Summary Of Comparable Properties Single Family Residential   Address City Beds Bath DOM CDOM LOE SqFt $/SqFt Lot(SqFt) List Price Age Sale Price   SOLD                          1196 Hamilton Av   Palo Alto   4   3 1/2  80   80   25   3,000   $921   11,250   $2,825,000   84   $2,763,000    1250 Lincoln Av   Palo Alto   5   3  214   214   23   3,055   $746.32   12,155   $2,295,000   83   $2,280,000    776 Forest Av   Palo Alto   3   2  6   6   30   1,657   $964.39   7,500   $1,598,000   89   $1,598,000    826 Los Robles Av   Palo Alto   3   2  91   91   21   1,254   $841.31   5,754   $1,098,000   44   $1,055,000     AVERAGE VALUES     98   98   25   2,242   $868.26   9,165   $1,954,000   75   $1,924,000         1196 Hamilton originally listed at $3,195,000. 1250 Forest originally listed ... 05/23/2009

•·                            Palo Alto  Single Family Home Market Update 05-23-09 As of today this is the snapshot of the Palo Alto single family home market:   136 Active listings 60  Pending sales     What does this mean? The inventory of active listings decreased by 2 while pending sales are increased by 4. . We are now getting closer to a 1 to 2 ratio which is pretty good. During 2006 we were at 1 to 1. Again, the over 2 million market is a little better with 46 active listings and 14 pending sales which is almost unchanged from last week. Under 2 million there are 90 active listings and 47 pending sales, putting the ration at very close to 1 to 2 which is definitely improving.  Overall, things are a little better than they were a few months ago, and even better than a few weeks ag... 05/23/2009

Palo Alto, Ca Single Family Home Sales from 05-03-09 to 05-17-09   Single Family Residential   Address City Beds Bath DOM CDOM LOE SqFt $/SqFt Lot(SqFt) List Price Age Sale Price   SOLD                          4090 Orme St   Palo Alto   5   3  15   15   6   3,260   $797.55   16,830   $2,538,000   11   $2,600,000    3318 Waverley St   Palo Alto   6+   4+  86   86   6   3,900   $638.46   7,084   $2,495,000     $2,490,000    1468 Hamilton Av   Palo Alto   4   3  18   18   28   2,853   $823.69   7,500   $2,350,000   68   $2,350,000    561 Center Dr   Palo Alto   3   2  72   72   3   1,554   $1,470.4   11,627   $2,495,000   81   $2,285,000    715 Frenchmans Rd   Palo Alto   4   3  7   7   41   3,581   $530.58   19,575   $1,895,000   48   $1,900,000    4260 Wilkie Wy   Palo Alto   6+   4+  3... 05/17/2009

Palo Alto  Single Family Home Market Update 05-17-09 As of today this is the snapshot of the Palo Alto single family home market:   138 Active listings 54  Pending sales   What does this mean? The inventory of active listings decreased by 10 while pending sales are increased by 7. . We are now better than a  1 to 3 pending to active ratio which is not too bad. Again, the over 2 million market is a little better with 47 active listings and 15 pending sales which is 4 few active and 5 more pending sales than 2 weeks ago. Under 2 million there are 91 active listings and 41 pending sales. I know for a fact that on Mon there will be 2 less active listings and 2 more pending sales which will make it 89 active and 43 pendings, putting the ration at very close to 1 to 2  which is definitely imp... 05/17/2009

Palo Alto  Single Family Home Market Update 05-01-09 As of today this is the snapshot of the Palo Alto single family home market:   148 Active listings 47  Pending sales 10  Closed sales since April 22   What does this mean? The inventory of active listings is not increasing as much as pending sales are increasing. We are now at a 1 to 3 pending to active ratio which is not too bad. Again, the over 2 million market is a little better with 51 active listings and 10 pending sales. Under 2 million there are 98 active listings and 37 pending sales, less than a 1 to 3 ratio of pending to active, which is definitely improving. It is also possible that increase in the stock market is also freeing up some cash which is helping the buyers' down payment problems along with the easing up of down p... 05/01/2009

  SOLD  800 E Greenwich Pl   Palo Alto   5   4+  28   28   34   5,069   $798.97   10,454   $4,098,000   6   $4,050,000    1311 Parkinson Av   Palo Alto   6+   3 1/2  16   16   40   4,506   $826.68   7,350   $4,075,000     $3,725,000    2200 Byron St   Palo Alto   4   2 1/2  40   40   22   2,064   $1,405.04   13,888   $3,199,000   60   $2,900,000    1444 Pitman Av   Palo Alto   4   2 1/2  34   34   14   2,500   $680   7,875   $1,850,000   53   $1,700,000    425 Alder Ln   Palo Alto   5   3 1/2  20   20   29   2,893   $501.21     $1,495,900   1   $1,450,000    731 Gailen Av   Palo Alto   4   2  9   9   8   2,187   $619.57   8,285   $1,298,000   51   $1,355,000    65 Alannah Ct   Palo Alto   3   2  11   11   25   1,592   $832.29   6,885   $1,349,000   59   $1,325,000    3474 Kenneth Dr   ... 04/19/2009

Palo Alto  Single Family Home Market Update 04-19-09 As of today this is the snapshot of the Palo Alto single family home market:   143 Active listings 39 Pending sales 13  Closed sales this month   What does this mean? There has been some change in inventory this week with 7 more active listings and 7 more pending  sales which is a 25% increase in pending sales with only a less than 5% increase in active listings. This may be because the easing up a little on jumbo loans. B of A has a loan with 20% down up to a million and a half dollar loan and other banks being more aggressive with their 5 year fixed loans.  Again, the over 2 million market is very slow with 53 active listings and 4 pending sales. Under 2 million there are 90 active listings and 35 pending sales, less than a 1 to 3 r... 04/19/2009

Who Is Selling In Palo Alto? Updated 04/11/09   On 1/31/09 I wrote the following blog: There has been a lot of speculation about what will happen to the market in Palo Alto. Will it drip 30%, drop 10%, improve in 6 months? Most of the argument against Palo Alto having a lot more decrease in home value, is the thought that most people here did not get bad loans and therefore do not have to sell. If most people don't have to sell, the prices should not go down too much, but if more people selling do have to sell that would bode for sharper decreases. I thought it would be interesting to see as best I can, who is selling.  I have broken the listings up into over 2 million and under 2 million for the asking price and put the listings into the following categories:    I am updating this on 4... 04/12/2009

Palo Alto  Single Family Home Market Update 04-08-09 As of today this is the snapshot of the Palo Alto single family home market:   136 Active listings 32 Pending sales 8  Closed sales this week   What does this mean? There has not been much change in inventory this week in active listings and 3 more pending sales which is a 10% increase. This may be because the easing up a little on jumbo loans. B of A has a loan with 20% down up to a million and a half dollar loan. Again, the over 2 million market is very slow with 48 active listings and 6 pending sales. Under 2 million there are 89 active listings and 26 pending sales, less than a1 to 4 ratio of pending to active, which is not terrific, but about average for many other surrounding cities. Another lesson for this week, if you list a h... 04/08/2009

Most of the housing stock on the San Francisco Peninsula is 40 or 50 years old. As a result, many homes will have repair and/or upgrade issues. An experienced agent in conjunction with a professional home inspector can help guide you through the issues that are sure to arise in the home inspection report. Buyers need to understand that many homes do not meet current building codes. The seller typically is not required to bring their home up to current code upon sale. Working with an experienced agent and good home inspector will assist a buyer in determining which home inspection issues are significant and which are just normal considering the age of the home. Philippe Heller recently wrote an informative post on issues that are often found in homes built in the 1970s. 03/17/2009

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. A Market Action index at 30 indicates a balanced market. Above 30 is a sellers' market. Below 30 is a buyers' market. On the San Francisco Peninsula in the cities of San Carlos, Redwood City, Menlo Park, and Palo Alto; we were in a sellers market until about July 1, 2007. Very strong sellers market in 2005 cooling somewhat in 2006 but staying biased towards sellers until about Fall 2007 when the index dropped quickly below 30 into the 20 range and now all 4 cities are between 15 and 20. From the shape of the graph, we appear to have hit a level point. Are we near the bottom? Or is this just a temporary pause before we continue down? I can tell you in the $700K to $900K, homes do seem to be selling. I have two active qualified buyer clients i... 03/17/2009

Palo Alto  Single Family Home Market Update 03-15-09 As of today this is the snapshot of the Palo Alto single family home market:   125 Active listings 26 Pending sales 4   Closed sales this week   What does this mean? There has not been much change in inventory this week, either in active listings or pending sales. Also, the over 2 million market is very slow with 37 active listings and 5 pending sales. Under 2 million there are 61 active listings and 15 pending sales, 1 to 4 ratio of pending to active, which is not terrific, but about average for many other surrounding cities.   Here are the solds from the past week on MLS:   Address City Beds Bath DOM CDOM LOE SqFt $/SqFt Lot(SqFt) List Price Age Sale Price   SOLD                          3111 David Av   Palo Alto   4   3 1/2  12   1... 03/16/2009

22 new listings this week in Palo Alto. 2 pending sales this week in Palo Alto. 123 listings currently for sale in Palo Alto. 23 pending sales currently in Palo Alto. As one of the agents in my office said after tour today, there sure are a lot of homes for sale in Palo Alto right now "a dime a dozen" says she. Good opportunity to get into one of the Peninsula's most sought after 03/05/2009

So What is an Eichler?   Palo Alto is home to many Eichlers, mid century single story homes with walls of windows, tar and gravel roofs, wood siding, radiant heat, and a concept of indoor/outdoor living.   In the 50's these homes were considered modern, quintessentially Californian, or fire traps called 7 minute Eichlers because they could burn to the ground in 7 minutes or less.  The mahagony walls had no fire retardant properties so the homes burned quickly if there was a fire.   Joseph Eichler was a student of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright and learned from Wright the beauty of clean lines, a wonderful use of light, and a contemporary feel. What Eichler did that was so influential was taking these lofty architectural concepts and mass producing them for the families of young GI's... 02/16/2009

Palo Alto, Ca. Single Family Home Market Update 02-15-09   As of today this is the snap shot of the Palo Alto market:   91 Active Listings 26 Pending Sales  4  Sold listing in past week     What does this mean?  The inventory is stable from last week, but this was a holiday week-end so there may be another jump this week.  Pending sales are  up from 21 to 26 so percentage wise pendings are actually up a little more than active, but the overall ratio is still 1 pending for less than 4  actives which is a little better than last week.  Again, this is more of an over 2 million dollar problem.  There are 39 listings over 2 million and 5 pending sales, or a 1 to 8 ratio which is better than last week's 1 to 20 but still not great, especially since the highest price pending listing is 2.649. ... 02/15/2009

Palo Alto 94301 generally includes all areas north of Oregon Expressway east of Alma including downtown, Professorville, Old Palo Alto, and Crescent Park. This is Palo Alto's most expensive zip code as you will see by the median prices below. Where is the market in this area of Palo Alto headed? The median list price in Palo Alto 94301 increased to $2,475,500. Average price per square foot in Palo Alto 94301 decreased to $951. Average days on market increased to 90. 33% of the listings in Palo Alto 94301 have a price reduction. The current market action index for Palo Alto 94301 is 20 - below 30 is considered a buyers' market. This market action index is a higher higher - indicating a little warmer market - still a buyer's market but not as strongly so as other Palo Alto areas. Below yo... 02/10/2009

During my 31 years in the real estate business selling properties up and down the San Francisco Peninsula, I am often asked what is so special about Menlo Park or Palo Alto or Los Altos? Why are homes more expensive in these areas compared to San Carlos (my home for the past 23 years), Redwood City, Belmont, and Mountain View?  Click here to view the chart On a quarter Q4 to quarter Q3 comparision:Menlo Park home values up 1.2%Palo Alto home values down -0.4%Los Altos home values down -2.9%while Mt. View is -7.1%, East Palo Alto is -16.7%, Redwood City is -8.4%, San Carlos is -7.3%, and Belmont is -9.4%. The year to year data is similar Menlo Park up slightly, Palo Alto and Los Altos down slightly, and the other cities down a fair amount ranging from -4.9% to -37.3%. As I have told my c... 02/10/2009

Palo Alto 94303 generally includes all areas east of Middlefield south of Embarcadero but does include the area around highly-regarded Duvenek School. The 94303 zip code also includes all of East Palo Alto. Where is the market in this area of Palo Alto headed? The median list price in Palo Alto 94303 remains stable at $1,295,000. Average price per square foot in Palo Alto 94303 decreased to $756. Average days on market increased to 72. 43% of the listings in Palo Alto 94303 have a price reduction. The current market action index for Palo Alto 94303 is 18 - below 30 is considered a buyers' market. Below you will find chart showing market action index by price range over the past 6 months. The price range is broken down into 4 quartiles: Highest has median price of $2,395,000 2nd highest ... 02/10/2009

Palo Alto 94306 includes College Terrace, the California Avenue area, Barron Park, and most of Palo Alto south of Oregon west of Middlefield. Where is the market in this area of Palo Alto headed? The median list price in Palo Alto 94306 decreased slightly to $1,449,900. Average price per square foot in Palo Alto 94306 increased to $759. Average days on market increased to 73. 56% of the listings in Palo Alto 94306 have a price reduction. The current market action index for Palo Alto 94306 is 16 - below 30 is considered a buyers' market. Below you will find chart showing market action index by price range over the past 6 months. The price range is broken down into 4 quartiles: Highest has median price of $2,499,000 2nd highest has median price of $1,750,000 3rd highest has median price o... 02/10/2009

Palo Alto, Ca. Single Family Home Market Update 01-29-09   As of today this is the snap shot of the Palo Alto market:   •90     Active Listings •21     Pending Sales •4         Sold listing in past week     What does this mean?  The inventory continues to increase. Active listings are up from 81 to 90. Pending sales are also up from 17 to 21 so percentage wise pendings are actually up a little more than active, but the overall ratio is still 1 pending for every 4.5 actives which is not so great. Again, this is more of an  over 2 million dollar problem.  There are 40 listings over 2 million and 2 pending sales, or a 1 to 20 ratio which is terrible.  There are 50 listings under 2 million and 19 pending sales, so a 1 to 2.5 (almost) ratio, which is not too bad.   This weeks closed sales ar... 02/09/2009