1308 ISABELLE Ave, Mountain View, CA 94040 | MLS# 80926709
1308 ISABELLE Ave Mountain View, CA 94040
Price: $998,000

Beds: 4
Baths: 2
Sq. Ft.: 2,066
$/Sq. Ft.: $483
Lot Size: 0.35 Acres
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Style: Ranch
Stories: 1
View: Neighborhood
Year Built: 1953
Community: Miramonte
County: Santa Clara
MLS#: 80926709
Source: MLSListings
Status: Pending Without Release
On Redfin: 12 days
Walk lot directly; appointment only for seeing inside of house. Huge 15,000 square foot lot in great neighborhood with a house that needs some TLC, but has hardwood floors, real plaster walls, good space. A rare sized deep lot for this area of Mt. View, close to the Los Altos border. Los Altos/Mt. View schools. Make sure to see behind the house – lot goes way back!

Do you need any further proof that the real estate market is booming, on fire, hot hot hot in the Real Bay Area after seeing this?

$998,000 for a tear down… on the market for 12 days and then pending without release.

Now, granted this is .35 acres, which is definitely a selling point – but it’s astounding isn’t it.

Liquidity is definitely flowing, people are definitely buying.

If we all cross our fingers, 2009 might just turn out to be a normal year of 9% year over year growth. Let’s hope!

278 N RENGSTORFF Ave, Mountain View, CA 94043 | MLS# 80926202
278 N RENGSTORFF Ave Mountain View, CA 94043
Price: $745,000

Beds: 4
Baths: 2
Sq. Ft.: 1,344
$/Sq. Ft.: $554
Lot Size: 5,000 Sq. Ft.
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Stories: 2
Year Built: 1955
Community: Thompson
County: Santa Clara
MLS#: 80926202
Source: MLSListings
Status: Active
On Redfin: 16 days
Complete interior remodel in the Monta Loma community, light & bright-this home features a new kitchen with stainless steel appls, granite counters & recessed lighting. Both baths tiled in stone, gorgeous new flooring. New furnace, water heater, insul, 2-pane windows, electric & wiring. Large by-landscaped. Close by shopping, amenities, commutes, Los Altos High. SELLER FINANCING AVAILABLE AT GOOD RATES

Let’s face it, with the economy not so well in other states, invaders might be tempted to come to the Bay Area to steal our treasure and bring it back to their savage states.

With that mind, it is obvious why the owners of this house built this guard tower. You and your family can take turns at night, peering out the windows, ensuring that any trespassers onto your property will be detected.

Or you can do this in reverse and make sure no one sneaks out of the house. Perhaps you’re a parent whose kids might not be on track to getting into Stanford – now you can be sure they’re not leaving until they’ve done their homework.

Either way, this is great for those who want to be aware of the surroundings. Spotlights not included.

555 CALIFORNIA St, Mountain View, CA 94041 | MLS# 80923362
555 CALIFORNIA St Mountain View, CA 94041
Price: $999,000

Beds: 4
Baths: 3
Sq. Ft.: 2,011
$/Sq. Ft.: $497
Lot Size: 5,000 Sq. Ft.
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Style: Craftsman
Stories: 2
View: Neighborhood, City Lights
Year Built: 2008
Community: Downtown
County: Santa Clara
MLS#: 80923362
Source: MLSListings
Status: Active
On Redfin: 9 days
Two blocks from Castro! This beautiful new construction home has a gourmet kitchen w/ cherry cabinets, granite counters, and Thermador & Electrolux appliances. Great open floorplan w/ hi ceilings, downstairs bedroom & full bath, walk-in closet and pvt patio off Master bedroom, French doors open to spacious backyard. Solid oak flrs w/ inlays, solid core doors, heated flrs-all top quality.

Wow. Talk about a fancy place! And for just $497 per square foot! What an absolute steal!

Fortunately, Burbed reader Stephen has the scoop:

555 California St. was built new about a year ago, and was on the market asking $1.8mil, and then reduced to $1.6mil, and they still couldn’t sell it, so they’ve been renting it.  Zillow says “days on market” is 351.

It looks like it just went back on the market of $1.0mil (a 60% reduction!).  You can see more here:

http://idx.diversesolutions.com/search/808/40/283493/source/rss#PropertyID=14621890
vs.
http://listings.realbird.com/Real_Estate/Quality-New-Construction-in-Downtown-Mountain-View/Mountain_View/CA/A5F7F8C4/14831.aspx

and

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/555-California-St-Mountain-View-CA-94041/2144469884_zpid/

Wow… can you say steal again? Let’s face it… the builder of this home knows that these are difficult times, and wants to help you profit from it. So they’ve temporarily lowered the price of this home so you can swoop in and become rich.

It’s really the Real Bay Area way – you know, people helping each other become rich.

Thanks Stephen for calling this out. I bet it’ll be gone in no time flat now that everyone will know about this little secret!

This week, we celebrate the 5 Bay Area cities featured in Forbes’ “Top 25 Towns To Live Well (and have good access to Venture Capital)”. Coming in at #4:

488 CARMELITA Dr, Mountain View, CA 94040 | MLS# 80828648
488 CARMELITA Dr Mountain View, CA 94040
Price: $749,000

Beds: 2
Baths: 1
Sq. Ft.: 896
$/Sq. Ft.: $836
Lot Size: 7,198 Sq. Ft.
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Stories: 1
View: Neighborhood
Year Built: 1947
Community: Grant
County: Santa Clara
MLS#: 80828648
Source: MLSListings
Status: Active
On Redfin: 276 days
Unsold in 90 days
Fixer-upper
It’s like living on a country lane with the convenience of nearby shopping, easy commute route access and close to Huff School!! Exceptional opportunity for a builder/developer. This fantastic lot in a quiet neighborhood is just waiting for your creative ideas.

You know what? This house is so stunning, I’ll just let the pictures do the talking:

If this doesn’t say “Top 25 Towns To Live Well (and have good access to Venture Capital)” – I don’t know what does.

Congratulations to all the Bay Area cities that made it into this Forbes list. You’re all winners. And you’re all stunning reminders of what makes the Real Bay Area real!

Mountain View Voice Mountain View Voice: Housing report: City is ‘jobs rich’ (April 24, 2009)

Kicking off the housing discussion is a new report on the city’s housing needs from Bay Area Economics. Among numerous issues, it points out that the city is becoming increasingly “jobs rich,” while housing development has not kept pace. It says jobs increased by 19 percent since 2003, while housing units increased by only 3 percent since 2000. Mountain View’s population has increased 10 percent since 1990, to 72,932.

By comparison, the county has grown by 23 percent since 1990 and had three times less job growth on average.

To meet its “fair share” of the county’s unmet housing needs, the Association of Bay Area Governments has calculated that Mountain View needs to accommodate — perhaps through zoning — another 2,123 units by 2014, including 467 very low income units. That goal may be difficult to achieve in a slow housing market: Permits for only 99 units were approved last year, while 377 units were permitted in 2007.

The report also points out that high land costs and public opposition to dense housing development have hindered housing production.

[snip]

For many years Mountain View has been known as a city with a relatively high ratio of renters. The county shows the opposite trend, with about 40 percent renters and 60 percent homeowners, according to the report.

The report cites other concerns. About 19 percent of the city’s multi-family apartment buildings are not built to withstand a major earthquake, it says, noting that of the city’s 584 apartment buildings, 111 have a “soft story” design where an “open wall condition” on the first floor can lead to “seismic weakness” in an earthquake.

Reflecting county-wide trends, the report says 32 percent of Mountain View renters “overpaid” by spending more than a third of their income on rent, compared to 36 percent county-wide. Seniors overpaid the most: In 2000, the report says, 50 percent of seniors overpaid for housing and 26 percent “severely overpaid.”

The report adds that there are no assisted living facilities affordable to low income seniors in the city. It says the city has placed a 180-unit cap on small apartments — also known as “efficiency studios,” like the ones at San Antonio Place — so only 62 more can be built.

Mountain View’s median income for 2008 is slightly lower than the county median of $81,246, according to the report. Per capita income, however, is higher: $46,644 versus $37,470.

Congrats to Mountain View on these amazing stats!

Remember, the more you spend on housing, the cooler you are. Go Mountain View!

Hey folks, a special report today from Jim Holt of Redfin. I was wondering why the Sold Price for Mountain View and Sunnyvale are so different, and here’s what he had to say:

Burbed asked us at Redfin why there was such a difference between the prices in Sunnyvale and Mountain View:

	Median List Price	Median Sold Price
Sunnyvale	$750k	$466k
Mountain View	$940k	$831k

I believe that the answer lies in the number of REOs (and short sales) selling in Sunnyvale compared to Mountain View. In Sunnyvale, I took the past three months of inventory and split it up into two groups: houses listed above $670k and houses listed below $670k. There were 77 houses listed below $670k, 58 of which are REOs or short sales, and 52 of them have either closed or are currently pending. For those above $670k, there are 130 listings, with only 4 being REO or short sales, and 42 sold or currently pending. What I can take from this data is that the REO’s (and short sales) are being obviously priced aggressively at a low price point with 58 of 77 in that price range selling. However, those priced higher, and not REOs, are not selling as easily and sitting longer on the market. So the higher end market in Sunnyvale is not doing so well.

In Mountain View, there are currently no REOs, and only 3 short sales (1 below $670k and 2 above $670k). Also looking at the break down in relation to pricing, 3 of 8 houses sold or are pending under $670K (not a whole lot of inventory under $670k) which means only 37.5% under that price there, where as 67.5% of the houses under $670k in Sunnyvale are sold or under contract. In Mountain View 33 of 93 over $670k have sold or are under contract (35.5%).

What I take from this is that Mountain View has stayed a relatively stable market with sales of higher and lower end single family homes selling at about the same rate through out and not being affected by short sales and REOs. However, Sunnyvale’s market has been drastically affected by the sheer number of short sales and REO’s in the lower end of the market, which are priced aggressively and really selling quite quickly, while the higher end homes are sitting in Sunnyvale, thus keep up the median list price, but dragging down the median sales price.

Well there you go. Mountain View – partying like it’s 1999. Sunnyvale – partying like it’s… uh… 2009. (Note to Sunnyvale: It’d be a shame to see something bad happen to your Real Bay Area status. Maybe you might want to do something about this situation.)

Thanks for the explanation Jim Holt!

It’s Herve week at Burbed! I’m catching up on all the listings that Herve had sent me. And now, Day 4:

948 RINCON St, Mountain View, CA 94040 | MLS# 80848932
948 RINCON St (Unable to map) Mountain View, CA 94040
Price: $1,299,950

Beds: 4
Baths: 3
Sq. Ft.: 2,036
$/Sq. Ft.: $638
Lot Size: 4,080 Sq. Ft.
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Style: Craftsman
Year Built: 2008
Stories: 2
Neighborhood: Grant
County: Santa Clara
MLS#: 80848932
Source: MLSListings
Status: Active
On Redfin: 89 days
Located on Los Altos side of El Camino, w/ in walking distance of Downtown Mtn. View, Miramonte Park is an exclusive collection of 58 SF homes with all the charm of the great Calif neighborhoods of the 1920’s & 1930’s. Nearby is the premier performing arts theatre on the Peninsula as well as outstanding schools & parks.

Apparently when Herve saw this listing, it said something different:

“Located on Los Altos side of El Camino, w/ in walking distance of Downtown Mtn. View, Miramonte Park is an exclusive collection of 58 SF homes with all the charm of the great Calif neighborhoods of the 1920’s & 1930’s. Nearby is the premier performing arts theatre on the Peninsula as well as outstanding schools & parks. Offering a graduated Broker referral- 3% 1st sale, 4% 2nd, 5% (3 or more sales) “

Here’s what Herve had to say:

Charm of the 1920’s and 1930’s? What could that possibly mean?
- no Prop 13
- racial segregation
- great depression

Err… well… uh… that’s possible. Let’s look at this timeline of Mountain View to see some of the events of the 1920’s and 1930’s:

1920 – Hoping to become a major deep water port, South Shore Port Co. dredges slough at the old Jagels Landing at the end of Whisman Road. Ferry and freight service to San Francisco begins in 1923. The port project includes an amusement park and large saltwater swimming pool called Kingsport Plunge that opens in 1925. The company declares bankruptcy in 1927.

1924 – The city’s first high school opens on El Camino in 1902. In 1924 a new school designed by noted architect William Weeks opens on Castro Street. The building is demolished in 1987.

1930 – Sunnyvale chosen as site for West Coast air base and research center. President Hoover signs legislation Feb. 20, 1931, to accept the land and approve development. July 31, 1931, land is transferred to U.S. Navy at a cost of $1. In 1933 Moffett Field Naval Air Station opens on the border of Sunnyvale and Mountain View as a base for Navy dirigibles.

1937 – Bayshore Highway (101) opens on the Peninsula after 13 years of construction at a cost of $7 million.

1939 – Flight research begins at the Ames Laboratory of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA, the forerunner of NASA).

Check that out! You can relive the building of 101. How historic!

491 S RENGSTORFF Ave, Mountain View, CA 94040 | MLS# 80849265
491 S RENGSTORFF Ave Mountain View, CA 94040
Price: $599,900

Beds: 3
Baths: 2
Sq. Ft.: 1,080
$/Sq. Ft.: $555
Lot Size: 8,700 Sq. Ft.
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Style: Contemporary
Year Built: 1958
Stories: 1
Neighborhood: San Antonio
County: Santa Clara
MLS#: 80849265
Source: MLSListings
Status: Active
On Redfin: 79 days
LEAST EXPENSIVE SINGLE FAMILY HOME IN THE ENTIRE MOUNTAIN VIEW. THIS BANK-OWNED PROPERTY HAS A HUGE LOT. If you’re looking for a big lot in the middle of Mountain View, if you’re looking for great schools and if you’re looking for a great property with an awesome bargain then come & grab this thing. Zoned R3-1, you can build 2 houses or a duplex on this humongous 8600 sq. ft. lot. BRING OFFERS!

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

Hey, this lovely house is next door to my apartment complex, and, uh, $611/square foot?  Accordingly to the listing, it’s the cheapest single family home in Mountain View.  It’s also the only single family home for like a half mile in any direction.  I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing — after all *I* am one of their fantastic neighbors.

Indeed! The affordable housing crisis in Mountain View has been solved with this home. And look! It even features all the self-hype that the Bay Area is famous for! Great schools? Well… they’re ok schools. Humongous lot? Well… it’s a big lot. Revenue? Well… they’ve got eyeballs. Oh wait. It didn’t say that.

In any case, observe that this is next to a giant apartment complex. What does that mean? Yep! You too can become a landlord too!

But if you don’t choose to go that route, you can say hello to a huge heap of sweet instant equity as this house has a Zestimate of $785,000! Hellooooo free money!