Good News & More Good News
Filed under Featured Story · Tagged: Closed Transactions, Employee Relocation, Home Prices, Housing Choices, Los Altos, Quality of Life, Real Estate Marketing
Good News #1 … 2010 is shaping up to be a banner year for real estate in Los Altos. Comparing the first six months of 2009 with the same time period for 2010, there were 58% more homes sold. Additionally, we saw an increase in the sales prices of comparative homes year-over-year.
Interestingly, however, the average “days on market” for a home has increased to 87 days. That is a significant increase for homes which last year were sold in less than 60 days. So, what gives?
Clearly, lenders are taking a slightly longer to work through the average transaction. But it’s still feasible to close a transaction in 30-45 days. Anticipating market demand, for any one home, is still an imperfect science. However, we have been seeing well priced homes snapped up without dely.
Good News #2 … our last two listing sold in less than a week, and we are confident we can achieve similar results for you. How did we do it? We put together an effective plan, executed on that plan in partnership with our clients, and developed an outreach campaign to attract the maximum number of agents and interested buyers.
In all, over 230 Real Estate Agents stop by these two homes on Broker Tour when they first came on the market, in sequential weeks. Buyer traffic through the properties was consistent from the time 465 Benvenue Ave & 595 Los Altos Ave hit the market. An average of 270 potential buyers visited each home through open house, while even more buyers came by via private showings.
So, the market remains strong, but inventory is relatively low. There are a number of buyers looking to move into Los Altos, but they are strategically examining the available options. With a strong real estate team in place, a seller or buyer could have a tactical advantage, if they utilize the right tools for today’s market.
If you are looking to move into Los Altos, or simply move across town, we are confident that we can help you. Call us today at 650-823-1434. We would love the opportunity to earn your business.
Another Great Los Altos Home
Filed under Sold Properties · Tagged: Employee Relocation, Housing Choices, Los Altos, Quality of Life
When looking for a new home to to call your own, it is always great to know that the house holds many happy memories. For the past 12 years, this house has been home to a wonderful family that fully enjoyed living in Los Altos. Being located in North Los Altos allowed them the ability to stroll to Downtown, or Rancho, to enjoy many of the shops and restaurants. All of these community amenities are just minutes away on foot.
If entertaining at home is what you enjoy, the open floor plan and flourishing gardens will provide a wonderful experience for your guests. If staying home is more your style, the abundance of light cascading through the windows and skylights allow for easy reading, relaxing and the full enjoyment of your surroundings.
This wonderful three bedroom, two bath, 1,800 sq ft home is perfectly located on a typically quite Los Altos street. Additionaly, this proerty has a one bedroom, one bath detached cottage. The 610 sq ft cottage also comes with its own kitchen and living room.
As always, if you are looking to move into Los Altos, or simply move across town, we are confident that we can help you. We would love the opportunity to earn your business. Call us at 650-823-1434, and then sit back and relax, as we seamlessly take care of everything.
Two Open Homes This Weekend
Filed under Blog · Tagged: Employee Relocation, Housing Choices, Los Altos, Open House, Quality of Life
We will be holding two homes open this weekend. Both of these great houses are located in North Los Altos.
595 Los Altos Avenue will be held open this Saturday & Sunday, May 22nd & 23rd, from 1:30-4:30 pm.
465 Benvenue Avenue will be held open this Sunday, May 23rd, from 1:30-4:30 pm.
Come see these wonderful homes, both built for entertaining and living. You will absolutely love their locations, their neighborhoods, and their tree lined streets.
Feel free to call the Casas Team for a private showing of either home, or both, at 650-823-1434.
645 Palm Ave – In the “Heart of Town”
Filed under Sold Properties · Tagged: Home Prices, Housing Choices, Los Altos, Quality of Life
A single family home for under $1M in Los Altos! Really? Really! 645 Palm Avenue is a home you will want to visit this weekend during open house.
This wonderful two bedroom, 1 bath, home is perfectly located within the Old Los Altos neighborhood. This is a wonderful home, on a great street, with easy access to Downtown, Shopping, Parks and Schools. More importantly, it’s located in a fantastic neighborhood.
The home has a well-designed floor plan and a great backyard. With the splendid weather Los Altos realizes, this backyard is perfect for outdoor enjoyment. Additionally, you have vehicle access from both the front and the back of the property.
North Los Altos has always been a highly desirable place to live. Just blocks away from this home, you could stroll or bike to Redwood Grove, visit the Main Library, or even walk to dinner at a downtown restaurant. Whether you want fantastic schools, a great location, or a quiet tree lined street, this home offers it all.
If you are looking to move into Los Altos, or simply move across town, we are confident that we can help you. Call us today at 650-823-1434. We would love the opportunity to earn your business.
Changes for Downtown – zoning & more
Filed under Blog · Tagged: City Council, Downtown, Housing Choices, Los Altos, Quality of Life
Over the past six years, we have seen at least three cycles run through our core Downtown business. However, one thing has remained rather stagnant: the look and feel of Downtown. It appears that changes are afoot.
During the last couple of years, the City has been striving towards a common goal of incentivizing investments in Downtown. Yes, there were some constraints inhibiting progress. However, the City has been working towards identifying opportunities, and is ready to invest in a number of projects itself.
Below are highlights from a recent article, which covered the changes …
Downtown zoning underwent significant changes following a Feb. 9 Los Altos City Council action. The changes will pave the way for taller buildings with mixed uses along the downtown perimeter.
The bulk of the rezoning changes, unanimously approved after a lengthy public hearing, apply to First Street. Although the Safeway and Draeger’s Market properties and the city-owned plot at First and Main streets will retain a Commercial Retail Sales (CRS) zoning, most of the street is rezoned to permit office and residential uses. CRS zoning, with its two-story, 30-foot maximum, remains prevalent throughout the retail core of Main and State streets.
Coupled with last week’s approval of streetscape plans for First Street and San Antonio Road, the changes have the clear intent to attract more development – and people – to downtown.
The streetscape project, which addresses improvements to sidewalks and landscaping, also includes undergrounding utilities through a partnership with PG&E. The utility is scheduled to work on First between Edith and Main this summer.
The changes, a combination of recommendations from the Downtown Development Committee and the city’s planning commission, become effective 30 days after the second reading of the zoning amendment.
The committee’s recommendations for First included extending the commercial/retail zone along First between Safeway and Draeger’s, allowing residential units on first floors from Main to San Antonio and raising the building height limit to 45 feet.
Approximately 30 people, including downtown property and business owners, members of the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce, members of the Los Altos Village Association and residents, attended the hearing, primarily offering their support for the zoning changes.
269 Langton Avenue – Los Altos
Filed under Sold Properties · Tagged: 269 Langton Ave, Employee Relocation, Housing Choices, Los Altos
Welcome to our new listing in North Los Altos. This is a wonderful home, on a great street, with easy access to both Santa Rita Elementary and Egan Jr High. More importantly, it’s located in a wonderful neighborhood. The home has a well designed floor plan, which includes four bedrooms and three + baths. Additionally, there is a great wooden deck, just off the main living area. With the splendid weather Los Altos realizes, this backyard is perfect for outdoor entertainment.
North Los Altos has always been a highly desirable place to live. Just blocks away from this home, you could stroll or bike along the Hetch-Hetchy pathway, grab a cup of coffee at the Sweet Shop, or even walk to dinner at a local restaurant. Whether you want fantastic schools, a great location, or a quiet tree lined street, this home offers it all. Contact us today for a private tour (650-823-1434).
We just posted additional information on Thursday, including a full property website and open house information.
A Great Time To Buy Or Sell
Filed under Blog · Tagged: Current Market, Home Prices, Housing Choices, Los Altos
Most look at the Holiday’s as a slow time in the Real Estate market. Historically, that’s been correct. Our minds turn to family and friends, and the many celebrations of the season. However, 2009 is a different market, and now is actually a great time to be in a position to either buy or sell a home.
For sellers, with housing inventory so low, and limited properties coming on the market, your home has the chance to stand out. If you are looking to sell in the next few months, there are three factors that favor quick action: 1) Inventory is at its lowest point of the year; 2) Buyers actively looking, during this time of the year, are seriously interested in purchasing a well-priced home; and 3) Rates are at historic lows, which allows buyers to buy a higher priced home (when rates go up, affordability goes down).
As a seller, if you are looking to potentially sell your home in early spring, feel free to contact us for a list of items you can begin working on, to ready your home for market. Having time to prepare your home, if necessary, allows you to manage the process over months, rather than weeks. We will walk you through our recommendations, and even manage the entire process for you, if you prefer.
For buyers who are actively investigating housing options during this time of the year, you are in a great position to secure a great home for a good price. As we mentioned above, rates are at historic lows. Interest rates began dropping last November, when the Federal Reserve began spending $1.25 trillion to buy up mortgage-backed securities in an effort to lower rates, loosen credit availability and bolster the long-suffering housing market.
This week, average rates for 30-year fixed mortgages had fallen to 4.78, matching a record low set last spring. However, per the conversations we are having with lending institutions, rates will likely increase, probably within the next 12 months to 6.0 or 6.5 percent.
Now is the time to act. Delaying may cost you the opportunity to buy the home of your dreams. There are still ~ 80 homes on the market in Los Altos. Some of those homes have been for sale for a while, and have seen their list price adjusted downward. Others homes have lasted only a few days, or weeks, on the market as they were snapped up quickly as a result of being priced and positioned for today’s market.
As spring rolls around, there will be additional inventory coming on the market. However, you will be competing with a larger pool of buyers for those homes. Over the past few months, we have seen a continued trend of multiple offers for well-priced homes. We fully anticipate that this will be the case next year.
With a strong real estate team in place, a seller or buyer could have a tactical advantage, if they utilize the right tools for today’s market. Carol & I would be happy to sit down with you and share our strategy which is designed to position you for success. If you are looking to move into Los Altos, or simply across town, we are confident that we can help you. Simply contact us today at 650-823-1434 for an appointment.
Los Altos Continues To Thrive
Filed under Blog · Tagged: 269 Langton Ave, Employee Relocation, Home Prices, Housing Choices, Los Altos, Market Trends
It has been another great month in the Los Altos Real Estate market. Last month I commented that in September alone, there were 38% more homes sold this year, than last. Well, the trend continues. In October, Los Altos realized a 39% increase of more homes sold this year, than last.
Of course, one could postulate that the economic uncertainty created a slow market in the fall of 2008. However, it is important to note that there was a decrease of only 14%, year-over-year, in total homes sold in Los Altos, from October 2007 to October 2008. Basically, the local market remained viable, albeit somewhat unsettled.
Today, there are still roughly 85 homes available to buy in all of Los Altos. But remember, there are over 10,700 total homes in the city. So, available inventory remains tight.
Separately, an interesting dynamic is occurring in this tight market: the length of time a home is staying on the market unsold. The average days of all homes currently on market for sale in Los Altos is just over 150 days. That’s 5+ months.
What’s creating this disparity? The key drivers really come down to four factors: 1) realistic pricing of the property; 2) positioning/visibility of the home in today’s market; 3) seller motivation; and 4) effective utilization of available marketing tools to reach today’s buyer.
As a case in point, our current listing at 269 Langton Avenue sold in just 14 days. That’s in stark contrast to the average days on market for those other homes in Los Altos. We put together an effective plan, executed on that plan in partnership with the homeowner, and developed an outreach campaign to attract the maximum number of agents and interested buyers.
For Langton, we had over 300 Real Estate Agents stop by the home on Broker Tour, just two Friday’s ago. This was one of the highest turnouts achieved for the tour that day. Buyer traffic through the property was consistent from the time we hit the market. Just over 200 potential buyers visited the property through open house. Additionally, an average of 2 private showings occurred each day once the home was available.
So, the market is strong, but inventory is low. There are a number of buyers looking to move into Los Altos, but they are strategically examining the available options. With a strong real estate team in place, a seller or buyer could have a tactical advantage, if they utilize the right tools for today’s market.
If you are looking to move into Los Altos, or simply move across town, we are confident that we can help you. Call us today at 650-823-1434. We would love the opportunity to earn your business.
The Best Places To Raise A Family
Filed under Blog · Tagged: Employee Relocation, Housing Choices, Los Altos, Top 10
Los Altos was once again ranked among the top 10 places to raise a family. You may recall that back in 2005, the Wall Street Journal ranked Los Altos as the best place to raise a family on the West Coast. At the time, the Journal ranking was quite an honor for our community, while this current study highlights our continuity.
While rankings come out from time to time, we have chosen to highlight those that speak to raising a family here in Los Altos. Here is why …
The mission statement for the City of Los Altos reads as follows:
“The mission of our city staff, council, commissions, committees and volunteers is to foster and maintain the City of Los Altos as a great place to live and to raise a family.”
While there are bullet points associated with the mission statement, the main statement represents its overarching objective. The focus is simple, keep Los Altos great. The desired outcome is to maintain the quality of life here in town.
It is always nice to have independent assessments affirm the value of Los Altos. Recently, Rob, a blogger on the east coast, wrote the following:
Home buyers, who are parents, are always on the look out for the perfect place to raise their children. Places that have excellent schools are often preferred, and in many cases, is a major factor in deciding where to buy a home. While school quality is important, there other many other factors that buyers consider when selecting a residential neighborhood.
Andrew Schiller, a geographer and founder of Location Inc., conducted a study that ranked the top 10 family-friendly metro areas in USA. The rankings were derived using six criteria that included: the availability of good schools, low crime rate, high home ownership rates, high numbers of residents with college degrees, and the percentage of families with children and single-family homes.
When a community has high ownership rates, it reflects an investment in the location by the residents, which is a positive aspect. A high number of college-educated residents in a community increases the likelihood of greater community involvement in the schools, which contributes to school quality. Home buyers with children value communities that already have a lot of children. The social network for both the children and parents are great in such communities.
In the study, Schiller made out two lists, one that considered home prices and one that did not. The research was conducted twice for each metro area, once without considering cost, and the second time considering reasonably priced areas. This way, the study was expected to reflect the top 10 choices and the best value communities in the top 10 U.S. metropolitan areas for raising children.
When home values were not a factor, the top locales for families with children in the top 10 largest U.S. metropolitan areas were:
1.In the Boston metro area: Sudbury, Massachusetts.
2.In the New York metro area: Manhasset, New York
3.In the Philadelphia area: Richboro, Pennsylvania
4.In the Washington area: Potomac, Maryland
5.In the Detroit area: Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
6.In the Chicago area: Lake Forest, Illinois
7.In the Dallas-Ft. Worth area: Highland Park, Texas
8.In the Houston area: Sugar Land, Texas
9.In the San Francisco Bay area: Los Altos, California
10.In the Los Angeles area: Moorpark, California
So, there you have it … another independent ranking affirming why Los Altos is such a great community. Whether you are considering moving into Los Altos, or simply across town, we would be happy to help you find the home that is just right for you.
Call us today at 650-823-1434, or simply take a few moments to set up a quick home search, here. We look forward to working with you.
Los Altos Real Estate Trends
Filed under Blog · Tagged: Home Prices, Housing Choices, Inflation, Interest Rates
Los Altos has traditionally been a good long-term investment. In terms of trends, the beginning of the 2009 had little activity in home sales compared to the same time last year. The lack of meaningful activity was not attributable to the seasonal winter lull. It was a confluence of events which culminated in a state of shock. Essentially, the housing market was in a deep freeze. As winter morphed into spring, activity clearly increased. However, housing transactions for the first 5 months continue to lag behind 2008.
Currently, with increasing availability of credit, buyers have begun to seek out viable home options. It appears that a clear segment of Los Altos home shoppers are now actively engaged in the hunt for housing. Sellers, who have priced their properties for the current market, are attracting these buyers. In some cases, sellers are again seeing multiple offers. Just last week, one property received 12 offers.
While home prices have modestly drifted downwards, Los Altos continues to draw qualified buyers looking for a good buy in a great community. More importantly, Los Altos continues to hold its own compared to the significant price declines we have seen in other nearby cities. This strength can be directly tied to the value of our local schools, the quality of life of our residents, and the financial stability of the City itself.
Clearly, housing choices abound in Los Altos. As a buyer, you can select from a wide variety of available properties. As a renter, a diverse selection of apartments, condos, townhouses and single family homes become available, from time to time. At the end of the day, while there are a number of homes to buy, the local rental market remains tight. [Note: We'll explore two new developments in a future post.]
Going forward, we anticipate Los Altos home prices will stabilize by September. This is a good thing, as pricing expectations achieve equilibrium. Separately, we see the Federal Government’s recent involvement in the capital markets and the manipulation of interest rates will have negative consequences by the end of 2010. Inflation is expected to return, interest rates will rise and mortgage costs will increase. If you are in a position to do so, we recommend locking in today’s historically low rates.
As I mentioned, Los Altos home has historically been a good long-term investment. As a community, this has also been a great place to raise a family. Now is the time to buy, or sell, in Los Altos. Let us help you successfully navigate the changing real estate landscape.
About Us
Moving into Los Altos? We can help! We have lived in Los Altos for the past 35 years and love helping people buy and sell homes in this great city! We bring experience, knowledge, skills and professionalism to each of our client relationships. Our clients will agree they would not have had the same positive experience, at each step of the way, if they had not had us represent them.
David Casas Cell: 650-823-8920 or Email
(DRE#01116954)
Carol Casas Cell: 650-823-1434 or Email
(DRE#01123855)