Menlo Park Turnover Higher Than Atherton

Menlo Park Turnover Higher Than Atherton

When looking at the statistics for which cities have the highest percentage of turnover in the Bay Area, Menlo Park outpaced Atherton and many other communities for home and condo turnover for the year 2009.  The numbers are still lower than you might expect, but interesting to look at for determining which communities have the highest percentage of moving trucks throughout the year.

A couple of key cities and their turnover rates are:

Community     # of homes     Sales in 2009     Turnover %

Atherton                2,504                71                          2.84

Burlingame          7,318              195                         2.48

Hillsborough       2,872               106                         2.74

Menlo Park          8,915                323                        3.62

All numbers are down from 2008, but I guess this shows that, at most, about one out of every 30 of your neighbors will be moving this year or lising their house for sale.  I’m sure there are times when we wish that number was higher (loud parties, barking dogs, deferred maintenance) but at least now you know what to expect. So, even though luxury real estate in Menlo Park is highly sought after, the turnover is a bit higher than other areas.

Atherton Home Prices on the Rebound

January 29, 2010 Real Estate News No Comments
Atherton Home Prices on the Rebound

Signs of Recovery

On a year to year comparison, the average listing price and selling price of luxury real estate in Atherton were both up in listing and sales prices.  The average selling price was $2,689,000 while the average Atherton home for sale had a listing price of just over $5.5 million dollars.

Knowing that Atherton real estate has about a 93% list to selling price ratio, I’m sure there will be further increases in sold prices for the month of January as well as listing prices.  We are seeing lots of buyers out there looking for luxury real estate in Atherton and many with cash in hand so the loan process won’t impact the sale.  Our office is having more high end sales in Atherton so far in January than it has in the last couple of years for the same time period, so despite the economy, luxury real estate in Atherton is still on the highly sought after list of places to live.

According to DataQuick, the figures were as follows:

1 month
1 Year
15 Months

Nov 09 Dec 09 % Change Dec 08 Dec 09 % Change Oct 08 Dec 09 % Change
Avg. Active Price 5123 5551 8.4% 5434 5551 2.2% 5394 5551 2.9%
Avg. Sold Price 2284 2698 18.1% 1925 2698 40.2% 2337 2698 15.4 %

Menlo Park Inventories Down, Sales Up

January 28, 2010 Real Estate News No Comments
Menlo Park Inventories Down, Sales Up

Prices Are Down, But More Are Selling
Statistics for the month of December show that Menlo Park residents aren’t putting as many homes on the market, but the overall volume of sales and pending sales is up.   With a 25% increase in number of homes sold and a whopping 300% increase of pending sales, more people are definitely getting their homes sold according to Dataquick.

The average sales price for a home in Menlo Park in December was $1,020,00 (down 4.1% compared to last December).  I believe this low average sales price and higher volume has a lot to do with the first time home buyer tax credit that was being pushed so heavily towards the end of the year (which has been extended to April 30, 2010 for first time and now includes move up home buyers).  The average listing price in Menlo Park for December was just over $1.7 million dollars, but it’s the homes closer to the million dollar mark that have been selling.

1 month 1 year 15 months
Nov 09 Dec 09 % Change Dec 08 Dec 09 % Change Oct 08 Dec 09 % Change
Avg. Active Price 1775 1745 -1.7% 1464 1745 19.2% 1702 1745 2.5%
Avg. Sold Price 1325 1020 -23% 1064 1020 -4.1% 1308 1020 -22%

Palo Alto Luxury Real Estate…on Tour Today

January 15, 2010 Real Estate News No Comments
The Palo Alto Egg

The Palo Alto Egg

It took until the 15th of January, but today there was actually a decent amount of Palo Alto real estate on the market to preview.  The first couple weeks of the year are usually slow and not many homes to view on broker tour or at open houses.  So, it’s exciting to get a  feeling that activity is starting up again and agents and sellers are out there again showing their wares.

I visited a couple of great surprise homes.  When I say surprise, I mean that from the outside I was thinking the house would be fairly average, but when you get inside, the surprise is in the size and quality of the home.  A home on Park Blvd. was the house of the day for me.  Check it out by clicking here. It’s been entirely remodeled and even has a nice screening room.   It’s listed by Alexandra Vondergroeben of the Sereno Group, call me and  I can help out if you are a buyer that is not working with an agent.

I saw a couple of homes that I know will come down in price, but I won’t list those here.   Overall, the prices out there are fairly consistent and in line with where the market is, not where it will be by spring (which will probably be higher in my opinion).

Palo Alto Luxury real estate is back on the rise.  There are a good number of homes for sale and some condos for sale that are reasonably priced.

Real Estate Investors Returning to Market!

Real Estate Investors Returning to Market!

Savvy investors are always the first to jump in a potentially profitable housing market and reports show things heating up.

More than 12 percent of homebuyers today plan to purchase a home as an investment, compared to less than half, only 5.6 percent, just seven months ago, according to a recent real estate survey.

Foreclosure buyers account for 25.3 percent of consumers interested in purchasing a home and 42 percent of potential foreclosure buyers regard their purchases as investments, while 57.6 percent plan to live in the foreclosed home themselves.

This latest Homeownership Survey validates what many had hoped to see in the housing markets — affordable prices and ample inventories are restoring the appeal of real estate to investors while providing opportunities for first time home buyers to enter the market.

Interest rates are below 5 percent for much of the year and … Continue Reading

Time To Buy An REO? New Policy by Fannie Mae Could Help!

Time To Buy An REO? New Policy by Fannie Mae Could Help!

Are you in the market for a bank owned property?  Have you tried in the past to get in on a deal, only to be stuck in an eternal timeline of paperwork and waiting on the bank for answers?  Well, mortgage giant Fannie Mae is unhappy about the mounting thousands of REO houses it’s stuck with and is now moving to sell off that inventory faster than it has in the past, potentially opening up some interesting opportunities for home buyers and their agents.

In a new policy announcement, Fannie says it will now accept purchase offers for its REO immediately after listing, without notifying lenders or mortgage servicers whose loan files are under review.

Under its previous policy, Fannie gave lenders and servicers fifteen days to find a better purchase offer for new REO they sent to the company following foreclosure.

That policy affected all repossessions where Fannie demanded the loan file on the house – potentially exposing errors in underwriting or servicing, and requiring reimbursement for losses by the lender.

But that policy also had a negative impact on Fannie’s ability to move its REO ‘s out the … Continue Reading

The New Jobs Report and Real Estate

January 11, 2010 Real Estate News No Comments
The New Jobs Report and Real Estate

The highly anticipated Jobs Report arrived last Friday morning, showing 85,000 jobs lost during December…and while this was a bit worse than expected, the report also carried some good news, in that the prior month’s revisions showed that November actually had a final tabulation of job gains for the month, for the first time since December 2007.

Additionally, the Unemployment Rate remained stable at 10%. While this all seems to indicate some level of improvement in the labor market – you do have to look beneath the surface to clearly understand the present realities for the labor market.

The Labor Department does use a household survey to calculate the Unemployment Rate – and remember, it stayed stable at 10% – but the calculation is determined by how many people are presently in the workforce. And the household survey indicated that last month, 661,000 people left the workforce.

Whoa – what does “leaving the workforce” mean? And where exactly are they going? Let’s take a closer look … Continue Reading

My Contact Information

Gary Kurtz
949.565.5201
gkurtz@homgroup.com
BRE# 01710776

Kathy Kurtz
714.394.2676
kathyk213@aol.com
BRE# 01876966

HOM Sotheby's International Realty
1200 Newport Center Drive, # 100
Newport Beach, CA 92660

949.565.5201 (cell)
949.478.7769 (office)
650.796.5507 (Silicon Valley #)

Contact me now with any questions:
gkurtz@homgroup.com

Kurtz Real Estate Group




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