880 La Mesa Drive, Portola Valley

Portola Valley, nice lot, remodeled house. Hard to find the combination large house and lot, plus a totally remodeled property. Listed by Celeste Henzel of Coldwell Banker.

Is The Housing Crisis Over ?

The answer is….I don’t know. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal has an interesting perspective on the current state of the housing market The Housing Crisis Is Over. While our crystal ball is a little fuzzier the market has shown signs of life lately. Even the SF Chronicle had a semi-positive article today Home Sales See First Monthly Gain... It’s not often that the Chronicle prints something other than “mortgage meltdown” under their leading real estate story. That writer has probably been fired because they didn’t read the internal memo entitled “Bad News Sells”.

Let’s face it everyday we read about more bad news than good. Oil is on its way to $200/barrel, consumer confidence is in the toilet, lenders are going belly up…so what should the average home owner do if they’re thinking about selling? Everyone’s situation is different but generally if you’re selling and buying in the same market you’ll be fine. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t sell high and buy low unless you’re moving to Omaha or maybe Modesto. If you’re staying in the same area and just trading up, the house you’re selling will be worth less but so will the house you’re buying. If you’re moving from let’s say San Mateo to Livermore you’ll do great. San Mateo homes prices may have fallen but Livermore prices are even softer.

There is no “one size fits all” answer to everyone’s real estate needs. Every market is different. There are actually different markets within certain cities as you move around The Bay. The real estate market from San Francisco to San Jose is a lot like the weather. There are micro climates and micro real estate markets.

So whether the housing crisis is over is really a tough call. If you make the right decisions and you’re buying or selling for the right reasons it really doesn’t matter. So the next time someone tells you it’s a bad time to sell or buy ask them where they bought their crystal ball then pick one up for me.

Sold in 20 Days or Less

Here is an interesting report of homes that recently sold in 20 Days or Less. Why did these homes sell so fast? In this market it’s all about the price point, the competition and the location. But the big motivator is the price. Buyers are looking for a discount in a down market. Competitive pricing relative to the competition will get it sold. Click on the city to view the homes.

San Carlos – 14 Homes

Redwood City -18 Homes

Belmont – 15 Homes

Menlo Park – 23 Homes

Palo Alto – 15 Homes

San Mateo – 27 Homes

Burlingame – 10 Homes

708 29th Ave, San Mateo

This is exceptional value in San Mateo, 2419sqft, 3 bedrooms with office off the master, 2.5 baths and a 6930sqft level lot. Recent remodel and new roof. All this for $1,199,000. Listed by Fred Eftekari of Remax.

1959 Fernside, Redwood City

Wow, what a house. Great space and a fantastic layout for the money. You won’t find a better quality house at this price. Three car garage, guest unit, 3847 s/f, all for under $1.5MM. And you can sneak into the Menlo Country Club for a quick nine. Jump on this one… Listed by Sabine Dillion of Coldwell Banker.

Peninsula Home Inventory Levels May 2008

San Carlos

58 Active

30 Pending

57 Average Days on Market

 

Redwood City

219 Active

80 Pending

93 Average Days on Market

 

Belmont

50 Active

23 Pending

63 Average Days on Market

 

San Mateo

167 Active

60 Pending

72 Average Days on Market

 

Burlingame

44 Active

28 Pending

65 Average Days on Market

 

Palo Alto

59 Active

38 Pending

60 Average Days on Market

909 Elm Street, San Carlos

Check out the other recent sales on Elm Street then take a look at this house. Totally remodeled a few years ago inside and out. Great house, walk to downtown. Listed by Mary J. McCarthy of Cashin.
Click Here.

Market Conditions – The Real Story

Don’t believe everything you read in the paper, the real estate market may not have reached bottom but in general the market on the Peninsula is still good. If your home is in good condition, priced right, and in a desirable area it will sell. It will just take longer and you may not get what your neighbor did in 2005.

Inventory levels for the Q1 of 2008 are up about 66% vs. Q1 of 2007. This is for what we consider the core cities of the Peninsula, from Daly City to Menlo Park, including the coast. The areas with the highest inventory in general are those with the largest number of lower priced homes. With tighter lending standards the pool of buyer’s that fueled the market in these areas, first time home buyers, has now been reduced dramatically.

The average sale price for Q1 of 2007 vs. 2008 varies widely but the same patterns hold true. Places like Daly City, San Bruno, South San Francisco and Pacifica have seen fairly dramatic decreases. On the other hand, Burlingame, San Carlos, Redwood City and Menlo Park ,to name a few, have all seen increases in their average sales price. What you read in the paper does not usually provide enough detail to tell the true story.

We recommend the Warren Buffet strategy. Buy and hold. Buy in a desirable area, at a reasonable price, and stick around awhile. If you’re in the market to flip, speculate, or for the short term then you might face some challenges.

Support Local Business

Support Local Business

 

Before you buy that double tall no foam latte from Starbucks maybe consider the local coffee shop.  In the age of global commerce it’s really more important than ever to support the local guy. The Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced the top 10 reasons to love small business, what the SBA’s Office of Advocacy calls “the heart of the American economy.” Here are few:

 

1. The latest figures show that small businesses create 75 percent of the net new jobs in our economy.
2. Small businesses employ about 50 percent of all private sector workers.
3. Small businesses make up 97 percent of exporters and produce 29 percent of all export value.
4. Small businesses create more than 50 percent of the non-farm private gross domestic product (GDP).
5. The 22.9 million small businesses in the United States are located in virtually every neighborhood.

These are the people the live and work in your community.  Their kids go to school with your kids. As well as the economic benefits there are also a lot of environmental benefits to the “think global, act local” mantra.  So support the local guy. We’ll see you in the neighborhood. 

1277 Greenwood Ave, San Carlos

Westside El Camino in SCL, half block from Laurel Street. $699K on standard lot. Can’t find any cheaper. Listed by Patricia Peterson of CWB