Silicon Valley Real Estate Guide

15, 10, even 5 years ago, the art of presenting an offer was a valued skilled that every agent tried to perfect.  There were benefits to both the buyer and seller.  A seller and his/her agent would meet face to face with the buyer’s agent, allowing the buyer’s agent to present his/her client and their […]

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Pricing a home to sell has always been somewhat of an art.  Price it too high and it will never sell.  Price it too low and you may leave money on the table.
During the last several years of our strong seller’s market, the mantra had been ”price them high watch them die,  price them low and watch them […]

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Compass Place condominiums, also known as Arcadia Terrace (named for the street the complex is located on), has always been a favorite condominium complex of mine.  Built approximately 14 years ago, Compass Place is conveniently located at the corner of Fair Oaks Avenue and Arcadia Terrace, near Highway 101 in Sunnyvale.  Comprised of approximately 240 […]

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An interesting conversation broke out at our last Los Altos/Mountain View real estate tour meeting regarding an increase in a phenomenon we haven’t seen since 1999-2000, pocket listings.   Flash back to 1999-2000 when inventory levels were low and buyer demand was high.  Some real estate brokerages took listings and never made them public, opting to sell them in-house rather than […]

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According to research analyzed by John H. Vogel, a professor of real estate at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, having a child is the single biggest indicator that someone will file for bankruptcy and lose their home in foreclosure. In this Inman TV video, professor Vogel explains some of the reasons and possible […]

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I recently read a post from The Front Steps blog on resetting the days on market (DOM) data field on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).   Although the post was a request for comment (which I did), I thought I would give an expanded version of my thoughts on the subject.
The DOM data field in the MLS reports the amount […]

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The Federal Open Market Committee met last night in an unscheduled meeting.  The result of this meeting was a cut in the federal funds rate of 75 basis points.  The federal funds rate went from 4.25% to 3.5%.  This marked the biggest one-day rate move by the central bank since it cut its discount rate by a […]

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In this brief 5 minute video, Dan Green of The Mortgage Report gives insight into mortgage lending and how mortgage guidelines are changing.  It’s a clear, concise, and maybe simplistic, but it clarifies how guidelines in the mortgage market change and how these changes affect everyone.  Good video, good information.
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Los Altos remains one of the most stable real estate markets in the entire country.  While other markets have seen huge reductions in sales prices as well as large increases in inventory, the Los Altos real estate market almost appears to be taking the Contrarian view. 
The biggest issue in Los Altos Real estate has been an abnormally low level of homes […]

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Over the years I have had the pleasure of selling homes in what many buyers have described as unfavorable locations.  Homes that front or back up to busy roads (typically highways 85 or 280), homes that back up to train tracks (along the Cupertino foothills and Central Expressway) and homes that are near high voltage transmission lines.  One […]

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