944 Sladky Avenue is a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home that is located just around the corner from the neighborhood park (Varsity Park).  It is also just a few blocks from an excellent shopping center (Blossom Valley Shopping Center ) that is home to Safeway, Starbucks, the post office, CVC Pharmacy as well as many other stores and restaurants.  It also is just a few blocks to one of the best elementary schools in the area (Springer Elementary – 963 API).  Children would also attend Blach Intermediate School (944 – API) and Mountain View High School (865 – API).  The list price is $1,098,000.

This home has been beautifully remodeled and expanded.   It has a flexible floor plan that includes a remodeled kitchen that opens to the sun lit family room, a separate dining area, a spacious living room, and two large bathrooms.  There are nine skylights that provide an abundance of natural light.   Lastly, there is an over-sized one-car garage with built in storage.  See photos and virtual tour of the property below.

The front and back yards where designed to be attractive and edible.  The property features many drought tolerant and native species of plants as well as edible herbs (Sage, Thyme, Rosemary, and Oregano).  There are also many prolific fruit trees (Apple, Plum, Orange, Guava, and Lemon).  The property is on an automated sprinkler and drip watering system.

I will be holding this home open June 26th and 27th from 1:30 – 4:30 p.m.  Please stop by!

[View with PicLens]

Click on the Obeo Power Tour icon below for a virtual tour of 944 Sladky Avenue, Mountain View

33 single family homes closed escrow in Mountain View in the month of May.  Note:  On average, we see 40 homes close escrow in the month of May.  5 homes closed escrow above 1.5 million, with the highest selling at 2,475,000 million.  Interesting fact about this property; a developer originally bought the property and partially built out four homes before having financial problems.  These homes sat partially constructed and exposed to the elements for a significant time.  The new buyer will no doubt finish the construction and sell the homes. 

33 single family homes closed escrow in Mountain View in the month of May.  Note:  33 homes sold is the 12 year average of single family homes sold in Mountain View in the month of May. 

Lastly, at least 12 properties had multiple offers and sold at or above their asking price.  The highest over bid came in at 9.2% above the asking price.

Click Mountain View Real Estate Market Update – May 2010 for a detailed 24-month history of single family home sales activity in Mountain View.  Note: all data was taken from our local MLS and is deemed accurate but not guaranteed. 

For a more detailed look at the Miramonte or Grant neighborhoods of Mountain View, click on the below links:

Real Estate Market Update for the Miramonte Neighborhoods of Mountain View - May 2010  

Real Estate Market Update for the Waverly Park Area of Mountain View - May 2010  

Should you have any questions about your home and/or it’s value relative to our current market, please contact me directly at 650 917-4250.

February sales of single family homes continued to be sluggish in Mountain View with only six homes closing escrow.  This is slightly above last years total of four, but far below the 12 years average sales number of 18.

Oddly enough, listings in Mountain View were up.  Therefore, February’s slow sales activity can’t be blamed on a lack of inventory.  In February, homes located west of El Camino Real had the highest interest.

Click  Mountain View Real Estate Update – February 2010  for a detailed 24-month history of home sales activity in Mountain View.  Note: all data was taken from our local MLS and is deemed accurate but not guaranteed.

Should you have any questions about your home and/or its value relative to our current market, please contact me directly at 650 917-4250.  Thanks for reading.

Disclosure:  I am not an attorney nor do I play one on T.V.  Readers who require specific advice about their individual situation should consult an attorney.  Nufff said.

California Civil Code Section (CCCS) 1710.2 basically states that a death on a property must be disclosed if it occurred within three years of an offer on the property.  According to CCCS 1710.2, a 10 year old suicide need not be disclosed to a potential buyer.   However, strictly adhering to this 3 year rule may be short sighted.

Real estate disclosure law also stipulates that a seller and his/her agent must disclose any fact of which they have knowledge that could be material to a buyer’s decision to purchase the property.  Facts about the property are considered material if their disclosure would affect the value or desirability of the property.  Is a death by suicide a material fact that affects the value or desirability of a property?   I would argue, yes.

For some buyers, a death by suicide (no matter how long ago) is a material fact and they would want to know about it before proceeding.   For other buyers, it doesn’t matter.  But how does the seller and/or agent determine who has issues with death by suicide versus those who don’t?  Can you rely on the buyer’s agent to ask a direct question about the subject?  Maybe, maybe not.

What I have found in almost 18 years in selling homes locally is that most sellers don’t want to talk about it much less disclose it.  They cling to the fact that CCCS 1710.2 places a 3 year cap on such disclosure.  They know if they disclose a death by suicide, their home will sell for less. 

This just goes prove my point.  Sellers don’t want to disclose a death by suicide because they know it will result in a lower sales price.  What sellers don’t understand is that by acknowledging that their home will sell for less (if they disclose the death by suicide) they are confirming that the disclosure is a material fact that must be disclosed. 

Anyone have any other thoughts on the topic?

The district is estimating that enrollment will increase by approximately 25% (900 students) in the next 10 years.  That is about 450 new students per high school.  According to the district, there isn’t enough classroom space to handle this anticipated increase.   The bond would increase classroom capacity.

In addition, there is a “Green” element to the proposed bond.

According to the district web page:

“If approved, the bond would prevent overcrowding in district schools, support core academic programs such as English, math and science through improved classroom technology and facilities and upgrade fire and earthquake safety systems to meet modern standards.”

Additional details about the bond can be read in this press release.

Building Education for Students Together (BEST), has been formed to promote the issue and address questions that the community may have.  A (soon to come) BEST website, http://www.bestformvla.org/ will provide further information about the Bond.

FYI – The Ballot Measure requires a 55% voter approval to pass the bond.

All of our local schools do some sort of fund raising during the year.  At Springer, the Auction and the Walk-a-thon are the largest fundraising activities.  Monies raised are used by the Springer PTA to achieve its goals which include offsetting reductions in funding to LASD from the State budget.  Without these fundraising efforts, many of the programs that Springer offers would be reduced or cut altogether.

A huge thank you goes to the Auction Chair, Brooke Schiller as well as all the volunteers who helped put the event on.

Depending on neighborhood, elementary school aged children would attend schools in the Mountain View/Whisman School District or the Los Altos Elementary School District.  Note, there is a buyer’s premium for homes purchased within the Los Altos Elementary School District.  Real estate in all of area 209’s neighborhoods is always in high demand and short supply.

According to MLS Listings Inc. data, there currently are 6 active listings for sale in the Mountain View MLS area 209.  The most expensive home on the market (priced at $1,994,000) is a 5 bedroom 3+ bath new construction home in the Satake Estates development.  This home is yet to be built.

The least expensive home in area 209 is a 3 bedroom 2 bath home in Blossom Valley Estates .  It is priced at $1,098,000.   Currently there are eight homes under contract in area 209.  There prices range from $699,000 – $1,537,000.

Four homes closed escrow in December at an average of 97.5% of the list price.  The average days on the market for these homes was 60 days.  Note: one house took over 114 days to sell, so the average days on market is a little deceptive.

Click on the link below for a detailed real estate report for the Miramonte neighborhoods of Mountain View.

Mountain View real estate update for the Miramonte neighborhoods – December 2009

MLS Area 209 neighborhoods

(1)  1851 Appletree Lane in Mountain View – Listed at $1,098,000. by Patrice Horvath of Alain Pinel Realtors.  This updated/remodeled home is on a great street one block from Springer Elementary School.  I would be surprised if it didn’t receive multiple offers.

(2)  1919 Helen Court in South Los Altos –  within the Cupertino Union School District.  Listed at $997,000. by Laura Reeves of Campi Properties.  This is a nice clean home near Grant Park.  The lot is listed at just under 7,000 s.f., but it looks much larger.  I also think this will sell quickly.

(3) 1727 Hawkins Drive in South Los Altos – This is a large 3/2 appears to have been remodeled extensively.  It didn’t sell last year and is back on this year for $70,000. less.  The home is situated mid-block on a cul-de-sac street.  Having grown up one block from this house, I know that you’ll get traffic noise from Highway 85 – especially from about 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.  The Mountain View High school marching band also plays most mornings in the nearby field.  It is listed by David Troyer of Intero Real Estate for $1,428,000.

If you have any questions about these or any other properties please contact me directly at 650 917-4250.

A client of mine sent me the link to this video created by Kris Berg of San Diego Castles.  It is a hilarious look at the realty of most REO home purchases.   FYI, if you need a savvy agent in the San Diego area who also happens to have a fabulous sense of humor, call on Kris Berg.

When I was checking for homes for sale in Los Altos, I noticed a property that had been on the market for over two years.  Yes, 2 years.  Wow!

Since the average days on the market in Los altos has ranged from 30-60 days over the last 12 years, anything listed longer than 120 days could be considered a stale listing.  This house has been on the market an unbelievable 12 times the average days on the market (DOM).  Hello, wake up, earth to Houston, we have a problem. 

FYI: the average DOM is the sum of the days on the market (DOM) for sold/listed properties divided by the count of sold/listed properties. 

Buyers assume two things about stale listings; the seller is desperate resulting in a better deal for the buyer and/or there must be something seriously wrong with the home.  Both of these assumptions may be wrong, but given evidence to the contrary, what would you think?

Is this a bad house?  Could it be the marketing/pricing of the home?  Or a combination of both?

Let’s start with the house.  It was a new construction (decent quality and floorplan) home in an average location.  When it hit the market 2 years ago, it was priced at the top end of the market (seller’s second mistake).

Was the house overpriced?  Clearly. 

Was the seller unmotivated/stubborn and/or “just testing the market?”  In the beginning any of these could have been the case.  However, after two years and a price drop of almost 1/3 the original list price, my guess is that the seller might be more motivated.   Hum, given the option of either selling it or losing it to the bank, I would choose to sell it.

Was the property hard to show?  No, it has been vacant for most of the time.

How has the home been exposed to the Internet?  Outside of the first 2 months, the home’s MLS profile had no photos and/or virtual tour for almost a year.  Since then it has had photos and a virtual tour.  I “Googled” the property address and found little web exposure other than what the MLS produces via realtor IDX solutions and real estate aggregators.  The fourth listing agent created a dedicated web page for the property.

Was the offer of commission to the cooperating broker too low?  Maybe.  At 2.5% (note, all commissions are negotiable), some brokers may not show the property.

What affect has our down real estate market had on this property?  This one is tricky.  When the home first hit the market, the market was quite active.  However as time progressed, the market got worse.  This house has chased the market down (and then some).  That is why it is extremely important to price the property correctly the first time.

Currently there are 80 single family homes for sale in Los Altos.  27 properties have been on the market a minimum of 120 days, 11 have been on the market a minimum of 200 days and 4 have been on the market for over 1 year.  If you’re one these “seasoned” listings, it’s time to get serious about whether you want to sell or not.  If your a buyer, you may have a chance to make a great deal.