San Jose Mercury News – Mortgage mess weighing on valley’s home market
Calhoun’s data also dramatically illustrates the split in the market. The Palo Alto, Los Altos and Mountain View areas were “on fire” with 32 days worth of inventory, meaning all the homes listed could be sold in a month given the recent pace of sales.

That compares with more than 400 days in south, central and east San Jose. “It’s a difference we’ve never seen in Santa Clara County,” Calhoun said.

“The big problem we’re having is lack of inventory,” said Bob Gerlach, vice president and manager of Alain Pinel Realtors’ Palo Alto office, who says there are plenty of buyers and open houses filled with people. “If we had 40 more houses in Palo Alto, they’d be gobbled up and sold.”

Fred Hibbert, managing broker at a Coldwell Banker office in Los Altos, said his office is still seeing multiple offers, but mostly for properties that are “priced correctly.”

Everyone knows that the Bay Area is really just Palo Alto, Los Altos, Mountain View, and Cupertino. And this is just further proof that housing prices can only go up in the Bay Area.

Are they making any more Palo Alto? Are they making any more Mountain View?  Well… actually, they are – but that’s besides the point.

Google.

Apple.

Facebook.

VMWare.

’nuff said.

MLSlistings Property Detail for MLS number 740072
547 HUBBARD AV
Santa Clara, CA 95051
$749,000
Open House Showing
Saturday, July 21, 2007 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Sunday, July 22, 2007 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Cupertino Schools – Instant equity wth this Fixer – Grt Opportunity

This Single Family Residence has the following features:
MLS#: 740072 Approx Age: 48 Years Approx Sq Ft: 1508
Detached Single Family 1 Story Ranch
3 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 1 Shower over Tub

SWEET! Instant equity! Oh my god, I better get a no down pay no income no asset loan and get this ASAP. I’ll be rich, instantly!

Oh, it says it may need some fixing. I guess I should see what that’s all about:

Um. WTF?

I mean… err… INSTANT EQUITY! YES, MORE PLEASE!

And remember, this house is in the True Bay Area(TM) – that means it’ll only go up. Don’t get priced out forever!

Thanks to Burbed reader J&N for this one!

San Jose Mercury News – San Jose ‘Safest City’ no more?
It appears as though the bad guys might swipe San Jose’s coveted crown as the “Safest Big City in America.”The title, bestowed annually by a private firm, isn’t due out until fall. But a Mercury News analysis of preliminary 2006 crime data released by the FBI – the same data analyzed by the firm, Morgan Quitno – shows San Jose lagging compared with its rankings in previous years in some of the six key crime categories used to proclaim the safest and most dangerous cities in the country.

Morgan Quitno won’t release the methodology it uses to crunch the numbers, so there is no way to say for sure. But San Jose officials are quite worried about losing a distinction that ends up on brochures touting San Jose as a good place to live and work, and is the subject of much bragging at police chiefs’ conferences.

You know what the biggest crime in my opinion is? People who sell their houses for less than what their neighbors are offering similar houses for.

Those people are economic terrorists and must be stopped. Our freedom and way of life is at stake here. If we don’t get at least a healthy 15% annual appreciation for home prices, then the terrorists will have won.

MLSlistings Property Detail for MLS number 739230
310 TAIT AV
Los Gatos, CA 95030

$864,000
Open House Showing
Saturday, July 21, 2007 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Sunday, July 22, 2007 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Charming Cottage Home IN Downtown Los Gatos.
Charming Cottage Home in Downtown Los Gatos
Only one block off Santa Cruz Ave in the heart of Dtn Los Gatos! This remodeled one bedroom home feels very open & spacious. The high vaulted ceiling in the living room adds to the openness. Rich wood floor in the living room and bedroom add to its warmth. The living room also has a brick faced fireplace with gas insert and wood mantel. The remodeled gourmet kitchen works great for entertaining and features all stainless steel appliances like the Viking Professional 6 burner gas stove, built-in Viking Professional side by side refrigerator and Viking Professional exhaust hood. The kitchen also has granite slab counter tops, custom tiled backsplash, tile floor, hanging pot rack, recessed lights and breakfast bar. The dining area has built-in cabinet and tile floor. The good sized bedroom has vaulted ceiling, wall closet with organizer shelves and storage loft with sliding ladder for access. Remodeled bath. Inside laundry. Brick steps lead to a sunny backyard with large wood deck for outdoor enter

This Single Family Residence has the following features:
MLS#: 739230 Approx Age: 89 Years Approx Sq Ft: 764
Detached Single Family 1 Story Cottage/Bungalow
1 Bedroom Ground Floor Bedroom 1 Bathroom

When I get down, nothing cheers me up more than seeing a house that’s more than $1000 per square foot. Like this one! Mmmm… I love it!

Thanks to Burbed reader Mike for the submission!

The mortgage crunch bites even the rich
The one bright spot for Bay Area real estate in the past year has been upper-end sales. The median price of homes has risen in many counties. That’s not because prices rose but because a larger percentage of sales was for more expensive homes. At the same time, sales of homes in what passes for inexpensive here — less than $600,000 — eroded significantly because many entry-level home buyers were knocked out of the market by tighter lending standards several months ago.

“If people are having trouble getting jumbo loans, it will put downward pressure on the high end of the market,” said Michael Carney, a finance and real estate professor at California Polytechnic State University Pomona. “People know it will be tougher to get loans. A lot of potential buyers will wait.”

The big unknown is how long the credit crunch will last. Many experts said they think the tight market for jumbo loans to people with good credit is likely to last only a few weeks.

“The situation at the moment is pretty dire by many accounts, but history suggests this could easily be a short-term overreaction in the credit markets,” LePage said. “A three-week phenomenon isn’t going to sink the market, however bad it is at the moment.”

You heard it here first: In 3 weeks, appreciations will resume to their normal and healthy 20% a year once the mortgage and credit crunch is resolved.

Phew!

MLSlistings Property Detail for MLS number 728944

1125 HANOVER ST
Daly City, CA 94014
$639,900

This Single Family Residence has the following features:
MLS#: 728944 Approx Age: Unavailable Approx Sq Ft: 940
Detached Single Family 2 Stories Victorian
2 Bedrooms 1 Bathroom 1 Stall Shower
1 Shower over Tub 1 Tub Bonus Room

Does this house look familiar? It should – it was featured previously on this site:

Wow… a 25% price cut. Well, that doesn’t really mean anything – I hear that Daly City isn’t part of the Bay Area anymore – just like how Gilroy was recently removed.

Wait a minute… according to Zillow:

Sale History
04/20/2007:     $558,763
05/30/2006:     $815,000
04/05/2004:     $575,000

Ok… I’m super mega confused. What’s going on here?

VMware’s Stock Rises 76 Percent in Debut: Financial News – Yahoo! Finance
The rapid run-up in VMware’s stock left the company with a market value of $19 billion. By comparison, Google ended its first day of trading with a 18 percent increase that left it with a market value of $27 billion.

Classic

Basic Advice: Mortgage Payments Shouldn’t Exceed 28% Of Your Income – Consumerist
Those with option-ARM mortgages ratcheting up to a higher APR in October, take note: A well-polished piece of advice for home owners is that mortgage payments, including principal, interest, insurance, and taxes, should not be more than 28 percent of your gross monthly income, according to the August issue of the USAA member magazine. Individual situations may vary, but the basic idea is not get more house than you can afford. Around 28% gives you enough to take care of day-to-day living expenses and food and gas and going to see Transformers and whatnot.

I guess it’s not terrible advice, if you live somewhere cheap and bad. But if you want to be a player and live in the Bay Area, better add another 20 to that and bring it up to 48%.

Fortunately, as we all know, once you spend 48% of your income on your mortgage (PI not TI), it’s really cheap to live here. Food is cheap. Gas is cheap. You won’t need to spend money on tanning salons. And it’s so diverse here you will never need to go on vacation again.

So, Consumerist – please. Help your readers by explaining to them why spending 48% of your income on mortgage is imperative if you want to have a good life in the world’s most special place: the Bay Area.

MLSlistings Property Detail for MLS number 735821
144 HUNTINGTON DR
Daly City, CA 94015
$579,000

This Single Family Residence has the following features:
MLS#: 735821 Approx Age: 52 Years Approx Sq Ft: 1130
Detached Single Family 1 Story 3 Bedrooms
1 Bathroom 1 Shower over Tub 1 Tub
Living Rm/Dining Rm Combo Laundry Area – Garage Hardwood Floors

Dear House – you might want to ask your doctor if ointment is right for you. You’ve got some wacky peeling problems on the front. Sunburn in Daly City perhaps? Mold? Best to get that checked out. At least you’re only $579,000!

MLSlistings Property Detail for MLS number 672966
1923 MIDDLEFIELD RD
Redwood City, CA 94063
$425,900

Inviting Redwood City Ranch Home
THIS CONTEMPORARY SINGLE FAMILY HOME, LOCATED ON THE WORLD RENOWN SAN FRANCISCO PENINSULA, IS WITHIN MINUTES OF SHOPPING, ENTERTAINMENT AND BOTH THE SAN FRANCISCO AND SAN JOSE AIRPORTS. A UNIQUE PROPERTY WITH AN UPDATED KITCHEN AND A COVERTED GARAGE THAT CAN EASILY BE CONVERTED BACK. THIS CHARMING HOME IS WAITING FOR THE RIGHT OWNER TO BRING IT BACK TO IT’S ORIGINAL POTENTIAL. HURRY, THIS HOME WON’T LAST LONG!

This Single Family Residence has the following features:
MLS#: 672966 Approx Age: 79 Years Approx Sq Ft: 600
Detached Single Family 1 Story 2 Bedrooms

Let’s ignore the fact that this house really isn’t going to last long – because it looks like it’s going to collapse.

Let’s look instead at Zillow:

12/04/2006:       $483,523
11/23/2005:     $565,000
08/27/2003:     $290,000

Curious huh? Well, in any case – even if this house does sell at the current price, the owner will have lost almost $240 a day. And that doesn’t even include the Used House Salesman fee, or maintenance (not that there was any.)

But then again, this is Redwood City. I hear it’s going to lose its Bay Area membership soon.