Larry Stone, Santa Clara County Assessor to review values of a record number of  homes. This year you’ll get your home’s assessed value postcard at the end of June instead of May. The assessor’s team is busy checking almost 50% of the homes (about 200,000 homes) in the county. Many home owners who bought homes after 2000 will see a lower tax bill this year.

If you think your property’s value is less than the assessor’s number you can appeal directly to the assessor’s office, filing a special form on July 2nd. You have to act fast, not to miss the dead line.

APPLICATION FOR CHANGED ASSESSMENT
September 15 is the last day to file an assessment appeal application for reduced assessment with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors.

“If it isn’t the Great Depression, it’s the Great Recession,” said County Assessor Larry Stone.

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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

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.

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.

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