Palo Alto Real Estate Sales Stay Hot in September

Sales for the month of September stayed hot in Palo Alto as increases across the board in sales and listing prices compared to the same period a year and two years ago.  Luxury real estate in the Silicon Valley is still in demand and buyers are still scooping up properties at all prices.  These statistics are for single family homes throughout Palo Alto and if you break it down by area, the increases are even greater for certain higher demand neighborhoods.

Homes for sale in Palo Alto discussions always turn to inventory.  Right now, there is a one month inventory for Palo Alto, which is very low.  The end of the year selling season hopes to increase supply to meet some of the high demand that is out there.

530 Irven Court in Palo Alto Sells 5% Over Asking Price

530 Irvin Court in Palo Alto was listed on February 20, 2012 for $1,598,000 and sold for $1,680,000 on March 12, 2012, a 5% gain in sales price from asking price.   The Barron Park home features 5 bedrooms, 4 1/2 baths, a gourmet kitchen with large island, full basement with media/game room, granite counters and a private yard.  The home is approximately 3,624 square feet.  Palo Alto real estate is continuing a robust first quarter of sales that are over asking price.

1382 Forest Avenue in Palo Alto selling price

1382 Forest Ave, Palo Alto in Crescent Park
List Price: $4,395,000
Sale Price: $4,400,000

New Construction 2 story home with 5 bedrooms, 4 ½ baths, +/- 3231 Sq. Ft. Home is East Coast style with Craftsman appeal. First floor has gourmet kitchen, family room, dining room, living room and guest suite/office. Second floor has the master suite, 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Fully landscaped grounds with large deck in backyard. Listed on 2/8/12 and sold 2/17/12 and completed escrow 2/28/12. That quick of an escrow usually means the offer came from an all cash buyer as loans are taking 10-17 days just to get thru the system. Luxury real estate in Palo Alto is still selling well and homes in this price range don’t usually have the crazy number of offers that homes in the 1.2-2.0 range can receive.

Want to see the pictures of the home, click here on Sold Home Prices.

Palo Alto homes sales going way over asking price in first month of 2012

Desirable Palo Alto started off the New Year with many home sales exceeding asking price by crazy amounts. The year began with a total of 21 sales in the first 3 weeks of the month compared to 17 total closings in January 2011 and, on top of that, many of the homes were sold significantly higher than the listing price.

Palo Alto luxury real estate is on fire right now and some of the homes were high double digits over asking and most had multiple offers.  I don’t believe this is a case of real estate agents under pricing the home with the hopes of multiple offers as all the homes have been priced very fairly for the size, location and condition.  I think it’s a case of buyers with pent up energy looking for homes and just not enough inventory out there.  Going back to my days of basic economics, high demand and low supply means… overbidding.

This is a good sign for sellers of Palo Alto homes, especially for the homeowners who have been sitting on the fence and waiting to get out from under water as now is definitely the time to sell.

There are more, but just a couple of examples of recent Palo Alto homes for sale with high ratios of sales versus asking price are:

185 Walter Hays listed at $1,398,000 and sold for $1,655,000 in 7 days (18.4 % over asking price)

769 Rosewood Drive listed at $1,050,000 and sold for $1,515,000 in 4 days (44.3% over)

971 Maddux Drive listed at $1,195,000 and sold for $1,361,000 in a week (14.1 % over)

I work on a lot of off market sales too and information throughout our offices are further verifying the asking price to sale price ratios listed above.  Off market, or off  MLS, are probably 20-30% of sales happening in Palo Alto, Atherton and Menlo Park, so make sure your agent is well connected to get you in the game, or call me.

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.

Luxury Estate in Los Altos Hills Sells for $100 Million Dollars

Luxury Real estate sales in Atherton just took a back seat to the high dollar sale that happened in Los Altos Hills at 13310 La Paloma Rd. The estate went for a rumored $100 million dollars and is a 25,000 square foot mansion with everything imaginable included, and is almost a twin of the above pictured estate for sale in Southern California. The property sits on over ten acres and has lots of privacy, which is necessary for the Russian billionaire who bought it and is looking to make a big impact in the Silicon Valley digital/tech world.

Luxury real estate in Menlo Park, Atherton and Palo Alto will probably get a bump as more money will probably flow into the area from other Russian comrades who want to join in on the Silicon Valley real estate surge. 145 Josselyn Lane in Woodside recently sold for just over 15 million dollars and there have been several 10 million dollar sales in Atherton as well, so the luxury real estate market is definitely heating up and money is flowing into the local real estate scene.

I have off market listings in the 5-10 million dollar range and many sellers are calling me to sell their property off market to prevent the signs and publicity that goes with listing your home for sale. I specialize in this area and please don’t hesitate to contact me if you are looking to buy or sell a luxury property without all the for sale signs, looky loos or neighbors trampling thru your home. This applies to any priced home from 1 million up to 100 million as your privacy is your privacy.

What Were the Final Closing Prices of Specific Homes in the Area?

Everybody see’s listing prices of homes, but everybody usually wants to know what the house ended up selling for.  Many people out there see a house and make their own decisions whether a house is priced too high or too low and how long it will take to sell.  This section of my blog will show some of the final selling prices of homes that are interesting to track. Menlo Park, Atherton, Palo Alto, Los Altos Hills, Los Altos, Saratoga, Los Gatos and other areas in between are all on my list to publish.

If you are interested in the final selling price of a home not listed here on my blog, send me an email and I’ll do my best to post the price of the home you are following.

Just click on the category of sold prices at the top of the blog or here at home selling prices.

Menlo Park Real Estate: Recent Sale

1046 SONOMA Avenue, Menlo Park 94025

Days on Market: 7  

Property Info Detached Single Family

3 Beds, 2 Baths:   SqFt: 1,650 Yr Built / Age: 1946 / 64 years : Lot: 6,000 sq ft

List Price: $1,089,000

Sale Price: $1,140,000

Sale Date: 04/30/2010

COE Date: 06/14/2010

Comments on Home: One of a kind home. Fabulous single-level. Open floor plan. A rare sleek contemporary with warmth. Stunning for entertaining + just right for flawless living. Quality built w/extra ordinary materials+choice components such as organic finishes, stainless steel, extensive custom built cabinetry and smooth Eco friendly woods!  Menlo Park luxury real estate.

Recent Sale: Atherton Luxury Real Estate

Dates
List: 02/20/2010
Original: 02/20/2010
Sale: 04/09/2010
COE: 06/02/2010

Pricing
List: $5,480,000
Sale: $5,000,000

2 FAXON RD, Atherton 94027
$5,000,000 Beds: 6 beds Baths: 5|1 baths
DOM: 48

San Mateo County
Detached Single Family
Beds, Baths: 6, 5|1
SqFt: 5170 (Assessor)
Lot Size: 47,817 sq ft (Assessor)
Yr Built: 1956 (Assessor)
Age: 54 years

Property Comments
Lovely 2-story home on a corner lot across from the Menlo Circus Club. 6 bedrooms (2 bd suites on main level, including the master) and 4 up (one has a sitting room which could be a 7th bd). Fireplace in living room and family room, large kitchen with island, bar seating and breakfast room. Formal DR. Spacious rear grounds w/brick-edged patio, pool, spa poolhouse. Oak Knoll/Hillview schools.