San Jose Real Estate * Santa Clara County * Richard Gonzalez * Real Estate Silicon Valley Broker Blog – News, Views, and Opinions

Over the weekend I was out in the East Valley showing homes to my clients and was astonished by the level of activity in an area that was hard hit by the subprime market. A year ago time on the market for this area was in upwards of 300+ Days and is has now diminished to a mere 38 days.

Bank owned properties are quickly moving into pending status, some in just 24 hours. Yesterday I took my video camera to one of the homes that we previewed and videotaped to give perspective buyers a glimpse of the types of properties available but most importantly to show you the conditions you may find in a bank owned home in our market place.

This particular property was on the market for a week and had 20 offers. We are also seeing cash offers playing a pivotal role in the winning bid for many of these properties. California Association of REALTORS has pointed to the bay area as one of the leading market indicators and historically speaking the bay area has always led by six months when recovering from a down real estate market.

One of my agents came to me who has buyers looking for an affordable home in the San Jose area only to find that they are competing with multiple offers and dealing with frustration. The price range tends to be between $250,000 and $300,000.

Our buyers are making a competitive bid in some cases $40,000 over asking price only to be blown out of the water by a competing bid with an all cash offer. Apparently there are buyers and investors with access to large quantities of cash.

My suggestion to any buyer would be to be persistent and vigilant when looking for a home. Rumor has it that by the middle of the year we should experience a flood of bank owned properties (REO) in these affordable areas and as such may end up either stabilizing the need for affordable homes or continue to impact the values in these affordable areas.

One last thought is that there will be a deliberate low ball listing price to generate the multiple offer frenzy we experienced in 2005 at the height of the market. This is a listing technique that is frowned upon by the real estate community but ultimately difficult to control let alone police.

2009 sales chart

Those of you looking to time the market should take a look at this article from the Mercury News. Affordable homes in Santa Clara County have once again become a reality. Combined with all time low interest rates and first time home buyer programs we have the makings of a combination buyers should not overlook.

Read Mercury New Article

San Jose Mercury News recently reported on the level of homeowners who are underwater in the third quarter of this year. What I do like about this Zillow.com map is that it accurately reflects not only the the bad news, but as you can see the good news for buyers interested in purchasing in Santa Clara County. Buyers should review this map as a guide for areas where they can find a great deal and areas that have sustained their value in this market.

Read San Jose Mercury article here

San Jose Mercury News Article shows the type of losses some homeowners have sustained in our area.

I read this article from the Mercury news today and thought you should take a look at it for yourself. It makes many interesting observations regarding the loss of value in our area. Take a look for yourself. Read Artcle