QUICK UPDATE:

The units sold in October 2008 v. October 2007 were up 57%. Most of that activity happened in homes under $500k, short sales and REO (Real Estate Owned by the bank after foreclosure or how you would want to call it “Real estate Opportunity”) In addition, the 1 million plus range seems to be moving better than the deep-freeze we were in from October 10 to the end of October. During the last 5 weeks buyers are buying 1 million dollar plus homes at a faster rate than in September - October. It’s a great opportunity to upgrade from smaller homes which lost relatively less to larger, more expensive home.

WHAT IT TAKES TO SELL IN THIS MARKET:

Price and condition of the home become even more critical than in the past. Homes that are still selling are either priced more aggressively or upgraded and in good Condition. The homes that are priced well and remodeled are attracting the most attention and getting sold faster.

Of course location is of utmost importance. Being in a good school area improves the saleability of the house immensely.

WHO IS BUYING TODAY?

Relocation Folks; First Time Homebuyers; Investors in anticipation for appreciation for under 400K market; Move-up Buyers making a lateral move; Folks that have been sitting on the sidelines for a few years; Folks at all price points that have been pushed out of the market by multiple offers over the last 4-5 years

Investors:

If you are planning to buy a short sale, check with your real estate lawyer. There are too many law suits going around due to innocent mistakes or not knowing the laws and regulations.

QUICK RATE UPDATE: please note, the actual rate that you can get depends on your credit history and down payment amount.

30 Year Conventional 6.000% @ 0 pts up to $417,000

30 Yr Agency Jumbo 6.375% @ 0 pts up to $729,750

5/1 ARM Super Jumbo 6.125% @ 0 pts up to $4M

In California the Real Estate Broker is responsible for pre qualifying the buyers, finding a suitable house/property that will fit the needs and budget of the buyer, negotiate the best price and terms, write the contract which is the purchase agreement, coordinate with the lender to get the best loan, inspect and check the property with professional inspectors, follow up and make sure all needed work be completed as per the contract, pay attention to every detail and educate the buyers through the process, walk through the check the property before releasing the down payment funds, check the closing statement and follow up with the home warranty and advice for many years to come. For Sellers, the Broker has to help decide on a marketable price, help prepare the house like a bride for her wedding day, do all property inspections, help the seller fill up all the disclosures, market the house and advertise in all possible ways, hold open house every weekend until the house sells, show it whenever needed, help maintain the house clean and tidy, choose the best suitable buyer, negotiate the best price and terms, check the lender and follow-up with every step of the sale process, and the contract and help deliver the house clean and ready to the next owners.

There are many other roles a broker has that are not written, like staging, moving furniture around, decorate with fresh flower arrangements, and be a real friend.

With the new situation of the mortgage companies and banks that are going under, like Indibank this week and who knows who is next on the list, there is a feeling of uncertainty. Buyers are afraid to remove loan contingency because their lender might change terms at the last moment or even go under, leaving the buyers with no loan, risking their deposit check of 3% of the sale price, which is a considerable amount of money in our area. Until about 1985 the contract enabled the buyer to have loan contingency up to the final approval of the loan or the funding day. It is still the case in other states like Texas and Louisiana but not in the bay area. Here, the seller gets mad and asks the buyer what rights he has to expect the seller to hold his property off the market while he waits for his loan to get approved without jeopardizing his deposit check. Maybe it’s time to change this condition and give the anxious buyer some peace of mind.

The Real estate market is more balanced these days. There are more negotiations and less bidding wars. Some extraordinary homes still sell with multiple bids but most homes are being sold after a few weeks on the market and tight negotiations. Sellers still insist on their prices and buyers are more cautious. Many buyers wait to see what will happen with the banking industry, but others still buy homes especially in the preferred areas with the good schools.

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.

One of the nicest parks in Sunnyvale is Ortega park. It is situated in the center of a quiet, desirable neighborhood where there is no main road or traffic noise. Being next to Stocklmeir Elementary, it serves many kids and families during the week and mainly the weekends. The large grassy area is used for sports’ games throughout the year at all hours of day. Some people come from other places to play or enjoy this beautiful park. The tennis courts are also used daily and so is the recreation building. I am aggravated by the fact the an antenna that will serve
another city (Cupertino) will be put in our neighborhood near an elementary school in a park where so many kids spend many hours every day. How can we prevent it? What are the environmental effects of RF emissions? Are there long-term impacts of exposure to RF energy?

How did the leaders of our community allowed a commercial entity in a public place, is it greed? Is the city so broke that it is selling itself and the safety of it’s citizens?

Read here about the City discussions and the citizens’ concerns.

Will there be an affect on the home prices in the area? How will it change Sunnyvale blossoming Real estate market?

Sunnyvale CA is one of the largest Cities in the Silicon Valley, next to San Jose, Cupertino, Santa Clara, Mountain View and Los Altos. About 140,000 people enjoy the stability, the clean air, clean environment, abundance of parks and recreation facilities, beautiful community center and senior citizen center, great schools and fantastic Police & Fire department who shows up in less than 5 minutes when called.

The elementary schools in Sunnyvale attend 3 school districts according to geographic boundaries. Sunnyvale has 4 elementary schools that belong to the Cupertino School District

You can click on the link and view the location. Montclaire, West valley, Stocklmeir and Nimitz

Cupertino Union School District elementary Attendance Boundaries

The kids from the Northern neighborhoods, North of Fremont Ave attend Sunnyvale School District

Some of the schools are as good almost as prestigious as Cupertino schools. Cherry Chase Elementary

and Cumberland Elementary

are very desirable. Columbia middle school is known for the high math achievers. A high percentage of kids who attend Columbia middle finish Algebra before they get to high school. The school received grant from Juniper, a high tech company nearby.

The kids on the East side neighborhoods of Sunnyvale, East of Wolfe Road attend Santa Clara School District in Sunnyvale. Laurelwood Elementary is one of the best elementary schools in that area. The day care before and after school hours enables working parents to leave their kids at school after hours or early in the morning , knowing that they are in good hands.

In a meeting with Larry Stone the Santa Clara County assessor he explained that home prices are determined by the designated school for that property. There could be a considerable price difference between homes in the same street or adjacent street, just because they belong to a different school. The Real estate market is affected directly by the schools. While most of the country is affected by the mortgage market and prices are going down, Sunnyvale is holding tight. The prices are solid. Until now you can still see multiple offers and high home prices.