Two Silicon Valley Cities Amoung the Top 25 in The Nation

Palo Alto, Atherton crack top 10 priciest ZIP codes in U.S.

Atherton's 94027 code is No. 2 on the list, with a median sale price of $5,900,000 for 111 transactions last year. The fifth most expensive ZIP is in Palo Alto: The 94301 area includes downtown, Old Palo Alto and Crescent Park. The median price there was $3,150,000 for 157 sales in 2015, according to the PropertyShark website, which compiled the ranking.

All in all, 17 of the 25 most expensive ZIP codes are in California, seven in New York and one in New Jersey.

The list "pretty much tells you where the rich people live," said Nancy Jorisch, PropertyShark's data research manager. "It's the two coasts. And actually, now it's heavily California."

The No. 1 spot on the list is occupied by New York's Sagaponack, in the Hamptons, where the median was $8,500,000, though only five sales were recorded in that exclusive community.

Also on the list are Los Altos (94022, No. 12 on the list; and 94024, No. 14 on the list); Portola Valley (94028, at No. 15); San Francisco (94123, in the Marina District, at No. 16); Palo Alto again (94306, No. 22); Burlingame (94010, No. 24) and Saratoga (95070, No. 25).

Any surprises?

"None at all," said Palo Alto-based Sereno Group real estate agent Alex Wang. "We've had so much appreciation in Bay Area real estate. A high tide lifts all boats, and as Palo Alto and Altherton go up, the surrounding areas go up as well."

Just look at Burlingame. The median price there was $2,215,000 for 415 sales, the most transactions among the top 25 ZIP codes. Total sales volume exceeded $1.1 billion.

"Burlingame has become like the Palo Alto of the north," Wang said. "It's that next place down (from San Francisco) -- beautiful downtown, very vibrant, has good schools and a lot of local amenities, a good option for families."

Incidentally, Beverly Hills' iconic 90210 placed third.

However, Mountain View and Menlo Park failed to crack the top 25, despite their proximity to Google and Facebook. Jorisch said she suspects that the many condo and townhouse sales in those communities brought down the overall median sale prices.

As an example, Mountain View's 94040 ZIP code (No. 58 on the list) had a measly median of $1.5 million.

Meanwhile, Menlo Park's 94025 (No. 37) had a $1.84 million median, still a pittance, comparatively speaking.

There's always next time.

Source: Mercury News, Richard Scheinin
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_29699948/palo-alto-atherton-crack-top-10-priciest-zip

Foreclosures Just Got Way Fancier: How to Score a Deal on a Luxury Home

Think foreclosed homes are always ramshackle properties with overgrown lawns, boarded-up windows, and hordes of squatters? On the contrary, they can also be mansions on the beach or stately apartments at the top of a Four Seasons Hotel that, even in their “distressed” state, are worth well into the six figures.

In fact, foreclosures priced at more than a $1 million have been in such high demand lately, they’ve been creating bidding wars and selling at a premium.

So what’s the story behind these high-end abandoned abodes? Many represent strategic choices by homeowners to walk away from an underwater investment property. Because these owners often have more than one place, they don’t have as much of an emotional connection to each one.

“Luxury owners view it as a business decision and not as much as a personal failure,” says Bruce Ailion, an Atlanta-based Realtor® and attorney. It’s a business decision for them, but an opportunity for you!

But buying a foreclosure, especially a high-end one, isn’t for the faint of heart, since its high price tag makes it a heftier risk. So if you’re curious about what it takes, here are some tips on doing it right—and some current listings that will get you salivating.

Weigh repairs and improvements carefully

Even high-end homes have flaws that must be fixed. And while banks will typically make repairs and improvements to luxury foreclosure homes before listing them, they may make low-cost fixes that could conflict sharply with the character and value of the home—so keep an eye out for things such as cheap carpet or crummy appliances. Also, try to get an inspector with experience in the luxury market.

“Just as you would not have your Ferrari worked on at the corner garage, you should not choose just anyone to evaluate a complex home,” Ailion says. And if you or an inspector finds an issue, know that banks are less likely to pay for it than to give you a discount to take care of it. “Banks typically want to sell these properties as is,” Ailion says. And the more high-end or custom a home, the more expensive those repairs will be.

Skip the lowball offer

The days of getting a 50% discount on a property because it’s bank-owned have passed. If the home is in good condition—as luxury homes tend to be—you’ll likely be competing with investors and all-cash offers.

“Banks are a lot less motivated to make deals happen than they were in 2008, when they just wanted to get things off their books,” says Ryan Wright, CEO of DoHardMoney.com, which provides financial services to fix-and-flip real estate investors. In fact, this year foreclosures worth more than $1 million were selling at an average of 3% above asking price!

Bottom line: If you have your eye on a home, know that haggling too hard may get you knocked out of competition.

But don’t overpay, either

While lowball offers don’t behoove you, neither does overpaying. So don’t get sucked into going over budget to win the property.

“Oftentimes there are bidding wars on these properties, and we’ll see buyers pay upward of $600,000 more than what the list price is,” says Alexandria Carlson, an associate broker with Engel & Volkers in Scottsdale, AZ. Know what your limit is, and stick to it: Foreclosure or not, if you end up paying more than the property is worth (or than you can afford), you’re getting a bad deal.

Find the right Realtor(s)

Since there’s a ton of extra paperwork involved with buying a bank-owned property, smooth the process by working with a Realtor® experienced in foreclosures. And since luxury properties have their own peculiarities, you’re best off getting someone with experience in both areas: foreclosures and the luxury market. And if you can’t, consider hiring two agents that can work as a team for you and split the commission.

Here’s a sample of some of the high-end foreclosures available now:

451 Mashta Drive, Key Biscayne, FL

List price: $8.9 million

This nine-bedroom, seven-bathroom, Mediterranean-style estate is on the water with a private dock and ocean access.

132 E. Delaware Place, Apt. 6302, Chicago, IL

List price: $5.9 million

This 7,000-square-foot duplex has stunning city views and is located at the top of the Four Seasons Hotel—easily near fine dining.

12 Horizon, Newport Coast, CA

List price: $4.9 million

This 7,400-square-foot residence in Pelican Hill Estates has six bedrooms and 7.5 bathrooms. And check out that pool!

50 Bellevue, Ave., Piedmont, CA

List price: $3.9 million

In addition to five bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms, this home has a library and ballroom—what debutante could resist?

2515 Mercedes Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL

List price: $3.5 million

This waterfront, four-bedroom, 7,700-square-foot home needs work, but it has a private boat dock and an elevator. Apparently, stairs are optional in this multimillion-dollar home!

Source: Realtor.com, Beth Braverman

http://www.realtor.com/advice/buy/how-to-buy-luxury-foreclosure-homes/?iid=rdc_news_hp_carousel_theLatest

These Are the 20 Richest Cities in America

This article is really no huge surprise to me. San Jose is the heart of the Silicon Valley and allot of tech giants reside in or around the San Jose area. According to this article from Bloomberg Business, San Jose is the #1 wealthiest city in America! No wonder why rents are high and the housing market is still hot. It just goes to show another good reason to own real estate here.

San Jose, San Francisco, Seattle: These cities house more than the headquarters of the world's largest technology companies. They are also some of the most productive hubs in the U.S. economy.

The San Jose, California metro area had the highest output per resident for 2014, according to a Bloomberg analysis of U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data for the 100 largest metropolitan areas. Gross metropolitan product (GMP) per capita in the Silicon Valley epicenter was $105,482, more than double the national average. Bridgeport, Connecticut ranked second at $94,349. San Francisco, Seattle and Boston followed.


These GMP per capita figures help uncover underlying economic trends, which are often masked by the population inflows and outflows that affect unadjusted output statistics. The 2014 rankings highlight a surge in tech centers since the recession, with San Jose now producing about $11,000 more per person than No. 2 Bridgeport. Until 2011, the Connecticut suburb for New York bankers held the top spot.

It's no surprise that these high-output cities also have some of the densest concentrations of educated workers, reflecting the soaring returns to schooling in today's job market. Harvard University professor Edward Glaeser says the diverging fates of high-skilled and low-skilled regions has been one of the most significant trends in the U.S. economy as well as other developed economies over the last three decades.

There's an ''ongoing trend towards skilled places being far more compensated than non-skilled places," said Glaeser, whose research focuses on what causes cities to grow.  "The poster-child of this in the data is the San Jose metropolitan area, which is off the charts in terms of income growth.''

Tech cities outside the Bay Area have also benefited from the industry's boom. Helped by not only Amazon Inc. but also newer Internet companies like Zulily Inc., Seattle's GMP per capita grew by a cumulative 7.9 percent since 2009, when the economic recovery began. (The cumulative growth since 2008 is a much more tempered 2.5 percent because of the dramatic drop in the financial crisis.) That helped the Washington city catapult to No. 4 from its No. 6 spot in 2008 through 2011. Biotech hotbed Boston also jumped two places since 2008, while Portland, Oregon (sometimes called Silicon Forest) climbed six spots.

These emerging tech hubs will probably expand even more in coming years, according to Luis Torres, a research economist specializing in regional economies at the Texas A&M Real Estate Center. Sky-high rents in northern California force workers and businesses to look elsewhere, Torres said.

Methodology: Bloomberg ranked the 100 biggest metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) in the U.S. according to their gross metropolitan product per resident from 2008 to 2014, calculated with data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau. Data for 2014 were advance statistics and subject to future revision. Previous years' data were revised from previous releases. The map above only displays the primary city in each MSA.

Source: Bloomberg Business, Ali Donaldson
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-05/these-are-the-20-richest-cities-in-america

San Francisco makes global list of top five cities for uber-wealthy real estate buyers

San Francisco makes the top 5 list of cities for the ultra rich

The Silicon Valley has its fair share of affluent buyers. I've had the pleasure of working with some of them myself, but San Francisco has the special distinction of being among the top 5 cities for Ultra High Net Worth individuals according to this article from SFGate.

San Francisco makes global list of top five cities for uber-wealthy real estate buyers