Archive for January, 2008

17% of Agents Responsible for 70% of Volume

Posted in January 29th, 2008

2007 real estate agent productivity statistics are in, revealing that 83% of all agents in Santa Clara County accounted for only 30% of total volume selling four homes or less last year; this include 44% of the licensees who had no sales at all!. That means that 17% of the agents are responsible for 70% [...]

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Strong Housing Demand With Limited Supply

Posted in January 21st, 2008

by Rick Bonetti in Market Trends

There are still only 61 resale homes available in Saratoga and the under $1.7 market is strong with 3 new sales (open escrow) this past week at Glenbrae Dr., Harleigh and Cumberland Drive. There were 14 new listings added, but 11 were also taken off the market. Of the 17 detached homes pending ”sales”, 3 are under $1 [...]

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What’s In and What’s Out

Posted in January 18th, 2008

by Rick Bonetti in Market Trends

Trends in home design reflect changing tastes, lifestyles and demographics. Here is a sample of what is hot and what is not:
Great Rooms are In – Large Living Rooms are Out
Quality finishing is In – McMansions are Out
9′-11′ ceilings are In – Very tall ceilings are Out
Functionality is In – Unusable balconies are Out
Other trends: elevators; [...]

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Saratoga Real Estate Trends

Posted in January 17th, 2008

by Rick Bonetti in Market Trends

Will the 2008 Saratoga resale housing market repeat the 2008 and see a spike in pending sales? Early indications suggest yes. Inventory is down from the previous year level. Interest rates are low and should remain low based on the expectation that the Fed will further reduce their discount rate on January 29 by 1/4% [...]

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Are Short Sale Properties Good Investments?

Posted in January 17th, 2008

by Rick Bonetti in General

We are sometimes asked about short sale properties (where a lender agrees to take less than the full amount due on a loan). We do not keep a list of short sale properties nor is it a business that we pursue because of some practical problems. Our recent experience has been that banks are too [...]

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