One of the most frequent questions that I receive on this blog is “how is the real estate market doing in Los Altos or “fill in the blank” city/neighborhood?” The following articles discuss our local real estate market. Are prices up or down? What are inventory levels? How long should it take to sell my house? Where are home prices? The articles are intended to give buyers and sellers an idea on what our local real estate market is doing.
Should you have any questions about our local real estate market please contact me directly at 650 917-4250 for a confidential discussion.
Facebook is going public in a mere 15 days. Once it does, there will be hundreds of newly minted millionaires just clamoring for your home. Or at least that is what the press and a many real estate agents want you to think. So if you are thinking of selling your home and have flexibility, now may be the time to put your home on the market rather than waiting in anticipation of future riches that may never materialize. Here are three reasons why:
Currently Housing Inventory is Low -
The Los Altos real estate market has always been inventory driven. Typically, when single family home inventory spikes above 100 active listings, it is a strong buyers market. Conversely, when inventory drops below 30 homes for sale, it is a strong sellers market. Right now we are hovering around 45 active listings or a little over 2 months supply of salable homes. It is strong seller’s market currently.
If enough sellers “time the market” by waiting until the newly minted millionaires cash in on their stock windfall, we may actually see a huge increase in inventory resulting in an unforeseen buyer’s market.
Continued Strong Buyer Demand -
Buyer demand is higher than previously seen. More than two-thirds of the homes that closed escrow in Los Altos in the Month of April had multiple offers. Most of the over bids were in the 100k-130k range but a few topped 300K. Since January, multiple offers have become the norm rather than the exception.
Rather than wait, some of those who will benefit from their company going public have already joined the ranks of home buyers – only increasing the current demand for good homes.
Continued Low Interest Rates -
Twenty-six of the homes that closed escrow in April in Los Altos had financing. Even buyers who can pay cash, are financing. If they used cash to make the initial purchase, they are refinancing because the cost of money is historically low. Buyers are cashing in on the low interest rates by buying and/or refinancing now.
Today’s newly minted millionaires have learned from the “Google Effect” era millionaires. They aren’t going to rush out and buy a house just because they can. Sure, there may be a few who aren’t familiar with having and/or managing large amounts of money who will go out and buy a trophy house. But my bet is that those are few and far between. Many will buy, but when they do, it will be a careful and well thought out lifestyle or investment decision.
Interested in Selling your home?
Give me a call at 650 917-4250
I’ve been licensed and actively selling residential real estate locally since 1993
According to MLS Listings Inc. data there currently are eighty-three single family homes for sale in Los Altos. Forty-seven homes are active listings and the remaining thirty-six homes are under contract.
April Home Sales Activity For Los Altos – Red Hot Active:
35 single family homes (SFH) closed escrow in Los Altos in the month of April. This is the highest number of sales over the last 6 years in April. The 5 year average number of SFH sales in April has been 24.
Twenty-one properties had multiple offers and sold at or above their asking price. Homes in all prices ranges received tremendous activity due to a scarcity of good homes for sale.
Prices Are up Big Time Over Previous Years:
The median sales price for single family homes that closed escrow in April 2012 was $1,950,000. This is 20% higher than that of a year ago and 28% higher than April 2010.
Below is a five-year history of sales activity for single family homes in Los Altos:
If you are interested in selling your home give me a call at 650 917-4250. You will need a lot of information before you decide on who to list your home with. I’ve been licensed and actively selling residential real estate locally since 1993.
The Los Altos real estate market is sizzling. Buyers are out in force, multiple offers are the norm rather than the exception and as might be expected, inventory is limited. Given our current strong seller’s market, why would any seller want to limit the amount of exposure (and therefore money) their home would receive by selling as a pocket listing?
If you are thinking of selling your home “off market” as a pocket listing, you should watch the following video.
According to Leslie Appleton Young, the Chief Economist for the California Association of Realtors, California’s home sales should increase approximately 2% and the median home price, which dropped 4% in 2011, should be up slightly. Click on CAR’s 2012 Housing Market Forecast for a 2-minute video snap shot.
That’s nice information, but it doesn’t really tell us the true story about what’s happening in our local real estate market. It is a statewide forecast, not a Los Altos or Mountain View Forecast. Below are our local numbers.
Single Family Home Sales In Los Altos – 2011
Los Altos saw 308 single family homes sell in 2011, a 7.8% drop from 2010 (334). One would think that because the number of sales are down that sales prices would also be down. However, this is not the case. Median sales prices were up 6.3% from $1,550,000 (2010) to $1,647,000 (2011). Sales were brisk, with the average days on the market down from 53 (2010) to 40 (2011). Lastly, the list price to sales price ratio was also up, from 98.1% (2010) to 99% (2011). Sellers were more realistic in their asking prices.
Condo/Townhome Sales in Los Altos – 2011
Forty-nine Condos/Townhomes close escrow in Los Altos in 2011. That is up 19% from 2010 (41) and 25% from 2009 (39). The median sales price was also up 5.3% from $760K (2009, 2010) to 800K in 2011. The number of days on the market for condos/townhomes was cut in half from 103 days (2010) to 52 days in 2011. Lastly, the list price to sales price ratio jumped two percentage points from 96% to 98.3%, indicating that sellers are realistically pricing their properties.
The graphs below show the numbers. Note: all data was taken from MLSListings.com our local Multiple listing service provider.
Are you curious to know what that Los Altos home sold for in 2011?
Click on 2011 Los Altos Residential Summary Report for details (address, sales price, size etc.) on the all the single family homes that closed escrow in 2011 in Los Altos. Note: all data was taken from our local MLS and is deemed accurate but not guaranteed.
Are you curious to know what that Los Altos Condo or Townhome sold for in 2011?
Click on 2011 Los Altos Condo:Townhome Residential Summary Report for details (address, sales price, size etc.) on the all the condos/townhomes that closed escrow in 2011 in Los Altos. Note: all data was taken from our local MLS and is deemed accurate but not guaranteed.
Should you have any questions about selling your home in today’s market or you wish to purchase a home, please call or text me at 650 465-0755.
According to MLS Listings Inc. data there currently are twenty-two single family homes for sale in South Los Altos. Thirteen homes are active listings and the remaining nine homes are under contract. Lower price properties are currently driving our market. We can see this by looking at the average list price for active properties ($2,558,615) and comparing that with the average list price for homes under contract ($1,778,321).
November Home Sales Activity For South Los Altos – Home sales are steady.
15 single family homes (SFH) closed escrow in South Los Altos in the month of November. Since 2007, the average number of SFH sales in November has been 11.
Only four properties had multiple offers and sold at or above their asking price. Properties priced between 1.3 million and 1.6 million continue to receive the most buyer activity.
Are you curious to know what that South Los Altos home sold for?
Click on South Los Altos Residential Summary Report for November 2011 for details (address, sales price, size etc.) on the thirteen properties that closed escrow in September in South Los Altos. Note: all data was taken from our local MLS and is deemed accurate but not guaranteed.
Median Sales Prices in South Los Altos are inching up:
Year to date, the median sales price for single family homes sold in South Los Altos is $1,540,000. The graph below shows the last seven years of median sales prices in South Los Altos. You’ll note that the median sales prices in South Los Altos have steadily increased since 2009. It looks like we’re back to 2005 – 06 prices.
If you are looking for a quick and easy way to find your South Los Altos dream home, click here?
Should you have any questions about selling your home in today’s market or you wish to purchase a home, please call or text me at 650 465-0755.
Earlier this month a home in South Los Altos closed escrow. Nothing new or exciting given that approximately 12 homes a month close escrow in South Los Altos each month. What is interesting is how this home was “marketed” and how much money the seller left on the table. Let me explain.
Back in May/June of this year, this South Los Altos home was put on Craigslist as a “for sale by owner” listing for just under 1.2 million dollars. The owner knew that he could sell the family home quickly (“because everything in this neighborhood sells quickly”) and reduce his selling expenses (by not having to pay a listing agent side commission). Selling by owner is a viable option for sophisticated sellers who have the knowledge, time, energy and resources. Unfortunately, the “for sale by owner” route didn’t work out as well as I think the seller would have wanted.
The house sold quickly and closed escrow in early July. However, the sales price of $1,140,000 was substantially below market given the recent comparable sales.
The new buyer-investor did a modest remodel (a flip kitchen – looks nice but not something an owner would put in for themselves, interior paint, patio and landscaping etc.). The home was listed with an Realtor, placed on the multiple listing service and sold in one week for over 1.36 million. I estimate the net gain (after all expenses and fees) to the new owner-investor at approximately 100k.
Had the original home owner’s heirs marketed the home correctly, they would have received more money. Instead an investor bought the home under market and sold it for a substantial profit. It is sad, but a sizeable amount of the investor’s profit was the equity that this family had earned over it’s 30+ years of home ownership. It should have gone to the original homeowner’s heirs, but instead it went to an investor who owned the home for less than 4 months.
Yes, the remodel added value but as all investors who buy a home in order to flip it for profit understand, the big money is earned on the initial purchase and subsequent value is added with any remodeling.
By the way this remodel was very limited in scope relative to the usual flip that happens in Los Altos. Usually an investor will remodel the kitchen (with median-higher end finishes), remodel all bathrooms, change out all windows, add crown molding, change out the baseboards, change out lighting, re-finish the hardwood floors and/or replace carpeting, paint and landscaping.
Two reasons I think the flip was limited in scope:
Time constraint issues. A complete remodel would push out the date the home would hit the market to late fall when typically there are fewer buyers
They made a sizeable profit when they bought it “for sale by owner.” Further remodeling would have reduced the profit margin percentages. They could have just painted and landscaped and still made 70k profit.
Lessons Learned:
“For sale by owner” properties attract buyers who are probably more sophisticated than the average home seller.
Selling real estate to maximize one’s profit is not as easy as it may appear.
Get advice from experienced and trusted sources.
Exposing the home to the largest pool of buyers generally yields better results
Taking the emotion out of the deal usually yields better results.
According to MLS Listings Inc. data there currently are fifty-six single family homes for sale in Sunnyvale’s zip code 94087. Thirty-one homes are active listings and the remaining twenty-five homes are under contract. The average list price for the active properties is $959,597. The average list price for those homes under contract is $858,374.
September Home Sales Activity For 94087 – Home sales are steady.
25 single family homes (SFH) closed escrow in 94087 in the month of September. Since 2007, the average number of SFH sales in September has been 28.
Eleven properties had multiple offers and sold at or above their asking price. Properties priced between $900k and $999k received the most buyer activity.
The median sales price of single family homes in 94087 has remained fairly steady (at around $930k – $940k) throughout 2011. Lastly the price per square foot has also remained steady at around $520/ft.
Should you have any questions about selling your home in today’s market or you wish to purchase a home, please call or text me at 650 465-0755.
According to MLS Listings Inc. data there currently are forty single family homes for sale in South Los Altos. Twenty-three homes are active listings and the remaining seventeen homes are under contract. The average list price for the active properties is $1,633,643. The average list price for those homes under contract is $2,029,171.
September Home Sales Activity For South Los Altos – Home sales are steady.
13 single family homes (SFH) closed escrow in South Los Altos in the month of September. Since 2007, the average number of SFH sales in September has been 9.
Seven properties had multiple offers and sold at or above their asking price. Properties priced between 1.3 million and 1.6 million received the most buyer activity.
Are you curious to know what that South Los Altos home sold for?
Click on South Los Altos Residential Summary Report for September 2011 for details (address, sales price, size etc.) on the thirteen properties that closed escrow in September in South Los Altos. Note: all data was taken from our local MLS and is deemed accurate but not guaranteed.
Median Sales Prices in South Los Altos are inching up:
Year to date, the median sales price for single family homes sold in South Los Altos is $1,523,000. The graph below shows the last seven years of median sales prices in South Los Altos. You’ll note that the median sales prices in South Los Altos have steadily increased since 2009. It looks like we’re back to 2005 – 06 prices.
If you are looking for a quick and easy way to find your South Los Altos dream home, click here?
Should you have any questions about selling your home in today’s market or you wish to purchase a home, please call or text me at 650 465-0755.
According to MLS Listings Inc. data there currently are eighty-one single family homes for sale in Los Altos. Fifty homes are active listings and the remaining thirty-one homes are under contract. Eight of the homes priced above 2 million (out of 35) are under contract.
August Home Sales Activity For Los Altos – Home sales are stable
28 single family homes (SFH) closed escrow in Los Altos in the month of August. Since 2007, the average number of SFH sales in August has been 26-27. In fact if you go back and track the last 4 years, the year to date 2011 sales numbers are almost identical as those of the last 4 years (at around 190 homes sold).
Ten properties had multiple offers and sold at or above their asking price. Properties priced between 1.3 million and 1.5 million received the most buyer activity.
Are you curious to know what that Los Altos home sold for?
Click on Los Altos Residential Summary Report – August 2011 for details (address, sales price, size etc.) on the twenty-eight properties that closed escrow in August in Los Altos. Note: all data was taken from our local MLS and is deemed accurate but not guaranteed.
Median Sales Prices in Los Altos are Creeping Back up:
Year to date, the median sales price for homes sold in Los Altos is $1,635,000. The graph below shows the last seven years of median sales prices in Los Altos. You’ll note that the median sales prices in Los Altos have steadily increased since 2009. It looks like we’re back to 2006 prices.
If you are looking for a quick and easy way to find your Los Altos dream home, click here?
Should you have any questions about the value of your home in today’s market or you wish to purchase a home, please call or text me at 650 465-0755.
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