Author: Margaret Barton

Published 9 July, 2020 in Bay Area Realtor Blog

In looking at the current real estate market, it's helpful to start nationwide, then concentrate on our Peninsula cities.  Nationwide, new listings have dropped significantly, yet are slowly recovering.  Sellers are hesitant to list their homes for several reasons.  Firstly, not all home owners can move out of their homes prior to listing, which means they will have to make their homes available to buyers to walk through; in today's Covid market place, a lot of home owners are reluctant to do this.  Secondly, with a lot of buyers losing part of their down payment through stock market losses,...

Published 17 January, 2020 in Bay Area Realtor Blog

The new year is always a good time to reflect and review, so I've done just that! With the real estate market so changeable in 2018, I've taken a look at what's happened over the past 5 years and noticed the following which I think is noteworthy (you can look at the charts themselves to get more information)...

Published 14 December, 2019 in Bay Area Realtor Blog

1) When's the best time to sell? 2) When’s the best time to buy? 3) Are we in a bubble? While none of us have a magic ball, there are certainly trends we can watch; the past doesn't predict the future yet it can help us with general decisions.  Looking at the data I've compiled this time, here's how I'd answer these questions: 1)    When's the best time to sell:  If you have the luxury of being able to plan ahead, I'd recommend listing in the February/March/April time frame in order to have a close sometime in April, May or June, properties are taking a little...

Published 6 June, 2019 in Bay Area Realtor Blog

Dear Friends:  Usually I post facts about real estate, this time I'm reaching out for a different reason!  I'm an admirer of Dr. Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General from 2014 - 2017; Dr. Murthy is eloquent on many topics but the one which surprised me and caught my interest was his talk on Loneliness and how it's an epidemic leading to a variety of health care issues, you can read/listen to him here: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/loneliness-epidemic-former-surgeon-general-dr-vivek-murthy With Dr. Murthy's advice to build community in the work force, and other places, I took it to heart when my friends, Santosh and Esha, approached me about a...

Published 24 May, 2019 in Bay Area Realtor Blog

We've all heard about how the real estate market's slow at the moment and, compared to the crazy, unsustainable first quarter of 2018, it certainly is, yet let's not take our eyes off what's really happening--a course correction after a crazy 2018 first quarter, doesn't mean our real estate prices are going down over time.  Consider our market has adjusted slightly, allowing buyers an opportunity to enter the housing market, move up, or purchase investment property.  The first quarter of 2019 has seen prices inch up over the last quarter of 2018 and I predict prices will continue to...

Published 2 May, 2019 in Bay Area Realtor Blog

Facebook and other Tech Companies expanding into Alameda County, making it second only to Santa Clara county for 2019 real estate to date. Breakdown: Let’s take a look at which counties in the Bay area are currently the most active.  Reviewing the charts, it’s pretty clear that Alameda and Santa Clara Counties are seeing the most activity this year.  There’s a huge difference between Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties and this is, in part, because San Jose covers such a large area. With Facebook and other Tech companies moving to Fremont, the market in that part of Alameda County is seen as...

Published 2 March, 2019 in Bay Area Realtor Blog

I so like it when I hear from one of my readers requesting specific information! By request, here’s information on Los Gatos and nearby Scotts Valley.  Los Gatos covers the city of Los Gatos and the area into the mountains; under the Multiple Listing System, this mountain area is separated out as it falls under Santa Cruz County.  Nearby Scotts Valley is also in Santa Cruz County and is perfect for those who want mountain living with all the benefits of city services; Scotts Valley has grown tremendously over the last few years and this is reflected in their average sale price...

Published 13 February, 2019 in Bay Area Realtor Blog

I often get asked about the difference between Counties; primarily on the Peninsula we have Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties. San Mateo County is basically South San Francisco to Menlo Park.Santa Clara County is Palo Alto down to Gilroy. And then there are cities like Watsonville that the Multiple Listing Service covers over three counties (a little confusing!). Parts of Palo Alto can be in Santa Clara or San Mateo Counties!!!  Here’s a chart showing four counties and the medium sale prices (houses only), with the largest percent gain shown in 2018 over 2017; I was surprised to see the 20% gain...

Published 25 January, 2019 in Bay Area Realtor Blog

The most common questions I’ve been asked recently are “How’s the market?” and “Does the Government shutdown affect the real estate market?” As always it depends on location.  I decided to look at average sales prices to get more specific in my reply. Take a look at the tables here giving information between houses and townhomes/condos over the four quarters last year. For example, with houses, we saw big gains in Los Altos, Palo Alto, and Los Gatos, though neither Los Altos nor Palo Alto held onto said gains, both ended with 4th quarter average sales below their 1st...