Ever felt trapped by your house? Maybe you should move here:

MLSlistings Property Detail for MLS number 524099
all Your Real Estate Professional
For The Address
Saratoga, CA 95030
$2,500,000

This Single Family Residence has the following features:
MLS#: 524099 Approx Age: New Approx Sq Ft: 5000
Detached Single Family 2 Stories 4 Bedrooms
3&1/2 Bathrooms 2 or More Stall Showers 2 or More Tubs

Plenty of open space – for just $2.5 million!

Want to visit it? Movoto knows where:

19420 BAINTER, Saratoga Property Details – Saratoga Real Estate – Saratoga Homes for Sale – Movoto
DESCRIPTION -
19420 BAINTER, Saratoga
BUILDERS, DEVELOPERS!!! A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO FINISH THIS 5000SF HOME UNDER CONSTRUCTION IN A PRIME AREA. THE SITE HAS BEEN RED TAGGED BY THE COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA. SELLER HIGHLY MOTIVATED.

Red tagged? Your kidding me. I would’ve never believed it!

Zillow.com – City Heat Maps: Silicon Valley
Explore the range of home values in areas of the city by looking at the Zestimate™ per square foot value key below. Neutral colors indicate that there are no homes or that we do not have Zestimates for homes in those neighborhoods.

Click the picture to see the full version. OH MY GOD IT’S BURNING HOT!

(Note that green/yellow splotch around Stanford is a Stanford-subsidized/controlled anomaly. From what I understand, you have to be Stanford-connected to buy there.)

BTW, to those who say “Well, the Bay Area’s not that expensive other than housing” (which doesn’t make any sense … as if housing doesn’t impact labor costs or explain why Safeway cookies are almost 15% more expensive here than in other states)… here’s a map of “expensive” New York:

Surprised?

MLSlistings Property Detail for MLS number 605829
9300 LOMA CHIQUITA RD
Los Gatos, CA 95033

$499,000
AFFORDABLE HOME ON 5 BEAUTIFUL ACRES!
Gorgeous long-range views over Uvas Canyon from this modest non-conforming mountain home awaiting some TLC and a personal touch. Solar-powered for independent “off the grid” living. Very usable 5 acre parcel with 1/2 interest in 3-yr.-old well. Outbuilding above main house currently used as a workshop. So much potential! App. 45 min. from Los Gatos or Soquel. (Loma Chiquita Road is partially unpaved and fairly rugged.) Sunny southern exposure. Room for horses, vineyard, pool… Adjacent 5 ac. parcel also for sale for $299 or $749,000 for both! Take a walk on the wild side! Call today for an appointment to view this unique property.

Take a walk on the wild side indeed! I guess this is what they mean by affordable real estate in Silicon Valley.

Mountain View Voice: Letters to the Editor (August 4, 2006)
More parkland, less housing

Editor:

I agree with Chuck Shih when he points out the need to “put the brakes on housing” in Mountain View (“Where have you been, Voice?,” July 21). The Mountain View Voice claimed to support this in its July 7 editorial, yet spoke up too late to prevent over 500 condo units being approved at the Mayfield site.

Arguments for high-density housing near transportation only make sense if housing is approved in the first place. The question is not whether housing should be in the foothills or the city, but rather whether it should be approved at all.

How many times do we need to remind our city council and local paper that the quality of life decreases in direct proportion to overcrowding?

Martha Elderon

Dell Avenue

More housing means more problems

Editor:

Although the former Mayfield Mall is not in my neighborhood, I have listened to the debate regarding its development for months. My reaction to 500-plus more houses is, “Oh my, 1,000 more cars to deal with.”

I’m wondering if the council members realize that every development calls for more police, firemen, and schools? And more water, which is finite, and the rates of which have been raised two years in a row.

Councilman Perry, where is it written that Mountain View has to provide housing for everyone in the Central Valley? I really feel sorry for the residents of Monta Loma.

Betty Lucke

Lilac Lane

I’m surprised no one used the “Think of the children!” argument. Does this smell like “Please stop building houses to keep house prices up” to anyone else? That said, they do have a point: Mountain View (and the Bay Area) is so poorly planned that every additional resident adds an amazing impact on the community due to the amount of driving that eveyone needs to do. I predict a double decked El Camino in 2150.

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What is a Negative Amortization Loan?

A Negative Amortization Loan (or NEG AM Loan) is a loan with an extremely low interest rate. The interest rate is so low that it is actually lower than the interest rates offered on an Interest Only Loan. Because this rate is so low and below the Interest Only rate, there is a payment shortfall, which is added back onto the principle balance of the loan.

Other names for a Negative Amortization Loan include; NEG AM Loans, Deferred Interest Loans, Flexible Payment Loans, Pick-A-Payment Loans, Cashflow ARMS, Option ARMS and Smart Choice Loans.

Wow! It’s a Smart Choice Loan! With this loan, I could almost easily afford a $1 million dollar tear down house in Cupertino!

Sample Monthly Payments

What could possibly go wrong?

I’ve been to Boston a few times – and I find it quite lovely. So that got me thinking… what could you buy in Boston for the price of a condo in the Bay Area?

REALTOR.com: Find a Home – Listing Detail
Boston, MA 02136
MLS ID#: 70419669
$495,000
4 Bed, 1.5 Bath
2,096 Sq. Ft.
0.44 Acres

Single Family Property, Area: Hyde Park, Approximately 0.44 acre(s), Lot is 19111 sq. ft., Year Built: 1859, Parking space(s): 4, Basement, Fireplace(s), Dining room, Laundry room

To access this webpage directly, use http://www.realtor.com/Prop/1064138867
Property Features

* Single Family Property
* Area: Hyde Park
* Year Built: 1859
* 4 total bedroom(s)
* 1.5 total bath(s)
* 1 total full bath(s)
* 1 total half bath(s)
* 8 total rooms
* Approximately 2096 sq. ft.
* Type: Detached home

Now, I don’t know squat about the different parts of Boston – but this does look pretty impressive considering its the same price as a median condo in the Bay Area.
But then again, it’s not in the Bay Area. So… by default, it loses this match up.

Once in a while, I read something that truly cracks me up… check out the comments from this online chat:

Real Estate Live
Welcome to Real Estate Live, an online discussion of the Washington area housing market. Post staff writer Kirstin Downey fills in for Post Real Estate editor Maryann Haggerty.

Are you ready?

Ashburn, Va.: I’m so mad at my neighbor. I bought my new home here in Ashburn last summer and plan to sell it next year (after holding two years to avoid taxes) to make a nice return on my investment. The problem is my neighbor is trying to sell his house (very similar to mine) right now and he keeps lowering his asking price. Each time he lowers his price, I see my potential profits next year getting squashed. Doesn’t he realize he’s hurting the comps for all of his neighbors by doing this? I don’t think he is acting very “neighborly” by doing this. I want to say something to him and tell him he should stop putting his interests ahead of his neighbors. Its people like him who are ruining the market for the rest of us. If he would just refuse to lower his price, we could maintain our comps and everyone would benefit. What can I do to stop him?

Kirstin Downey: Wow. Interesting question. There’s nothing you can do. It’s his house, of course. It’s frustrating, to be sure. One word of advice: Don’t resort to violence.

Oh man… looks like someone doesn’t understand “the market” or “Prisoner’s Dilemma“… or that prices don’t always go up.

Be sure to check out the whole transcript – there’s also a pretty funny “How do I tell my neighbor to raise his price?” piece at the very bottom.

MLSlistings Property Detail for MLS number 626048
1739 TULANE AV
East Palo Alto, CA 94303

$629,000

This Single Family Residence has the following features:
MLS#: 626048 Approx Age: 53 Years Approx Sq Ft: 1410
Detached Single Family 1 Story Contemporary
3 Bedrooms 1 Bathroom 1 Shower over Tub

It’s not immediately clear to me whether we’re looking at the front or the back – but I’m assuming its the front. If you’re going to live in this house, why not just go all the way and make your front patio door wider so that you can drive in! It’d be even more convenient, and then at night, you could sleep in your car with the alarm on.