by Mary Pope-Handy | Sep 1, 2021 | Communities, FAQs, Market reports, Market trends & statistics, Relocation
With soaring housing prices in Silicon Valley, newcomers and folks potentially relocating here may wonder what can you buy for $1 million or less in Silicon Valley? This article will provide a snapshot in time and provide a sense of whether your million dollar budget can get you into a house, a townhouse, or a condo – or perhaps “none of the above” – on the valley floor.
(Homes in the Los Gatos or Santa Cruz Mountains are generally more affordable, but will of course be farther out and are generally considered a specialty market. Not included will be mobile homes, as the space rents are often close to or more than $1,000 per month. Also not included are duplexes, which you’d be hard pressed to find many of under that $1 million mark.)
If you absolutely must buy a house, and the budget must be under $1 million…
If you absolutely must have a house or single family home, as opposed to a condominium or townhouse, there are a number of areas for you to consider in Santa Clara County, including
- Gilroy
- Morgan Hill
- Milpitas
- Certain districts in San Jose
- Alum Rock
- South San Jose
- Evergreen
- Berryessa
- Downtown and Central San Jose
- Santa Teresa
- and Alviso (including County pockets)
- the Los Gatos 95033 (mountains) area – which is vast and contains many small communities
The Los Gatos mountains area varies in price from one community to the next and right now that is a hopping market, I’m told. You can find information, including a list of mountain neighborhoods, on the page linked as well as the occasional market update. If you’re interested in buying or selling a mountain home here in the Bay Area, please reach out! I do some work in the mountains, and if it’s not a match I am happy to connect nice folks with trusted Realtors that are mountain market specialists.
To determine where someone could get into a house for under $1,000,000, I pulled the sales from the last 90 days (as of August 31, 2021) and looked at how many of the sales of houses for any given area were under that budget amount. In many places, there were zero – even if I looked back a full year! The areas below are listed in order of the average sale price for these “in budget” properties, though you might prefer to rank them by the average square footage or some other criteria.
(Trouble reading the image above? Click to view the full-sized photo.)
This doesn’t mean you can’t find something under $1mil elsewhere. San Jose’s Almaden Valley, Willow Glen, and Cambrian areas each had one sale under the million-dollar mark during the same time period, but these sales are significantly less common. When you see ratios of something like 3% or less of the houses sold are under that price point, it’s important to understand that those homes may be major fixer uppers, tear downs, or have a location issue or some other big challenge. But – perhaps you are handy, do not mind the property condition, location, extremely small size, or whatever the presenting issue may be.
Areas in Santa Clara County where a house is possible but unlikely, but a townhouse or condominium may work:
(more…)
by Mary Pope-Handy | Aug 19, 2021 | FAQs, Rental homes
Moving to the San Jose or San Francisco Bay Area? You may be wondering what does it cost to rent a 1 bedroom apartment in Silicon Valley? (You can find a list of rental housing resources on this site here.)
The range in rental prices varies with location, condition, and amenities – exclusive or covered parking, air conditioning, dishwashers, a small yard for downstairs units, and pools are not all automatic.
- In general, it is very difficult to find a decent 1 bedroom for under $2,000 per month (but possibly as low as $1800).
- An average 1 bedroom is likely to run $2300- $2600 in most areas.
- It’s not hard to find one at $3,000 per month, especially in nicer and more in-demand areas such as Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Saratoga, and Los Gatos.
- If you move to one of the expensive areas and get to enjoy extra perks, you may be spending $3000, $3500 or more per month.
If you are working on a smaller budget, you’ll find a few studio apartments available and they will of course be more affordable. Apartments lacking air conditioning, pools, or other highly sought after amenities will also be offered for a bit less. Another option is to look a little further out and consider units without AC, pools, etc.
Apartment homes with a yard are renting for about 15% more than those with no outside space, from what I have seen.
Recently I saw a studio in West San Jose (fairly expensive area) for about $2100. The complex does have a pool, but the units don’t have air conditioning of any kind. I also viewed a 1 bedroom in Campbell for about the same price but it included a wall AC unit. It’s very similar to purchases in that if you get closer in, you get less home for your money.
A couple of things to beware of when looking for rental housing
Something to be aware of is that some houses have Accessory Dwelling Units that seem inexpensive, and often it’s because something is missing, whether it’s a decent amount of square footage, a kitchen will a full sized oven and stove, etc. Not long ago I saw such a place but the kitchen was really just a wet bar with a microwave and toaster oven. The old adage is accurate: if it sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true. (more…)
by Mary Pope-Handy | Nov 3, 2020 | Rental homes
San Jose apartment rental prices have softened during the coronavirus pandemic. Each month, ApartmentList.com produces a national and local report on rental market trends, including prices. If you are interested in renting an apartment, it’s a good idea to bookmark this page so you can circle back to it every few weeks. Apartment List National Rent Report
Here are some of this month’s highlights:
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Rents in San Jose decreased by 2.9% month-over-month, and are down 12.2% since the start of the pandemic in March, the #5 biggest decline among the nation’s 50 largest cities.
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Year-over-year rent growth in San Jose currently stands at -11.1%, the lowest rate in October of any year since the start of our estimates.
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Median rents in San Jose currently stand at $1,777 for a 1-bedroom apartment and $2,111 for a two-bedroom.
How are the San Jose apartment rental prices as compared to other areas in the U.S.?
Here’s their graphic, but visit the link above to see the whole report.
by Mary Pope-Handy | Mar 24, 2020 | Real Estate
How quickly things can change. The novel coronavirus, or Covid-19, is growing at a quick speed in the US, and in Santa Clara County particularly. With the necessary Shelter in Place order across California, real estate has pretty much ground to a halt (see my related article on the coronavirus impact on real estate sales here).
Coronavirus: is work or a task essential or non-essential?
The crux of the matter comes down to what the government deems essential versus non-essential work or activity.
YES: Grocery stores, pharmacies, police, fire fighters, medical work, bankers, contractors doing home repairs (electrical, roof, plumbing) or residential construction, and title companies fall under essential. Walking one’s dog, getting exercise by walking, jogging, or biking are essential – but individuals must keep that 6′ social distance while doing so. Restaurants are essential but can only operate takeout food (link to article on my Live in Los Gatos blog about eateries offering meals and even groceries at this time). Home sales can get completed, thanks to the county recorder’s office accepting e-recordings. Notaries are allowed to meet with signers (but no real estate licensees or lenders present).
NO: Real estate in-person work is non-essential under this coronavirus order. Real estate agents must stay home, like everyone else. No showings, no appointments in person, no open houses, no meeting appraisers or inspectors. Movers are a no-go, too.
NO for now – may change? Home inspectors seem to be non-essential, but it’s possible that it could be changed a little as the home confinement for everyone continues. It would not surprise me if both inspectors and appraisers could work, but only alone, without buyers, sellers, or agents present sometime in the coming weeks. We Realtors are watching this carefully to see what happens. There’s a push for permitting virtual notarization that I suspect will go through (and become permitted at some point soon).
Appraisers are working for some lenders. Others are not. Today I got an update from my wonderful Wells Fargo lender: “For purchase and no cash out refinance, Wells Fargo will use Drive-By Appraisal report. We will prioritize the purchase appraisal order. ”
Is it possible to buy a home during the Shelter in Place order?
Technically, it is possible to get into contract right now. Closing during this coronavirus Shelter in Place period is another matter. What can happen is:
- you may write an offer with your agent and sign it using DocuSign, Authentisign, or another electronic service
- you can wire your initial deposit to the title company
- you are able to review all of the disclosures, reports, and pre-sale inspections etc. and sign them electronically
- you must meet with a mobile notary or escrow officer to sign the final documents
- the title company can record the deed electronically
All of that is good, but what cannot happen right now, under the current order, is still a big hurdle:
- Appraisers cannot visit the home (perhaps that will change?)
- Inspectors cannot go to the property (may change?)
- your agent cannot do his or her Agent Visual Inspection Disclosure (mandated, no work arounds exist)
- you cannot visit the house or condo
I would not suggest that you buy a house sight unseen, which we call a blind offer. It’s dangerous and unwise. There’s enough danger with coronavirus alone without compounding it!
My belief is that this Shelter in Place will go on for 2 or 3 months as that is what the governor of California said last night. In that case, it would be practical to allow certain real estate functions to move forward in a limited way so that people can buy and sell. It would make sense to permit private showings with clients staying 6′ away from their agents, for inspectors to visit the property with no one else present, and same with appraisers.
There is a lot we do not know. With sales pretty much stopped, we don’t know where values are. Are they falling? Are they rising? There’s no data. With the stock market falling and unemployment rising, it seems like prices should fall in real estate, but we never really know until there’s a look into the past.
We don’t know how long the situation will last. Given that there’s no vaccine, and it will be 12-18 months before we get one, it’s probable that the Shelter in Place will not stretch that whole period. But it seems probable that there will be cycles of sheltering and more liberty based on the number of cases in any given area. I believe that we will have spurts of freedom and being able to sell and close escrows between periods of home isolation.
This is an unfolding situation that seems to be changing almost daily, do expect it to change along with the number of cases of coronavirus, hospitalizations, and deaths from Covid-19. Leaders know that residents do need to buy and sell homes, and they are working on a path forward.
Meanwhile, you can work on your pre-approval, or better yet, a pre-underwritten approval which will enable you to buy faster once that is more possible.
by Mary Pope-Handy | Feb 14, 2019 | Rental homes
Looking to get a sense of the rental prices in Silicon Valley? Today I’ll show you how to find the median rental price by zip code for homes in Silicon Valley by using my weekly Altos Research real estate market reports for Silicon Valley.
We will use Cupertino’s housing market as an example, because many high tech employees plan to work in that city. My Altos Research report for Cupertino. You can access it at this link Mary Pope-Handy’s Cupertino Market Report. When you click through, it will look something like this:
There are tabs for houses and condos, and you can toggle as desired.
On the right, you will see the market profile. Below, view one for the single family homes and one for condos. I have outlined where the median rental value shows so that you can locate it fast.
Not really wanting to live in Cupertino? Find the “Search Anywhere” field near the top and enter a city name or a zip code and you can spot check areas of interest.
Subscribe for the weekly reports
Please click the “Subscribe” button in the upper right corner to get any of the reports emailed to you weekly.
Not a rental Realtor
NB: I do not work in the rental market as 99.99% of rental homes are “for rent by owner” and there’s not a place for a Realtor in that structure. When folks first move to Silicon Valley, though, they usually want to rent for awhile, so I will sometimes provide rental info because I know it’s needed. Interested in buying or selling? Please do reach out to me! Best to start with email so that a phone call can be scheduled: mary@popehandy.com as I get a lot of spam / robo calls. However, feel free to call first if you prefer – 408-204-7673.
Related reading:
Silicon Valley neighborhoods
San Jose Districts and their Values (Feb 2018)
Facts about San Jose, the Capital of Silicon Valley
by Mary Pope-Handy | Feb 6, 2019 | Buying Tips, Market trends & statistics
Aerial vew over San Jose looking east – photo by Mary Pope-Handy
What’s going on with the Silicon Valley real estate market? Is it as crazy as ever with multiple offers, overbids, and few or no contingencies? Today we’ll consider the regional view, aka The Big Picture, to provide a sense of what is going on. For info on smaller areas or districts, please head over to my main blog, the Valley Of Heart’s Delight Blog – SanJoseRealEstateLosGatosHomes.com. There cities, towns, and districts are looked at in depth.
Seasonal Patterns in Silicon Valley
The quietest time (number of sales, traffic, etc.) and lowest prices in the real estate market tend to fall in January, or sometimes in December. As with most years, this time around January had the lowest prices.
Most years, we see strong buyer activity with multiple offers early in the year – often emerging as a pattern by the middle of February.
Right now, some home sellers have not accepted that home prices have dropped 20% or so since the peak last spring (more or less depending on location, pricing tier, school districts, property condition, and so on). Those properties are not moving quickly.
For sellers who understand the current market conditions and have priced appropriately, home buyers are flocking and multiple offers are back – in force.
In short, there’s a kind of duality right now, so it’s a weird time. Homes that were sitting on the market but get a price reduction may linger awhile, and then sell with multiple offers. This catches buyers and their Realtors off guard.
To provide regional Silicon Valley market conditions, today I’ll post info on the three counties (San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz).
In terms of expense, San Mateo is the most costly of these 3, and overall it becomes less expensive in Santa Clara County, then less expensive still in Santa Cruz County. Alameda County has a little of Silicon Valley, but that area is in a different MLS system so is not part of this analysis.
Next, a look at sale prices an market conditions for single family homes and condominiums / townhomes by county.
What does it cost to buy a house or condo in Silicon Valley?
In Santa Clara County (home to Palo Alto, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, San Jose, and my own Los Gatos), the average sale price is $1,413,000 and the median sale price $1,185,000 – quite a bit lower than last spring.
Santa Clara County
http://rereport.com/scc/print/Mary.PopeHandySCC.pdf
Please click to enlarge:
For condominiums and townhouses, of course, it is a more affordable.
In San Mateo County (home to Redwood Shores, Foster City, Menlo Park, San Mateo), the average sale price is about $1.78 million for houses recently sold. The median is a little lower at $1.425 million. (more…)
