Sometimes it is worthwhile to look away from laws, trends, government policies etc. and think about what you enjoy. Something like walking to downtown Palo Alto, having a cup of coffee, then a little exercise can boost happiness.A very short video shows some delightful downtown Palo Alto coffee shops.More information about downtown Palo Alto and downtown Palo Alto real estate trends is available.
The "Builders Remedy" is being used to demolish one-story buildings along El Camino Real at Curtner Ave in Palo Alto, and then build a 7-story high, 183-unit development. The proposed plans include 17 studio apartments, 68 one-bedroom apartments, 50 two-bedroom apartments, and 34 three-bedroom apartments. If you make the assumption that a family wants more than one bedroom, 85 of the units are for single people and 84 of the units are for families, who will settle for 1,100 sq.ft. or less. Is there really a shortage of housing for single people?Take a look at Palo Alto single-family house prices vs. Palo Alto condo prices.Condo prices in Palo Alto have been slowly declining since 2019 while house prices have climbed. It is probably only partly due to the smaller size of condos, but the distinction in price directions does point out that claims of increasing affordability problems for families are…
A common question is "How can I sell my home for the most?" Sharon Lee, the head of the listing department at JLee Realty, provided extensive ideas for you to think about.The first seven ideas are basic and are often mentioned even though many Silicon Valley real estate agents propose extensive remodeling, which is only rarely a good idea.Starting Point For Getting The Most When Selling Your HomeFresh paint.Repair any leaks.Replace light fixtures.Manicuring lawn, new mulch, clean yard.Replace hardware and fixtures.Replace high impact items on inspection report. Offer a repair credit at closing and include multiple estimates.Fixing flooring issues if it looks bad (significant wear and tear).Before doing extensive remodeling, visit https://sharon-lee-real-estate.com/selling-my-home-fast-and-for-more/ to see extensive ideas about getting the most when selling, then talk with Sharon 650-857-1000.
Many cities have enacted ordinances to protect various trees within their city. A long-time Palo Alto homeowner recently achieved a court ruling forcing his neighbor to remove Coast Redwood Trees whose roots were damaging his house. The legal actions were made more difficult by a real estate agent who indemnified the buyer of the house in order to get the house sold.A short summary by the long-time owner: In 2021, I sued my neighbor, with a one-sided result in my favor. I claimed for damage under state law #3479, and my neighbor’s ONLY defense was: “I was complying with PA’s tree ordinance”. The PA ordinance will not win against superseding state law. The 7-page opinion of the state judge never even mentioned the PA ordinance because it’s irrelevant against state law. But I still was forced to sue and pay my (winning) legal fees. My neighbor chose foolishly to go…
It has become more and more critical to understand protected trees when buying a new home. Tree protection ordinances are specific to the city that created them. Although state law overrides city ordinances, do not simply assume that laws such as CA Civil Code 3479 protecting a property owner from the "obstruction to the free use of property so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment off ... property" will easily let you deal with a protected tree.Protected Trees in Palo AltoSee https://julianalee.com/reinfo/protected-trees.htm#tree-list for more details but a simplified list of protected trees in Palo Alto is:Any Bigleaf Maple, California Incense Cedar, Coast Live Oak, Blue Oak, California Black Oak, or Valley Oak that is 11.5" in diameter.Any Coast Redwood that is 18" in diameter.Any tree that is not a species listed as undesirable and is 15" in diameter.Removing a Protected TreeThere are specified allowed reasons for removing a protected…
Recently JLee Realty began plotting median days on market in addition to average days on market for homes for sale. The median plot emphasizes the change that began around 2012. The median days on market for Palo Alto real estate stays very low with only occasional bumps up.
Although JLee Realty does not handle rental properties for clients, we watch what is happening in it to better understand Palo Alto real estate. On Sept 17, 2023, the San Jose Mercury News published an article titled “Bay Area rents see biggest drop in 27 months“. The article presents the ease of finding a one-bedroom apartment near Lake Merritt. The article cites ApartmentList.com as a source for the trends they cite, including a 3.1% year-over-year decline for the San Jose/Sunnyvale/Santa Clara metro area.The housing rental market has weakened, but the headline could create a misleading impression. The sky is not falling for the rental market. Look at the graph below created by Zumper.com.The peak rental price for a 2-bedroom apartment was reached in Aug-Sept of 2022. The “biggest drop” is being calculated from a price peak and isn’t a good choice for judging long-term trends. I’m looking at two-bedroom rental…
An unexpected change in Palo Alto real estate trends was spotted on Aug 23, 2023. The average size of houses sold spiked up dramatically to its highest ever quarterly value.Although the Palo Alto house price per sq. ft. did not change dramatically, the spike in average size created a spike in average Palo Alto house sales price.A similar spike up in average house size was seen in nine San Mateo County cities but not in any other Santa Clara County city. See extensive coverage of Palo Alto real estate.
Summerhill Homes purchased a 2.4-acre site at 2850 W. Bayshore Road in Palo Alto for $27.5 million through an affiliate. The site currently has a single-story office building. Their proposed development would have 48 three-story townhouses. The rendering of the front of the townhouses is roughly similar to the Echelon Complex built by Summerhill Homes in 2009 at E. Meadow Cir. At the time of the purchase, the affiliate also obtained $45 million in financing.Townhouses in this W. Bayshore area have sold for between $1.5 million to a little over $2 million. Summerhill Homes is likely to see sales of roughly $100+ million for the project. Of course, the state of the real estate market at the time the townhouses are offered for sale will have a large impact. View South Palo Alto townhouse sale prices and trends. The site of the new townhouses is between Greer Park and W.…
A 1031 exchange is used to defer taxes on the sale of your investment property when your proceeds are invested in a new investment property. Although you probably consider a house you bought with the intention of flipping to be an investment, it is not considered by the IRS to be a property that was bought for investment purposes and thus does not allow it to be used in a 1031 exchange.Tax professionals recommend keeping an investment property obtained in a 1031 exchange for two years as a rental property. Some professionals will say that one year plus one day is sufficient for the 1031 exchange to avoid an IRS challenge.In 2008 the IRS issued a safe harbor rule saying it would not challenge the 1031 exchange because of the sale of your replacement property if:You rent the dwelling unit to another person at a fair rental price for 14…