How long to own a home?

Most people don't buy or sell a home very often. 
 

In fact, a recent National Association of Realtors® study found the median length of time that people who sold a home in 2012 had owned that residence was nine years, two years longer than the proverbial seven-year time frame. 

What's more, recent buyers had even longer time horizons in mind: first-time purchasers expected to own their newly bought home a median of 10 years. For repeat buyers, the median was 15 years. 
 

Sure, many people move more frequently, often due to the birth of a child, marriage or divorce, job loss or relocation, retirement, someone passing away, or other major life event. Yet there's still no doubt that a move is pretty hard on anyone… and avoided if possible.

How long have you owned your home in average?

Thanks for reading,
Francis

Silicon Valley real estate specialist
Detailed, local trends etc...
Current mortgage rates

Grand Opening at the San Antonio shopping center

It has been a while since I wrote a note about the San Antonio shopping center, and the transformations happening there. 
Since then a new Safeway opened, apartment buildings opened, a Starbucks and a few other well known franchises.  Tomorrow Saturday there is an event worth mentioning here for those who live close by, and especially dog lovers:
the Grand Opening of the Village Green Park and Dog Park.  Tomorrow Saturday October 19th, 10:30 to 3 pm.

Francis
Silicon Valley real estate specialist
Detailed, local trends etc...
Current mortgage rates
A place worth noting: Our Brother's Home in MountainView

Housing shortage in the Bay Area .. Facebook takes note.

Facebook to Build Apartments for Employees

A mockup of a new housing complex in Menlo Park for Facebook employees has been released. The project will cost $120 million and will create 394 units. The entire complex will be 630,000 square-feet.

Along with apartments, the area will have shops, a sports bar, a doggy day care, as well as an outdoor community pool. Designed primarily to house Facebook employees, the complex will be within walking distance or a five-minute bike ride from the corporate campus.

The majority of units will only be available to Facebook employees and sold at market rate. Fifteen units will be open to non-Facebook employees who are low-income. Construction begins this month and is expected to be completed in 24 months.

Source: Silicon Valley Association of Realtors.

Thanks for reading,
Francis

Silicon Valley real estate specialist
Detailed, local trends etc...
Current mortgage rates
A place worth noting: Our Brother's Home in MountainView

Micro apartments...

Micro apartments. In some major metropolitan areas, people are living large in smaller spaces.

So-called micro apartments—which are often less than 200 square feet—are becoming popular in San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Boston, Providence, R.I., and Portland, Ore., reports CNN Money (by Les Christie).
But it’s not only those just-out-of-college grads flocking to these tiny units. In some “micro buildings,” the average tenant is 33 years old and makes less than $35,000 a year, according to Reuters. 

 

On a separate (real estate) note, not quite the same size, you can have a look at what’s inside the ultimateman cave … (by Anastasia Anashkina @CNNMoney)  - Ok, this is not your typical home. But I know many who are going to dream.

Thanks for dreaming! - huh... reading!

Francis

Silicon Valley real estate specialist
Detailed, local trends etc...
Current mortgage rates

non-profit organization worth noting: Partners for New Generations

California: fastest rising list prices

As of July 2013...
This is not new information, but it is not going to be much different today, and it gives a good perspective on the market, as we currently witness a slowing down, attributed to much higher prices and higher interest rates.  The market locally is still quite good by all measures...

 Francis

Silicon Valley real estate specialist
Detailed, local trends etc...
Current mortgage rates

The Growth of Single Households: Singles Make Up Quarter of All Buyers

The Growth of Single Households: Singles Make Up a Quarter of All Buyers
Source: REALTOR® Magazine

Whether people marry later, divorce more frequently, and/or live longer, more people are living alone.
In fact, single buyers comprised a quarter of all home purchases last year, according to the NATIONAL

ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®  (from 17% in 1970). The living solo trend is evident in the country’s 33 million one-person households. Young adults ages 18 to 34 are the fastest-growing group of people living alone.

• Solo households are also mostly women: 18 million women live alone versus 14 million men. Twice as many single women bought homes as did single men in 2012.
• A single buyer can face challenges in this post-recession market, especially when it comes to qualifying for a mortgage because a single buyer cannot rely on the advantages of dual incomes or shared responsibly that a two-person household does. That being said, single buyers are not dragged down by a partner's credit score, loans, or credit card debt.
• Single households are prominent in other countries as well, with Sweden having the largest proportion of solos (47 percent). The United Kingdom has a rate of 34 percent, Japan’s is 30 percent, and Norway’s is 40 percent.
• Around 11 million Americans living alone are elderly, and the majority of solo households are in cities and metro areas.
• Purchasing a home can be a means of self-expression for singles, and they can express their lifestyles and values while focusing on the exact communities, home styles, and features that cater to their individuality with much less compromise.

More details on this article from the Realtor Magazine.

Thanks for reading,
Francis

Silicon Valley real estate specialist
Detailed, local trends etc...
Current mortgage rates
A place worth noting: Our Brother's Home in MountainView

Properties for sale "off MLS"

The market is so "hot" in the Valley that it is easy to sell a property without putting it in the MLS (multiple listing service). While it may be the way to go for very specific situations or sellers' requirements, statistically the vast majority of agents agree that it may not bring the best deal overall for the seller.  If you are thinking of selling your property "off market", I'll be glad to go over the advantages and disadvantages of such a strategy.  But unless you have very specific needs to address, it will be hard to find any benefits to doing it without the vast exposure of the MLS.

• Real estate agents marketing a property for which they have obtained a listing generally will place that listing on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). At times, however, listings are not placed into the MLS. These listings are commonly referred to as off-MLS or pocket listings.
• While not a new concept, pocket listings are growing in number – as many as 10 percent to 15 percent of homes offered for sale today are “off-MLS” listings, according to one MLS.     
• Sellers should strongly urge their agent to place their home on the MLS. A property that is listed on the MLS has the advantage of being marketed to every real estate agent who belongs to the MLS and, through those agents, to their vast network of potential buyers.
• Active marketing on the MLS usually includes open houses, broker tours, and inclusion of the seller’s property in the MLS’ download to various real estate Internet sites commonly used by the public to search for properties.
• A pocket listing generally is marketed by a single agent to one or a select few potential buyers. The marketing pool can be so small that in some cases, other agents within the same brokerage or brokerage office may not even be aware that a fellow agent has the listing.
• While pocket listings sometimes are requested by sellers who wish to maintain their privacy, the downsides to off-MLS listings outweigh the advantages. Primarily, the pool of real estate agents and potential home buyers who will know the property is for sale and make an offer to purchase may be limited. With fewer offers, sellers may not receive the best possible price for their home.

 

Thanks for reading!

Francis

 

Silicon Valley real estate specialist
Detailed, local trends etc...
Current mortgage rates

What do Real Estate Investors buy?

I have been working with investors as well as homeowners in the past few years, through the crisis, and I do agree that investors had a very good and favorable role in the recovery.  This is why I am always curious to see the exact role and impact investors have on the market.

The California Association of Realtors just released a survey of the types of purchases investors have been making.  Here are some of the interesting point:

Investors have played a key role in the California housing market recovery for the past four years. 

Two-thirds (66 percent) of investors who worked with a REALTOR® indicated they are going to keep the property for more than a year, while about one-fourth (26 percent) of investors intend to flip the property within a year.

Additionally, three-fourths of investors are of the small mom-and-pop type, owning 1-10 other investment properties, with 15 percent owning just one property, 46 percent owning 2-5 properties, and 14 percent owning 6-10 properties.  
      
Of the properties purchased by investors, single-family homes were the preferred property type, with 78 percent of transactions involving single-family homes.  Multifamily properties comprised 14 percent, 7 percent were other property types, and bulk sales made up only 1 percent.
More info  on this C.A.R.'s 2013 Investor Survey Results.

Thanks for reading,
Francis

Silicon Valley real estate specialist
Detailed, local trends etc...
Current mortgage rates