According to the San Mateo Association of Realtors, in January of 2012 there were 1,172 single family homes on market in San Mateo County as compared to January of 2013 there were only 545. This shows that the market has significantly shifted from a buyers market towards a sellers market including a jump in average sales price of 20% for San Mateo County.

“For the past several months I have experienced buyers confronted with multiple offers resulting in homes selling for substantially over listing price.” says Teixeira. “I really feel that the strength of silicon valley and the increase in jobs growth and stability is what we’re seeing reflected in the boost in the mid-peninsula housing market.”

This trend is shown nationally in the SP/Case Shiller composite index’s numbers of their metropolitan survey of 20 cities that show the largest improvement in residential home prices in December since July of 2006 as well as a significant and moral boosting increase in consumer confidence.

For additional information about the Bay Area real estate or San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula real estate and relocation, call Mary Ann Teixeira at (650) 241-0318, or visit her website at http://www.maryannt.com.

About Mary Ann Teixeira

Mary Ann Teixeira is a licensed REALTOR with McGuire Real Estate in Burlingame, California who specializes in relocation services, homes for sale and luxury homes.  She is a seasoned buyer’s agent who serves the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula communities of Atherton, Burlingame, Cupertino, Hillsborough, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Portola Valley, Redwood City, San Carlos, San Jose, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Woodside.

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/2/prweb10486539.htm

Article source: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1101611

We’re in Silicon Valley, the Mecca for innovation and entrepreneurship. The weather can’t be beat and the opportunities are flowing.

The demand for Peninsula real estate is at an all-time high, while the number of housing options continues to shrink.

These are just some of the factors that have resulted in Coldwell Banker’s annual Home Listing Report ranking 10 cities in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties as part of the top 20 most expensive markets in the country.

“The success of many of our native tech companies has shined a spotlight on Silicon Valley and our real estate market in the San Francisco Bay Area,” said Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in the San Francisco Bay Area, in a written statement.

Ranking at #1? Los Altos/Los Altos Hills. Following behind: #3 Saratoga, #4 Menlo Park, #5 Palo Alto, #6 Los Gatos, #10 San Carlos, #12 Cupertino, #15 Belmont, and #20 Redwood City.

For the average listing price of a 4-BR, 2 BA home in these cities, check out this article. 

Cities’ staffs have seen large numbers of housing development proposals, such as Google’s housing project in Mountain View and the Cargill Saltworks Development in Redwood City.

And as more and more tech companies begin to sprout up and down the Peninsula, employees will want to live closer to their workplaces. Is increasing the prices of homes the answer to the skyrocketing demand for real estate?  

Tell us in the comments why homes in the area are worth their price tags. Or if they’re simply overpriced. 

Article source: http://losaltos.patch.com/articles/is-real-estate-on-the-peninsula-too-expensive-poll

This year, Los Altos/Los Altos Hills, at an average price of $1,706,688, is the most expensive market in the country when it comes to how much house your dollar will buy, according to Coldwell Banker’s annual Home Listing Report.

And Belmont isnt far behind, ranking 15 on the list with an average listing price for a four-bedroom, two-bath home priced at $1,098,777.

In fact, of the nation’s top five most expensive markets, four are on the lower Peninsula and Santa Clara County, and all are in California. Besides Los Altos, they include Saratoga ($1,582,434), Menlo Park ($1,506,909), and Palo Alto ($1,495,364). Newport Beach, in the No. 2 position ($1,658,000), was the only market outside of the Bay Area in the top five.

Coldwell Banker attributes Los Altos’ ranking to the confluence of tech and desirable locations. Google, Apple, Facebook and Stanford University are all located within 15 minutes of Los Altos, Coldwell Banker observed. And, so are the other top-five cities Saratoga, Menlo Park and Palo Alto.

And Los Altos Hills is the town that brought you the $100 million home, purchased by Russian tech investor Yuri Milner in 2011. 

“The success of many of our native tech companies has shined a spotlight on Silicon Valley and our real estate market in the San Francisco Bay Area,” said Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in the San Francisco Bay Area, in a written statement.

In fact, among the top 20 most expensive markets in the country, ten of them are on the Peninsula or in Santa Clara Valley. They include the additional cities (in order of price) of Los Gatos, San Carlos, Cupertino, San Francisco and Redwood City.

High demand, low inventory, desirability and population projections all figure into the prices, Turley said.

Conversely, the most affordable was in Redford, Michigan, where the average a four-bedroom, two bath house cost $60,490—or 28 times less than the same house in Los Altos.

Coldwell Banker lists both the top 20 most affordable and the most expensive in the chart below.

For a state-by-state ranking, see this Coldwell Banker link.

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Article source: http://belmont-ca.patch.com/articles/belmont-one-the-most-expensive-real-estate-markets-in-country

This year, Los Altos/Los Altos Hills, at an average price of $1,706,688, is the most expensive market in the country when it comes to how much house your dollar will buy, according to Coldwell Banker’s annual Home Listing Report.

By contrast, for an average of $60,490 a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home can be found in Redford, Mich., which is just outside of Detroit. It’s a isting price difference of more than $1.6 million.

Cupertino is 9th in California and 12th in the nation with an average price of $1,151,145 for a similar sized home. It sits just above San Francisco with an average of $1,132,086.

In fact, of the nation’s top five most expensive markets, four are on the lower Peninsula and Santa Clara County, and all are in California. Besides Los Altos, they include Saratoga ($1,582,434), Menlo Park ($1,506,909), and Palo Alto ($1,495,364). Newport Beach, in the No. 2 position ($1,658,000), was the only market outside of the Bay Area in the top five.

Coldwell Banker attributes Los Altos’ ranking to the confluence of tech and desirable locations. Google, Apple, Facebook and Stanford University are all located within 15 minutes of Los Altos, Coldwell Banker observed. And, so are the other top-five cities Saratoga, Menlo Park and Palo Alto.

And Los Altos Hills is the town that brought you the $100 million home, purchased by Russian tech investor Yuri Milner in 2011. 

“The success of many of our native tech companies has shined a spotlight on Silicon Valley and our real estate market in the San Francisco Bay Area,” said Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in the San Francisco Bay Area, in a written statement.

In fact, among the top 20 most expensive markets in the country, 10 of them are on the Peninsula or in Santa Clara Valley. They include the additional cities (in order of price) of Los Gatos, San Carlos, Cupertino, San Francisco and Redwood City.

High demand, low inventory, desirability and population projections all figure into the prices, Turley said.

Conversely, the most affordable was in Redford, Michigan, where the average a four-bedroom, two bath house cost $60,490—or 28 times less than the same house in Los Altos.

Coldwell Banker lists both the top 20 most affordable and the most expensive in the chart below.

For a state-by-state ranking, see this Coldwell Banker link.

Article source: http://cupertino.patch.com/articles/los-altos-the-most-expensive-market-in-country-a35fc8e0

Pierre Buljan guided his black Mercedes SUV around the winding roads of the Hillsborough hills and into Atherton, where the mansions of Silicon Valley technology barons hide behind thick stone walls, wrought-iron gates and tall, manicured hedges.

“These people have essentially infinite money,” said Buljan, who has been a Realtor on the Peninsula for more than 30 years. He pointed at a sloping four-acre property that included a large redwood grove with a private creek.

“If someone falls in love with a property like this,” he said, “the price doesn’t matter.”

Everywhere Buljan turned, a historic transition was under way. A generation ago, many of these properties were second homes for San Francisco’s elite families. These days, most are being bought, for cash, by international tycoons or the youthful leaders of local technology companies.

While the wider Bay Area has suffered, along with the rest of the country, with falling property values and rising foreclosures, the luxury housing market has remained robust, analysts said. That is especially true in Silicon Valley, where an arms race for talent among emerging social networking companies has raised salaries for executives and engineers, and a resurgent market for initial public stock offerings is creating hundreds of new millionaires.

Some of the sales are eye-popping. In March, the Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, an investor in Facebook, Groupon and Zynga, bought a French-style chateau in Los Altos Hills for a reported $100 million. Some buyers have hidden their identities behind companies.

In September, an Atherton estate formerly owned by the great-grandniece of Levi Strauss sold for $53 million, while the home of Sue Burns, a major investor in the San Francisco Giants, was sold for $20 million by her estate.

“It’s going to take a while for the wider economy to recover, but there are enough people to make a difference at the high end of the housing market,” keeping demand high, said Steve Levy, director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, a think tank in Palo Alto, where the median single-family home price last week was $1,838,750.

Across the Peninsula, a small-scale building boom is under way as developers and wealthy property owners buy million-dollar homes, tear them down and build larger ones. Stroll down Waverley Street in Old Palo Alto, home to many Google executives and the late Steve Jobs, and you’ll see the ultramodern 6,000-square-foot house that Google’s co-founder Larry Page is building, rising from its foundation. Page’s mansion will also include a 3,500-square-foot basement that has been called a “bat cave” by neighbors. Analysts and builders said such high-end construction had been largely recession-proof.

“While the large number of foreclosures have created a significant inventory of homes at the middle and lower end and kept prices down, that hasn’t happened at the top end,” said Eduardo Martinez, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics.

The high unemployment rate in the Bay Area’s construction sector has driven down wages and therefore the overall cost of building, said Leonard Mezhvinsky, a principal at Sieger Property Development. Meanwhile, the number of potential buyers for top-tier homes continues to grow.

“We are expecting Facebook and Zynga to go public,” Mezhvinsky said recently, “and that will create an instant number of multimillionaires.” Indeed, Zynga went public on Friday with a $1 billion stock offering. Facebook is widely expected to file a $10 billion offering early next year.

In anticipation of the onslaught of new multimillionaires, Mezhvinsky bought a single-family home on Ralston Avenue in Hillsborough in 2009 and demolished it. “When we’re done, there will be a 10,000-square-foot main house, and a loge,” he said. “There will be a six-bedroom house, seven full bathrooms and two powder rooms. There is a swimming pool with a Jacuzzi. There is a sauna and steam room,” and five fireplaces.

The new house will not be finished until July or August, Mezhvinsky said, but it is already on the market for $13 million, nearly four times what he paid for it. The buyer will probably pay extra to finish it to his or her taste, he said.

“What you’re witnessing,” said Buljan, the real estate agent, “is the next generation of superwealth.”

This article also appears in the Bay Area edition of The New York Times.

Article source: http://www.baycitizen.org/real-estate/story/luxury-real-estate-market-no-downturn/

Burlingame, CA (PRWEB) October 06, 2011

By definition, a “deficiency judgments” is a court decision against former homeowners when the sale of the house does not sell for enough money to cover the amount owed to the lender. In essence the lender can still hold the seller financial responsible after the close of the sale in attempt to satisfy the remaining balance on a loan. However, in California, all first mortgages on a property of 1 to 4 units are protected from deficiency judgements by Senate Bill 931, (SB931) and Civil Code Procedure 580 (e).

Mary Ann Teixeira says “I hear a lot of fear from homeowners, as they examine choices, they fear that the house may sell but that the debt will live on.”

In many situations where the homeowners are in a short sale or foreclosure the idea of a debt living past the transaction is haunting. Homeowners in danger of this situation need to consult with a professional to find out exactly how this may affect them in the future.

For additional information about the conforming or jumbo loan impacts on your home buying, reasons to use a Bay Area real estate agent or San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula real estate and relocation, call Mary Ann Teixeira at (650) 241-0318, or visit her website at www.maryannt.com.

About Mary Ann Teixeira

Mary Ann Teixeira is a licensed REALTOR with McGuire Real Estate in Burlingame, California who specializes in relocation services, homes for sale and luxury homes. She is a seasoned buyer’s agent who serves the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula communities of Atherton, Burlingame, Cupertino, Hillsborough, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Portola Valley, Redwood City, San Carlos, San Jose, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Woodside.

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prwebburlingame_foreclosures/peninsula_real_estate/prweb8858144.htm

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/10/06/prweb8858144.DTL

Rebecca McDonald of Linwood Real Estate and Property Management has good news for those who thought they could never afford a home in the Bay Area. The San Francisco Peninsula real estate agent has just listed a 1,100 square foot 3 bedroom, 2 bath home in East Palo Alto for the unbelievably low price of $325,000.

The East Palo Alto property, conveniently located near the new Facebook campus, has been beautifully remodeled. Cooks will love cooking in the newly renovated kitchen, rich with natural materials and shiny stainless steel appliances. In addition to the granite slab countertops and all new cherry wood cabinets, the kitchen features travertine floors.

Hardwood floors refinished and polished to perfection, fresh paint in every room, recessed lighting, and double-paned windows throughout the entire house make this ready-to-live-in home comfortable. The home, situated on a 5,000 square foot lot, also features a 2-car garage, a new roof and a fireplace in the living room / dining room area.

“Everything is new, new, new-and the neighbors are wonderful,” said Rebecca McDonald, the Linwood Realty real estate agent who has listed the home. “This is a great opportunity for a family or investor.”

For more information about the 2589 Emmett Way home in East Palo Alto or any of Linwood Real Estate and Property Management’s property management services, call them at (650) 549-4801 or visit their website at www.paloaltopropertymanagement.com.

About Linwood Real Estate and Property Management

Linwood Real Estate and Property Management is a Palo Alto property manager and Palo Alto real estate agency located in Portola Valley, just west of Palo Alto. Linwood serves the San Francisco Peninsula communities of Atherton, Burlingame, Cupertino, Hillsborough, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Portola Valley, Redwood City, San Carlos, San Jose, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Woodside.

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prwebpalo_alto/property_management/prweb8749329.htm

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/08/25/prweb8749329.DTL

Mary Ann Teixeira has been in the Peninsula real estate market for many years. As such, she has been affected by the local, state and national real estate and economic fluctuations of the last few years. Though it’s been a rough ride, she is starting to see more activity as low home prices and the threat of upcoming changes in lending standards are motivating people to buy or sell.

Real estate prices are relatively affordable, says Teixeira. According to the San Mateo County Association of Realtors sales statistics from the local MLS, the median home price in the City of San Mateo in April 2011 was down $25,000, or 4%, from the same time last year.

Impending changes to real estate lending policies are also affecting the market. As part of Congress’ 2008 stimulus package, jumbo loans were raised to $729,500, but this limit is set to revert back to $625,500 in September. “For those who need to sell a property, this may be the right time to do it,” said Teixeira. “There may be fewer potential buyers come fall.”

“Buyers are taking advantage of their increased buying power and low interest rates,” says Teixeira. “You can’t beat current interest rates, which are hovering at around 5%. And buyers who want to take advantage of jumbo loans are moving now to beat the looming changes coming this fall.”

For additional information about San Francisco Bay Area real estate and relocation, call Mary Ann Teixeira at (650) 241-0318, or visit her website at www.maryannt.com.

About Mary Ann Teixeira

Mary Ann Teixeira is a licensed REALTOR® with McGuire Real Estate in Burlingame, California who specializes in relocation services, homes for sale, and luxury homes. She is a seasoned buyer’s agent who serves the San Francisco Bay Area Peninsula communities of Atherton, Burlingame, Cupertino, Hillsborough, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Portola Valley, Redwood City, San Carlos, San Jose, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Woodside.

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prwebreal-estate/burlingame/prweb8598362.htm

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/06/24/prweb8598362.DTL

It also surprised many who live in the area. Los Altos Hills has been proud of its rural, easy-going roots, which has been in transition with the influx of more monied residents. As much as we know the value of our neighborhoods, a $100 million-dollar home exceeds the imagination of most, since it’s pegged as the most expensive single family home sale in America.

What does that look like? The architect who originally designed the home for Fred Chan and his wife, Annie, told the Wall Street Journal that there was “no budget” for the 18th century French chateau-inspired mansion, that includes tennis courts, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, wine cellar and ballroom, taking up a tidy 25,000 square feet.

Los Altos Hills is one of the wealthiest towns in America. Yet “home compounds” in the 20,000-square-foot range are rare enough that the handful that have been built have raised eyebrows, and caused civic concern that the town could end up with “white elephants” in the future.

In reality, homes in Los Altos Hills are much more modest than the $100 million that the Journal reported was paid by Russian investor Yuri Milner, founder of Digital Sky Technologies. Of course, to 99.9% of Americans, there is nothing modest about owning a $2.2 million home, which was the median home price of Los Altos Hills in February. Much of the action in very high-end luxury properties, however, is generally acknowledged to take place in communities such as Portola Valley or Atherton. 

Between $2.2 and $100 million, where do the values of most Los Altos Hills homes fall? To satisfy my own—and maybe your—curiosity, I pulled from the MLS the ten-most expensive homes that were sold in Los Altos Hills since 2000.

There’s one important caveat. They aren’t likely to actually be the most expensive homes sold. That’s the thing to remember about homes selling in the highest strata: The sales price is usually nowhere to be found on the MLS, the multiple listings service in which most real estate brokers participate.

These types of home sales are made “off market,” when an agent representing a seller makes it known to his or her network that a property is for sale, and buyers who want discretion also rely on a representative to find an appropriate property through networks. But here’s some perspective: In Los Altos Hills and Los Altos, high off-market sales prices talked about have been in the $25-or-30-million range. 

Through bypassing the MLS, the agreed-upon sales price never appears on a publicly visible database. Once the sale is made, don’t expect to find the sales price reflected on the deed at the county recorder’s office, either.

“It’s called California Revenue and Taxation Code 11932,” said Vic Sharma, the head of the Santa Clara County Recording division. Colloquially, in the Recorder’s office, it’s known as “a confidential,” a request to keep the transfer tax amount off the deed, and thus obviate the ability to calculate the sales price from the tax.

Anyone can request a confidential, Sharma said, and has been able to since 1959. You needn’t be a billionaire foreign investor or Donald Trump. If you don’t want people to know how much you paid for your one-bedroom condo next to the landfill, you have as much access to a confidential  as Yuri Milner does.

The tax, of course, is recorded by the county—which needs to get paid—but once it’s logged in, an employee in the Recorder’s office can’t see it nor retrieve it. “I’m not interested, no—it’s not my money,”  Sharma said.

“There’s a lot of speculation on the price, and that’s all I can say.” 

So here are the top ten highest sales prices paid for Los Altos Hills properties, with the usual MLS admonition that the information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Remember that the highest visible price of a home sold in Los Altos Hills can easily be lower than that of a non-public, off-market sale in Los Altos:

 1. 13902 Campo Vista Ln – Sold for $14.8 million (2007)

Topping the list is a 6.89 acre property with views of the Bay and the mountains around. The house sitting on the lot has only two bedrooms with 2000 sf. Obviously, the value was in the land.

2. 25751 Elena Rd. – Sold for $12 million (2006)

This newly constructed Mediterranean estate, sitting on a two-acre lot, has six bedrooms and eight and a half baths with 12,000 square feet of living space. Other amenities include a game room, an exercise room, a wine cellar, a pool, and a detached cabana with its own kitchen.

 3. 25810 Vinedo Ln – Sold for $12 million (2005)

This four-acre private gated estate has five bedroom and eight baths with a stunning formal entry, a designer’s kitchen, two offices, a home theatre, and an exercise room. Besides over 12000  sf of living space, it has its own vineyard inside the estate. (This home is currently for sale at $14,995,000.)

 4. 12775 Viscaino Rd – Sold for $12.7 million (2004)

This 7,000+ square-foot home sits on a 2.36 acre lot with six bedrooms and seven baths. Additional features include a guest house, a tennis court, a pool and a pool house.

 5. 12638 La Cresta Ct – Sold for $12 million (2000)

This private gated estate is located on a cul-da-sac lot. The home has five bedrooms and four and a half baths with over 4,800 square feet of living space.

 6. 10285 Magdalena Rd – Sold for $11 million (2008)

A gated Mediterranean estate with views of the Bay and city lights, this property has seven bedrooms and nine and a half baths. Other dramatic features include a wine cellar, an infinity pool and a cabana.

 7. 26000 Alicante Ln – Sold for $10 million (2000)

This 4,000+ square-foot property sits on an acre plus level lot close to town. It has four bedrooms and three baths, and a tennis court and a pool.

8. 13815 Barton Ct – Sold for $9.95 million (2009)

This gated Tuscan retreat, sitting on an acre-plus lot not too far from the village, was built in 2007. The three-level home has a basement with elevator and handicap access. With over 7,000 square feet of living space, it has five bedrooms and six baths.

 9. 27241 Altamont Rd – Sold for $9.5 million (2000)

This six acre plus estate, with magnificent bay views, has over 6000 sf of living space with six bedrooms and four baths.

 10. 13350 Country Wy – Sold for $9.1 million (2000)

This 2.4 acre estate boosts magnificent views of the wooded hill. The home has five bedrooms with three and a half baths with close to 6,000 square feet of living space.

Los Altos Patch editor L.A. Chung contributed to this report

Article source: http://losaltos.patch.com/articles/estimated-100-million-home-sale-places-spotlight-on-real-estate-in-los-altos-hills