Living in one of the best, most stable communities helped us maintain high home prices which appreciated immensely during the last 30 years. We did have some dips during that time but generally our homes appreciated about 5 times over, (milk, bread, fruit and vegetables hardly doubled in price). Very few homes get sold here. People prefer to stay put.
The easy access to shops, I-280 and I-85, the proximity to Cupertino, Los Altos or Palo Alto schools makes it ideal neighborhoods to live in. South Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Los Altos, Palo Alto and the good parts of Mountain View maintained high prices. A 3-bedroom ranch-style house in the South Sunnyvale, priced at $950K was reduced in price after a week to $908K and attracted 4 offers to raise the price to above $910k. Generally, in these desired areas the prices are about 20% lower than the peak time on March 2008. Back then, a 3 bedroom ranch style home was priced at $975K and after reviewing 11 offers sold for $1.109M. Invested funds lost many times more than 20%.
The banks’ new guidelines are very strict - they demand higher down payments and better credit. The new limit for Conforming loan starting January 2009 is $625,500. Buyers will have to pay a higher down payment or get a second loan. The underwriters who decide if you can get a loan and on what terms, expect a fully documented file. Stated income (in which you would state that you earn a certain amount without proving it) is gone. Many foreign families from overseas go back home to their native land. Most of them lived in rental homes so it didn’t affect the prices much. The banks are getting more organized and more in control of the situation but a new wave of layoffs is arriving and we all hope that the employment market stabilizes.

Foothill Produce is swarming of shoppers, it’s becoming a habit to stop by Felipe’s place and buy all the fruit and vegetable and even milk and ethnic goodies before going to Trader Joe’s. The products are fresh and abundant, nicely displayed and the prices are so competitive. If you like the Milk Pail in San Antonio shopping center and Oakmont Market in Cupertino on Homestead & Blaney, you’ll love this place. Felipe, the manager and buyer for the produce in the Milk Pail for the past 15 years has just turned 45. A couple of years ago he helped his little brother Frederico open his very successful Oakmont market. Frederico is doing so well that he is opening another store in Campbell next month.

Felipe’s wife and his beautiful daughter Saira are helping him run the place. They are so happy to see him all day and work with him. Saira, a very smart and intelligent lady, a student in UCLA, has taken time off from school to help Felipe run his new grocery store. It’s a family operation. They all help and support each other. Felipe and Frederico go to the market every morning at dawn to buy the best products and get the best deals so they can pass it on to the most fastidious buyers. If you are looking for a product, a certain cheese, a rare fruit, a Mediterranean delicatessen, Greek yogurt or Russian dish, they’ll get it for you.

Felipe is always busy cutting and cleaning the fruit and vegetables

Felipe’s wife is so happy to spend the day with him and help him. Before he would be away for most of the day working for others.

You can see variety of milks and milk products for reasonable prices. Plenty of spices and products from Israel, like coffee, pickled cucumbers and olives, dried goods and sweets, and you can ask him if you want him to bring you a certain product from Israel, or Russia, or Greece.

The world economy is shaky; the Dow Jones Index lost 504 points in one day, and looking at the candidates to lead the most important country in the world is not encouraging. The papers predict a grim economic future; prices are dropping in most of the U.S. People are having a hard time getting loans and banks continue to ask for more proof of work verification and available funds to close the deal. It all sounds so depressing, so how come housing prices in our area are still holding strong? I still see multiple offers. So many people check the open homes during the weekend and show real interest. Two weeks ago a 3br 1525 s.f. house was sold in Sunnyvale, in the Santa Clara school district; just on the East side of Wolfe. It was sold for $82k over asking price. It was not significantly improved (an Ikea kitchen with Formicas counter tops and bathrooms with vinyl floors) but the sellers removed some walls and the yard was very pretty and spacious. A 3 br town house in Sunnyvale, just north of Fremont Ave near Mary Ave was sold with 4 offers over asking price and a similar one was sold for a higher price with 2 offers.
The prices in the Cupertino school district area have not increased since the crazier period in February-March this year when people offered 10-15% more than asking price. Now they either negotiate around asking price, or if there is competition (Yes, it still happens) they add 1-3%. If you compare today’s sold prices to what was sold in March 2008 the prices have decreased.
As of today there are 75 homes for sale in Palo Alto - the most expensive priced at $29,850,000, which has been on the market for 381 days. The cheapest house in Palo Alto is priced at $799,950.
Los Altos and Los Altos hills have 114 homes for sale in. The longest listing time on the market at that area is 405 days.
Mountain View has 63 homes for sale in - the most expensive is $4.4M for a small house on a huge lot (40,386 s.f.). The longest listing time in MV is 97 days.
Sunnyvale has122 homes for sale in, with one home at 216 days on the market. There are only 14 homes for sale in Sunnyvale in Cupertino school district.
Cupertino has 106 homes for sale with one home on the market for 390 days (the sellers surprisingly raised the asking price). Out of these homes 84 homes belong to the Cupertino school District.
Saratoga has 128 homes for sale, the most expensive priced at $12M. One home has been on the market for 763 days, asking $6.6M.
The inventory is growing very slowly these days, as it does every autumn. September is the beginning of fall and most sellers prefer to sell in the spring. However, people still have to move or need to sell.
This graph represents the whole Santa Clara County. It shows how the inventory slows down and more homes get into contracts. Many foreclosures, short sales and REO are selling faster. Investors and home owners use the opportunity to own homes with relatively low prices. Please feel free to ask me if you are not familiar with any of the terms I used. I am always happy to hear from you.

We hear and read all these predictions and market analysis about the market in the Bay area and the U.S. Everyone claims to know what is going to happen and why.

Foreclosures and short sales are still here to stay for a while. There are still many homeowners who owe more money to a lender than the value of their home. Sometimes it is more than a $100,000 difference. Many home owners, in order to avoid an ugly stain on their credit history, try to sell their home in a “short sale”. They (or their agent) approach the lender who is willing to forgive some of their debt in order to cut his losses short. The lender might agree to get less money and avoid having to deal with foreclosure. There are many short sales everywhere. It’s a long, tedious process and if a buyer can cope with it he might get a house for a better price.

If you are looking for a house for your family in a good school area, namely Palo Alto, Los Altos, Cupertino, Saratoga and South Sunnyvale, you are in a totally different market. To my personal experience, all of the homes in the Cupertino school district that I submitted offers on or represented the seller within the last month had 4-7 offers and people offered up to 6% over asking price. Back in February – March of this year buyers offered 10-15% more than asking price to win a home. In Los Altos, a few days ago, a $2,395,000 house with 2294 S.f. was sold (all cash) for $50,000 over asking price. The asking prices remained the same. The difference is how much buyers are willing to pay over asking price. There are very few ’short sales’ in these areas because prices are holding strong.

There is a feeling in the air that the inflation is getting worse. Bernanke didn’t lower interest rates, and oil prices, food prices and everything else are getting more expensive. Mortgage interest rates are on the slow rise (1/2% last week and 1/8% yesterday and today it went down ¼%). You can expect either a rush to buy homes before interest rates rise even higher or buyers to be scared away because they cannot afford higher interest rates. It would be wise to watch the rates very carefully before locking the rates because they can change during the day.

It feels somewhat against intuition. Is it real?!?

Hi, yes this was an article in the Mercury News. Many homes in the Stockton area, the Sacramento area, and San Jose area are being sold as Foreclosures and REO (Real Estate Owned by the bank that was not sold to the public in foreclosure). They are priced low; therefore many investors and opportunists are jumping on these properties with anticipation for appreciation. There is still abundance of wealth in California. My friend represented a buyer in San Jose last week for an REO sale and there were 20 bids on that property. The banks do not want to get stuck with so many homes, they are listing them cheap and selling them to the highest bidder. The article was talking about a rise in the volume of sales; however the prices are lower, if you compare them to last year. It’s good that there is activity. BTW REO is not easy to buy; you need an experienced agent for that. There are strict rules and regulations and penalties if the buyer does not close on time. The Banks are getting softer again; you can see loan products that you have not seen for the last 2 years with 3% & 5% down payment and even ‘stated income’ (meaning you state that your income is a certain amount and you do not have to prove it). Still for the best loan and terms you need to supply paystubs, bank statements, good credit history, and verification of employment, proof of insurance on the property and proof of sufficient funds to pay your mortgage.

If you read my personal reports you would see that the prices in the desired areas, namely, Los Altos, Palo Alto, Mountain View, Sunnyvale and Cupertino with the good schools didn’t go down. Some homes are priced too high and have to adjust their expectations but if they are priced right they’ll still get sold with a few offers and great terms.

I listed on Wednesday a small house in Sunnyvale, Cupertino school district, with Stocklmeir elementary. We already had 50 agents and many interested buyers check the house. We are planning to hold it open this weekend on Saturday and Sunday and take offers on Tuesday.

You are invited to see it. It’s very clean and upgraded 3 bedrooms 2.5 bathrooms, situated closed to Sunnyvale Community center on 1225 Manet Drive.

Finally, a glimmer of good news for Silicon Valley home sellers: Home sales were up 30 percent last month compared with March.

Good news for Silicon Valley home sellers: Home sales were up 30 percent last month compared with March.

That was the steepest March-to-April increase in almost two decades for the county.

A total of 1,440 homes changed hands in Santa Clara County in April, up from 1,105 in March.

Investors appear to be returning to the market, as non-owner occupied buying is increasing.

to see the whole article, Please click here: Sue McAllister at smcallister@mercurynews.com