemed reliable but not guaranteed”):

1. Comparison of the average price per square foot for all of Almaden (including the Williams area) with just the Williams area of 95120:

While there is some fluctuation from one status to the next, at the end of the day there’s one number that matters the most, and that’s what actually sold and closed.  In the Williams area, homes have sold at an average of $418 per square foot while in Almaden generally (including this area), the price is $399 per square foot – about 5% less. This is tremendously important to understand if you are trying to purchase a home in the Williams area – homes there do, in fact, sell for more than in most parts (perhaps all parts) of the Almaden Valley.

Next, the stats for just the Williams area followed by the stats for all of 95120.
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What happens if your home does not sell within a few months and you take it off the market? If your property status is changed to a cancelled, expired or withdrawn listing, it may be viewed by real estate agents as their potential business, and you may begin to hear from them  – a lot!

What is the difference between expired, cancelled and withdrawn listings?

Let us begin by discussing the difference between cancelled, expired, and withdrawn listings and how each impacts your vulnerability to being swamped with messages from real estate agents.

1. A withdrawn listing means that the property is still listed for sale with a real estate agent or broker but is no longer listed on the multiple listing service (MLS).  It’s still a valid listing and other agents should not approach you about working with them since you are still in a contract to sell your home with your current agent.
2. An expired listing means that the contract for your listing has come to an end and the listing is no longer in place.  Other agents may approach you since there is no valid listing in place.
3. A cancelled listing is one in which the seller and agent or broker agree to terminate the listing. Since the listing has ended, other agents are free to contact you.

In a nutshell, if your Silicon Valley home’s listing becomes either cancelled or expired, real estate sales people may contact you, but if it is merely withdrawn, they are not supposed to reach out to you because you still have a valid listing in place. (more…)

This week I was emailed about a home mentioned on Trulia which seemed “too good to be true”.  It was a distressed property and the reader thought it was for sale for about $650,000 but it is in an extremely upscale suburb on the Peninsula and she could not find the home for sale on our MLS.  She didn’t want to pay to find out if this was a hoax or what, so she asked me to please have a look.

I clicked on her link and saw that it was a feed into Trulia from one of the companies which provides foreclosure information to consumers by paid subscription.  No where did it say the home was for sale, but instead it indicated that $650,000 was the home owner’s loan amount – and that the property had a Notice of Default filed against it.  The house wasn’t worth anywhere near $650,000, of course – instead it’s valued at more than $2,000,000.  (So this would NOT be a short sale – there’s tons of equity in this property.)

Some consumers think that if a home has a NOD, it is for sale.  That is simply not true.  Many homeowners (including some of my clients) have at times missed a payment and then found themselves scrambling a little to get caught up.  It’s not easy but it can and does happen sometimes. (more…)

What should you look for when buying a luxury home in Silicon Valley? Whether it’s a move-up purchase or a first home, there are a few tips which will be helpful for you to know going into it that will make the whole home buying experience smoother and easier.  We’ll hit on 3 areas: first geography & construction, second hyper local factors that impact market value, and finally qualities or features of the property or house itself.

It’s hard to assign an exact price tag on what constitutes an estate or luxury property, but in and near Silicon Valley, in most regions it’s the $2,000,000 and up price point (it will be less in Morgan Hill, Coyote and Gilroy – and likely more in Hillsborough).

1. Geography and Bay Area Construction: it’s different here!

The first and most important thing to understand is that real estate and housing construction vary from one region of the country (or the world) to the next.  This is true for all types of homes, actually, but perhaps more obvious in the priciest homes. Luxury real estate in Silicon Valley is a little different from similarly expensive homes in other parts of the country due to our climate, soil conditions, and natural hazards, such as earthquakes. What seems mandatory for a high end home (and might be ideal to have elsewhere) could be a problem here, so it’s helpful to literally understand the lay of the land before you get too far along the home buying path. A couple of quick examples:

• A fabulous home in Boston or anywhere in New England may be built of brick.
• Here, a brick house is seldom seen because of earthquakes – we need our houses to move and bricks are not usually too good at that!

I mention these two upfront because well intentioned friends and relatives may want to stress the importance of this or that in a property – and it may simply not apply here. (Please see article: Qualify The Advice You’ll Accept When Buying or Selling a Home in Silicon Valley)  If you are non-native to the San Francisco Bay Area, you may have assumptions about construction or architecture that may not work here. Please just be aware of that possibility.

2. Understand the importance of hyper local factors on the market value of a property

Schools can be a main driver for home values in the luxury market as all other segments.  Home buyers may not know that the town or city boundaries are usually irrelevant to school district boundaries. Here are a few examples:

• In Saratoga  there are 3 high school districts and 4 elementary school districts.  Before buying anywhere in Saratoga, then, you’ll want to know which district is which and where you’re buying.  If you want to utilize private schools, you may be delighted to find that you can buy more house for your money in one area of this lovely city than another.  Or you may want one school area over another for any number of reasons.
• In Los Gatos there are 2 high school districts and 3 elementary school districts.
• In the Almaden Valley area of San Jose, there are 3 high school districts and 3 elementary school districts

Often the lesser public school districts will have a lower lid on pricing than the very top districts or schools, so it’s important, when analyzing the pricing of an estate home, to factor in the weight of the school. (more…)

Our fall weather here in Silicon Valley is acting like spring weather – bouncing back and forth between warm, dry days and cold, wet ones.  Should this impact the way you present your home to the real estate market if it’s for sale?  Absolutely.

If you want to make the best impression on potential home buyers, your house, townhouse or condo needs to be inviting no matter what the weather may be doing.  In the heat of summer, sellers are tempted to close up all the curtains to keep out the sun and heat – it’s a mistake because buyers typically don’t respond well to dark, cave like homes.  The wet weather brings different challenges that also must be handled appropriately if you are to snag that best buyer!  Here are a few tips to make your listing the one that appeals to Silicon Valley home buyers who come out to see it:

1. Make sure that your downspouts are directing rain water away from your house or any structures (often 6′ or more is suggested); it is imperative that there be no “pooling” of water, especially near the home – this will cause buyers to worry about water in the crawl space and what it may be doing (foundation cracks, mold, etc.)
2. Trim bushes and vegetation back from walkways and sidewalks.  When it’s wet outside, these lovely bunches of greenery collect water and as visitors go past them, they can spill water onto the passers by. Not pleasant.  Look at your sidewalks, driveway, and walkway and make sure that wet bushes and branches won’t be hitting anyone coming up to your front door.
3. If your gutters leak, they’ll be noticed and will indicate that your property hasn’t been properly maintained, so repair or replace them.
4. Indoors, keep the heat on if the temperature would be below the comfortable range – cold buyers don’t linger, and buyers who don’t linger don’t buy! I suggest at least 66-67 degrees. (more…)

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.

Update:  SALE PENDING!

You’re invited to see this stunning young urban living condominium in Campbell close to everything featuring two bedrooms plus loft, 2 bathrooms and approximately 1610 square feet. All of this can be found in an elegant resort-like setting! New listing, open this weekend from 2-4 (Aug 13-14) so please stop by!

Urban Living in Campbell

This sleek condo, the Sapphire Penthouse floorplan (see below), is located just steps from the light rail and Los Gatos Creek Trail, shopping at Whole Foods and many other shops across Bascom, the Pruneyard a block or so away and downtown Campbell just around the corner!  A myriad of restaurants lie within a tenth of a mile.  One of my sellers told me that she had only put 1500 miles on her car in the year living there.  Imagine simply not needing your auto much at all!!  (The building does include two spots in the underground garage for your vehicle, should you still want one while living there!)

Resort Living, Contemporary Setting

Built by Pinn Brothers with great attention to detail, the Onyx offers tremendous features both in the condo itself and in the many fabulous shared areas.

Interior features include:

• open floor plan with high ceilings and dark floors
• elegant kitchen with mostly Bosch appliances (fridge is Fisher & Paykel), tremendous counter space with slab quartz countertops, recessed lights and contemporary dark cabinetry
• an abundance of natural light, loads of windows and recessed lighting
• spacious bedrooms (the master is really large!) and bathrooms
• Master bath features two sinks, large soaking tub and separate stall shower
• comfortable balcony

Community features include: (more…)