Sunday, February 20, 2011

Silicon Valley: Los Altos Hills real estate market

Los Altos Hills ranks 4th on the list of the richest small towns nationwide according to Bloomberg Businessweek: Businessweek, which tallied the 50 most expensive small towns with populations of less than 10,000, indicate that Los Altos Hills notched a median home value of $2.16 million, a 13% decline since last year. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that Los Altos Hills residents maintain a median income of $218,922.
Los Altos Hills is part of the Silicon Valley in California.  It had 81 properties sold in 2010, 5 of which show reo's or short sales according to the MLS.
Thanks for reading,

Francis

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Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Current market in Los Altos (Silicon Valley) 2-11

The number of homes over a million dollars dropped a bit in December 2010, but the median sale price of luxury properties inched higher, according to Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.
A total of 158 homes sold for more than $1 million in Santa Clara County in Dec., down 8.1 % from Dec. 09. However, the median sale price of million-dollar properties rose to $1.35 million, up 2.5 % from the previous month and 3.6 % from the year before.

Los Altos had the highest number of luxury sales in the county at 35, up from 30 a year ago, and the most expensive sale last month at $3.61 million.

Two other key market indicators were higher as well in December: the “days on average” of million-dollar properties (on the market until they were under contract) came down, and sellers received 97% of their asking price, up from 93 % last year.

Some other titbits from the Coldwell Banker luxury report:

- The most expensive sale in Santa Clara County in Dec. was in Los Altos for $3.6 million

- Los Altos boasted the most million-dollar sales with 35, then San Jose: 30, Palo Alto: 29, Los Gatos: 18, Cupertino: 16. – this is the Silicon Valley…
Francis
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Wednesday, February 2, 2011

How is the market now, locally (around Palo Alto)?

How does the activity compare with the previous years, in the 5 combined Cities of: Menlo Park, Los Altos, Palo Alto, Mountain View, & Los Altos Hills?

The inventory of all homes for sale stands at 330, with 181 homes over $1 million, and 78 over $2 million.
Exactly a year ago, there were 370 homes for sale, with 231 homes over $1 million, and 118 over $2million.
Exactly 2 years ago, there were 485 homes for sale, with 292 homes over $1 million, and 118 over $2 million.

Clearly there are fewer homes for sale, which traditionally fosters a rise in home prices.

Week-end open houses see a lot of traffic, with many pre-approved buyers ready to buy “right now”. There are also a lot of people who are just starting their search. (I would say about 50%).

The best properties (showing well and/or upgraded) sell with multiple offers, often with all cash offers.  This indicates a lot of potential buyers who have been looking for a long while.

However, I also notice that buyers are very selective, and cautious.

Out of 109 properties for sale in Palo Alto, 50 are pending sale (in contract) with an average number of days on the market of 88 day, before entering in contract. This figure however includes 6 properties which have been on the market for over 200 days… (even one with 644 days on the market). One can say that the market is pretty active, but not unreasonable. It is also unforgiving...

Do you have any experience or input on the subject?

Thanks for reading,
Francis

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