Today was the first RE Bar Camp Silicon Valley and it had a great turnout! With perfect weather and a great setting (the lovely new Axix condos in downtown San Jose), we had plenty of space and a great ambiance for mixing, chatting, sharing, and engaging.
Below are some pics of real estate folks, many of whom you may know. Unfortunately I don't have all the nams so please bear with me!
The main meeting area was outdoors, by the pool. (I was concerned that I'd fall in, complete with new Blackberry Tour and netbook.)
The crowd was grateful for the pastries, coffee, tea and water provided by our generous sponsors for breakfast as well as the wonderful sandwich box lunches, chips and sodas for lunch. Thank you, sponsors!
A variety of topics were addressed in several sessions - everything from mobile apps to facebook, twitter, blogging in 15 minutes, and many more topics.
There were many Active Rainers present, including Brad Andersohn, who did some great sharing with "20 free apps" for your business. Other AR people include Ira Serkes, Cindy Lin, CJ Brasiel, Guy Berry as well as many, many more!
Hope to see you all at the California Association of Realtors Expo over the next few days!
Thanks to all the volunteers who made it possible and to Axis and to the sponsors.
As some of you know, a few months ago I "jumped into the deep end of the pool" and began forming a new real estate brokerage in Silicon Valley with a group of agents and one very experienced broker. Our company, Luxor Real Estate Group, is up and running and is growing, despite the crazy market conditions and our newness.
Each of us Founders (9 in all) brings something different to the table: insights, tools, gifts. One thing I am going to help us to implement as a company is a focus on good systems (thank you CRS and Howard Brinton of Star Power Systems for opening my eyes to their value years ago). Some of it's simply a matter of having a form so that the process is done the same way each time (anything from turning in listing paperwork to letting the office know you're going on vacation and who's covering what for you). But much of it is more like a campaign or an action plan.
There are two questions I have in this arena:
First, I wanted to ask the Active Rain Community if they have any favorite company systems or checklists (or other tools) that they would advocate having or if there are any they'd be willing to share.
One of the big challenges for a new real estate firm is simply growing. When I go to the board breakfast meeting or go out on tour, agents often pull me aside to ask about Luxor. Established agents are often wary about how much time & work will be involved in moving and whether or not they'll lose business in the process, so I'd like to create a "transition plan" that is more than just a to-do list for agents that join us. A to-do list is extremely helpful but what I have in mind is a step beyond that and would include a more comprehensive marketing plan to make sure that our new agents have a smooth time coming over once their license is moved and the first steps are all taken.
So the second question is, I'd like to ask if any of you have or use a plan to assist agents as they join your brokerages in making the transition smooth and as simple & easy as possible.
It's fun, exciting, and sometimes a little overwhelming to go from being an agent in another's company to being a principal in my own. I'm grateful that our broker, Dennis Byron, has 38 years experience (dwarfing my 16) and that several of our founders have outside business experience (and one has started 11 other companies) as well as real estate and lending experience. But it's an incredible amount of stuff to do (I am in charge of technology too!) and to want to get right - so I very much appreciate the collective insights of the group and hope that I can return the favor to you as well.
The Los Gatos real estate market is not a unified "block" so much as it is a collection of micromarkets, a conglomeration of smaller markets by price point, school district, acreage, type of housing, and many other factors.
The overview is one indicator of the health of the community's real estate generally, but it may or may not be relavent to your home's pocket, or the neighborhood into which you'd like to purchase.
I. General Trends in the Los Gatos Real Estate Market (real estate "area 16", zip codes 95030 and 95032)
Los Gatos Houses - May 2009 Statistics and Trends
Trends At a Glance May 2009 Previous Month Year-over Year
Median Price
$1,012,000
$955,000 (+6.0%)
$1,377,500 (-26.5%)
Average Price
$1,111,280
$1,035,330 (+7.3%)
$1,438,880 (-22.8%)
No. of Sales
20
25 (-20.0%)
36 (-44.4%)
Pending Properties
37
26 (+42.3%)
37 (0.0%)
Active
160
170 (-5.9%)
163 (-1.8%)
Sale vs. List Price
95.6%
95.0% (+0.5%)
97.5% (-2.0%)
Days on Market
55
54 (+0.7%)
27 (+104.8%)
The months of inventory, or absorption rate, is found by dividing the "actives" by the "solds" in the last month. So the months of inventory inMay would be 160/20 = 8 months of inventory. In April it was 170/25 =6.8. So the market has become more of a buyer's market. (Six months is balanced, less is seller's market, more is buyer's market.)
To see the full details for the statistics and trends for Los Gatos single family homes (houses) please visit my online Real Estate Report.
Los Gatos Condominiums and Townhouses - May 2009 Statistics and Trends
Trends At a Glance May 2009 Previous Month Year-over Year
Median Price
$587,475
$710,000 (-17.3%)
$875,000 (-32.9%)
Average Price
$643,738
$700,222 (-8.1%)
$890,000 (-27.7%)
No. of Sales
4
9 (-55.6%)
3 (+33.3%)
Pending Properties
5
8 (-37.5%)
10 (-50.0%)
Active
49
51 (-3.9%)
46 (+6.5%)
Sale vs. List Price
97.3%
94.5% (+2.9%)
95.5% (+1.9%)
Days on Market
75
74 (+2.0%)
47 (+60.6%)
Months of inventory (absorption rate) among all condos and townhomes was 49/4 = 12.25 in May and 51/9 = 5.6 for April. Big swing - looks like March was the "hot month" for sales among condos. Some of it may be seasonal fluctuations that will only be really clear when a few more months have passed.
To see the full details for the statistics and trends for Los Gatos condos & townhomes, please visit my online Real Estate Report.
II. Looking at a smaller segment of the market
There's a way we can crunch the numbers on our mls to get some of the smaller sections of the Los Gatos real estate market. It's a bit labor intensive but I have found it useful when looking at some price points, school districts, or both to see what's happening.
Earlier today I did some of this number crunching for a client and thought I'd share it here. In Los Gatos, there are a lot of variables, as mentioned earlier. Perhaps the biggest one is the school district. We have separate districts for elementary/middle schools and high schools. To make it easiest, I'll break it down by high school district (because there are fewer of them - really just two in town). Locals tend to refer to schools that include and feed into Los Gatos High as "in the schools" or "in the district". The other schools, which are in more outlying areas of town, are in the Campbell Union High School District (CUHSD).
What I wanted to know is how the market is for the "under $1 million" homes in Los Gatos. Overall, it's a whole lot better then the rest of the town! The "months of inventory" for Los Gatos overall was 8 months in May, but we see that in the under $1,000,000 group, right now it's a brisk three months! (COE = close of escrow. COE in last 30 days means that there was a completed sale within the last 30 days.)
All of 95030, 95032
Active
33
months of inventory
3
Pending
25
active-pending ratio
1.32 to 1
COE in last 30 days
11
Los Gatos Schools
Active
13
months of inventory
4.6
Pending
15
active-pending ratio
.86 to 1
COE in last 30 days
3
C'bell Union HSD
Active
20
months of inventory
2.5
Pending
10
active-pending ratio
2 to 1
COE in last 30 days
8
What can we tell from this?
First of all, the lowest priced homes in Los Gatos have a much better chance of selling then the higher priced homes. We are seeing this trend across Silicon Valley such that in entry level houses that are aggressively priced, there are multiple offers and overbidding.
Second, these recent closed represent sales that started a month or two ago. Among the closeds, there was a strong buying period in the outlying parts of town. Now, though, we see a stronger movement among homes "in the schools" such that now, more homes are pending then are for sale and available!
Viewing it another way, the ratio between actives and pendings indicates that a large percentage of homes in the Los Gatos School District are selling or will sell right now. With the homes that have the Campbell Union High School District, it's about half. So the "chances of selling" appear to be 50/50.
That's actually not bad - recently, the odds across town for homes selling was only about 19%, or 1 in 5.
Although I have not crunched all the numbers, I suspect that the higher the price point, the more challenging the sale.
Of course, any home can sell in any market if the basics are right: condition, location, pricing, and marketing. You can't do much about the location once you've bought. Everything else, though, can be controlled and adjustments can be made such that a home is sellable, and most of it is in the control of the homeowner.
Whether looking at houses, condos, or townhomes, it's important to get and understand the data not just for Los Gatos as a whole, or your zip code, but for your segment of the market precisely. This is equally true whether you want to buy or sell a Los Gatos home.
Please call or email me for guidance with your particular plans to sell or buy a home!
3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms * remodeled kitchen * updated baths * hardwood floors, beamed ceilings Listed at just $768,800
Looking for a great Los Gatos starter home? Now's a great time to purchase an entry-level home in Los Gatos and this property will get you there in style!
Flooring in the home is hardwood (in most rooms) or tile (kitchen and baths) - no "wall to wall" carpeting in this home!
The kitchen:
Remodeled in recent years, the kitchen offers granite countertops, beautiful white cabinets (many upper cabinets with glass panelled doors), a built in microwave, a gas cooktop, a dishwasher, granite tile flooring and elegant lighting.
The floorplan is open - the living and dining rooms are open to each other and both lead to the expansive deck in the back yard.
In addition to 1100 square feet of living space, the home boasts approximately 500 square feet of deckspace (to left of photo shown, appx 23' x 22'), about half of which is covered. This makes for a truly versatile home and outdoors space which can be enjoyed year round.
The deck features space for dining, for conversing, for being in the sun or in the shade. With heat lamps, it remains comfortable even on a chilly fall or winter night!
Other important features:
vaulted ceilings
freshly painted throughout
dual pane windows
air conditioning
extra storage
garage is 1 car + office/bonus room (orig 2 car)
extra deep lot - room to expand (or rebuild)
inside laundry
water heater 5 years old
roof 5 years old
county area of Los Gatos
To learn more about this beautiful home, see more photos and two virtual tours, please see full details on this custom page:
The market is heating up! Anecdotally, my phone is ringing off the hook and my email is jammed with people wanting to discuss home buying and home selling in the San Jose area.I have talked a few sellers out of selling - it's important to be extremely realistic right now since the odds are against selling.
What about pricing for Santa Clara County homes that do sell? Are sales improving? Yes! It's better.
Countywide, home sales increased, year-over-year, by a whopping 30.3% in February. The vast majority of sales are in the lower price ranges. One Realtor friend of mine said to me, "my sales are down, but the price point where I'm selling is REALLY down". That's just the reality of today's market. It's harder to sell a high end home than it is to sell a home under $500,000.
Prices are stabilizing. The median price for single-family, re-sale homes was flat for Santa Clara County at $450,000 compared to January. It's huge that this general number is flat and not falling!
for San Jose as a whole, the median list price is down by about 2% and average sales price is up about 2%
for Almaden Valley, it's up about 20% for both numbers
for Cambrian Park, it's up 2% for median and up 7% for average sales price
for Willow Glen, it's up about 28% for both!
for Los Gatos, it's negative territory: down 28% for median list price, down 8.6% for average sales price
for Saratoga, the numbers are badly skewed since there were NO sales the month before and in the recent month there were a few - so it's up 75% but this is a statistical abberation
for Campbell, the numbers are up about 27% for median and up about 8% for average sales price
Palo Alto is often the last to crumble and the first to rise. The market there is hopeful but mixed, with the median sales price up 1.6% and the average sales price down 5.6%.
Want more Santa Clara County cities or areas within San Jose? Or want to see data on condos? You can read the full on-line report here: http://popehandy.rereport.com/
Salespeople are notorious for "creating a sense of urgency" so that buyers buy now and sellers sell now. When used appropriately (when there really is a reason to get moving!), this is not a bad thing and can help make the consumer more realistic and help the consumer to get what he or she wants in the best possible way. When it's a seller's market, sometimes unrealistic homeowners take their time because they are overconfident and can lose a sale (selling for less later). When it's a buyer's market, sometimes home buyers feel that they can take forever and get the house they want at a better price. When it does sell, to someone else, they are surprised.
To counteract the feeling that consumers have that they can take forever to act, salespeople sometimes impose gentle pressure, that sense of urgency. Most often it's an explanation of the risks involved in not acting soon. If you wait, the house will be gone. If you wait, the next offer will be worse. Often real estate professionals are correct in explaining that homes and offers really won't last forever. For sellers, this is especially true in a declining market. There's a good reason to not dilly dally. Creating a sense of urgency is often a good corrective and is helpful to clients who may not correctly grasp the situation.
Sometimes, though, we bump into real estate salespeople who so habitually and relentlessly work at creating urgency that they do more harm than good. They damage relationships, their reputation, and can put transactions into jeopardy because their behavior undermines the common goal of sellers wanting to sell and buyers wanting to buy when they go into emotional fraying.
What are the signs that your agent, or the agent on the other side of a transaction, is in urgency overdrive?
everything is always a rush, right now - no time to think
high level of worry and concern on every small point
agent seems pushy and upset and overly dramatic
interruptions - both in conversation and just in terms of needing to be #1 on their to-do list
agent does not seem to be truthful - you catch him or her lying to others about timeframes to make them perform faster
you don't get clear answers on actual deadlines, but instead get vague responses to specific questions
salesperson does not listen to voicemails, but simply calls back
agent cannot manage paperwork, does not remember emails or voicemails, puts an inordinate amount of responsibility on an assistant for transactional obligations
too much communication - calling multiple times a day each day, for every tiny item as soon as it appears on the radar, rather than collecting thoughts and communicating once or twice to take care of multiple outstanding items
These overly urgent agents are exhausting to work with because everything seems to be a crisis all the time. Everything is always in a hurry. They seem to thrive on having a constant barrage of strong emotions.
Why do they do it?
Sometimes, people are just disorganized, emotional, worried that they aren't being taken seriously or valued. Part of it is ego issues, in my experience. So they create a lot of drama to feel important, to make others respect them, and to set themselves up as saving the day. Part of the high drama is aimed at spotlighting their successes and being viewed as having incredible leadership, a hero or heroine.
How to respond?
It is important to not be unduly pressured, whether you are a consumer or another agent. Decisions must be well-founded on good information. Sometimes the drama kings and queens will want everything signed fast, without time to comprehend or evaluate options. This is a red flag. Buyers and sellers need to be given time to investigate, whether it's buyers having their own inspections or sellers getting repair bids. Anytime an agent is rushing you and closing off important options, be concerned.
Set boundaries, if needed. I once heard of an agent in a bumpy transaction who had a somewhat crazy salesperson on the other side of a sale. The crazy agent phoned dozen of times a day - it was apparently to the point of harassment. The normal agent had a dinner party at her home one weekend night and the crazy agent showed up on her doorstep in the middle of the event. If the agent crosses the line to that degree, it might be time to phone the broker and ask for some help.
Are you guilty?
If you are constantly in a rush, constantly in a crisis, and feel the need to always make everyone scream "How High?" when you say "JUMP!", if you tell "white lies" to make people do your bidding, perhaps you need to slow down a minute and refind your balance. Ask yourself why you have so much drama in your life. I can guarantee you that if this is how you live and work, it will be counterproductive for you in the long run in your career. The stress is probably hard on your body, too, and possibly the important relationships in your life.
Don't get sucked into the emotional morass. Urgency overdrive people can drive you crazy, but keep your cool. Document everything, stick to the facts and work at problem solving without insults or unloading on them as to how miserable they are making you. Remember, they have to live with themselves and are probably miserable most of the time themselves.
The local paper has been running stories about the real estate market in Santa Clara County and the good news is that many of the bank owned, foreclosed homes are getting bought up. Throughout the Silicon Valley area, about one home in four is selling.
Real estate is local, though. . .much more local that countywide. What is happening in Berryessa or Blossom Valley is interesting, and may have an impact on the local economy and you. But if you live in Los Gatos, Saratoga, Monte Sereno or Almaden Valley, what's happening elsewhere may have little to do with home sales in your immediate zip code or subdivision.
Today on my Live in Los Gatos blog, I posted about home selling in Los Gatos. What are the odds that your Los Gatos home will sell? In the west valley generally (the four areas mentioned above), it runs between aboutan 8% and 15% chance that a home will sell. The exact chance varies by location, condition, school district, price point, etc. For instance, the very expensive luxury home market (over $3 million or so) is much worse than homes priced between one and two million dollars.
Every day it seems that our large, local newspaper, The San Jose Mercury News, runs a story on the real estate market. Unfortunately, the news never seems to be good. Today's feature was on home sales in the million plus price range and how the number of those sales has been declining substantially throughout California (down 43%) and in Silicon Valley (down 34%) as well.
Several cities in Santa Clara County offer some lovely homes worth well in excess of one million dollars: Los Gatos, San Jose's Almaden Valley, Monte Sereno, and Saratoga are in good company with other upscale communities featuring high end homes.
Today I posted on the Saratoga real estate market in particular, giving attention to the various price quartiles (segments of the market) and the luxury home market especially.
Beautiful craftsmanship and detail work abound throughout this custom-built home! Updated! Close to downtown Los Gatos!
4 Beds 3.5 Baths - the home consists of 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths plus a fabulous studio apartment or guest suite, which is built over the garage and enjoys a separate entrance. Altogether, it's 4 bed, 3.5 baths. Offered at $1,865,000
Many exceptional details can be found in this updated home: hardwood flooring on the ground level, exquisite leaded glass in entry and Master, built-in cabinets, recessed lighting, tall baseboards, lovely crown moulding, and many windows throughout.
Living Room with loads of windows, fireplace, and built-ins
Dining Room off entry with great access to rear yard & brick patio
Open Floorplan - Kitchen, Nook and Family Room all open to each other - this area is the heart of the home!
Gourmet Kitchen: oversized island with vegetable sink, cherry cabinets, slab granite counters, Thermador gas range.
Family room features fireplace, built-in cabinetry, door to another brick patio
Incredibly elegant Master Suite, featuring fireplace, built-ins, breathtakingly beautiful leaded glass, vaulted ceilings, loads of closet space and organizers too.
Master bath is recently remodeled and offers spa-like steam shower
Guest suite or studio apartment has separate entrance, full kitchen, and luxurious bath with jetted tub.
Three car garage.
Price
$1,865,000
Bedroom(s)
4
Bathroom(s)
3.5
Garage
3
Year
1992
Lot Size
9000
Schools
Los Gatos Schools
Area
Monte Sereno
Square Feet
2961
Address
16125 Francesca Court
City / Locality
Monte Sereno, CA 95030
Traditional on the outside, contemporary and classic on the inside - this Monte Sereno home is the best of both!
The home is 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths but also has a studio apartment or guest suite with another room, kitchen and full bath.
More Information on this Classic Monte Sereno Home
Highly regarded Los Gatos Schools
Los Gatos High
Fisher Middle School
Daves Elementary School (likely - depending on space available)
Other Information
Inspections done
Close to downtown Los Gatos
MLS # 80901346
Please come to our Open House
Sat/Sun Jan 24/25, 1:30 - 4pm
Sat host is Mary Pope-Handy, Sun host is Saskia Feain
Or call Mary Pope-Handy at 408 204-7673 for more information
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
As some of you know, a few months ago I "jumped into the deep end of the pool" and began forming a new real estate brokerage in Silicon Valley with a group of agents and one very experienced broker. Our company, 
Flooring in the home is hardwood (in most rooms) or tile (kitchen and baths) - no "wall to wall" carpeting in this home!
The deck features space for dining, for conversing, for being in the sun or in the shade. With heat lamps, it remains comfortable even on a chilly fall or winter night!
;)
;)
