Agents Survey: Home Ownership 'Knot' the Tie that Binds

Marriage is the third-most-common reason people buy homes, according to a survey of 600 Coldwell Banker agents.

No. 4? D-I-V-O-R-C-E. You may be thinking, "Why did he start out with the third and fourth reasons, and not the first?" Let's just say I'm a former journalist who is more than willing to bury the lede in the name of life's little ironies. Not surprisingly, the list of reasons cited by the agents is dominated by life's big moments:

How's the Market in Silicon Valley? I'm Glad You Asked!

In this video, I explain why I believe the San Jose-Palo Alto real-estate market has formed a long-term bottom after the disastrous 5-year downturn.

San Jose's Only Story: "Incredible Shrinking Inventory"

 In the world of San Jose area real estate, only one story really matters right now: the incredible shrinking inventory. Almaden Valley has 54 homes for sale on the MLS; only 29 homes are listed for sale in all of Palo Alto.

New Refinance Program will Help Underwater Homeowners

 
Many Silicon Valley homeowners have already taken advantage of lower-than-ever interest rates to save several hundred dollars a month by refinancing their mortgage loans.

But until now, millions of owners across the country who could probably use those savings the most have been locked out of them: those who bought near the top of the market and whose home values are worth less than their current mortgage balance.

Snapshot Brings Silicon Valley Micro-Markets Into Focus

I've noted before that, just as Silicon Valley is an area of weather micro-climates, it's also an area characterized by real-estate micro-markets.
A snapshot of average per-square-foot list prices in eight of the cities and neighborhoods in which I'm active brings those differences into focus.
They range from less than $300 in San Jose's Blossom Valley area to more than $900 in Palo Alto.
It comes as no surprise that the toney San Mateo County city is much further removed financially from Blossom Valley than it is geographically.

But then there's Almaden Valley, which shares a border with Blossom Valley but commands a 50 percent premium in home prices. A major factor here, unquestionably, is Almaden's huge edge in public-school test scores.

Supply & Demand Taking Root in San Jose Rose Garden

The "Super Bowl Bump" in sale prices started a few months early in San Jose's 95126 zip code, and my analysis of the area - which includes the popular Rose Garden and Shasta Hanchett Park neighborhoods - indicates that a downturn in inventory played a significant role in the surge.

Inventory Shortage to Challenge "Facebook Millionaires"

It seems to get harder and harder for prospective homebuyers to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime "buyer's market" in real estate. From San Francisco to Palo Alto to San Jose, many move-up buyers are trapped in their current homes because they've lost so much equity they can't afford a down payment - or worse, they're under water.