I liked 1537 Ashcroft Way in Sunnyvale.  Listed by the Levy Team of the Sereno Group, this 3 bedroom, 2 bath home was nicely remodeled with a huge lot (over 14K feet).  It’s located in a great neighborhood and backs up to the creek.  It is listed at $1,099,000 (it sold in 2005 for $1,100,000). 

The home has one large high voltage transmission tower in the backyard and one next door.  I wrote a post a few years ago about high voltage transmission lines and their affect on real estate prices that might be useful to any potential buyer of this property.

Mistake #1 – If it smells like %#@&, it will sell for %#@&

I went through a house on today’s Sunnyvale’s broker’s tour that smelled like a cross between an ashtray and a litter-box.  I’m not sure if the cat smoked, but it didn’t matter.  Relocate the cat, replace the carpets and paint the interior. 

It is very difficult to get the odor of cigarette smoke out of a house, but to do nothing is akin to giving money directly to the buyer.  FYI, other offending smells might include mildew, sweat, bleach and even curry or soy.

The first home I saw was 1582 Belleville Way, listed by Sharon Arnold of Coldwell Banker.  This was a beautifully remodeled 3 bedroom 2 bath home on a double lot just a half block from West Valley Elementary school.  It is listed at $1,198,800.  Unfortunately, the home backs up to highway 85, so it will be interesting to see where this one ends up.

1321 Pauline Drive is listed by Dave Clark of Coldwell Banker.  Unfortunately, this 3 bedroom 1 bath home didn’t show well because it is tenant occupied and very cluttered.  Priced at $1,150,000, the home has a nice floor-plan with some remodeling and a large yard with room to expand.  It’s advantage is also a drawback – schools.   Stocklmeir Elementary and Cupertino Middle School are outstanding schools, but Fremont High is not.

1031 Pilinut Court is listed by Mei Chan of Intero Real Estate Services.  This 4 bedroom 2 bath home has a great location and is nicely remodeled.   Priced at $1,098,000, I think it should sell right away.  It is my pick as the best home on tour today.

880 Mockingbird Lane is listed by the Blair Team, Keller Williams.  I did not like the house or it’s price ($1,280,000).  It is my pick as the worst home on tour today.

1145 S. Bernardo Avenue is listed by Don and Sally of Alain Pinel (sorry, no web link).  The house has a good floor-plan, is a little dark and smells like the Great Dane dog (especially the master bedroom).  It is listed at $988,888.

1141 Rockefeller Drive is listed by Nil Erdal of Coldwell Banker.  I really liked what they did with this Ditz-Crane home.  However, the interior colors may be too specific for a buyer and the living room walls will need to be repainted because of their integration with the wall art (you have to see it to understand).  Still, it is a very nice (artsy) home with good schools.  It is listed at $1,318,000., which might be a little aggressive.

817 Shenandoah Drive - was a nicely updated (kitchen and baths) Brown and Kauffman (B & K) home.   The front two bedrooms were bumped out under the roof line to add additional usable space.  Note: this eliminates the front porch.  There is a nice private courtyard in the front of the home. 

The problem with B & K homes is the room behind the kitchen is too small for a family room and too large for a dining room.  You could walk through ten different B & K homes and half will have the room listed as a family room and the other half will have it listed as a dining room.  Go figure!

Good home, neighborhood and schools.  Listed by J & J Faulhaber of Alain Pinel Realtors.

1537 Samedra Street - As I mentioned in my tour tweet, this house is right out of the 70′s with it’s brown shag carpet.  It’s only a 2 bedroom, but the rooms are both quite large.  The rest of the house is original and the patio has been enclosed (a buyer may want to verify the permit status on the addition).  The main feature of the home is the large lot.  Someone buying this home will probably live in it for a few years and then blast out the back of the home with a remodel.  Can you say 4 bedroom?

I thought the house could have been cleaned up a little more and the yard trimmed back.  I also would have asked the seller to leave the property during the broker open house.  According to the MLS, the listing agent, Kitty Chuang of Asante Real Estate, she would like all offers to her office by 9/10/08 2:00 p.m.

1398 S Bernardo Avenue – This house was generic and somewhat boring.  The yard was cleaned up and newer sod in place.  The house had been updated, but probably just to sell because the quality of the upgrades is not that high.  Most of the garage has been converted into a living space (buyer should check on permits).  The house sits directly across the street from highway 85 and the large sound wall.  The buyer of this home will be buying for the excellent Cupertino schools first and location second.  The home is listed by James Carter of Intero Real estate services.

1720 Banff Drive – This house is located in a little pocket of homes south of Homestead and east of highway 85.  I was surprised that the home didn’t have more freeway noise than it did.  I recommend a buyer visit the house during dirfferent times of the day to see if the freeway noise is a problem.  The large tri-level home has been updated throughout.  It’s nice and not over the top.  The house looks a little stark so it might look better being staged.  The four bedrooms are all fairly small but the yard is sufficient.  Cupertino schools add to the home’s appeal.  The listing agent is Mark Miano  of Alain Pinel Realtors.

Note: There were a few other properties on tour, but I was unable to see them all.

The complex features a nice swimming pool with showers which is located between building 605, 607, and 609.  Note:  during the summer and early fall, the units in these buildings receive constant pool related noise.  Located between buildings 613, 615, and 617 is a children’s play area, gazebo and small field.  Lastly, there is a larger grass field located between buildings 606, 608, and 610.

The buildings themselves are three stories tall and teh front doors are accessible via an exterior stairway (there are  no elevators).  There is second entry into each unit via an interior stairwell that exits at the ground level parking area and garages.  Note: most units have a single car garage (some garages are attached to the building and some are detached along the exterior of the property).  There are additional assigned parking spots as well as guest parking spaces.

The interiors of the units were originally built with the same amenities.  Most are still in their original state, but more and more are being remodeled.  Originally, the kitchens had white tiled counter tops, maple cabinetry and white GE appliances (gas stove-top).  The bathrooms where originally constructed with maple cabinets and a solid surface, all-in-one counter top and sink.  The showers and tub surrounds where also an all-in-one unit.  The master baths featured large soaking tubs.  The flooring was either linoleum and/or wall to wall carpet. 

A nice feature of this complex is the large in-unit laundry area that houses a full size side by side washer and dryer (most are electric dryers).  No stack-able unit here!  The condos have decent sized decks (corner units are smaller) that are plumbed for air conditioning units.  Note: when the complex originally was built, not many buyers ordered the A/C units.  More and more owners are adding the A/C units.  They are especially useful for owners of the tops floor condos that get quite warm in the summer/early fall.  Lastly, for those of you who like real wood fireplaces, the condos at Compass Place have them.

Given the choice, buyers prefer the units located in the odd numbered buildings because they are further from the traffic noise generated from highway 101.  Buyers also prefer the higher numbered buildings because they are farthest away from Fair Oaks Avenue and its traffic noise.  All things being equal, the most preferred buildings are 615 or 617 and the least preferred are buildings 101 and 102.  See development map below.

Most condo buyers prefer end units however at Compass Place, the end units do have some drawbacks.  For example, the decks on the end units are quite small and the view from the condo, in part, looks directly at the building next door.

I like the top floor units best because of the vaulted ceilings and there is no one above you, but they do have some minor drawbacks.  The top floor units tend to get more traffic noise (both from highway 101, Fair Oaks Avenue and aircraft noise).  As I already mentioned earlier, the top floor units are significantly warmer in the summer (and winter which is good).  Lastly, buyers have to climb three flights of stairs to access the top floor units.

All-in-all Compass Place condominiums have appreciated well over the years and have retain their value fairly well in the last two market corrections.  However, there is currently one unit for sale that is a short sale.  According to MLS records the owner bought the unit in late December 2005 for 500K and it is currently on the market for $519K. 

Below are sales statistics compiled for the last six months at Compass Place. 

Unit Number    Beds    Baths     SF      List Price     Sale Price 

609   #201            3           2      1250   $554,000      Available

609   #306            3           2      1300   $545,575      Available

608   #104            2           2      1058    $519,000     Available

607    #101            2           2      1058    $514,950     Available

610    #303           2           2      1160     $508,000    Available

606    #201           3           2      1250     $559,000    $554,170

610    #202          2            2      1160     $529,000    $529,000

615    #302          2            2      1160     $529,000    $529,000

609    #102          1            1        867      $430,000   $412,000

Along this corridor, buyers who might be adverse to highway noise, check the noise level simply by standing outside the home and listening to the traffic at various times of the day.  Noise is easily measurable, just open your ears.   If one is walking through an open house and hear “soft music” playing throughout the home, guess what?  There is traffic noise and the market value of the home is likely adversely affected by this noise.  For agents and their sellers, this is a poor attempt to drown out the noise and it could be argued (in a court of law) that the seller is trying to hide a material defect about the home.  

FYI: highway 85 is usually loudest between 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.  In the afternoon, Highway 85 traffic noise tends to travel south, from the bay towards Los Gatos.

What is harder to measure is the effect, if any, the high voltage transmission lines have on a buyer’s purchasing decision.  I am most familiar with a two mile stretch of high voltage transmission lines that run parallel to highway 85 between highway 280 (to the south) and the El Camino Real exit in Mountain View (to the north).  On the south side of highway 85, these transmission lines effect the desirability of homes in the Cherry Chase neighborhood.  To the north side of highway 85, these transmission lines effect the value of the homes in south Los Altos along Fallenleaf Lane as well as the Belleville/Bedford neighborhood of Sunnyvale.  Below is a map showing the approximate location of the high voltage transmission lines along highway 85.  The blue line is the approximate location of these transmission lines.

View Larger Map

There can be some advantages to properties that have transmission lines overhead.  The most obvious is that these properties typically have larger lots.   For example, if the average lot size in the tract is 6500 sf, the lot sizes with transmission lines are typically 9,000sf -10,000sf.    However, one should note that one can’t build habitable structures or swimming pools under or within the setback of the transmission line’s footprint. 

The biggest disadvantage of owning a home near these high voltage transmission lines is the “fear factor” associated with Electric and Magnetic Fields (EMF’s).  EMF’s are invisible fields of force created by electric voltage (electric fields) and by electric current (magnetic fields). Wherever there is a flow of electricity, both electric and magnetic fields are present.  Similar to mold exposure, there aren’t any standard guidelines that a consumer can use to understand the long term health effects of exposure to EMF’s. 

There are several websites that discuss EMF’s. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) discusses EMF’s in good detail.   There is a link to the best source that I have found on the subject.  This 64 page booklet that has some great, although somewhat dated (2002), information on the subject.  P G & E has a good discussion about EMF’s.   According to P G & E’s website: 

“The California Public Utilities Commission and the California Department of Health Services have not concluded that exposure to magnetic fields from utility electric facilities is a health hazard. Pacific Gas and Electric Company, like other utilities, relies on information from the federal and state health agencies which conduct EMF research and monitor this issue to help evaluate potential risks.”

The website gives further information about several studies conducted on the subject.  Its interesting.  The discussions presented appear to me to be similar to the ones athlete’s have made in regards to performance enhancing drugs….”I have never tested positive for steroids.”  Unfortunately, the athletes don’t claim that they didn’t take steroids, rather the tests didn’t conclusively detect steroids.  Being somewhat idealistic, I wish the EMF studies would have a definite measurable conclusion.   That way, consumers can make a decision based on facts and not conjecture.  So what’s a seller to do when they are attempting to sell their home near a high voltage transmission line?

1. Disclose that the home is near or under a high voltage transmission line
2. Suggest that the buyer research the issue and contact professionals knowledgeable in the field (pun intended – field…force field…electric field…get it!)
3. Possibly have an EMF study conducted on the property and include it in any disclosure information about the property.
4. Never make statements about the property that could lead a buyer to conclude that the transmission lines are safe.  As a seller, you’re not a EMF specialist.  Don’t increase your liability by thinking that since you haven’t had any problems that the new buyer won’t.
5. Hire a Realtor familiar with EMF’s

Year to date totals are as follows.   In 2007, January through November, a total of 871 single family homes were listed for sale and of those, 578 (approx 66%) sold.  The average days on the market was 25 days and the median sales price was 892K.  Comparing those numbers with 2006, we saw an increase in all areas except the average days on market which actually dropped slightly.   In 2006, January through November, a total of 952 single family homes were listed for sale and of those, 586 (approx. 62%) sold.  The average days on the market in 2006 was 29 days and the median sales price was 855K.  From 2006 to 2007, the median sales price in Sunnyvale rose 4.3%.  Therefore, all meaningful real estate indicators show that single family homes in Sunnyvale, as compared with 2006, increased in value.  And who said that the our local real estate market was toast?  Below are the monthly sales totals from years 2006 and 2007.  Enjoy!

Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Sunnyvale is nationally known as a progressive and well managed city with an award winning record for safety and efficiency.   According to FBI crime statistics, Sunnyvale is one of the top 10 safest cities in the nation.  Without sounding too much like a Chamber of Commerce commercial, Sunnyvale is a large city of approximately 136,000 residents, but it hasn’t lost the intimacy of a smaller city.  If you have a question about remodeling a home or verifying the status of permits, its an easy process and the city employees (for the most part) want to help you.  Sunnyvale has great parks and open space (approximately 844 acres worth) for kids to play in.  there is even a couple of golf course if you want to  sneak off and hit a quick 9 or 18 holes before dinner.  

The schools range from excellent to less than excellent, but it appears that all involved in the education process want their neighborhood school to be the best.  FYI, Sunnyvale’s schools fall within four different school districts: Sunnyvale Elementary School District, Cupertino Union School District, Santa Clara Unified School District and Fremont Union High School District.  Lastly, there is a huge variety of restaurants (over 315) from which to dine from and more than 49 neighborhood and regional shopping centers to spend your money at.  And yes, the weather’s not bad either!   Now to quote the Chamber of Commerce, Sunnyvale is the “Heart of Silicon Valley!”

Of the 142 single family homes for sale, 108 are looking for new owners and the other 34 are under contract.  Below is a sampling of information on the most affordable and most expensive single family homes available in Sunnyvale.

1393 Socorro Avenue is the least expensive single family home for sale in Sunnyvale.  Listed by Michael Ames of the Cashin Company, this clean 3 bedroom 2 bath, 1000 sq ft home can be yours for only $529,900.

1378 Miette Way is currently the most expensive single family home for sale in Sunnyvale at $1,890,000.  It is listed by Chisholm Gentry of Gentry Real Estate and has 4 bedrooms 3 baths, over 3000 sq ft of living space and a lot of over 12,000 sq ft.

Of the 94 condo/townhomes available for sale, 65 are awaiting new buyers and 29 are under contract.  Below is the high and low for active condo/townhome listings in Sunnyvale:

539 Saco Terrace #13 is currently the most expensive unit in Sunnyvale.  Listed by Mike Barbieri and Pulte Homes, this new construction unit has 4 bedrooms 3.5 baths and 2191 sq ft of living space.

871 W. California Avenue #D is the least expensive unit in Sunnyvale.  Listed by Isabel Quan Teng, this unit has 2 bedrooms 1.5 baths and 760 sq ft of living space.