Vital Signs

In a sign that some Bay Area residents still aren’t comfortable shelling out the big bucks, sales of homes priced at $1 million or more fell by 27% in the region last year, outpacing the 24% decline in such sales statewide, according to MDA DataQuick. The Bay Area saw 7,261 sales of million-dollar-plus homes in 2009, down from 10,006 in 2008 and 18,926 in 2005. Santa Clara County saw the most, with 2,378 sales of such homes, while Solano County had the fewest, with 20. Reluctant buyers and a tight mortgage market contributed to the decline, DataQuick said. Meanwhile, Bay Area home sales at all price levels rose 16% last year from 2008, while sales statewide climbed 17%. One in 25 California home sales crossed the $1 million mark in 2009, compared with one in nine in 2006, according to DataQuick.

Yipes. That certainly doesn’t look very good to an untrained eye. But real estate professionals, they know that this is normal – after all, real estate is cyclical.

2009 was the bottom out year 2010 is when the chart is going to come back up. Haven’t you seen all those billboards on 101 plugging Zynga? The startup community is back… and with a vengeance! Jobs are starting to flow like water from the sierra nevadas.

It’s only a matter of time before million dollar homes become the norm again. You just wait.

372 EL CAMINO REAL Atherton, CA 94027

$1,315,000

Beds:	2
Baths:	2
Sq. Ft.:	1,330
$/Sq. Ft.:	$989
Lot Size:	8,500 Sq. Ft.
Property Type:	Detached Single Family
Stories:	1
Year Built:	1922
Community:	El Camino to Alameda
County:	San Mateo
MLS#:	81005654
Source:	MLSListings
Status:	Active This listing is for sale and the sellers are accepting offers.
On Redfin:	7 days

Complete renovation 2 years ago! Beautiful chef’s kitchen with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, breakfast bar, & wine fridge. Living room with access to patio/lawn, 2 remodeled baths, dual-paned windows, hardwood floors, surround sound, and lutron switches with remotes.

948 RINCON St Mountain View, CA 94040

$1,249,950

Beds:	4
Baths:	3
Sq. Ft.:	2,036
$/Sq. Ft.:	$614
Lot Size:	4,080 Sq. Ft.
Property Type:	Detached Single Family
Style:	Tudor
Stories:	2
Year Built:	2009
Community:	Grant
County:	Santa Clara
MLS#:	80940090
Source:	MLSListings
Status:	Active This listing is for sale and the sellers are accepting offers.
On Redfin:	158 days

Move in 60 days! Located on Los Altos side of El Camino and walking distance to downtown Mountain View. Miramonte Park is an exclusive collection of 58 single family detached homes with all the charm of the great CA neighborhoods of the 20’s and 30’s. Great neighborhood, outstanding schools, and parks.

Hm… I hadn’t realized that in the 1920’s and 1930’s, that houses were built edge to edge, with giant slopes, with metal gates, and without yards in California. But then again, I’m no history buff – so who am I to say. Oh wait, it’s a description about the neighborhood! Oh that makes sense:

Uh… yeah… charm is definitely a word in the dictionary.

I’m going to go out on a limb here, and guess that getting Direct TV installed may be a bit of a challenge. But hey, if you can afford this house, you can probably Comcast!

1755 PEACOCK Ave Mountain View, CA 94043

$1,080,000

Beds:	4
Baths:	3
Sq. Ft.:	842
$/Sq. Ft.:	$1,283
Lot Size:	6,200 Sq. Ft.
Property Type:	Detached Single Family
Stories:	2
Year Built:	1950
Community:	North Shoreline
County:	Santa Clara
MLS#:	81001504
Source:	MLSListings
Status:	Active This listing is for sale and the sellers are accepting offers.
On Redfin:	8 days

Lot clear and ready to build! List price reflects home being built by owner/builder as approved by the city. Permits in place. Plans for a gorgeous meditteranean-style home with great room concept, large gourmet kitchen with island, ground floor bdrm & bath, spacious master suite w/ balcony, 2 car garage & much more!

Why yes! That’s exactly what I would expect for $1M.

Here’s what Burbed reader M.D. had to say:

this one is so hot they can’t even show a pic.  actually it’s not yet built, so you’re buying a dream in mt view.  if the builder thinks that’s a legit price, maybe someone should take away his wood glue – no sniffing allowed on the job.
btw – i live in that zip code and i don’t think anything has sold for over $900k in the past 1 1/2 yrs – probably nothing over 850k. 

Can’t you just imagine the beauty that you can build here? 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms… with great room concept! Sure it may look like a field of weeds now, but with just another $500,000 you can your Mountain View masterpiece.

More importantly, your house will truly stand out from your neighbors. You know what they say – you want to have the best house in the worst street. Or something like that.

If this isn’t a great deal for those with great imaginations, I don’t know what is!

175 CHURCH St Mountain View, CA 94041

$1,050,000

Beds:	4
Baths:	2
Sq. Ft.:	864
$/Sq. Ft.:	$1,215
Lot Size:	7,500 Sq. Ft.
Property Type:	Detached Single Family
Stories:	1
View:	Neighborhood
Year Built:	1928
Community:	Downtown
County:	Santa Clara
MLS#:	80956104
Source:	MLSListings
Status:	Active This listing is for sale and the sellers are accepting offers.
On Redfin:	21 days

* Lots of upgrade charming old world bungalow in prime old Mountain View. * Large lot w/ rear set non-congorming 1/1 cottage. * Total of 1626 sqft of living area. * Front house is immaculate.

It’s buy one get one free time in Mountain View!

At first glance, it would look ridiculous to spend $1,215 per square foot in Mountain View this year (next year it might be reasonable), but the fact is that you’re actually get 2 houses. In reality, you’re just paying $646 per square foot. Far more reasonable for two old world cottages! And the front one is in great shape while the rear one is… uh… non-congorming.

But wait, there’s even more!

Wow, just look at this garage! So really, you’re getting 3 buildings! Just think about how much you can rent the second house and the garage out for. The garage can go to the next Google/Facebook startup, and so you’ll be rich from Friends and Family shares. The second house can go to the CEO of that startup, so you can get cash in the meantime.

Win-win-win! Cha-ching!

This is going to be your best investment ever!

1147 NILDA Ave Mountain View, CA 94040

$1,200,000

Beds:	3
Baths:	2
Sq. Ft.:	1,788
$/Sq. Ft.:	$671
Lot Size:	5,406 Sq. Ft.
Property Type:	Detached Single Family
Style:	Ranch
Stories:	1
Year Built:	1952
Community:	Miramonte
County:	Santa Clara
MLS#:	80956134
Source:	MLSListings
Status:	Active This listing is for sale and the sellers are accepting offers.
On Redfin:	21 days

wow!this is perfect 10!Best property in questa park home!The house was rebuild from studs in 2004 with all top of the line materials!First class kitchen w/ top of the line appliance, granite counters, maple cabinets, family rm w/ buildt in cabinets 48" panasonic HDTV, sound sysytem, remodeled bathrooms, the master retreat is fit for a king w/ view of the pool and water fall, hardwood floorsand high ceiling.

This house is definitely a perfect 10. Just look at these pictures! Especially this one:

You know what the problem is? You don’t have the 3D glasses that are needed to see these pictures in their full glory. That’s right! Who knew that the team from Avatar was available to do home photos too!

If you squint your eyes, you can see see some Na’vi in the background – look for them.

It’s kind of unfortunate that all the money was spent spiffying up these photos, so that there wasn’t enough for spell checking and spaces.

But in any case, check it out – the house comes with a 48” Panasonic HDTV. WOW.

Great for you to watch Avatar when it comes out!

2805 ARGUELLO Dr, Burlingame, CA 94010 | MLS# 80938820
$1,268,000
2805 ARGUELLO Dr Burlingame, CA 94010

Beds: 3
Baths: 2
Sq. Ft.: 2,020
$/Sq. Ft.: $628
Lot Size: 9,075 Sq. Ft.
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Stories: 1
View: Bay
Year Built: 1958
Community: Mills Estates
County: San Mateo
MLS#: 80938820
Source: MLSListings
Status: Active This listing is for sale and the sellers are accepting offers.
On Redfin: 129 days
LOOKING FOR A “TOUCH THE SKY” VIEW?, THEN THIS IS THE PROPERTY! SEPARATE FAMILY ROOM, RECENTLY NEW INTERIOR PAINT AND REFINISHED HARDWOOD FLOORING. ONE LEVEL. A LARGE DECK IN THE BACK TAKES ADVANTAGE OF THE SPECTACULAR BAY VIEWS. THE PROPERTY IS CLOSE TO FREEWAY ACCESS AND MINUTES FROM SHOPPING AND OTHER AMENITIES.

Thanks to Burbed reader Pralay for this find.

Wow… this house will give you a view that will enable you to touch the sky.

You know what buying this house will really let you touch? Instant equity. That’s right!

Now, a novice would look at this and say “Hey, that’s $81,000 in instant equity.” A real estate professional, however, would know that there’s actually….

Yep. $345,905 in instant equity. Why? Because at a minimum, this house should have gone up 5% a year. Next year, this will be worth $1.597M.

So why is it selling for so little right now? December slow down, that’s all.

But come spring bounce? BOOYAH.

It’s Day 5 of our “Bay Area versus New York: Which suburbs are more expensive?” smackdown. To be fair, we’ll only look at reasonable houses: $1-$1.5 million.

It is, of course, the last day, and it is back to the Bay Area. You might think it is unfair that New York won’t get a chance to respond, but I assure you… this listing is so awesome that there’s no way anyone can respond. Let’s take a look:

140 WOOD Rd, Los Gatos, CA 95030 | MLS# 80812909
$1,100,000
140 WOOD Rd Los Gatos, CA 95030
Beds: 2
Baths: 2
Sq. Ft.: 1,470

$/Sq. Ft.: $748
Lot Size: 0.26 Acres
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Style: Cottage/Bungalow
Stories: 2
View: Mountains, Canyon, Valley, City Lights
Year Built: 1917
Community: Los Gatos/Monte Sereno
County: Santa Clara
MLS#: 80812909
Source: MLSListings
Status: Active This listing is for sale and the sellers are accepting offers.
On Redfin: 542 days
PRICE REDUCED! 2 bdr, 2 bath guest house. This home is nestled on the edge of a majestic redwood grove, which is the gateway to several hiking paths around the main property. It is the original home on this los gatos estate, built circa 1917. Fireplace in living room is clinker brick. Beautiful valley view from deck.

And there you go folks. $1.1M for a guest house. I couldn’t find anything like this in New York.

Phew. It’s been a great week, but I think this report definitively concludes that the Bay Area suburbs are more expensive than New York.

Please, tell 25 people you know about this. The press needs to know. The public needs to know. Everyone needs to know!