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.

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

If you have a favorite “off street” location that you think is worth exploring, you can make submissions here. 

I submitted a recommendation for the Street Views trike to visit Rancho San Antonio.  Can you see Google’s cyclist climbing up the PG&E trail?  On the other-hand maybe walking the trike will work as well.

Deer Hollow Farm, originally uploaded by David Blockhus.

One of my favorite places to run by!

According to MLS Listings Inc. data, there currently are 11 active listings for sale in the Mountain View MLS area 209.  The most expensive home on the market (priced at $1,848,000) is a 4 bedroom 3 bath remodeled home by owner/contractor Jack Myers.  It is stunning!  It is located in the Gest Ranch neighborhood which is within the Los Altos School District boundaries. 

The least expensive home in area 209 is a 3 bedroom 2 bath home on a substandard sized lot (approx. 4,977 sf) and a busy street.  It is priced at $759,000.   Currently 8 homes are under contract in area 209, ranging in price from $775,000 – $1,599,500.

Below are July 2009 Statistics for Mountain View’s MLS area 209:

Sales are up slightly relative to the last 3 years.  Listings are down slightly.

Both Average and Median Sales prices have creeped up from last year and are closer to 2005 numbers.

The 20 days it took to sell a home in July 2009 is slightly longer than in 2007 and 2008, but it is about average relative to the last 12 years.

The list price to sale price ratio is slightly under 103%.  It appears that homes are beginning to receive multiple offers and get slightly bid up.  Note: This number should be taken with a grain of salt.  

Why, one may ask?   A home may have been on the market for a period of time with no offers.  The home is pulled from the market and re-listed at a lower price point.  It is at this lower price point that it may receive multiple offers.  Therefore it looks to the public that the home sold quickly with multiple offers when it really didn’t.  That is why buyers should always ask for the “listing” history of the home they intend to purchase. 

Satake Estates is one of Summerhill Homes newest developments.  Located in Mountain View on the old Satake Nursery site (at the end of Marilyn Drive), Satake Estates is a higher end development of 30 single family homes.Currently, prices range from $1,537,000 to over $2,013,000 plus options.  Home sizes range from approximately 2238 square feet up to approximately 3358 square feet (s.f.).  Lots range from approximately 6000 s.f. to slightly over 11,000 s.f., with the majority of the lots in the 6k+ s.f. range.  Click here for interactive community map.

When I previewed the homes last Friday, there were many things that I liked about the development; the quality of the construction, the high ceilings, the large bedrooms (so many times new home developements have teeny-weeny bedrooms) and many of the features (I’m sure the model homes included many optional upgrades).  I liked the emphasis on “green” construction, energy efficiency and that the homes were designed to be Greenpoint rated.  I liked the wide hallways, high countertops and general open feel to the floor-plans.  Lastly, I liked the two-story designs and large garage spaces.

There was only one negative; the bathroom sinks were good looking but not functional.  The small “bowl” sinks sat on top of the counters and all I can think about is water going all over the place and what a pain to clean.

The development is aggressivelly priced for the immediate neighborhood and even though the homes are located within the Los Altos School District (Springer Elementary, Blach Intermediate, Mountain View High), it might be hard to justify (financially) buying one of these homes and making it pencil out.

For example, one could buy a home in Los Altos, remodel and expand and be close to the asking price of the larger homes.  However, one would have a Los Altos address and Los Altos sized lots which command higher prices and still have ability for faster appreciation.

I try to advise my clients into rethink buying the highest priced home in any neighborhood.  Why?, one may ask!  Because the values of a lower priced neighborhood typically drive down the value of a higher priced home within that neighborhood.  This is the case with Satake Estates.  They are the highest priced homes in Mountain View and the surrounding neighborhood(s) are likely to have a downward pull on home values within the Satake Estate’s neighborhood.  The next closest neighborhood in price, schools etc. would be Gest Ranch and homes in this neighborhood have recently sold under $1,300,000.

All in all, I liked what I saw.  If one desires a “new” home with great schools, this may be the place for you.  As the Summerhill Homes marketing material states “We believe a great neighborhood starts with great schools and custom home features.”  This development certaining fits the bill.However, I think that the Satake Estates homes may be priced above what our current real estate market may bear.   Check them out for yourself, they are located at 1156 Marilyn Drive (enter via the Springer Road side of Marilyn).  OR

If you would like me to act as your buyer’s agent (not affiliated with the seller or builder) and/or arrange a personal tour for you, please contact me directly at 650 917-4250.

The study looked at “towns” with populations under 100,000 residents and ranked them according:

 ”to median income; average commute; distance to highways and airports; per capita venture capital funding; per capita number of small businesses, sole-proprietorships and start-ups; the percentage of the population with bachelor’s degrees or higher; the share of professional-level workers as defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS); the percentage of young and educated people, or those 25-34 with a bachelor’s degree or higher; and the percentage of foreign-born residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher. We also measured the per capita number of restaurants, bars, museums and cultural institutions. “

Below is what Forbes said about Mountain View:

Population: 70,960
Location:South of Palo Alto on the Bay Area peninsula.
Median income: $88,736

Strongest categories: While there’s plenty more to Mountain View, the average commute time of 20 minutes is a rarely found pleasure of Bay Area living. Credit Mountain View’s standing as our most active venture capital markets, for an abundance of entrepreneurs running their own businesses, which in turn means they don’t have to commute to bigger cities like San Jose and San Francisco.

Drawbacks:There aren’t a lot of restaurants, music venues, museums or cultural attractions in Mountain View, though it isn’t too far for residents to trek 15 miles into San Jose.

Below is what Forbes said about Cupertino:

Population: 50,572
Location: South of San Francisco and west of San Jose.
Median income: $128,149

Strongest categories:A great start-up environment in the heart of the Silicon Valley and home to a number of semiconductor and technology companies, most notably Apple, Cupertino succeeds as a mix of a place for established businesses and small shops. It ranks in the top 10 for sole proprietors and small businesses per capita.

Drawbacks:While you certainly can’t complain about the warm climate, Cupertino simply didn’t do as well as the top cities on our list even in the categories considered its strengths.

In San Mateo County, Foster City was ranked 10th, Belmont 11th, and Hillsborough 12th.

View MLS Area 208, Waverly Park Mountain View CA in a larger map

Below are the first quarter statistics detailing the number of new listings and the number of sales of single family homes in the MLS area 208.  Sales are down slightly and listings are up (listing numbers are similar to those in 2001-2003). 

Prices continue to soften and inventory continues to build.   520 Chesley Avenue is an excellent “real life” example documenting the declines in Waverly Park home prices.

According to our local MLS provider, 520 Chesley Avenue was purchased by a local Realtor in March 2008 for $1,537,500.  On April 1st, 2009 it came on the market at $1,299,000.  It has been on the market for 19 days and is still an active listing.  If it were to sell today for it’s list price, it would be a 15% discount from it’s purchase price of a year ago. 

Below is a graph that shows the average sales price versus median sales price for the first quarter of each year (since 1998).

The graph shows a 20%+ drop in prices since the (apparent) high in 2007 (also a 15% drop from last year). 

The absorption rate of single family homes for sale in Waverly Park is approximately 6 months.  The absorption rate is how long it would take, in months, to sell the existing inventory available on the market at the current rate of sale.

What have we learned from all these pretty graphs and data?   It is still a strong Buyer’s market!