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.

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?

The spring is here and the real estate market is picking up adequately. Inventory is growing and so is the activity. More homes are getting sold. Desirable areas are still hot. Los Altos homes under $2M (if they are priced competitively) are sold fast with bids above the asking price. The same is happening in Palo Alto, Mountain View, Cupertino, Saratoga and Sunnyvale. If the property for sale is situated on a nice street near a good school, and is priced well, it will sell with multiple offers over asking price.

Sunnyvale, in the Cupertino school district, it hot. There are hardly any homes for sale in the Homestead High School area or the Ortega Park area, which belongs to Fremont High school; homes are being sold for more that 10% above asking price. There were a few ranch- style regular homes that were priced a little over a million within the last 2 months that were sold for around $1.2M. I wonder how these buyers can afford to pay a huge mortgage, raise their kids, send them to after school activities and even send some to private schools and survive. Many of the engineers were fortunate to work at start-ups, or sell high-tech stocks to finance a large down payment. But how do others who work many hours on a fixed salary survive?

Education is the most important factor in the decision to buy a house. Buyers will do everything to live near a good school. This motivation drives the prices up.
There are other neighborhoods that look nice and clean. They sell if they are beautifully remodeled or very aggressively priced.