San Jose’s Cambrian, or Cambrian Park, area is a very hot seller’s market.  Multiple offers are not uncommon, especially in the Union School District, where schools are trending upward.  My Cambrian Park Real Estate Report has just been published with the updated numbers from the closed sales in April. Please click on the link to see much more information there.

Prices are up nicely year over year! Inventory is crazy low – just 35 homes for sale in April compared to 57 in March and 84 in April 2011. Days on market is far lower too. All around, it is a deepening seller’s market.

Even stronger is the Cambrian condo market, which is skyrocketing!!!  Please see the Cambrian Condominium & Townhouse Real Estate Report for all of the numbers, but I’ll include a quick summary below.

Here again, notice the ratio of active to pending homes, the sale vs list price (over 100%), and most of all, the tremendous rise in both the average and median sales price.  Few homes closed escrow in February, so it is possible that these numbers are a little exaggerated.  We will know more in a month – if it’s a trend or if this is a fluke.

Now let’s work with Altos Research’s graphs and get a feel for the Cambrian realty market in “real time”.  These use list prices, whereas my REReport uses sold data.

First, the statistics by quartile for houses in San Jose 95118:

Next, the stats and trends by price quartile for houses in San Jose 95124: Read the rest of this entry »

Home buyers (and sellers too) here in Silicon Valley like to “see the comps” when trying to determine fair market value or the probable buyer’s value for real estate.  Usually that translates into seeing what sold & closed escrow recently and for how much.

In a rapidly appreciating market and a strong seller’s market, though, the comps are not so much help as you might hope.  They are yesterday’s news!  What closed escrow last week was negotiated 30 or 35 days prior, in most cases.  By the time a San Jose area home is on record as a newly closed sale, it may already be out of date information. Not only that, but the MLS won’t tell us, at least not in most cases, how many offers there were or details about them - such has how many of them were all cash offers.

I see this mistake a lot in my real estate practice across Santa Clara County.  Clients want to view sales around a property they’re interested in. With our terribly severe inventory shortage, there may not be enough recently closed sales – so we look further out in location, futher back in time.  If prices are going up fast (as they are in Cupertino, Palo Alto and elsewhere), the only way you will be in step with the market is if you also factor in the appreciation that has likely taken place since each comparable property has closed escrow, whether that was 2 weeks ago or 3 months ago.  And that’s hard to guage.

What to do, then?

Your best knowledge will come from or be supplemented by information from pending sales; the most recent ones and closest ones are going to be the best, of course.  This is where your agent may be of great help to you either from the networking he or she does naturally, from direct experience on sales made or lost, or from proactively reaching out to listing agents to see if they can glean some information.

Addionally, you will want to factor in the number of offers a property is getting before deciding the price you will offer.  It is another very common home buyer mistake to look at the price of sold homes nearby, determine what seems fair, and then plough ahead without considering the level of interest that the house or condo is generating.  If there are multiple offers, you can reasonably expect that most of the time (if not all, in today’s market)  the sales price will be above the list price.  It will be unproductive for you to lowball (writing an offer more than 5% or 10% under list price).  Even if your offer is all cash, remember that sellers want the most possible for their property – they are not going to give you a huge discount on pricing.  Some, yes – in my experience usually around 2-3% – but not a huge amount off. They would rather wait a month and get a lot more money!

Factoring in the absorption rate (months, weeks or days of inventory) may be helpful to you also, especially if you cannot get info on the homes which are sale pending. (My Santa Clara County REReport includes this information, btw.)

In summary, don’t just look at the comps – they are a backward and incomplete view of what happened when the sale was negotiated.  Consider what’s under contract or pending now, and perhaps above all, take into account the current competition for the property you want.

Fabulous opportunity in West San Jose – a beautifully remodeled 4 bedroom, 2 bath house with top Cupertino schools and exquisite English country garden is now for sale, offered at $1,099,000 at 1486 Larkin Avenue, San Jose CA 95129.  This is not just any ranch style home in Silicon Valley, but a lovingly and impeccably updated, remodeled and maintained home on a scenic, tree lined street.  A visit will convince you that this house has been cared for and upgraded with a tremendous level of detail and sophistication.  Please stop by during our open houses:  Saturday, May 12 and Sunday, May 13 2012 from 2-4pm.

Top Cupertino schools, all with API scores well over 900!

Schools are a major driver of real estate desirability in Santa Clara County, and nowhere is that more true than in Cupertino and the parts of San Jose which enjoy its schools.  All three educational levels of school enjoy extremely high Academic Performance Index or API scores.

The grammar or elementary school for this property is John Muir Elementary School (API 944).  The middle or junior high school is Joaquin Miller Middle School (API 981) and the secondary or high school is Lynbrook High School (API 943).  All three of these schools are very highly regarded, and in fact prestigious.

Not just a school district – this is a marvelous West San Jose home and yard!

Lest we treat this as though buyers were only interested in schools, let’s talk about this wonderful house too.

The kitchen is an absolute showpiece with a professional grade Viking range, Vent-a-hood, granite counters, ultra hard maple cabinets (painted white), dramatic vaulted ceilings with 2 large, electronically operated skylights, and much more!  Throughout the home you’ll find high quality elements, including dual pane windows, hardwood floors (some under carpeting), remodeled baths, and on and on.  I invite you to have a look at the virtual tour, embedded below, and to read the description on each page.  There’s even more information immediately below that with the MLS information added too.

1486 Larkin Av, San Jose, CA 95129 (MLS # 81217609)

View Virtual Tour

Beautifully remodeled 4 bed, 2 bath home on a tree lined street with best Cupertino schools! Stunning kitchen features Viking range, Sub Zero fridge, dishwasher, granite counters, vaulted ceiling, skylights & more. Remodeled baths. Hardwood floors, dual pane windows. Living Room includes remod fireplace. Dining room open to kitchen & offers access to lush back yard, an exquisite English garden.

Property Type(s): Residential, Detached Single Family

Last Updated	5/16/2012	Tract	n/a
Year Built	1960	Community	Cupertino
Garage Spaces	n/a	County	n/a
Total Parking	n/a	Walk Score ®	38

Additional Details

Features

Location

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

Listing provided by Mary Pope-Handy, Sereno Group

(view all details for MLS #81217609)

How is the Monte Sereno real estate market? Because the city is small, with just about 4000 residents, there usually are few homes listed for sale or selling, and with small numbers we can get seeming volatility.  Here are the quick statistics for the closed sales in the last 4-7 weeks to give a sense of how things are going. Sales data for April comes from my Monte Sereno Real Estate Report  and data for the last 30 days comes from me via the MLS (I crunched them this morning).

Median sales price of houses sold in Monte Sereno in April was $1,415,000.  For the last 30 days, it was $2,169,857.

Average Days on Market of houses sold in April was 97.  But for the last 30 days, it’s 78.

The sales price to list price ratio in April was 95%.  The last 30 days it’s up to 97%.

The market is better all around for home sales in Monte Sereno than it was just a couple of months ago. Next, let’s look at the live charts from Altos to see how active listings reflect the market as seen from viewing the solds.

Live Altos Charts for the Monte Sereno Real Estate Market

The median list price of all homes listed on the MLS in Monte Sereno and in San Jose – an interesting comparison!  San Jose has far fewer dips and jumps than Monte Sereno….Good improvement showing recently, though.

Read the rest of this entry »

Multiple offers continue to be a common occurance in the Silicon Valley real estate scene right now.  When there are an abundance of home buyers for one property, it can be overwhelming for the seller.  Some home owners may want to issue a multiple counter offer to the best qualified, most serious bidders.  But not all do.  You should never count on it.

Sometimes property owners in the San Jose area simply accept the best offer.  If so, that’s the end of the story. It does happen.

Often, the highest price is not the offer with the best terms, even in a bidding war.  Home sellers want both, of course – the least risk with the most cash. (Sometimes there are other factors, too, such as a rent back, escrow length, or other issues beyond cash and risk.)  In those cases, frequently the Realtor or real estate sales person (the listing agent) will coach the seller to counter one or more of the better buyers (best prices and terms) to improve the final sale on both counts.   Some sellers don’t want to do this, though – it’s stressful, they are afraid that everyone will say no and they’ll be left with the property unsold.  Alternatively, then, they may counter only one offer – and tell the buyer’s agent that they are the only one, at least for now. If negotiations don’t work with the first buyer, the listing agent may go back to the others.

Meanwhile, everyone waits, everyone wonders what’s going on.  The longer it takes to hear back, usually the lower the odds are that their contract will be the successful one, or even one getting a counter offer.

Why didn’t I get a counter offer?  Why didn’t the seller at least give me a second chance? Buyers wonder this all the time.  Some buyers submit 5 or 10 offers, all unsuccessful, and they still wonder.  The harsh reality is simple: your offer wasn’t good enough.  Either your price or your terms (or supporting documents) didn’t cut it. Write your contract as if you only have one chance, because that’s the reality most of the time.

What is an exclusion in a real estate contract? What is an inclusion? Both of these refer to fixtures at the property which is for sale.

Generally speaking, a fixture is any item affixed or attached to the house, townhouse, condo or property which is installed with the intention that it be there permanently. For example, cabinets in the bathroom, kitchen or elsewhere are fixtures. So are lights mounted from the ceiling, built-in ovens, in-ground (not potted) rose bushes.  The exception to the rule is anything attached solely for earthquake safety.  This would be the case if you have a large hutch which you have bolted to the wall so that it doesn’t topple in the case of a big quake. In Silicon Valley, fixtures are normally included with the sale of the home.

Exclusions refer to fixtures which the seller does not want to include with the sale of the real property (real estate).  For instance, there may be a light fixture in the dining room which is a family heirloom and the seller does not want to leave it with the house.  It would be noted either in the MLS, with a note at the property or mentioned when the buyer’s agent calls the listing agent to ask about offer instructions. Other examples could be a special fireplace screen, curtains in one or more rooms (may match a bedspread or other decor), or even a rose bush in the garden that has sentimental value.

Inclusions refer to personal property (property which is not affixed) which the seller will leave even though it is not required since it’s not attached.  Commonly we see refrigerators, washers and dryers included, even when they are not attached.  Sometimes furniture may be negotiated also, such as patio dining set, a sofa or perhaps a very large dining table that won’t fit into the seller’s new house, but fits where it is perfectly.

It is important to note that if an inclusion is mentioned in the MLS, it still should be written into the purchase agreement if the buyer wants it (and this is written into the contract form as a reminder). Otherwise the seller is free to donate, share or sell those items.

When in doubt as to whether or not something is included or excluded from the sale, always ask before writing or accepting a contract to avoid unhappy surprises or conflicts later!

Home buyers in Silicon Valley are getting frustrated, discouraged and disheartened as they write offer after offer, only to lose out in multiple bid situations. It’s not just the poor FHA home buyer either – this is happening to those with 20% down and more too.

What can be done to improve the odds of success?

Sometimes the buyer’s agent either does or doesn’t do certain things which can impact how your real estate purchase offer is viewed by the listing agent and seller(s).  Here are 5 important things that the buyer’s Realtor or sales person can do which will help the odds of success:

1. The agent should read the MLS printout carefully to see if there are any instructions regarding offers.  This one may seem obvious. but too many buyer’s agents just draft the offer and send it in, ignoring information that will probably be useful (such as offer deadline, preferred form - CAR or PRDS contracts, availability of disclosures, the request to call before writing the contract etc.).
2. The buyer’s agent should call or email the listing agent before writing the offer (and after reading the MLS!).  Sometimes there are requirements or just preferences that won’t be known unless contact is made.  Additionally, though, the listing agent will simply want to know about the level of interest and not have any surprises – it’s a courtesy call.
3. The agent should ask if it is possible to present the offer in person…and be willing to do it, of course.  Many seller’s agents won’t want a live presentation (most would email), however the fact that your agent is willing to spend the time and make the effort to present in person usually speaks volumes about his or her professionalism. It’s also a hint that the agent is a cut above most.  In my real estate practice, several times I beat out other offers by asking if I could meet with the listing agent and sellers to discuss my clients’ offer, and then doing it.
   Read the rest of this entry »