If you are thinking of selling your home, you are likely to have many questions. What is my home worth? What repairs do I need to make? Should I do inspections? Do I stage my home? How do I pick a Realtor?
With almost 20 years experience working with local home sellers, there probably isn’t a question that I haven’t been asked. Below are articles that address many of the questions that home sellers have about selling a home in or near Los Altos.
Why should You hire David Blockhus to sell your home? See Below.
Should you have any questions about selling your home in or near Los Altos please contact me directly at 650 917-4250.
Low property appraisals can occur in any real estate market. In a rising market, multiple offers can create a final contract price higher than current comparable properties. In a declining market, appraisal values may not come in at value. Both buyer and seller want the home to appraise for the negotiated price, but sometimes it doesn’t. What can a buyer or seller do if a property doesn’t appraise at or above the negotiated purchase price?
1. The buyer can bring in additional cash to make up the difference between appraised value and contract value.
2. The buyer and seller can re-negotiate the contract price down to the appraised value price.
3. The seller can hold true to the purchase contract price and possibly carry a 2nd note for the difference between the appraised value and purchase contract value.
4. The lender could order a second appraisal that might come in at value and/or request to appeal the original appraisal. The appeal could be based on the appraiser using wrong or outdated comparable properties, the appraiser’s lack of knowledge of the community (comparing two homes from different school systems etc.) or the appraiser using incorrect information about the home (i.e. size, age amenities etc).
5. The buyer can kill the loan with the original lender and start fresh with a new loan and subsequently new appraisal. The seller must agree, this will take time and it might not yield different results. If there are questions about a property’s ability to appraise, one might double app with two lenders so you have a back-up in place should the first lender (do to low appraisal) not be able to perform.
6. Both parties can agree to cancel the transaction.
Since 1994, I have seen almost all of these strategies in reaction to a low appraisal value used. Renegotiating the purchase price and/or having the buyer bring in more cash seem to be most frequently used strategy for keeping the deal together. However, it really depends on the buyer, seller and real estate agents having a meeting of the mind to make it work.
Should you have questions about buying or selling a home, please call or text me directly at 650 465-0755.
A home came up on last Friday’s Los Altos Hills Broker tour that is one of the finest estates that I have ever toured. The Address is 25893 West Fremont Road. It is listed at $12,750,000. by Tim Anderson of Alain Pinel Realtors.
Why do I love this house? It is very much a visceral feeling and difficult to put into words. But as soon as I walked up the driveway and saw the home, I just knew it was something special.
To me, it is a soothing blend of architectural styles, modern and contemporary yet with touches of Prairie Style’s use of horizontal lines and open spaces. It has clean lines, flowing interiors spaces and beautiful details that are confirmation that one can build a substantial home, but it need not look ostentatious. It doesn’t dominate its space, but rather blends nicely, almost snugly, on its 1-acre parcel.
The inside spaces are nicely proportioned, tasteful and beautiful. Within this 11,425+- square foot home consists a total of 5 bedroom suites, 3 half baths, beautifully appointed gourmet kitchen, intimate living room, elegant dining room, family room, multiple offices, luxurious master suite, home theater, fitness center, elevator, an outstanding lower level wine cellar and tasting room and two garages that can house up to 6 automobiles.
The large retractable ground level doors bring the outdoors in. Enjoy the beautiful swimming pool and spa, kick a soccer ball around on the large grass area, relax in a hammock, or a play a little beach volleyball. The backyard has it all.
Not only is the home beautiful, it is a GREEN certified Smart home that features geothermal radiant heating, multiple zone A/C, and a Crestron home automation system that controls heating, light, security, video and sound.
I’ve been selling residential real estate in Los Altos and the surrounding communities since 1994. Most of the time when I’m representing a buyer, I don’t talk directly to the owner. I talk with the listing agent, who in turn talks with his/her seller client. However, every once in a while you run into a home being sold by owner or by agent-owner. This is can be a less than ideal situation for all parties involved.
It is totally understandable that seller-agents want to sell their own home. I’ve done it myself – once. Why would I pay someone else to sell my home? After all, that’s what I do for a living. I know the real estate market. I know the comparable properties. I know the neighborhoods and what buyers like. Lastly, I know my home like no other agent could. And that is where the problems begin.
Dealing with for-sale-by-owners is difficult enough, but dealing with one who also is a real estate agent can be extremely difficult for the following five reasons:
1. Agent-owners lack the objectivity to view their home as a buyer would. That rust colored shag carpet does not make the home retro and worth more. Rather, it makes it look old and tired and worth less. Successful home sellers understand the need to look at the home through the eyes of a buyer.
2. Agent-owners think the price they paid for their home is related to its current value. Too often agent-owners behave like traditional home sellers. Even though they know there is no cause and effect relationship, agent-owners believe (or hope) that their home is worth more than the amount they paid for it. Hello, just because you paid $$$ for the home, doesn’t make it worth $$$ plus $. This is especially true in today’s real estate climate. Current market conditions determine a home’s current market value. In a buyer’s eyes, your ownership does not add or detract value from the home.
3. Agent-owners can be irrational. This usually becomes apparent during negotiations. Comparable homes sales are just that, comparable. Agent-owners use comparable home sales when establishing market value for their client’s homes. Yet this same process gets skewed when they are dealing with their own home. I love it when you go over comparable sales with agent-owners, they invariably believe that their home is worth more because it has “potential.” Hello, ground control to agent Tom, potential means nothing! Look at the numbers.
4. Agent-owners sometimes throw ethics out the window when they are dealing with others on the sale of their own home. Is this intentional? No, but it happens. Do they fill out the disclosure documents thoroughly or is some information lacking? Agent-owners understand the process of selling a home, yet often disregard these processes. For example, an agent-owner may tell agents that offers will be looked at “as they come in.” Then when only one offer is presented, they change the rules and tell the real estate community that they are holding off looking at offers until a certain date in the future. Meanwhile they “shop” the original offer to interested buyers and their agents. Changing the rules midstream usually bites the agent-owner in the backside by scaring off solid buyers and their agents. Unlike when a traditional home seller enlists a Realtor to sell their home, there is no second pair of eyes to oversee the process when an agent-owner sells his/her home.
5. Agent-owners can scare off potential homeowners with their “over-exuberance.“ Ever go to an open house hosted by the owner? That owner follows you around, pointing out everything they like about the property. Kind of irritating. Agent-owners do this to the “Nth” degree. They’ll meet you at the door, want you to “sign-in” and then walk two feet behind you pointing out the lovely fireplace mantle and how much it means to them. C-r-e-e-p-y! Back off and let the buyers take a look at the house at their own pace.
It really comes down to the fact that anyone selling their own house can be far too emotionally invested in the home to make good real estate decisions. There is no objective filter, no second pair of eyes. That is one of the benefits of hiring a Realtor to sell your house. A Realtor will look at things objectively and give you the perspective needed to achieve your real estate goals.
If you need someone to give you real answers to your real estate questions, call or text me at 650 465-0755
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.
Back in the early 1970′s when I went to Oak Avenue Elementary, the school was a small neighborhood school. My kindergarten class lasted all day, there was no after school child care like the YMCA Kid’s Place and there were just 12 classrooms. There was no multipurpose room or computer lab (what were computers). Kick ball, basketball, and “Kill the Pill” were the games played during lunch and recess and half of the field consisted of weeds and gopher holes.
Many of the teachers taught classes with combined grades. Students might be in a 2nd/3rd grade class or 3rd/4th grade class. Hot lunch consisted of McDonald’s hamburgers or Der Wienerschnitzel hot dogs. Mrs. Finch was our Principle and 6th graders, with their “safety” sashes and stop signs, did the cross walk duty.
Things have certainly change over the years and the school and it’s facilities have grown. Amy Romem is the Principle (although she’ll is out on maternity leave) and enrollment is up. This video shows why our south Los Altos community loves the “newer” Oak Elementary School.
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.
It is early November. Does it make sense to buy a home now or wait until next spring when housing inventories are typically higher. Although there is no definitive answer, this video points to a few things that buyers should think about before making the decision to buy now or wait.
Note: There are properties that are currently for sale but not listed on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). As we get later on in the year, more properties will be taken off the MLS and re-introduced to the market in February. These are opportunities to buy a home in town at a discount. Make sure your agent has access to these listings or you may be missing out on a good buying opportunity.
If you don’t have an agent working for you, I would be happy to sit down with you to discuss your housing options. Please call me directly at 650 917-4250. Thank you.
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.
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