Palo Alto Starts Off 2012 With A Surge of Home Sales

Palo Alto real estate is having a happy 2012!

Yes, I know it’s only been just over two weeks into the new year, but sales in Palo Alto have been very strong compared to the past couple of years.  The entire month of January 2011 had a total of 17 closed sales,  January 2010 had 23 closed sales and January of 2009 had only 12 closed sales for the entire month.  Well, so far in the first two weeks of January 2012, there has already been 19 closed sales as of  January 16th.  Obviously, it’s no guarantee that the rest of the month or year will stay on the same surge, but it’s definitely a good sign for real estate and the economy.

There is also a general buzz around our offices at the activity that is happening and the amount of buyers that are out there aggressively looking to buy or in the process of buying.  This hasn’t happened in several years so we are all working harder than ever to make sure our buyers don’t miss out on any opportunities, as they are going quickly! My guess is that this will cause prices to rise due to the number of buyers compared to the number of homes available for sale.  A good sign for sellers as I would suggest getting your home on the market within the next two months to take advantage of the situation.

If you are interested in listing your home for sale or finding a home, please give me a call.  The above numbers don’t include the very active “off market” transactions that are happening at a higher than normal rate as well.  We have a nice supply of those too!

Menlo Park Monthly Real Estate Sales Figures for October 2011

The average sales price of a home in Menlo Park fell 7.8% for the month of October 2011 compared to October 2010.  The total number of sales for both periods were similar, which is good news, but the home prices were a little lower than expected.  The surprise number is that the average price per square foot rose, so that means people are paying less, but also for smaller homes.

All other numbers for the month look healthy for both buyers and sellers.  Luxury real estate in Menlo Park, Palo Alto and Atherton is still in demand compared to the rest of the country and nothing to complain about.  See the attached short video for all the key statistics.

Atherton Luxury Estate Price Reduction

A beautiful estate in Atherton has just lowered the asking price of their 7,000 square foot, 6 bedroom, 5 1/2 bath on over one acre property to $6.6 million. That’s a price reduction of $400k! The home also has a pool, large grassy yard, sand volleyball court and located next door to where Joe Montana lived several years ago.  Atherton real estate has fewer properties on the market this year compared to last year, but homes are still moving and Atherton was just named as the second most expensive zip code in the nation as was reported today in the Realtor.com article. The full list is an interesting read.

Atherton Real Estate Sales Update for September 2011

Atherton luxury real estate sales figures for the month of September, 2011 compared to September 2010.  As you can see, the numbers are staying steady as listing prices are way up, but sales prices continue to remain down a bit from last year.

Menlo Park Real Estate Update – Statistics for September 2011

A short video that shows the important real estate statistics for Menlo Park sales figures for the month of September, 2011 compared to September 2010. This is a good indicator on how the real estate market for Menlo Park is doing and helps buyers and sellers determine timing for buying or listing a home for sale.

Atherton Mansion For Sale – Short Tour

I thought it would be fun to add a short form version of my longer tours and for now I’m calling them my 2 minute tour videos.  Here is one of my luxury listing in Atherton.  Atherton real estate is selling well this month and this home is getting many buyers looking with several return visits.  I look forward to your thoughts on this shorter form.

Atherton Estate For Sale With Discounted Price

Yes, it is true.  A high end luxury estate in Atherton is priced to sell and has recently lowered the asking price.  The estate has three buildings on it – main home, guest house and office/artists studio for a total of over 6,200 square feet of living space.  This home is great for extended families, has a beautiful pool with slide, parking for 8 cars, and a large lot with fruit trees and sitting areas.  The main home is centered around the open floor plan of the combined kitchen and family room areas where your family will congregate around meals or entertaining.  Bedrooms are all generous in size and have their own bathrooms for that “suite” feeling and privacy.

The home has been reduced by almost $400,000 to sell quickly and the new asking price is $3,495,000.  Lindenwood Estate homes are in demand and this luxury estate is priced to sell.  Great Menlo Park schools and close proximity to public transportation and freeways.

Call me for a private showing or if you need any more information.

Central Menlo Leads Sales Volume By Large Margin in Menlo Park

The Central Menlo area showed the most total sales volume by dollar amount compared to other areas of Menlo Park by quite a large margin. There was just over $122 million dollars in total sales for the last twelve month period. The results are based on 390 total sales for all of Menlo Park and 62 sales were posted in the Central Menlo area. Coming in second for amount of units sold was actually the east of 101 area of Menlo Park, however, the home sales prices are dramatically different than Central Menlo and the reason for the vast dollar amount difference. Luxury real estate sales are still strong as Central Menlo had an average sales price of just under two million dollars.

Area: Dollar Volume: Number of Sales
Central Menlo: $122,821,516: 62
County / Alameda Area: $67,163,500: 44
Allied Arts / Downtown: $50,725,625: 34
Willows / O’Conner Area: $47,499,890: 43
Menlo Oaks Area: $41,449,100: 21
Sharon Heights / Stanford: $35,012,600: 18
Middlefield to El Camino: $33,717,910: 28
County Area / Fair Oaks Ave: $24,399,875: 36
Flood Park Area: $24,246,275: 29
East of U.S. 101: $18,110,811: 61
Felton Gables: $9,250,000: 4
Alpine Road Area: $6,006,000: 6

Video Tour of Atherton Luxury Multi-Million Dollar Estate For Sale

Here is a video tour of my recent luxury real estate listing in Atherton, California that is priced just under 7 million dollars. The home has 6 bedrooms, 6 baths and approximately 7,000 sf.  It sits on just over one acre of beautifully landscaped grounds and is the perfect family estate.  There is a sunny pool, large decking area, hot tub, sand volleyball court, putting green, and large grassy area for kids of all ages.  Inside the home, the rooms are all large, have high ceilings and are all light and bright due to the skylights and windows throughout the home.  Located at the end of a cul-de-sac street of only 5 homes and behind an electronic gate, this home has the privacy many buyers in this price range want.  If you need further information, don’t hesitate to call me or send an email to gkurtz@apr.com.

Palo Alto Real Estate Takes a Breath

Palo Alto real estate is still hopping, however, the market has been cooling off a bit in recent weeks, as more homes are available and demand is less. Some prices even moved a bit lower as a result. Expect this trend to continue as more inventory hits the market.  Palo Alto has a lot of luxury real estate and is always an area in demand due to the tech executives and companies that call Palo Alto home.  In our recent reports, the median price in Palo Alto 94301 is $1,597,000 and average days on market is only 61 days.  Just a couple weeks ago, the median price was over $2.1 million so this shows the inventory in that sweet spot is fairly non existent.   The surprising number this week is the percentage of homes with a price decrease, which is 35%.  That’s a big number for such a strong area.  This means that the “in demand” homes have sold quickly and it’s probably the less desirable properties that are still sitting on the market.  It’s still a sellers market in Palo Alto and the average price per square foot is at $934 and I’ve seen homes that are asking way over that price per square foot, but are tending to sit if they go over $1,000.