Oakmont Market is a small grocery store in Cupertino, on the corner of Homestead Road and Blaney. It was opened about a year ago and it’s getting busier every day. Frederico, the owner, is very modest and not greedy. He goes to the Market at 4:00AM and buys fresh produce every day. He checks the merchandise himself to make sure it’s the best quality. He spends the whole day arranging the place and listening to what the buyers want. I used to drive to the Milk Pail every Friday after the agents’ tour in Los Altos and Palo Alto and buy wonderful fruit and vegetables, fresh bread that was so tasty I would eat half of it on the way home, and European cheeses. When Frederico told me that his brother managed the Milk Pail I told him that I would help him in any way to make his place successful so he can get the same exotic cheese and bread and fresh produce. My Pediatrician friend went there for the first time and told me that it took her an hour and a half to finish shopping because she kept meeting all her Israeli and other patients and talked to everyone. It feels like the neighborhood grocery shop back in Israel where you know everyone and we all give advice, what to cook and how to prepare that chicken soup with the celery root and the parsnip root and what spices to add...

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Frederico is happy to order anything you like, just ask him and you’ll see it on the shelf for the best possible price.

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Can you imagine? In the midst of a market downturn, 15 prospective eligible buyers compete for one home (Carniel). Another home (Richelieu Ct.) was sold for almost $200k more than asking price (with 14 offers) last week. It happened last week in Saratoga. About 6 homes that were priced under $2m were sold for more than 10% over the asking price. Some of them got sold just before the end of the year and some are still in contracts. The rain did not scare buyers away. The same thing is happening in Cupertino, where 12 families competed on one home, and in South Sunnyvale, the Homestead High area, low-end homes in Los Altos (under $2M) and in Palo Alto.Inventory is growing slowly but so is activity.These examples are not valid for every market and definitely not for the entire Silicon Valley. Even in the most attractive market there are homes that are not selling. If they are priced too high, over the market value, they will take a long time to sell and the sellers will end up getting a much lower price when they finally sell. A few examples are a house near Montclaire Elementary School in Los Altos (a highly desirable area) which has been on the market for more than 52 days, and a small house with a huge lot near Nimitz Elementary School in Sunnyvale.Smart buyers are not afraid of looking again at the same homes and offering lower prices. Now is a good chance to get A good deal