Living the the Bay Area…Bubble!

Today in the San Jose Mercury newspaper (yes newspaper) there was an article about Lawrence Yun. He is the chief economist for the NAR. He states the housing markets here in San Fransisco and Silicon Valley are stronger than other places in California and across the nation. We did not have a big hit by the sub prime market lending woes here. With the prices of our homes here sub prime lending was very low compared to other areas in California such as Riverside, Sacramento and other outlying areas. There is still speculation weather the market will get better in the spring or continue on the slowing trend. What do you think?

He goes on to say that he thinks that we are still suffering from the dot-com bust. I disagree. There are new companies up and coming again here in Silicon Valley. There is money to be given to start ups by venture capitalists. The jobs are being created and in turn housing will continue to come out of the slow down. Sub prime market is gone. Yes there is still a price to be paid for those loans that are coming due and the short sales that are out there, but this does provide for a great deal for qualified buyers.

As we are coming to the last 6 weeks of 2007 there will be many reflective moments. The mortgage practices of this past year will be a cloud in history, but we will see the true resilance of the people here in Silicon Valley and around the country pull out of yet another hole. I hope that Mr. Yun and others will see that we will turn the corner for a more secure future in the housing industry and our nations economy.

Eichler Living

What is the Eichler homeowner mentality all about. For those of us who love and live the Eichler style is about our freedom of choice to be open, clean and straight (strong straight lines I mean). I’m always amused by those who have happened upon an Eichler home and bought it and then “remodeled” it with country cabinets and the wagon wheel window front door. Joesph Eichler would be rolling over in the his grave if he was seeing what has happened to many of his homes. Eichler homes are not for everyone. Most people feel that they are cold and uninviting. I recall when we bought our Eichler. I told a friend that we had our contract accepted on a house, she was thrilled until I told her it is an Eichler. “oh, I’m sorry” was her response. It has been 7 years and we couldn’t be happier. We look forward to making our Eichler energy efficient and greener for many years ahead.

Our tar and gravel roof had seen better days and we had one big leak. Yes the flow of water down the wall into the dressing area of our master bathroom at 3 AM on morning was not good. After checking out different types and kinds we decided to go with a Dura-Foam roofing material This past summer we noticed that it was about 20% cooler in the summer. We had the installers pitch the roof in several places so that water flows off the roof in a more efficient manner cutting down on the standing puddles that a tar and gravel roof will tend to develop. There are other options for roofing material check out the article “Keeping the Lid On”. You’ll find there some great information and picutres about the differnt types of roofing materials that are out there for your home.

Glass and more glass. This is what is great about Eichlers all the glass windows. How you can be inside out of the elements and enjoy all the outdoors by peering through the huge glass window and sliding glass doors. We still have the original windows and doors in our home. We are looking into having them changed within the next year. There are options for what to do. One can cover the existing window with a UV film or replace the windows and doors with double pane glass. We are lucky that our home faces south and being a courtyard model we do not get any direct sunlight into our home, but with so much indirect light coming in we do need to keep the UV rays out. I’ll keep you posted as to what path we decide to take and how much the cost will be. stay tuned…

It is getting easier to be Green!

The song that Kermit sings talks about how it is not easy to be green. Well Kermit would be pleased by the progress made in the green space of today. There are many options of green out there for the consumer. If you go the grocery store you can by the reusable grocery bags for about ninety-nine cents. If each household were to have 10 reusable grocery bags for shopping, there would no question as to paper or plastic. Grey water…now what about that is green. Grey water is what is the water used in your home that goes down the drain but is not really used for anything…such as letting the water run to get hot. If you were to catch the water in a pitcher you could then water your house plants with this water. This would save about 10-20 gallons of water a month. Other easy green ideas… can be found at different websites.

Making your home greener seems to be an overwhelming task. Living here in Sunnyvale we have many options and helps to transform our home into greener living spaces. There is a volunteer group here in the bay area that put on solar roofs so that the underprivileged or the limited income can be free from electric bills. GRID has installed 112 solar electric systems since 2004. This has help to reduce the cost for these homeowners by 75%. What is great about GRID is that you can go get trained to volunteer and see how the process works and then put a solar electric system on your home and start saving money. GRID is really making a difference in the our surrounding communites.

If you want to really get a big dose of green technology, vendors and suppliers check out the Green Festival. Anything you want to know from the best orgainc teas to green lenders. Yes, green lenders for your home. If your home has been green energy rated and falls into the green category of lending you can offer that up when you go to sell your home, or if you were to buy a home with a high energy rating you could qualify for green lending. Check out Green Mortgage to see how the green lending is starting to come to life in the lending industry.

As the green living begins to grow and take hold in your city do your part. It is easy to be GREEN!!

Sunnyvale’s new downtown development

What is going on in downtown Sunnyvale. The old mall is gone…except for Target and Macy’s…please continue to shop at your own risk. The big wooden fence is up and there are some very busy bees working behind that fence. Let’s just hope that the money continues to flow so that this huge, dirt laden project can be completed in our lifetime.

It has been hard going with this Sunnyvale downtown project. The people who have paid the ultimate price are the business owners at the Town and Country, Murphy business owners and businesses on Evelyn and Washington. They have had to deal with the tear down, the running out of money, and then another set of new developers. To help these business owners please make sure that you frequent your favorite downtown business often.

There are updates and even a web cam set up to keep and eye on the project. Well I can’t actually find the web cam site. The Sunnyvale City Council has taken quite a bit of heat about the delay and other issues that have arisen since the project began. The latest news says that this development is set to be ready for business early 2009. I guess we will see in the years to come.

To Buy or Not to Buy that is the Question?

Are we at the bottom yet? How much longer should we wait? How low we they go? These are questions being asked everyday of realtors. The buyers are wanting great deals and want us to “show them the bottom.”

The question should be where are you? Do you want a long term commitment or just a 1 night stand?  If you are the committed type and are planning on being in your home for 4-5 years, then I would advise buying a home now and not waiting to see if the prices drop or do they rise.  If your looking for a quickie one night stand  then the local rental market is best for you.

Out of the 4,800 + single family homes available in Santa Clara County there is one just right for you. In the condo/townhouse residential area there are 1,710 on the market and 301 are pending.These are the stats from Santa Clara Residential Inventory as of 10/9/07. There are many choices for even the pickiest of buyers. It is time for the realtor’s to help the public understand that not all markets are in a bad place. Silicon Valley as usual is again above average. There are spots such as Sunnyvale, Cupertino and Mt. View where multiple offers are still common place.

So to buy or not to buy…YOU answer the question!

AMD sells 13.28 acres in Sunnyvale…. New Housing?

Advanced Micro Devices has sold it’s 13.28 acres to a Bay area developer, John Laing Homes for a cool $25.8 million. The property is located in north Sunnyvale near Lawrence Expressway and Duane, directly behind the AMD building. AMD is glad to be able to sell this “surplus” property and help in providing Sunnyvale with more places to build housing. John Lain Homes plan on building 242 condominiums as well as various community facilities on the property. AMD employees may have a very short commute if they buy in this location….walk to work!! Building is set to start later this year.