Why So Many Chinese Buyers in Palo Alto and Along the Peninsula?

Why So Many Chinese Buyers in Palo Alto and Along the Peninsula?

Everybody reads about the large supply of Chinese buyers who are buying homes here along the Peninsula.  There are many agents, one prominent one who we all know and now has a plane to fly his Chinese buyers around, who target the Chinese buyers very heavily.  Buy, why are there so many Chinese buyers and why are they buying here?

We all marvel at the prices being paid and the recent appreciation of 30% per year for the past couple years.  For those of us who live along the Peninsula, you may be surprised to know that real estate in Palo Alto, Atherton and Menlo Park may be a bargain when compared with other international locales. Heck, we aren’t even as expensive as New York.  Who would have thought 10 years ago that an investor from Shanghai might find a Manhattan penthouse affordable? Of the 10 most expensive cities in the world, New York is the only one from the U.S., said a recent report from England-based real estate consultancy Knight Frank and researcher WealthInsight. Monaco, Hong Kong, London, Singapore and Geneva all outranked New York. Sydney, Paris, Moscow and Shanghai rounded out the list. San Francisco, Palo Alto and Atherton, not even on the list.

In Hong Kong, which saw double-digit real estate price increases from 2009 to 2012, the average luxury home was valued at around $11,000 per square foot, the global real estate firm Savills said in a 2012 report. Yes, $11,000 per square foot! London, with its own booming real estate market, averaged $5,300 per square foot, while New York checked in at $4,100. Atherton and Palo Alto generally sells for $1,500  to $2,000 per square foot, quite a deal compared to the big guys.

For the 12 months ended in February, 788 homes worth more than $10 million each were sold in the U.S., according to real estate website Zillow. Slightly more than half were in the Los Angeles and New York areas. San Francisco, south Florida and Colorado ski resorts Aspen and Vail also saw some of the most-expensive transactions. Chinese Buyers, in particular, Chinese homebuyers increasingly are buying up high-end property in the U.S., Realtors said. China’s strong economic growth has generated dozens of billionaires and thousands of millionaires in recent years. They are attracted to America’s stronger property rights and a relatively stable political and economic climate, according to the National Association of Realtors.

So, why are so many Chinese buyers scooping up luxury properties? Because they are rich and prices here are a deal and they have property rights that might be hard to come by in their own country.  Hard to blame them.

With the worldwide economy getting better, I can’t see much of a slowdown to the pace of buying from our overseas friends.  Gary Kurtz of Alain Pinel in Menlo Park has Chinese buyers that he has never met but converse with on a regular basis and are looking for investment homes here in the Atherton area.  I find lots of Atherton and Palo Alto off market homes and I know they will make a relatively quick decision and buy without seeing as they trust my word and insight into the market.  It seems to be a win-win situation for sellers, Chinese buyers, agents and all in the luxury real estate industry.

 

Palo Alto Open House: 1424 Hamilton Avenue

Palo Alto Open House: 1424 Hamilton Avenue

Come check out my open house today from 1-4pm in Palo Alto at 1424 Hamilton Avenue. Located in the highly desirable Crescent Park area, the home has 2,666 square feet, 3 bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths on a 7500 square foot lot.

Originally built in 1931, the home has been recently remodeled, but keeps the original English charm with high beam ceilings, walnut floors and a vintage picture window. The home has two master suites, one on the main level and the upper master has dramatic vaulted ceilings and French doors that lead to the beautiful balcony and stairs descending to the garden.  This amazing remodel integrates state of the art systems and exceptional finishes and crafstmanship.

Luxury real estate in Palo Alto is selling well and this home is no exception to the rule that good homes are highly desirable especially in Palo Alto.  The schools are Duveneck Elementary, Jordan Midle and Palo Alto high.

The asking price is $3,995,000.

Come out and say hello or give me a call if you are not represented and would like to get a tour or disclosures.  This is the only open house and all other showings are by appointment only.

Atherton Now Most Expensive City In USA

Atherton Now Most Expensive City In USA

Yes, it was only a matter of time, but it finally happened.  Forbes declared Atherton’s 94027 as the most expensive zip code in the country. For those of us who live here, we knew this was coming.  Especially since about 40% of sales are off market in Atherton so we think it’s been number one for a while.  Due to the volume of buyers from China, more properties are actually going on to MLS where they can be seen on various websites the Chinese buyers look at.

The median home price is $9.4 million, up from $6.6 from last year.  The first quarter of this year has recorded 7 sales over $10 million dollars  and there are many listed now from 10-50 million dollars (on and off market).

The crazy thing is also that Menlo Park is now moving quickly up the price ranks as well.  Just as an example, today on tour there were 10 new listings all over 2 million dollars and the highest is $5.85 million.  Just last year, Menlo Park was averaging in the $1.6 price range and that is also surging.

Prices across the board are up 30% from last year, so what was unaffordable last year to the average person is even more over the top this year.  There are still multiple bidding wars going on for properties at all price points.  Take for example the property that was on broker tour in Atherton last week for 14 million and is being quoted as being bought sight unseen by a Chinese buyer.  The fact of the matter is that an agent I toured it with actually bought it right after tour and before I could bring my clients by to see it.  I knew it would go fast, but I wasn’t expecting it to go that fast.

Overall, luxury real estate is alive and well and especially along the Peninsula in cities like Atherton, Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Los Altos hills.  There are still more buyers than sellers, but hopefully some more inventory will start to hit soon.  My buyers are getting frustrated!

Off Market home in Menlo Park

Off Market home in Menlo Park

Ok, all my off market followers will find this home of great interest.  Off market properties are everywhere these days and you need a good agent who knows how to find them and get them for you.  I specialize in off market properties as I believe it shows we work hard for our clients and don’t just simply click on MLS listings to complete our work.  In this market, an agent needs to go much more than that to earn the commissions we do. So, I post them here on this blog or send them out via my twitter (twitter.com/luxuryreinsider) or Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/garykurtzluxuryrealestate).

Today’s off market is a wonder home in Menlo Park in the Allied Arts area.  It’s a 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath home that is 3,123 square feet on a 7500 sf lot.  The main house is 2,538 sf and a nice guest house, which is currently set up as a media room, is almost 600sf.  The home has been updated with walnut floors, stone, tile and wonderful finishes.  There is a wine cellar, an in ground trampoline for the kids and generously sized rooms complete with a remodeled open kitchen.

The price is $3,495,000.

Call me if you are unrepresented and would like to see the home or know more about it at 650.543.1202.

Alain Pinel Realtors Now Number 5 in Nation

Alain Pinel Realtors Now Number 5 in Nation

Not to toot our own horn, but Real Trends named Alain Pinel Realtors the number 5 largest broker in the nation with sales of over $10 billion dollars for 2013.  Not bad considering we are a regional company that is still privately held.  We have 29 offices and I would say a large percentage of the deals are coming from Menlo Park, Palo Alto and Los Gatos areas.  Our office is typically the number one or two office for the company as we have about 70 agents in our office and typically total over a billion dollars in sales annually.

Since I’m in the Menlo Park office, I have an affinity to Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Atherton, Woodside areas as my home territory but do expand to surrounding areas such as Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Saratoga, Portola Valley, Mountain View and wherever is appropriate for my buyers and sellers.

Luxury real estate is my passion as is the company and our agents.

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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