From McMansion to McCottage - 09/11/07 08:49 PM
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 … (2 comments)

Debate of Extension of Mary Avenue in Sunnyvale - 09/07/07 05:44 PM
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.
… (0 comments)

San Jose Vacancy Rates Lowest Since 2001 - 09/03/07 09:13 PM
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, … (5 comments)

Ever Wonder Who Your Neighbors Are Contributing To? - 09/03/07 05:14 PM
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 … (6 comments)

How Much Home Can I Get in Mountain View, CA? - 09/03/07 04:40 PM
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.
… (0 comments)

 

Steve Leung

Cupertino, CA

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Silicon Valley Real Estate

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