Bay Area REBlog

Fourth of July Celebrations

Old-Fashioned Family Fourth of July - Ride a steam train or just come for the celebration with folks in period costume, a hobo barbecue, a sock hop and games ranging from sack races to hula hoop contests. No fireworks. Train rides at 11am, 12:30pm, 2pm and 3:30pm. For rides, $19.50 adults, $13.50 children, free under 3. $7 parking. Roaring Camp Railroad, Graham Hill Road, Felton. www.roaringcamp.com. 

San Francisco Fireworks - Fireworks launch from the foot of the Muni Pier and off barges to the north of Pier 39. The 21-minute display can be seen from Fisherman’s Wharf, the waterfront, Telegraph Hill, Crissy Field, the Marin Headlands and on the bay. Festivities take place all day along the waterfront. 2-10pm festivals, 9:30pm fireworks. Waterfront along The Embarcadero, San Francisco. www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com/calendar/listings.asp. 

Shoreline Amphitheatre Fourth of July - Radio Disney presents a 4th of July fireworks show with concert by the San Francisco Symphony, followed by a fireworks display. 5pm doors open, 8pm concert. $24 lawn seating, $24-$29.50 for seats. One Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View. 650-967-3000. http://www.livenation.com/venue/shoreline-amphitheatre-at-mountain-view-tickets/

Here is an interactive map to check out other Bay Area events- http://tinyurl.com/kklk9k

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I guess the silver lining of declining home values is the fact that we may get to pay less on our property taxes!  Homeowners most likely to qualify for a tax reduction are those who bought their house or condo in the last few years - if you’ve owned your home for many years you probably will not qualify for a tax reduction as the assessed value if still less than the market value. While many assessors are automatically reducing the assessed values of homes, you can appeal this figure starting on July 2nd. In Santa Clara County you have until September 15 to file your appeal, while in San Mateo County you have until November 30.

I’m sure you’ve all received letters in the mail from companies offering to get your taxes reduced, but there is no need to pay a third party for this service. It’s free and you can gather the information and do it yourself. Here is a quick and easy power point presentation The Property Owner’s Guide to Proposition 8,  which explain the process and gives you important dates to keep track of .  Of course, a reduction in property taxes means a loss of millions of dollars in tax revenue that usually goes to schools, colleges, counties and cities, all of which are already being squeezed by our state’s financial crisis and overall reduction in spending, so don’t forget to go out and spend all that money you save on your taxes!

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Just got details of this fun event this coming Sunday, June 14th from 4 - 8 pm at the Central Plaza in Los Altos.

Local artist, James Lanman, along with Momo Smitt and Jane Lui will be performing.

The event is commemorating what would have been the 21st birthday of MVHS graduate, Chase Rogers, who died tragically of an overdose two and a half years ago.

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I’ve just been looking at statistics for Mountain View and Los Altos comparing May of 2008 to May of 2009 -

Los Altos 2008 - we had 53 New Listings, 41 Closed Sales, Average Days on the Market was 27, Average Sales Price $1,980,409, with a total sales volume for the month of $81,196,801.

Los Altos 2009 - we had 47 New Listings, 22 Closed Sales, Average Days on the Market was 60, Average Sales Price $1560,373, with a total sales volume of only $29,647,105.

Mountain View 2008 - we had 41 New Listings, 31 Closed Sales, Average Days on the Market was 32, Average Sales Price $1,046,080, with a total sales volume of only $32,428,500.

Mountain View 2009 - we had 33 New Listings, 31 Closed Sales, Average Days on the Market was 53, Average Sales Price $931,506, with a total sales volume of $28,876,700.

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It seems the mortgage lending mess keeps getting more difficult for buyers. In an effort to fix the inflated appraisals that were a big part of the loose lending procedures, now lenders need to abide by the Home Valuation Code of Conduct.Effective May 1st, these new rules are having the unintended effect of making appraisals more expensive, more time-consuming and in some cases, less accurate. Appraisals can now be done by less experienced or out-of-area workers who are not familiar with pricing trends in particular neighborhoods. Under the new code, if a buyer is getting a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac backed loan, mortgage brokers can no longer directly request the appraisal. They must go through appraisal management companies thus increasing the cost by $150 or more. Theorically there is an arms-length transaction between the lender and appraiser with the appraiser less likely able to influence the valuation process.

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When first time home buyers purchase entry level homes, that allows the entry-level homeowners to sell and move-up to a mid-level, move-up market.  By purchasing those homes, the move-up market is able to sell and ultimately purchase homes in the luxury arena.  It’s a much-needed domino effect that will have significance in our market’s rebound.  The numbers released over the last two weeks are showing that the process has already begun.

I know it’s difficult to view the drop in property value as a positive thing.  But the fact is that though the ride was nice in the big real estate boom of the early 2000s, we couldn’t sustain those types of record appreciation levels without eliminating certain consumer niches, including first time home buyers.  Now that levels are back within range, the first time home buyers are once again able to reenter the market which is why we are seeing such a strong surge in sales in that level.

It’s just a matter of time before we weed through the remaining banked owned inventory and we should begin to see prices stabilize.  Once we see that, the remaining areas of the market should begin to see an upswing, too.

Here’s an excerpt from the The Wall Street Journal: “Whatever the March numbers say, there are good reasons to think that home sales will improve as the spring selling season gets underway. Anecdotal reports suggest that low mortgage rates and an $8,000 first-time home-buyer tax credit are coaxing buyers back into the market. And while foreclosures are set to rise as banks begin to move on delinquent homeowners, that actually could boost home sales as banks auction homes for whatever the market will bear.”

The market is without a doubt changing and we may finally be seeing the end of the great housing challenge of the 2000’s.  I’m sure we are all up for that.

Thanks to Rick Turley, President, San Francisco Bay Area, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage for providing this information.

Here are some statistics for our market:

Mountain View - 21 homes closed escrow last month - highest price $1,325,000 - 4 bed / 2 bath on Tulane, lowest price $520,000 - 3 bed / 2 bath on S. Rengstorff.

Los Altos - 10 homes closed escrow last month - highest price $1,920,000 - 4 bed / 3 bath on Mt. Hamilton, lowest price $1,050,000 - 2 bed / 1 bath on Mundel Ct.

Sunnyvale - 35 homes closed escrow last month - highest price $1,200,000 - 4 bed /2 bath on Ticonderoga Dr, lowest price $ $247,500 - 3 bed / 2 bath on Hiddenlake Dr.

Palo Alto - 23 homes closed escrow last month - highest price $4,050,000 - 5 bed / 4+ bath on E Greenwich Pl, lowest price $815,000 - 2 bed / 1 bath on Middlefield Rd.

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I have always loved going to the art show held in Los Altos at Lincoln Park.  It is put on by the Los Altos Rotary Club and is a major fund raiser for scholarships, community-based and global charity projects. The more than 200 artists are screened and the quality of art is unmatched. Every year I can’t resist buying something for myself or for a gift. Besides the art, there is always food and live entertainment making it  a wonderful family outing. This year it is being held May 16th- 17th from 10:30 AM to 5:30 PM.

 Since parking can be difficult there is free parking at Los Altos High school (201 Almond Avenue just off San Antonio Road) with a shuttle service to the park.

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There has been an annual Holiday Stroll in Los Altos, and due to it’s popularity LAVA has decided to have a Spring Stroll this Friday evening May 1st from 5 - 9 pm. More than 50 of the downtown stores and restaurants are participating offering food and drinks. There will also be live entertainment. It would be a great opportunity to check out the new store which will be opening this week! If you’re a long time Los Altos resident you may remember The Works - famous for their cheese & chocolates. They’re returning to main street as Gourmet Works, run by the sister of Craig Cousins, owner of Cover Story. Downtown is all dressed up with new spring flowers being planted by Jonathan Fishpaw for the Los Altos Village Association.

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President Obama traveled to Denver this morning to sign the stimulus bill that passed both the House and Senate on Friday.  The new bill includes a number of measures to address the troubled housing market. Two measures in particular are notable: the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit, and the reinstatement of increased loan limits for FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac.

 The new $8,000 tax credit is an improvement over the previous $7,500 credit, which was an interest-free loan that had to be paid back over 15 years. The new tax credit never has to be repaid, and effectively amounts to an $8,000 discount on the cost of a new home. A few of the key stipulations are:

·  The home must be purchased between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009.

·  Only first-time homebuyers are eligible. (First-time buyers are defined as people who have not owned a principal residence over the three years prior to purchase.)

·  The credit only applies to the purchase of a principal residence (i.e., not a vacation home or investment property).

·  The credit is actually the lesser of $8,000 or 10 percent of the purchase price of the home. (This really only matters to those who purchase a home worth less than $80,000; everybody else gets the full $8,000.)

The second measure reinstates the $729,750 loan limit offered by FHA, Fannie, and Freddie (back to the 2008 limits). This loan limit is the threshold at which a mortgage crosses from “Conforming” to the much more expensive “Jumbo” category. The increased loan limit is applied in varying amounts on a county-by-county basis depending on the median price of a home in each region.  Basically, in more expensive markets, the original conforming loan limit threshold of $417,000 was too low and forced homebuyers into more expensive jumbo loans even for homes that were not very expensive by local standards.  This new loan limit will definitely help homeowners to either purchase or refinance into a much more competitive mortgage.

Click on this link to see the handy chart NAR have published outlining all changes.

Thanks to George Metrik of Bay Area Home Loans for this updated information.

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Thanks to Stephen McInerney who posted this information to the Monta Loma neighborhood website and was delighted to have it posted on my blog also….useful information for us all to have - should allow us all to clean up our collective acts in 2009

PACKING MATERIALS
- The UPS Store at Showers Dr/San Antonio (beside Walmart and Target) are happy to accept the following used packing material:
- polystyrene peanuts/biscuits, as long as it’s clean
- the airbags out of Amazon shipped containers
- bubble wrap, as long as it’s clean, isn’t ripped and doesn’t have lot of tape
- WON’T accept anything dirty
- WON’T accept used mailers or cardboard shipping boxes

HOUSEHOLD ITEMS
- Salvation Army will take it (and they’ll collect from your house)
Goodwill WON’T take most household stuff. Check their website or call first to check.

ELECTRONICS (MUST BE WORKING)
- Goodwill accept WORKING electronics, but not non-working, as donations. If it’s non-working, it’s e-waste and they will accept it but no receipt.
Other places for dumping broken electronics: Freecycle or Green Citizen.

FREECYCLE ELECTRONICS (WORKING OR NEEDING REPAIR, BUT NOT TOTAL JUNK)
- post a mail to Freecycle’s mailing-list, and if anyone responds arrange a time for them to come collect.
http://www.freecycle.org/group/US/California/Mountain%20View
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MountainViewCAFreecyle/
- state clearly whether item is working, needs repair (give model number and specifics), or broken (for cannnibalizing spares) - must be a giveaway, you cannot ask for cash, swaps or services in exchange (that’s a TOS violation and will get you booted)

WORKING BUT OLDER COMPUTERS (e.g. Windows 98, XP boxes, old Macs)
StRUT, Students Recycling Used Technology (local branch is at Mission College)
Students Recycling Used Technology - StRUT is a program incorporated into schools where students take donated computers and computer components and upgrade them
for the use in schools. Students involved in StRUT evaluate, repair and refurbish donated computers and in turn donate those computers to local schools.
Students gain valuable skills and schools get free computers.
Not sure whether they’re 401(c)3 and can write charitable receipts.
Contact: Rendee Doré, dorerendee @ aol.com, (408) 748-0927
http://www.strut.org (Or headquarters)

ELECTRONIC JUNK (E-WASTE)
Just around the corner from Goodwill and UPS Store, multiplex even more recycling into your trip:
1) Green Citizen drop-off center is just 0.2 miles further
4500 El Camino Real (/San Antonio), Los Altos, CA 94022
http://www.greencitizen.com/drop_off.php
- charge a small 50c fee per dropoff for batteries.
So collect your and your neighbors’ batteries then make one big drop-off.
- list of what they’ll accept (monitors, computers, videos, DVDs, phones)
Some items are free, some have small fees
http://www.greencitizen.com/what_we_recycle.php
Green Citizen also do Hard Disk Destruction and Cell Phone Erasure for a fee (e.g. if you’re donating used cellphone to charities that take them)

2) Goodwill is a certified eWaste collector.
You can drop off your **residential** E-waste free of charge at any of their Donation Centers.”
My friend advises: “write broken on it in permanent magic marker so theywon’t sell it as working electronics.”

3) SMART STATION (E-WASTE)
http://www.ci.mtnview.ca.us/city_hall/public_works/garbage_and_recycling/smart_station.asp
-> http://sunnyvale.ca.gov/Departments/Public+Works/Solid+Waste+and+Recycling/SMaRT+Station/
- 301 Carl Road, Sunnyvale (near the corner of Caribbean & Borregas Ave.),
take Mathilda or Lawrence north of 237/101. Near Baylands Park.
- open seven days 8am-5pm excl holidays. Tel 408-752-8530.
- quietest time to go is weekdays, during work hours; avoid weekends if possible
- must bring ID and some bill to prove you live in MV/PA/SV
- accepts broken computer monitors, TVs, cellphones, consumer electronics, fluorescent tubes, batteries (household and vehicle), hypodermic needles,
thermometers and thermostats, and used motor oil, filters, and anti-freeze.
3a) (Note: Other household HAZARDOUS wastes may be properly disposed at the Santa Clara County Household Hazardous Waste Facility, by appointment only, next door to the SMaRT Station. Call 408-299-7300 for a Saturday appointment.)

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