Private Atherton Estate now on the market for $6.99 Million

A new luxury home has hit the market in Atherton on a private cul-de-sac street.  My new listing has 6 bedrooms, 5.5 baths and is approximately 7,000 square feet.  It sits on just over one acre and has beautiful landscaping as well as the perfect setup for the family that likes an outdoor lifestyle or entertaining.  There is a pool, hot tub, lots of patio decking for parties, putting green, sand volleyball court and huge grassy area for playing any kind of family games.

The interior of the home is very spacious and light filled.  The six bedrooms are all generous in size and there is also a large office/den as well as bonus room that can be used for a workout room or media room.  The family room is large and just off the kitchen, so it creates the perfect hanging out area, that also happens to lead to the pool and outdoor entertaining areas.  This luxury Atherton real estate listing can be seen by appointment only by calling Gary Kurtz of Alain Pinel Realtors. The asking price is $6.999 million.  The virtual tour will show you more pictures or you can go to my APR website for more information.

Atherton has seen a surge in purchases of luxury real estate recently and homes in the 5-20 million dollar range have been selling, despite the sluggish economy.  Atherton California is one of the most expensive areas in the country, having ranked #2 for highest average listing price.

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

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

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

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.

Palo Alto Mansion

Today was a day looking at some homes for sale in Palo Alto, California.  I was pleasantly surprised by some great homes that I found today, some classic mansions and some with unbelievable views.  Palo Alto is known for it’s oak tree lined quaint streets with mansions stacked up side by side.  Some are classic old mansions and some are new and totally renovated and have a contemporary feel.  One mansion today was a classic style that had upgrades, but at the same time you could feel the history of the house.  Situated on a little over half acre, the grounds are lush with a pool, rose gardens and lots of large trees and beautiful grass areas.

The house seems to go on forever as room after room is discovered on a walkthru of the upstairs.  Bedroom leads to another bedroom or workout room and you get the feeling you could easily get lost from the rest of the people in the house by finding a room off a room to hang out in.  Even for a large family, I can’t see this house ever feeling crowded. Palo Alto Luxury real estate is alive and well.

The living room, family room, dining room and “piano room” all have large picture windows that view out to the picturesque backyard giving a feeling of living in your own private world.

Open House Weekend

Fixer Upper

I spent the weekend looking around in Atherton, specifically the Lindenwood area trying to find a good open house.  Wasn’t any to find this weekend and there isn’t a lot of homes for sale in there right now.  There was a couple to look at, but I would consider them fixer uppers as opposed to a typical Atherton great home.  If you want to find other areas for open houses, don’t forget to check my website on APR.  Just put in the area you want to check out and let me do the work for you.

Property Open House
House Condo Land
City or ZipCode: County/Region: Peninsula / South Bay Monterey San Benito San Mateo Santa Clara Santa Cruz City/Area: Alta Mesa/Glenwood CircleArmstrong Ranch/Marina StationAromasAsilomar/Grove Acre/CrockerBeach Tract/Fairway HomesBig Sur CoastBoronda MeadowsBradley/San Ardo/San LucasBrookdaleCannery Row/Lighthouse BusinessCardozaCARMEL (CAR) Carmel HillsCarmel MeadowsCarmel PointCarmel RanchoCARMEL VALLEY (CV) Carmel Valley RanchCarmel Valley Village/Los TulareCarmel Views / Rancho Rio VistaCarmel WoodsCasanova/Oak KnollCastrovilleCentral Ave/DowntownCentral Pebble BeachCoskyCountry Club EastCountry Club Gate/Forest GroveCountry Club WestCreekbridgeDeer Flats/Fisherman FlatsDel Monte BeachDel Monte ParkDel Rey OaksDEL REY OAKS (DR) Downtown/Fisherman WharfEast Salinas – 66East Salinas – 68Forest Ave/Pine AveForest HillGarden Rd/Ryan Ranch/FairgroundsGarland RanchGonzales/ChualarGreenfieldHacienda / Del MesaHall Road/Las Lomas/AromasHatton FieldsHigh MeadowsHighlands InnHillcrest/Candy Cane LaneIndian Springs/Pine CanyonIndustrialJack’s PeakKing City/Pine CanyonLas Palmas RanchLaSalle/Ord GroveLaurel HeightsLaurelwoodLobos RidgeLocke PaddonLodgeLower BroadwayLower CarmelLower KimballLower ReindollerMalpasoMaple ParkMar VistaMARINA (MA) Marina Heights/The DunesMid BroadwayMid ValleyMiddle MarinaMiramonteMissionMission ParkMonte Bella/SorrentoMonte Rogio/Peters GateMonte VistaMonte Vista/Cambrian VillageMONTEREY (MO) Monterey ParkMonterraMontrery Bay EstatesNew East SalinasNew MontereyNorth Big Sur CoastNorth BorondaNORTH MONTEREY COUNTY (NOM) North Salinas – 61North Salinas – 62NORTH SALINAS (NS)Northeast CarmelNorthgate/Sherwood GardensNorthwest CarmelOak GroveOak HillOld Del Monte/AguajitoOld Town MontereyOtter Cove / Yankee PointPACIFIC GROVE (PG) Pasadera/Laguna Seca/Bay RidgePEBBLE BEACH (PB) Pesante/Crazy Horse/HarrisonPoint LobosPrunedale/Elkhorn/Moss LandingQuail Meadows/The PreserveSALINAS MONTEREY HWY (SMH) San Benancio/Harper Cyn/Rim RockSand CitySeacrest/MortimerSeaside HighlandsSEASIDE/SAND CITY (SEA) Skyline Forest/Skyline RidgeSoledadSouth Big Sur CoastSOUTH COAST (SCT) SOUTH MONTEREY COUNTYSouth SalinasSOUTH SALINAS (SS)Southeast CarmelSouthwest CarmelSpreckelsTierra Granda/TehamaToro Park/Serra Village/CreeksidTrinity/PalmUndeveloped areaUpper Broadway/MescalUpper CarmelUpper Forest/Sheppards KnollUpper KimballUpper ReindollerUpper Valley/CachaguaVilla Del Monte/Del Monte GroveVillage ViewsVista Del CaminoWashington Park/Marino Pines
Min Price:	Any $100,000 $110,000 $120,000 $130,000 $140,000 $150,000 $160,000 $170,000 $180,000 $190,000 $200,000 $225,000 $250,000 $275,000 $300,000 $325,000 $350,000 $375,000 $400,000 $450,000 $500,000 $550,000 $600,000 $650,000 $700,000 $750,000 $800,000 $850,000 $900,000 $1,000,000 $1,500,000 $2,000,000 $3,000,000 $4,000,000 $5,000,000 $10,000,000
Max Price:	Any $100,000 $110,000 $120,000 $130,000 $140,000 $150,000 $160,000 $170,000 $180,000 $190,000 $200,000 $225,000 $250,000 $275,000 $300,000 $325,000 $350,000 $375,000 $400,000 $450,000 $500,000 $550,000 $600,000 $650,000 $700,000 $750,000 $800,000 $850,000 $900,000 $1,000,000 $1,500,000 $2,000,000 $3,000,000 $4,000,000 $5,000,000 $10,000,000
Bedrooms:	Any 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Bathrooms:	Any 1 2 3 4 5
Sq Feet:	Any 500+ 1000+ 1500+ 2000+ 2500+ 3000+ 3500+ 4000+ 4500+ 5000+ 5500+ 6000+ 6500+ 7000+