“The Real Bay Area is just one party after another.”
Your advice needed [Burbed.com]
RealEstater Says:
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:08 amLook, if buyers are paying more than list price, that’s a strong indication that the market is healthy. Folks don’t pay more just because they’re in a good mood. They pay because that’s the only way to get into a house.
Last year, and the year before, folks were also paying above asking. The Real Bay Area is just one party after another.
Certainly a fair point. I recently heard about one house in San Carlos that got 10 bids, all over asking – and another in Mountain View which practically had a wait list to enter the open house.
How’s the party going for you?
April 6th, 2008 at 7:56 am
burbed’s cover blown! He is the same as RealEstater!
April 6th, 2008 at 9:27 am
The fact that buyers are paying over ask price means little if the price is lower and/or set artificially low to draw bids. The fact that a million dollar home gets multiple offers at 900k should be no more surprising than a 800k house priced at 900k getting no offers. A properly priced house should draw multiple bids, which tells me most houses are still priced as if it’s 2006, because a lot are languishing on the market only to be re-listed lower. They should have got it right the first time.
April 6th, 2008 at 10:18 am
R,
In the Real Bay Area, anything under $2M is subject to the bidding game on a regular basis.
April 6th, 2008 at 10:34 am
I think you misunderstood what I said. Many houses might be subject to a bidding war on regular basis — because they are/were underpriced (intentionally by a Realtor to draw bids or by stupidity)- this tells you nothing about the market, only about the pricing of the house sold. If 10 Realtors decided to list houses with a legitimate fair market value of 700k for 450k and all drew 10+ offers, does this mean the market it healthy? Of course not, not more than it means it is unhealthy. It tells us nothing. That is my point. That is, the fact that houses are garnering multiple offers without reference to the list price is meaningless as it relates to the health of the market.
April 6th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Do you think sellers anywhere else dare to price their home low on purpose, expecting buyers to bid it up? What does that tell you about our market?
Or are you trying to say that these million dollar shacks are priced too low relative to the “specialness”, thus attracting a flood of bargain hunters?
April 6th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Well, it is clear that this site has essentially degraded to a “feed the troll” style. That is a shame since it was more enjoyable beforehand.
burbed moderator:
Congratulations. You have just made the transition from intelligent debate to tabloid tactics. Bravo.
April 6th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
I see the following 2 google ads on this page.
—
Pole Dancing Studio in CA
Pole Dancing classes-Largest Studio Plan a Bachelorette or Girl Party
http://www.sedusastudios.com
Sunnyvale Real Estate
With 20 Years of Sunnyvale Sales Let My Experience Work
http://www.NilErdal.com
—
Is the first ad a joke gone bad ?
April 6th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
the only way you can afford real estate in the real bay area is to pimp your ass for $$$, so I think the ad is in the right place.
April 6th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Gah. I use all kinds of plug-ins to block the ads, so I missed the ironic contrast of a shameless brazen whore next to an ad for a pole dancer.
FredinCA: Well said.
April 7th, 2008 at 10:25 am
“Do you think sellers anywhere else dare to price their home low on purpose, expecting buyers to bid it up?”
Doesn’t have to be on purpose. R’s point is correct.. there’s no information there.
April 7th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Why wouldn’t they? It is a technique Realtors use all the time, as they should, to draw interest and hopefully inspire a bidding war. It’s Sales 101, not rocket science. Your response again misses the boat completely. The information is meaningless without reference to price.
April 7th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Wow! One more “feature” from RealEstater!
Burbed,
Did you start printing certificates for RealEstater so that he can display them on his office wall. And on glass window, next to properties with “Sold” signs, with label “As Featured On Burbed.com“.
April 13th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Prices are being reduced quite drastically in Burlingame and Belmont. We’ve been looking around the area for homes since a month ago and have seen price reductions on several homes in the range of 7-10%. Some are coming down even further at 20%. A few have been listed and withdrawn from the market due to lack of interest.
It’s definitely a buyer’s market out there.
April 13th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Prices are being reduced quite drastically in Burlingame and Belmont. We’ve been looking around the area for homes since a month ago and have seen price reductions on several homes in the range of 7-10%. Some are coming down even further at 20%. A few have been listed and withdrawn from the market due to lack of interest.
If prices are coming down, then clearly you are looking at junk houses. Real Bay Area homes only go up!
It’s definitely a buyer’s market out there.
Yes, yes, yes! The best time to buy is now! You’re a buyer, so go buy!
If prices were going up, then you also must buy NOW because you will be priced out forever.
April 13th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
MSG,
Are you looking to buy right next to 101? What price range are you talking about? Any example of a house that’s still on the market? A link would be nice.
April 13th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
The homes i’m talking about are in the Broadway Ave to Burlingame Ave. area. We live on Capuchino Ave., currently, and have seen about 20 homes so far. Actually, it has been more than a month since we’ve been looking–more like 2 months now. A few off the top of my head:
1) Down the street from us on Capuchino is a house in foreclosure. 2bed/1ba, 5750 sq ft. lot, small house, in need of quite a bit of work, went from 900k in late Dec. (based on what the realtor told us), to 850k, and has just been reduced again to 799k.
2) This home was listed a month ago for open house:
http://www.greenbanker.com/brochure/1400sanchez.pdf
And was removed from market when there was a lack of interest. The owner decided to pursue the sale on her own, but, since then, we haven’t seen any buyers. The price was listed at 995k. I believe, based on other lots in the area, this will have to be drastically reduced to 850k.
Here’s another house nearby where we lived that has been on the market for about 5-6 months now:
http://www.maryelliottproperties.com/site/?ct=mls.details&id=184482&area_id=2116
New house (4 years old), small lot, nice area… went from 1.688k, to 1.488k, to 1.388k. We talked with the realtor on the house and she said they might reduce the price again. Looking at similar homes in the area, this house will need to come in at 1.1 million, considering it’s a new home.
Many homes in the area have been reduced in price by about 100k. I can’t speak for the Eastside, or Hillsborough areas, but around Hillside and these parts, we have seen prices down by about 10% since I started noticing many price reductions 5 months ago.
We just came back from a set of open houses in Belmont and noticed many of the homes listed with price reductions.
April 13th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
MSG,
Appreciate the detailed info. Here are some rules of thumb regarding lot size:
1. Anything under 5000 sq. ft. is undesirable.
2. Ideally, lot size should be a greater than 6000, but in some areas 5000-6000 is acceptable.
The two properties you found have extremely small lot size. Therefore, it should be no surprise that there’s a lack of interest. The original list prices were way too high.
If you go on the other side of El Camino (away from CalTrain), and look for houses on standard sized lots, I doubt you’ll find any softness in prices.
April 13th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Madhaus,
I think you’re being disruptive now.
April 13th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
RealEstater,
Thanks for the info. Yes, I agree with lot sizes < 5000 sq ft. being undesireable for many, but, I do believe there will always be a need for them. They are usually starter homes, and also for people who want to downsize and don’t need or want a big yard.
On the other side of El Camino, we’ve seen much higher prices for homes, and more interest as well during open houses, but even these seem to be coming down in price.
Just out of curiousity, do you have any hard figures on what the real estate appreciation rates are in the Burlingame area? Does it vastly differ from Hillside to the other side of El Camino? I’m just wondering, because if the appreciation rates are roughly the same, between 8-9% CAGR, then I’ll just opt for the lower priced homes. No sense in putting down a huge amt. of equity to qualify for the new conforming loan limit and lower rates when I can use that money to invest in other vehicles.
April 13th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
>>Just out of curiousity, do you have any hard figures on what the real estate appreciation rates are in the Burlingame area? Does it vastly differ from Hillside to the other side of El Camino?
I don’t have hard figures, and it varies case by case, but generally speaking you can get the same % appreciation from the lower end of a premium market. I would still not want to settle for anything less than a 5000 sq. ft. lot, and make sure to check the schools.