Digging into Los Altos real estate uncovers some trends.Los Altos House Price vs. Condo PriceLos Altos condo prices dropped while house prices continued to rise after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.Los Altos House Price vs. Townhouse PriceLos Alto townhouse prices continued to rise almost parallel to house prices.Saratoga House Price vs. Condo PriceSaratoga condo prices continued rise although not as fast as house prices.SummaryAlthough few trends are determined by a single event, it appears that condo prices in the center of Silicon Valley have been negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, while those near the edge of Silicon Valley are still rising. A possible explanation for this is that remote work reduces the cost of not living near companies, and condo owners are more willing to move than house or townhouse owners.The disparity between condo owners and others could be that condo owners are moving to larger preferred housing…
We've all seen reports about the low number of home sales and the high cost of a home. This is true for Los Altos real estate.On Sept 21, 2023, the San Jose Mercury News published an article about falling home sales. The author, Jonathan Lansner, created graphs of California single-family home sales prices and the number of single-family homes sold. His short article is worth visiting. His key points were that:1.) The number of sales have dropped by about 30% all across California2.) August's median sales price is the third highest on record.He concludes his article by saying, "Something must give. Will it be prices? Rates? Or just years of limited homebuying?"We have seen articles calling attention to people and companies leaving California for quite a long time. Yet house prices are not falling, and because of increasing interest rates, buyers are paying more than ever to purchase a house…
The Los Altos Hills average size of houses sold reached an all-time quarterly high on Aug 18, 2023. However, the average size of Los Altos homes sold was at the lower side of recent trends.What makes this catch our attention is that the average house size for eight San Mateo County cities (Foster City, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Pacifica, Portola Valley, San Carlos, San Mateo, and Woodside) and for Palo Alto spiked upward to their highest-ever quarterly values. The trend was so broad that the San Mateo County average size of houses sold also reached an all-time high.Although no reason is known for the spike in the average size of houses sold in San Mateo County, it appears that Los Altos and Los Altos Hills are probably not similarly affected. Learn more about Los Altos real estate.
A 1031 exchange enables you to defer paying income taxes on your investment property's appreciation when you sell it if you invest all of the investment into a like-kind property. The most worrisome issue for many investors in Silicon Valley is finding and purchasing a replacement property within the specified time. You have 45 days from the day escrow closes on the sale of your property to identify in writing to your exchange intermediary three possible properties you will try to purchase. The IRS allows you 180 days from the day escrow closes on your sale, to close escrow on your purchase. The IRS does not allow any exception to these time limits. Learn more about doing a 1031 exchange. Work with a top Silicon Valley real estate agent who has done many 1031 exchanges, and you greatly increase your odds of success.
