All cash buyers... a follow up...

To piggy back on my previous post, the number of homes purchased with cash in California jumped to a record 30.9% in January, per DataQuick.  According to the same source, 52% of the homes purchased with cash in Jaunary were being foreclosed on in the prior 18 months - which points to buyers-investors in large part.
Francis
Silicon Valley real estate.
Silicon Valley stats

Silicon Valley: all cash buyers.

Confirming what the studies were showing at the end of 2010, figures came out (DataQuick information services) showing that 26.3% of homes were purchased with cash in Jan. 2011 in the County of Santa Clara, compared with 12.6% in Jan. of 2007.
In the County of San Mateo, it is roughly the same, at 25.4%
Prices adjusted so much that a lot of investors put their (cash) money where they believe the market will do well in the future.
In February 2011, the median house price is $530,000 in the County of Santa Clara, and higher in the County of San Mateo: $634,000. - there are as many houses that sold over this number as under.

Francis

Silicon Valley real estate
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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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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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Silicon Valley real estate

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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Nationwide: home prices decline, rental prices increase in 2010

A new study shows home prices declined 9.8 percent last year, while rental prices nationwide increased 11.6 percent during the same period, according to Hotpads.com. The rental price increase is a factor of uncertainty in the U.S. economic climate, which has forced a transition from a home-buying mentality to one more in favor of renting. The growing number of homes lost to foreclosure in 2010 expanded the number of people seeking to rent, creating a renter surplus, according to the study.
The impact on a State-by-State study gives us an idea of the impact on our local Silicon Valley real estate landscape.
With the U.S. unemployment rate at more than 9 percent throughout 2010, low-risk housing options became more desirable, a trend which may continue in the coming months, according to this Hotpads.com report.

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Useful school web sites, around Los Altos, Palo Alto, Mountain View etc...

Questions always abound when it comes to schools around here in the Silicon Valley.
This is a collection of web links that, I have found, answers a lot of them:  
- Silicon Valley schools.

This includes for instance an incredibly useful map of the boundaries for the various Los Altos schools. (It has ten layers of information!).
Of course, one should always call the school to double check attendance for a given year.

Thanks for reading.   Francis

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Mountain View real estate resource

Remodeling: national - and local - "Cost Vs Value Report"

This most recent report compares construction costs with resale values for 35 midrange and upscale remodeling projects comprising additions, remodels and replacements in 80 markets across the country. Data are grouped in nine U.S. regions, following the divisions established by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The top interior projects for resale value included an attic bedroom and a basement remodel. Both add living space without extending the footprint of the house. An attic bedroom addition costs more than $51,000 and recoups an estimated 72.2 percent, nationally, upon resale; a basement remodel costs more than $64,000 and recoups an estimated 70 percent. Improvement projects that are expected to return the least are a midrange home office remodel, recouping an estimated 45.8 percent; a backup power generator, recouping 48.5 percent; and a sunroom addition, recouping 48.6 percent of costs.

Replacement projects usually outperform remodel and addition projects in resale value because they are among the least expensive and contribute to curb appeal.

For more information on the subject of remodeling and how much one can recoup, follow this page, which also allows you to download the report for your area of interest (most probably close to San Francisco).

http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2010/12/home_owners_recoup

To read the full project descriptions, access national and regional project data, and download a free PDF containing data for any of the 80 cities covered by the report, visit http://www.costvsvalue.com/ . “Cost vs. Value” is a registered trademark of Hanley Wood, LLC.

Francis
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