We’ve made the call on Bay Area Bubble 4.0, now we’re just lining up the evidence.  Palo Alto began heating up and blowing past peak pricing last year.  The proof of another housing bubble, though, is when the increasing prices and the bidding frenzy and the sales velocity measured in Hours on Market rather than Days and the large number of listings marked Pending/Do Not Show start overwhelming the Not So Special parts of the region.

Here is Evidence For a Bay Area Housing Bubble #1,726: Frenzy for condos.  CONDOS.  In MILPITAS.

Bay Area condos’ tight supply has buyers scrambling

By Pete Carey, San Jose Mercury News
Posted:   02/18/2013 04:00:00 AM PST | Updated:   02/18/2013 08:19:38 AM PST

The Bay Area’s market for condominiums and townhouses has seldom been hotter. Existing units are selling in record time with multiple offers, and new ones are being snapped up before there’s even a model home to see.

Just ask Niha Singh. Last month, Singh, a 27-year-old Silicon Valley computer engineer, and her husband tried to buy one of 12 units in a new townhouse development under construction in Milpitas. Even though they’d car-camped outside the developer’s office, they ended up on a waiting list.

"When we got there on Friday, there was already a line," she said. "People were camping out, some of them for six days before the date of release."

Across the Bay Area, buyers are fighting for a limited supply of new and existing condos. Investors have already snapped up many foreclosures and short sales and are renting them out, while owners who might sell in a typical market are either still on the sidelines watching prices rise or are underwater and can’t afford to sell. And demand has been growing.

Wasn’t it just a couple of years ago we were reading about condo complexes that had reverted to all-rental buildings (also known as apartments)?  Why yes, it was.  But obviously Milpitas is Much More Special than Downtown San Jose.  Also Three Sixty is Five days short of even a Regular Year.

People camping out for five days in front of a Milpitas development not enough? Want more evidence of Bubble 4.0?  You think a seller’s market in Milpitas condos is reaching?  At least Milpitas is in the same area code as Google.

Condos in Castro Valley sold in 11 days in December, compared with 82 days in 2011, the Bay East Association of Realtors reported. In Pleasanton, the average number of days on the market dropped from 52 days in December 2011 to 10 days last December.

Castro Valley.  You know, Gateway to Hayward, City of Diversity.  We’re putting in our sell order when Stockton comes back.

Let’s continue with our post-Christmas clearance sales!  Today’s fabulous find is in the fantastic framework of Milpitas, or as its fun-loving denizens call it, “What’s that smell?”  Thanks very much to Burbed reader Petsmart Groomer for flipping this one forward.

1568 CLEAR LAKE Ave
Milpitas, CA 95035
$359,000

HOA Dues: $270/mo. 
2 Beds 
1.5 Baths 
1,008 Sq. Ft.
$356 / Sq. Ft.
Built: 1971 
Lot Size: 810 Sq. Ft. 
On Redfin: 21 days
Status: Active
HOA Dues: $270/month
Stories: 1-3 (Low Rise)
County: Santa Clara
Property Type: Townhouse
Community: Milpitas
MLS#: 81242591

Property well maintained and is ready for its new owners.

Or as PG notes:

It’s ready for a new agent too.

Oh don’t be such a stickler, Petsmart.  Just because the front image took a little rotation ride doesn’t mean the agent isn’t a knowledgeable professional.  Let’s enjoy the rest of the photos.

Excellent.  Start with the exterior shots first and then lure your customers in.

Here the agent skillfully picks up the wooden texture of the bed frame in both the dining room set and the beautifully shining hardwood floor.

Contextual linking continues in subtle ways with the kitchen towels suggesting whimsy, supported by the colorful devil-may-care display on the coffee table.

Now it’s your turn.  Do you see the ingenious way the agent finds elements in common from the living room entry to the bathroom sink?  And nice job leaving out the throne entirely. You’d be surprised how many amateurs not only include it but have the seat raised high.

Ending the photo show with nature at her most bountiful, we also note this property has a location, location, location (!) in a popularly-populated planning potpourri!  You can find everything here!

Letters, oh we get letters… Here’s something to snuffle over from Burbed reader Kiki:

I would love to see some analysis on South Bay snout houses.  Why are there so many? It’s like mullets at Wal-Mart.

Do they sit on the market longer than other house styles? Is that a punishment? Do people actually like them or do they settle because of … ahem … “inventory” available?

I don’t think anyone has ever done a published, peer reviewed analysis on snout houses (because the people who would be interested in that sort of data sure don’t want to share it). I’m in Santa Clara – I know of one tract developed in the 1950s that’s almost ALL snout houses. It’s east of Lawrence & north of El Camino (yes, El Camino runs East-West in Santa Clara) and runs east to about Kiely. I’m not sure how far north the sprawl of snout goes but I can surf google earth later today.

thank you for your delightful daily snark. I love what you’re doing.

Given the location, location, location that Kiki provided, we went to Redfin and saw what was available.  Answer: nothing you can buy that’s particularly snoutside, but looking at recent sales yielded a winner from 1954 on our first click.

And in that same general area, no snout about it, different from the first one yet so much the same, and also from that excellent year of 1954.

Asnout these homes… yes, they do seem to be clustered in this area.  But we’ve featured this style of home before, and they aren’t all in West Central Santa Clara.

For example, here’s one we ran at the beginning of this year.  It’s all snout and nothing else to face.  It’s also not in Santa Clara, but in San Jose.  Such a delightful frontage, wonder why it took ten months to sell. No, it didn’t take ten months, it sold this October.  And also this June, so it’s a snout-flip.  (The June sale took 3 years to happen, and then sold for 1/3 less than the 2000 sale price.)  Wow, instant equity!

But there are all kinds of snout houses, just as there are all kinds of buyers and sellers.

F’rinstance, this lovely little luxury lulu in Milpitas (on the left, above) is better than the usual snout house, because it has bunus snout.  Contrariwise, on the right is a Mountain View maisonette, or as Burbed reader bmwman91 put it, a “single-nostril snout house.”

This delightful domicile à droit (that’s at right for the realtards following along from their home offices) looks like it could fit in a tract with any of the others up top, but this middle-class muzzle-mansion is in Atherton. Yes, it’s in the cheap-ass part that’s practically Redwood City, but it has an Atherton mailing address and more importantly, an Atherton property tax bill.

Let us know about snout houses you’ve seen, visited, or even lived in.  Or let us know about anything else you want, because it’s also time to get your schnozz into a Weekend Open Thread!

Update 10:07 PM: How could we forget this ode to snout housing from 1986? Put your hands together for David Byrne, who anticipated what endless expansion of exurbia would lead to.  This is a clip from True Stories.

We’ve mentioned a few times that this site’s founder, burbed, has a jones for pink houses. Today’s house is pink… but only on the inside.  Open wide, say Ahhh, and and have a look at this marvelous maison in Milpitas!  Thanks very much to Burbed reader Tracy Tea House for sending in this rancho rosa real.

2258 Devon Place
Milpitas CA 95035
$914,888

Play virtual tour (powered by Trulia Pro)

Est. payment: 
Bedrooms: 4 
Bathrooms: 3 
62 days on Trulia
862 views
Property type: Single-Family Home
Size: 2,700 sqft
Lot: 0.25 acres
Price/sqft: $339/sqft
Year built: 1985
MLS/ID: ML81231332
Zip: 95035

Detached, Traditional – Milpitas, CA
This custom Shapell Home is now on the market for the 1st time! Immaculate Condition!! This Beautiful home has been cared for & loved by the same owners for 26 years.*Formal Living, Family & Dining room, Breakfast nook, High ceiling through out *Master Suite w/walk-in closet, tub w/jets, *Private laundry room *New Tile, double pane windows, plantation shutters, video security system, Huge Lot with tons of possibilities & MUCH MORE!!

Here’s what Tracy thought about the decor.

Wow  so nice and in Milpitas too. Yeah, it’s a little close to 680, but all in all seems pleasant enough. I am sending this house to you because of the decorating. I didn’t even see the inside of the house, I was too distracted by the pastel color schemes…

This house is 26 years old? This dining room reminds me of some model condos we toured back in 1984.  So that means the current owners were only two years behind the latest decorating trends… assuming they never updated another thing once they furnished this home.

Providentially, there’s plenty more pink photos to peruse.  Please, enjoy them after the break.

(more…)

Last week we looked at a series of very expensive houses.  Let’s return to our Burbed roots and examine some less stratospheric home options.  Today’s featured façade is a Milpitas mansion, thanks to Burbed reader PKamp3.

436 COELHO St
Milpitas, CA 95035
$340,800

BEDS: 6
BATHS: 3
SQ. FT.: 1,962
$/SQ. FT.: $174
LOT SIZE: 7,975 Sq. Ft.
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Contemporary
STORIES: 2
YEAR BUILT: 1964
COMMUNITY: Milpitas
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81215571
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 30 days

Wow! What a price! This beautiful 5 bedroom 3 bath home has enough square footage for a large family. Grand entry with pillar columns opens into a large living area with fireplace. Some bedrooms downstairs and the rest upstairs. 1 full bathroom downstairs as well!

Here’s why PK thought we should check this one out:

How about revisiting a house which has been featured on Burbed before?

So… if it was featured on Burbed on June 17, 2011 for $674,950 and it costs $340,800 today… is a 54% annualized loss the new 7.2% gain?

Yes, indeed, this house was featured before.  Bet you didn’t recognize its new look above, either.

According to Zillow, the price was only lowered one other time from the original $674,950 “WON’T LAST!!” listing, to $660,000.  And if the place didn’t sell at $674,950 between May and October, slashing $14,950 off (a whopping 2.2%) should have commenced the overbidding immediately.

The new asking price has been sitting for a month, despite the amazing features of the house (Some bedrooms downstairs and the rest upstairs).  I know that when I buy a six bedroom house, I’m always really cheesed off when discovering some of the bedrooms under the septic tank.

Also, the price cut also reflects another cut: this new listing no longer features a view.  But the kawlums are still included.  Do check out the pictures on this new listing, though, as there are surprisingly few of the inside of the house compared to last time.  There are four different shots of the back yard, and every single one of them features the portable grill.

Meanwhile, three different Redfin agents have left comments on the house.  Let’s share in their expert opinion.

Question: Does the master bedroom have a Jacuzzi tub in it?  Second question: How come two out of three realtards can’t spell Jacuzzi?  J’accuse!

Here’s some news from the exciting and ever-fragrant community of Milpitas!

State suspends license of contractor in fatal trench collapse

By Joe Rodriguez, Posted: 02/03/2012 08:34:27 PM PST
Photos by ABC7 News

State officials Friday suspended the license of the contractor building a home in Milpitas where an immigrant carpenter was buried alive over the weekend when a trench collapsed over him.

The Contractors State License Board said it suspended U.S.-Sino Investment, based in Fremont, after discovering the builder claimed to have no employees when it filed paperwork in 2008. Agency spokesman Rick Lopes said the employee list was necessary to meet state requirements for workers’ compensation insurance.

The owner of the company, Richard Liu, is believed to be in China and could not be reached Friday for comment.

We have to go back to some earlier articles to find out a little more about the home in question.  It turns out that you need a state permit, not just a mere city Mother-May-I, to dig trenches deeper than five feet. 

Furthermore city inspectors had issued a stop-work order three days before the tragic accident, because the trench was not shored. The recent rains made it even more unstable, plus the construction work by the contractor was also considered poor quality.

Why do you think a 5800 sf house foundation needs a 12 foot trench?  Were they building their own wine caverns?  Given that it was in Milpitas, shouldn’t it have been corn syrup caverns instead?

Anyway, here is the property in question:

Notice anything interesting about this 2010 sale?  Not only did the agent provide both ends of the deal, but that name ought to sound a tad familiar.  If it doesn’t, go back and read the third paragraph of the Merc’s article above.

Criminal charges are being considered against the contractor, but then again, building a 5800 sf “small mansion” seems to require additional karma loss.

Yesterday’s featured property in Milpitas was well-received, so let’s return to the City of a Thousand Aromas with this great find from Burbed reader nomadic!

682 KIRKWALL Pl, Milpitas, CA 95035
$788,000

BEDS: 4
BATHS: 3
SQ. FT.: 2,690
$/SQ. FT.: $293
LOT SIZE: 10,000 Sq. Ft.
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STORIES: 2
VIEW: Mountains
YEAR BUILT: 1982
COMMUNITY: Milpitas
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81118480
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 63 days

PRICE REDUCED!! NICE HOME IN A GREAT AREA OF MILPITAS. 4BEDS/3BATHS, 3 CAR GARAGE. BEAUTIFUL BACKYARD AND NEW LANSCAPE OF FRONT HOUSE. NEW INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR PAINT. SUNROOM BUILT WITH PERMIT. TOTAL SQUARE FEET OF THE HOUSE: 3000sf.

Here’s what nomadic thought of this NICE HOME:

The neighborhood across the freeway from today’s featured house is filled with snout houses with HUGE noses.  Check out this hideous example.  Fitting street name too: as the Redfin agent helpfully points out, it’s next to the sound wall for the freeway.

But wait!  That’s not ALL you get!  How about this poorly lit living/dining room? The same effect in the bedroom?

The late 80s kitchen décor?  The two-tone ceiling in the bedroom? 

The indescribable feeling you’re in a shotgun shack in a 2,690 square foot house?  The mismatched marble-like surfaces in the bathroom?

Good thing they included those gorgeous pictures of the back yard.  You’re really going to enjoy that holiday from the humdrum by relaxing out here instead of staying indoors.

Ahhhh!

$649,000

364 OLIVER St Milpitas, CA 95035

Beds:	3
Baths:	2
Sq. Ft.:	1,260
$/Sq. Ft.:	$515
Lot Size:	6,392 Sq. Ft.
Property Type:	Detached Single Family
Style:	Traditional
Stories:	1
View:	Neighborhood
Year Built:	1960
Community:	Milpitas
County:	Santa Clara
MLS#:	81118300
Source:	MLSListings
Status:	Active
On Redfin:	39 days

Now, you could be dismayed that this the first photo in this listing is of the backyard. Or that the photos are tiny. Or that there’s no detailed description extolling the virtues of this house.

But let’s face it – this is house is a mere $649k! What do you expect? A full service, high quality listing?

Look, if all you can afford is $649k, that means you’re probably making less than $100k. Should you really be living in the Bay Area if you make less than $100k? Probably not.

So yeah. Take it if you want it. Leave it if you don’t. We probably don’t want your kind here anyway.

Here’s another great find from Burbed reader Tracy!  I hope Tracy doesn’t find a house to buy anytime soon, or say goodbye to these terrific listings and I’ll have to look at places like these myself.  Don’t know if I’d dare face the wilds of Milpitas, though, so thanks very much, Tracy!

436 COELHO St, Milpitas, CA 95035
$674,950

BEDS: 5
BATHS: 3
SQ. FT.: 1,962
$/SQ. FT.: $344
LOT SIZE: 7,975 Sq. Ft.
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Traditional
STORIES: 2
VIEW: Mountains, Neighborhood
YEAR BUILT: 1964
COMMUNITY: Milpitas
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81121789
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 18 days

GORGEOUS COMPLETELY RE-MODELED DREAM HOME!! NEUTRAL COLORS THRU-OUT. MASTER BEDROOM LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS MAGAZINE WITH JACUZZI TUB, FIREPLACE AND VIEW OF THE HILLSIDE. ENORMOUS ALMOST 8,000 SQ. FT. LOT. GET HERE FAST!! WON’T LAST!!

Here’s what Tracy had to say about this place:

I don’t know what magazines they are reading! Absolutely hideous  complete with Kawlums ! Strange, there are no granite countertops or red walls???  Very fancy outdoor kitchen and shed too! Maybe the house looks better in person? Could be just a horrible set of photos, a lame description, and lack of caps or punctuation that makes this one a candidate for the blog!

Hey, not every house featured on Burbed claims their interior decoration is good enough to be in a national magazine.  The closest thing I can think of is that place in Campbell that said it looked like it was in Saratoga.

And not every house featured in Burbed has MAWBUL KAWLUMS FTW.  Too bad there aren’t any on the outside.

But, oh wow, when was this kitchen done, 1986?  And the living room, um, I can’t figure out if those are sanitary covers or if someone has too much time on her hands and a sewing machine.

At least they put their laundry away, you know what I’m saying?

Hey look!  You get your own mini-golf park in the back yard!  Awesomeness!  Plus a terrific design touch in the bathroom: the premium sink/basin so conveniently located right next to the crapper.

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the MASTER BEDROOM that LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS MAGAZINE WITH JACUZZI TUB, FIREPLACE AND VIEW OF THE HILLSIDE.  Ready?

OMFG.  Is that a fireplace, or a 1958 television console?  I figure it needs the fan to keep the vacuum tubes from overheating.  Here’s another view, in case you don’t like this one.

Yeah that looks like something out of Better Homes and Gardens Magazine all right: a before picture.

Some of you Burbed readers do not want to live in a free-fire zone, or can’t afford an expensive la-di-da zip code.  Today’s Black Friday DEAL is for YOU.  Milpitas is conveniently situated next to (and I mean right next to) several popular commute routes, yet is distinct from both the sprawl of San Jose and the Five Cities in Search of a Civic Identity otherwise known as Fremont.

Milpitas means little rows of corn, and today’s DEAL is about as little and corny as they come.

363 Timber Way, Milpitas, CA 95035
$294,800

Beds: 3
Baths: 2
Sq. Ft.: 1,010
$/Sq. Ft.: $292
Lot Size: 3,000 Sq. Ft.
Property Type: Attached Single Family
Stories: 1
View: Neighborhood
Year Built: 1965
Community: Milpitas
County: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81047076
Source: MLSListings
Status: Active
On Redfin: 77 days

3 BEDROOM, 2 BATH HOME, NICE SIZE LIVING ROOM WITH HARDWOOD FLOORS AND WOOD BURNING FIREPLACE. CLOSE TO THE GREAT MALL AND MAJOR FREEWAYS, A MUST SEE!

Like many things in life, Milpitas is all about compromise.  In this case it means a real estate agent who can spell and use English correctly, but can’t be bothered to turn off the CAP LOCKS key.

It also means an agent who will tell you the truth.  Did the listing say close to major freeways?  It sure did.  And you’re in luck if you work at LSI right across the street; Just build yourself a little pedestrian bridge and you won’t need to sit in traffic!

But the listing did not say “award-winning agent noted for fine real estate photography.”  And that’s a shame, because there’s a certain something to these photos.  Perhaps the series should be entered in a community art showcase with a poignant title such as Under Water, August 2010.

Compromise.  That’s a good philosophy to embrace when dealing with fewer job offers, smaller paychecks, and vanishing bonuses.  It means Milpitas instead of Mountain View, and attached home instead of 4/3 on a 10,000 sf lot.

Do you want a piece of the American Dream?  Sure you do!  This house sold for $358,000 in 2003.  Do you hear that noise?  That’s not the plumbing, that’s opportunity knocking!  Your DEAL awaits.  All you have to do is sit in traffic on 237 to get it.