When it comes to selling your home certain precautions need to be taken regarding animals.  Some cats are restricted to inside only, for their own protection;  it important that the listing agent place notes of caution on outside doors of  ”please don’t let the inside cat outside”, so Realtors showing the property will be extra careful.

Some dogs zealously want to welcome you by jumping up and licking – others bark at strangers to protect there territory and their masters.  The forth line of the MLS listing comments should be used to alert showing Realtors of what to expect regarding dogs.

If the homeowner is always at home, its easy to control their canine greeters by temporarily placing them in a safe, out-ot-the way location in the house, garage or fenced yard and clearly signing that there are pets behind the door.

If Realtors call ahead to make a showing appointment, as they are instructed to do in the MLS showing instructions, homeowners can arrange timing of showing when this will not become an issue.

The problem comes when owners are not at home and the showing Realtor and their prospective buyers are greeted at the door with chaos that causes fear or uncertainty as to whether it is safe to enter.  Today I came across some practical advice on managing your pet from dog trainer Carla Jackson, whose picture is shown above on this blog post.

Pet odors are one of the biggest turn-offs to potential buyers as they open the front door.  Often it is necessary to re-carpet the entire house to get rid of the smell if cats have urinated on the carpet.  Every homeowner wants to make the proper first impression when selling their home and be considerate of their pets as well.  We’re here to make the sale while respecting the rights of all.

Rick Bonetti | Alain Pinel Realtors | Saratoga, CA | 408-857-8800 | DRE # 01237009

The question if get asked most frequently is “How’s the real estate market?”  It used to be that everyone read the newspapers and got their somewhat distorted news from the headlines; now people get their news online and from multiple sources.

I hope I have earned the right for you to turn to SaratogaVoice.com when you want a balanced perspective on what’ss really happening in homes for sale in Silicon Valley, particularly in the west valley communities of Saratoga, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Campbell and surrounding San Jose.

I could tell you about the 100 shopper groups we had at a Saratoga open house in the Golden Triangle the weekend before last and the multiple offers we had.  I could also point to the positive news today about the consumer confidence or that Case-Schiller says that home prices are rising in 14 metropolitan areas.  But, I also need to tell you that because real estate is so localized and fragmented that one cannot truly speak accurately in generalities about what the market is doing – every neighborhood is different.

Let me start by writing about the economic environment we still find ourselves in (the good and the bad) and make some predictions for their impact on real estate in Silicon Valley in 2010:

•    The Economy – we are technically out of a recession with 2 quarters of positive GNP growth and into a mild and slow recovery, but as we all know, unemployment is still high, which will continue to be a problem throughout 2010.  The economy is still fragile.
•    The stock market, which had phenomenal recovery during 2009 will have a 10% adjustment in value early in 2010 before it rebounds to 11,000.
•    Corporate Profits are up due to downsizing.
•    Unemployment is actually worse than the numbers indicate, because many jobs lost will not be replaced, due to globalization. It will take longer for those unemployed to find work ant those that do find jobs will likely be at income levels 20% below what they were making before.
•   Mortgage rates are very low and expected to remain relatively stable in 2010 with a slight uptick of ½-1%.  There is a current window of opportunity now!
•   Retail Sales have recently been good at both ends of the spectrum (Walmart to Nordstrom).
•  Corporate capital outlays for equipment have been positive.
•    The Federal deficit will drag down recovery, with $500 billion/year interest on our debt.
•   The value of the dollar has declined precipitously in the last three years as the Fed has not supported it, but printed money instead.
•    Commodity values are up relative to the declining dollar.
•    Politics – 2010 will be a watershed year politically with an ugly battle between those in favor of unrestrained free market capitalism and those seeking more security of a “hybrid” government- controlled economy.  Uncertainty will limit risky business investments until corporations know the rules of the game.
•    Real Estate will be very different than the old model of the past.  It is now very fragmented – in terms of the players, market dynamics and geographic diversity.
•    Sellers now include more banks, distressed situations and investors as well as traditional sellers.
•    Buyers in some areas now include investment funds, foreign investors as well as traditional family buyers.
•    Real Estate Investors – will continue to be important part of the market in the low end because rental properties actually cash flow positive as well as have future appreciation potential.
•    Appraisals will continue to be a problem, even if there are multiple offers.  Buyers will have to come up with more cash if properties do not appraise due to 90 day past history, and some home sales will not stick.
•    Residential financing, although improving in 2010, will continue to be a big issue in getting deals closed.  A niche market opportunity will be for astute buyers to closely follow homes with pending sales, whose deal does not hold together through the initial contingency period.
•   Refinancing will be problematic for owners who have 5 year ARM’s coming due in neighborhoods where values have dropped.  This will cause a shift from owner-occupied to renter-occupied in some neighborhoods where owners have not choice but to default on their loan, but do not want to leave the neighborhood because of schools.
•   Banks – have dominion over many lower priced submarkets, now controlling both release of inventory they own and terms for buyers.
•   REO - purchases from banks will be influenced in 2010 by bulk sales to big investment funds from the east coast.
•    Commercial real estate – will be different too with vacancies going up and rents going down.  As much as 20% of apartments will go into default in 2010 too.  Funds, as buyers of groups of buildings will be a greater influence in 2010.
•   The low end of the home market will continue to see a firming up of prices as REO inventory is sold to multiple bidders.
. The middle residential market, up to $1.5 million in Silicon Valley, will be a sleeper market that comes alive in 2010, but buyers will still be looking for value, so sellers must be flexible to make a deal.
•    The higher-value residential market, from $2-5 million will still suffer as prices continue to erode 5-15%.  Inability of upper end buyers to get loans as well as sparse 2010 corporate bonuses will put many buyers on hold.
•    The ultra luxury residential market, above $5 million will have more sellers than buyers, who will not make such a discretionary purchase unless the property is rare or exactly what they want.
•    Home values – for luxury Silicon Valley homes purchased at the 2006 peak will soften to 2002-2003 levels and in some cases to their1997-98 level.

If you really want to know about what’s happening in real estate in the specific neighborhoods you are interested in, send me an email and I will let you know what I think.

Rick Bonetti | Alain Pinel Realtors | 408-857-8800 | DRE #01237009

Are you thinking about doing some remodeling? If so, for the best return on investment, go green. The new term is “eco-renovations” and some homebuyers are paying a premium for the added value of energy-efficient houses.

• Light Bulbs – Sounds too easy, but CFL florescent light bulbs use a quarter of the electricity as regular light bulbs. Since lighting on average accounts for 20% of your home energy use, this is a quick fix.
• Recycling -If your neighborhood doesn’t have curbside recycling, you can now recycle #5 plastics (cottage cheese, prescription drug and yogurt containers) at most Whole Foods locations.
• Energy Efficient Appliances – EPA’s Energy Star appliances may be 10% to 50% more energy efficient. Installing a programmable thermostat and motion detectors are advised. Visit the Department of Energy’s site for more information: www.eia.doe.gov
• Paints – Use new “low-VOC” paints, which stand for low “volatile organic compounds.” Many people with allergies, asthma and chemical sensitivities ask about this now.
• Tax Credits – With eco-remodeling, you may qualify for federal, state or local tax credits given for green projects. Search on www.thedailygreen.com for updates. Remember – green may bring more gold (money) when you decide to sell. So keep track of your improvements and document how your monthly energy bills change over time.

Here are several examples of recent multiple offers in Cupertino, west San Jose, Sunnyvale and Campbell (compiled by Alain Pinel Realtors colleague Mark Wong):

Cupertino:  1034 Pennington Lane - 35 offers
Listed at $875,000; Sold for $950,000+/-

Cupertino: 1115 S. Stelling Road - 10 offers
Listed at $799,000; Sold for $875,000+/-

Cupertino: 1123 Scotland Drive –  22 offers
Listed at $849,000;   Sold for $920,000+/-

West San Jose: 6570 Dartmoor Way – 20 offers
Listed at $924,000:            Sold for $970,000+/-

Sunnyvale: 825 Nectarine Avenue - 24 offers
Listed at $798,000;            Sold for $850,000+/-

San Jose: 520 Patton Avenue – 21 offers
Listed at $449,000;  Sold for $490,000+/-

Area 18 West San Jose:  10420 Pineville Ave - 12 offers
Listed at $875,000; Sold for $925,000+/-

Area 15 San Jose: 1427 Antonio Lane - 18 offers
Listed at $598,000; Sold for $650,000+/-

It seems like multiple offers are happening everywhere, not necessarily even confined to the most sought-after neighborhood with good schools.  However, if you are a homebuyer or homeseller, don’t generalize about your particular situation;  behavior is not the same in all sub-markets and at all pricepoints.

With many homes available on the market at more affordable prices in the past year, home buyers have been devoting more and more time in each of the past couple years to consider and carefully select their home during the research and buying process.

In general, home buyers devoted more time from start to finish during the home buying process. On average, they spent:

• 8.4 weeks considering buying a home in 2009, compared to 7.2 weeks in 2008
• 6.6 weeks investigating homes and neighborhoods before contacting an agent, compared to 6.2 weeks in 2008.
• 10.3 weeks searching for a home with their agent, compared to 8.7 weeks in 2008
• Home buyers on average visited 15.5 homes in 2009, compared to 15.1 homes in 2008.  

In the past, home buyers spent more time with their agent partly because they visited more homes. The increase in the number of homes visited in 2009, however, was not significantly different from 2008. The additional time spent with an agent could be attributed in part to the increase in the complexity in viewing distressed properties.

Rick Bonetti | Alain Pinel Realtor | 408-857-8800 | DRE# 01237009