Landlords are raising their rents to the tune of 15.9% year-over-year in Silicon Valley cities like Palo Alto knowing there will still be healthy demand for their homes.  The San Jose Business Journal publishes data from RealFacts Inc. which shows dramatic increases in rent.  The article covers San Jose, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Campbell, Cupertino, Palo Alto, and other cities in the area.

Let's forget for the moment about the fact that California has a reputation for green tech.  (If you've been to Yosemite, the Avenue of the Giants, Muir Woods, or other natural wonders in Northern California, you'd understand.)  Or the fact that the spiraled compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) consume "one-fourth the energy and produce 90% less heat."

Let's even forget the fact that they save $30 each over their lifetime according to the government and $62.95 according to Slate. 

Wouldn't it be great not to have to change the burnt-out light bulb above the stairwell or in that hard-to-reach (and harder-to-light) part of your home for four-and-a-half years instead of every six months?  CFLs are only a few dollars and you can get them for as little as $1.75.  Some electric companies actually subsidize them too.  (PG&E has even given some away here in Silicon Valley.)

CFLs are considered so important that some unnamed legislators in California are considering banning traditional light bulbs.  Why let it get to that point?  Traditional lights have their uses and you can tell the government that it has better things to do by replacing a few more of your regular bulbs yourself, saving money and trouble in the process.

Billionaires and their airplanes have been a contentious issue in Silicon Valley for years, and, recently, it was disclosed that Google billionaires Sergiy Brin and Larry Page struck a two-year, $2.6 million deal to use Moffett Field for flying and landing their 767 jet.  Residents on this flight path in both Mountain View and Sunnyvale have expressed concerns about the approval process (specifically the fact that neither they, nor their city councils, were consulted).

Back when FedEx was Federal Express, the company wanted to run flights in and out of Moffett Field instead of San Jose because that airport had curfew hours preventing early morning flights.  Locals weren't amused and an alliance was formed with members in Los Altos, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, and Mountain View.  

Even after the plan was shelved, there were still lingering concerns.  But today, aside from the occasional C-130, fighter plane, Air Force One landing, or hovering Harrier jet --- that was a sight to behold --- there isn't a lot of traffic going in and out of the former airbase.

Still, Silicon Valley owes a lot of its inspiration to Moffett Field, with its iconic airship hangars.  And CNET reminds us of some of its history, starting with its construction beginning in 1930.  With the nearby high-rise offices in Moffett Towers nearing completion, the area around this historic site may get its own revitalization.

The folks at the Wall Street Journal (subscription may be required) are talking about the trend towards downsizing.  Homebuilders like KB and Toll Brothers have nationwide portfolios and have obviously been dramatically affected by regional drops in home sales across many parts of the country.

During the boom period, these homebuilders were drawn to building high-margin McMansions, large template homes that provided a lot of square footage on the inside but were very similar to others in the neighborhood. 

Because many buyers in other regions are reluctant to make "big bets" on real estate (i.e. tie up a large chunk of their net worth in one investment vehicle --- even if they're living in it), these builders have started building McCottages again, smaller template homes that are more affordable.

Eichler would be proud.

Even so, there's another factor that's fueling this trend: the conforming rate.  With the evaporation of the secondary market for jumbo loans, mortgages over $417,000, the money used to fund them has become expensive and that cost is passed directly to the consumer. 

That difference could be a whole 1% on the loan or more, so Pulte, from the article says that "it expects its average selling price for the third quarter of this year to be $331,000, down from $335,000."  Has this decrease in size happened before?  You betcha: the early 80's, early 90's and today.  But between, the sizes increased all over again.

The Palo Alto Daily News reports about a proposal, with its accompanying environmental impact report, which talks about extending Mary Ave. over 237 and 101 with a four-lane bridge. 

The intention of the new connection is to support the upcoming Moffett Towers, seven 8-story towers sporting 1.8 million square feet.  Before the report, local residents had expressed opposition to the extension because of the disruption to residential areas and the adequacy of the existing thoroughfares.  The public is invited to comment on this proposal until October 12, 2007.

The website for the City of San Jose says that the San Jose rental market had a 2.7% vacancy rate in Q2 2007.  The Silicon Valley Business Journal says this is the lowest vacancy rate since 2001.

It's gotten to the point where San Jose is requiring 120-day notice to be given to tenants in rent-controlled units if those tenants have lived there for longer than a year and the eviction is "no-cause".

People usually only need one place to live, so rentals and home purchases fall into what economists call "perfect substitutes" --- you buy one or the other.  In San Jose, during July 2005, there were 513 on the market that month with 360 closed sales.  In July this year, there were 1102 (almost double) on the market with 197 closed sales (close to half).  With vacancy rates at their lowest points, there's definitely light at the end of the tunnel for sellers in San Jose.

In other areas... Back in 2001, there was a lull in Silicon Valley's home prices in general.  (Foster City was a notable exception but it's median was affected in 2002.)  Folks were renting (or leaving) instead of buying after the dot-com era.  What's interesting, though, is this time around, the median numbers in many areas are actually still rising (though other indicators like list price are falling) partially because "good" inventory in a lot of areas is short.  Buyers I've spoken to are looking at the slower fall and winter seasons as opportunities.

The new voyeurism.  I once lamented that complete transparency is the new privacy.  And in the age of the internet, public records aren't needles in haystacks waiting to be discovered anymore.  Here's an example: a quick and easy way to get the political affiliations of your neighbors, where they work and what their title is, at the Huffington Post.

I popped in a random address, a listing that I was going to tour.  A listing whose new slogan could be, "You too can live just a mile down from the Mayor of Sunnyvale." :-)

Merge this into with what you can find on ZoomInfo and Facebook, and all those federal wiretapping laws are going to seem a little antiquated.  Take care of your personal info, neighbors!  Once in a database, it's someone else's to publish.

Last month, homes (including condos, townhomes, and single-family homes) ranged from $317,000 to $1.85 million.  In my Mountain View Housing Market Update - August 2007, I go over how much home that money will get you and how much higher the median home prices have climbed year-over-year.  

Last year, most homes received almost full value on their asking prices (99.28%).  How much more they received this year may surprise you, but that was in a time before higher jumbo mortgage rates.

There aren't rough waters around the Expressions of Sunnyvale and its roads Asilomar Terrace and Alpine Terrace.  ("Asilomar" means refuge from the sea.)  But there are train tracks close to Asilomar.  This might be a dealbreaker for some.  Others who are looking at the complex's low per-square-foot cost and close proximity to Downtown Sunnyvale and Downtown Mountain View may not mind the sound.

[ Strengths | Weaknesses | Opportunities | Threats ]

As part of a continuing series for my clients, I've published my personal notes on the Montebello condominiums in Cupertino.  Obviously schools (it is Cupertino, after all) were a key strength, but voters also had a lot to do with why folks might consider this complex.  

[ Strengths | Weaknesses | Threats | Opportunities ]