First Sale of the Year

I promised to follow up with the results of my New Year's listing. The house was listed on January 3rd, and there was almost no competition on the Realtors' tour. I actually ran out of brownies for the first time in my more than 30 years in the business! There was also a non-stop parade of potential buyers at both of the weekend Open Houses, and on the day we scheduled offer presentation, the seller had five good offers to choose from. The four bedroom house, located in westside Sunnyvale with Cupertino Schools, sold well over the listed price. The accepted offer was all cash and in as-is condition.
Even after that date, I am still receiving calls from interested buyers who missed bidding on the property.
I expect to see more inventory as we head into the Spring selling season, but for now, our real estate market is as hot as I predicted...perhaps more so.

2011 Should Be Spectacular

Unless the local news reports are exaggerating, the future for Silicon Valley may be a lot brighter than it has been in the last couple of years, and real estate may lead this change. A good test will be the listing that I'm putting on the market this Monday. If it sells in a week or two as others in that neighborhood have in the recent past, we'll know that things are looking up. I'm excited! Except for writing the MLS and advertising comments, all the prep work is completed. The keybox, basket of shoe covers, (to protect the new carpets) and flyer holder are ready to take to the house, open houses and tours are scheduled, and the video and photos are on the computer. Not too much left to do...just baking brownies for Realtors' tour.

Christmas Eve

"Not a creature is stirring," and the sky is clear here in Northern California.
The recent economic news is looking more promising. This morning's Mercury News predicted that Real Estate values would remain at least stable in the coming year.
This is a quiet weekend's pause before a week full of preparing a new listing for sale. The painting, carpeting, and gardening are complete, and the termite inspector crawled under the house and emerged with the good news that there was no infestation.
Next week's schedule is full of the remainder of the work: house and window cleaners on Monday, stager on Tuesday, and then I will meet my videographer on Wednesday or Thursday, depending on the weather report. Right after New Years, this buyer-ready property will be on the MLS. I'm happy that I took my vacation trip early this year!

Too Long Away

I'm back from my annual trip to visit my sister and her family in Florida. The nighttime temperature was 28 degrees when I left West Palm Beach, so there was no shock when I had to scrape frost off my car windows this morning before leaving for the Realtors' meeting. My son and his wife will notice much more contrast when they return to Michigan from their vacation in Hawaii.
In my sales area (Sunnyvale and Cupertino) we get a weekly list of recent home sales published in the Mercury News. The recent sales price is almost always higher than the last selling price. In the Real Estate section of the Palm Beach Post, the situation is reversed. Invariably, the new sales are dramatically lower in price than the same property's sale price of a few years ago. For example, a five year old condo that sold for $592,600 in 2005, now sold for $220,000. A single family house, built in 1996, sold in 2008 for $665,000 and resold recently for $113,800.
Even more frightening, the property tax on a $430,000 condo there is more than $10,000 a year! I'm glad to be back in Northern California.

Working and the Holidays

With Thanksgiving rapidly approaching and the December holidays around the corner...or already here, if you believe the newspaper ads...Realtors and their clients are planning for vacations, family visits, and lots of shopping, decorating and cooking.
We are also working on plans to start off an exciting real estate sales year in the Bay area. The purchase of the Cashin Company by Coldwell Banker is an indicator of the optimism we're seeing in our offices. There are signs that 2011 will be a stronger year than any in recent history. Maybe I'm being overly optimistic, but I'm not basing my opinion on positive vibrations alone. I've had more contacts from past clients, referrals, and homeowners in my "farm" area recently than in the past several years. It's about time.

Real Estate Agents are Aging

A close friend and associate is retiring next year...at age 83!
Many fellow Realtors are in their 60's and 70's, and a recent speaker at the Council of MLS Services reminded us that the average age of real estate agents is over 50, and that in 2010, the number of agents over 40 exceeds those under 40, two to one.
The older agent brings a lot to the table: years of experience in the field, understanding the market, and most importantly, good old fashioned customer service.
However, very few are able to continue doing business in today's market and competing with tech-savvy younger agents without adopting the new technologies.
This is especially true for those of us working here in Silicon Valley, where we are surrounded by social media, the Internet blogosphere, and other technology.
But the non-tech basics still remain...hard work, good service, and continuous prospecting.

Roof Maintenance for the rainy Season

My home computer is back in service, thanks to Woody Satta my computer Guru, and my site is up and running.
With rain expected tomorrow, I thought some roof maintenance tips would be in order.
All roofs and gutters should be checked annually, preferably in September/October before the rainy season is fully upon us. With trees growing around many houses, the house movement we experience on the adobe soil in this area, and the general wear and hardening of sealants suggest a general inspection of the roof and before the rains.
Tree debris blocking the water flow, either in gutters or downspouts will cause damage by rotting out the wood in back of the gutter. Additionally, with steel gutters the tree debris will create an acid with the water (this will also happen with wood roofs due to the tannin leached from the fire retardant chemicals used) and erode the steel. Aluminum gutters will not erode but have a tendency to sag since they are not as strong as steel. Most 1st story gutters can be checked and cleaned easily. A garden hose can be used from the top, inside the gutter to clear out clogged downspouts. In extreme cases, a metal snake can be used. Seams and corners should be observed/checked during the first rains for leakage. Leaks can be fixed or retarded with caulking, however, long term you may have to call a professional for repair.
Depending on your gardener and roof type, paying your gardener a little more to keep your roof and gutters clean can be of great help to you.