Apartment Rents Jump — Especially In Silicon Valley

http://news.investors.com/business/091814-718137-apartment-market-recovery-shows-strong-rent-growth.htm

This article validates what I have been seeing in Silicon Valley this year.  Rents are high due to high occupancy rates in most areas. The highest rents are in places with highly ranked schools, like Cupertino, Saratoga and Palo Alto.  Rents are also on the rise for local retail and commercial property.  Apple's new spaceship campus in Cupertino is a magnet for development for miles around it.

Why The Housing Market Isn't Doomed To Tumble

Despite some less than positive housing news in the U.S. in recent months due to weather and rising mortgage rates, there are reasons to remain optimistic. The mortgage application purchase index is rising and new home sales are expected to rise.  There is more detail in the article at this link:  

 Business Insider on why the housing market isn't doomed

In addition, Silicon Valley and Bay Area hasn't felt the challenges the housing market in the rest of the country has.  Low inventories and a strong economy means there are still plenty of buyers hungry for nice houses. 

Bay Area apartment rents set record

 

Bay Area rentals set record in Mercury News 

Higher rents make rental properties an even better investment.  Residential rents in the Bay Area have been rising at double-digit rates for about three years, and the current average rent of $2,043 is an all-time high for the region, according to an analysis by RealFacts.

Bay Area home prices jump year over year

March marked more than 20 consecutive months of year-over-year price gains for single-family homes in the East Bay, South Bay and Peninsula, according to real estate information service DataQuick.

The San Diego-based company said that prices were up 29.2 percent from the previous March in Alameda County to $575,000. In Contra Costa County, prices rose 22.8 percent to $425,000. Santa Clara County gained 20.3 percent to $800,000, and San Mateo County was up 13.2 percent to $860,000.

More at Mercury news here:  Bay Area home prices jump year over year

How did home sellers handle multiple offers?

Interesting results from this survey of home sellers in California last year.  If you don't have cash, then you need to strategize about how to compete beyond just offer price.  Feel free to contact me if you want to discuss this.

12 "Incredibly Modest, But Insanely Expensive" houses for sale In Silicon Valley

Business Insider calls these Silicon Valley houses modest, but insanely expensive.  I don't think they live in the Bay Area.  $1,455,000 in Sunnyvale to $7,488,000 in Monte Sereno. The number of buyers for multi-million dollar homes is smaller, but in Silicon Valley recently there doesn't seem to be a shortage.

12 "Incredibly Modest, But Insanely Expensive" Homes For Sale In Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley home sales drop, prices rise

The number of property sales in February dropped 1.9% in Santa Clara County.   A shortage of houses for sale contributed to the 15.8% increase in the media sales price in the county.

Read the full article here:  San Jose Mercury News Real Estate section

Academic performance scores for schools in Santa Clara County

The quality of the local school district and schools is often really important to to buyers looking for properties in Silicon Valley.  The system is changing, but the API scores from recent years are still a good way to objectively compare schools.  Here is a link to the California Department of Education webpage listing the scores for the schools in Santa Clara County:
http://api.cde.ca.gov/Acnt2013/2013GrthAPICo.aspx?cYear=2011-12&cSelect=43,SANTA,CLARA

My new listing in Sunnyvale - already pending

243 Peppermint Tree Terrace #5, Sunnyvale, CA 94086

Link to MLS listing:
http://matrix.mlslistings.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?ID=3021387555

This very nice and new condo got a lot of interest and by the end of the day we were accepting offers, the owners had already chosen one to accept.

In the Bay Area, million-dollar homes are torn down to start fresh

http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_25283556/bay-area-million-dollar-homes-are-torn-down

Imagine paying $1 million or more for a home -- and then destroying it. 

That's what's happening in some upscale Bay Area communities as homeowners and wealthy buyers have no interest in upgrading aging houses but instead want to start from scratch and build all-new custom homes stocked with the latest features.

Some great tips on how to get the best deal when buying a house from the Wall Street Journal's MarketWatch today:

 http://on.mktw.net/Pm4ArM

1. Sooner is better  

2. Hire an expert

3. Know the market 

4. Know your finances 

5. Be an attractive buyer 

6. Consider other neighborhoods

 

Welcome to Googletown aka Mountain View

http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/26/5444030/company-town-how-google-is-taking-over-mountain-view

  

Some days it feels like Google is taking over the world. For the residents of Mountain View, California, that feeling is personal. Two weeks ago, Google signed a deal for its very own airport just east of the Googleplex, complete with a blimp hangar large enough to house the Hindenburg. But building a better blimp probably isn't the reason that Google is leasing the historic Moffett Federal Airfield from the US government. At the same time the search giant is building robots and self-driving cars, Google is on a hometown real-estate binge — and Moffett Field could be the missing piece Google needs to reshape the city in its own image... http://bit.ly/1llZ7xY

Expect more Googlers in Mountain View and around the Bay Area.

The Housing Market With Nowhere to Go (but Up) - New York Times on San Francisco

March 2nd, 2014
http://nyti.ms/MKcvNo 

In the past few months, the housing market in desirable areas or school districts of Silicon Valley - Cupertino, Palo Alto, Saratoga, Los Gatos, West San Jose, Mountain View and Sunnyvale - have been nearly as competitive as San Francisco is described in this article. 

I have seen properties purchased in cash for 30% over the asking price or more. I wonder how long it will continue, but there are a lot more buyers and renters than space in Silicon Valley.

Sold! :)

Last week, I sold this house in West San Jose in the Strawberry Park neighborhood (but not Cupertino school district) for well over the asking price.  4658 Castlewood Drive, San Jose, CA 95129. I really like this property.

Update - March 10th, 2014: The all cash transactional closed in 7 days for $1.02 Million!  22 offers total.

Welcome!

Hi.  I am Mandy Hedrick. I have been an accredited realtor and loan agent in Silicon Valley for more than 15 years.  I started this blog to share news, links and resources about the local market.

One good source of local market news is the real estate section of the San Jose Mercury News:

      http://www.mercurynews.com/real-estate-news/

I am originally from Taiwan and speak Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese as well as English. My office is in Cupertino, California not far from Apple's main campus. If you would like to speak to me about the local real estate market or mortgage rates and programs in Silicon Valley, please contact me at mandy.hedrick @ gmail.com  (no solicitations please)