On broker tour yesterday I visited a beautiful home newly listed by a friend of mine on El Gato in Los Gatos.   Although a modest 2 bedroom home, the owner had spared no expense in remodeling (right down to the $4000 kitchen sink!).  This home and it’s 1 bedroom rental unit in back are [...]

If you’re planning to buy a home in Silicon Valley this year you need to be aware of changes afoot in the loan business.  As of October 1, 2011, high balance conforming loan limits in the Bay Area are set to be reduced from $729,500 to $650,500 for a single family dwelling for both conventional and [...]

You’ve found a house, it has the right schools and it’s in your established budget.  Now comes the hard part. How much should you offer? Ask yourself the following 5 questions and you’ll find you’re in a strong position when it comes to writing a compelling and fair offer. 1. What will the market support?  First [...]

Spurred by a recent blog from Altos Research suggesting that top end homes are on the market longer but take fewer price reductions I decided to see if this holds true in the Los Gatos market. As you can see, home prices tell you a lot about the market and in this particular case it [...]

How do you choose between Conventional and FHA approved financing when buying a new home? That’s a question your loan agent is more than qualified to answer. However, there are some general guidelines that indicate which way is probably more advantageous to each situation. First and foremost, if you want to borrow more than $729,500 [...]

Whether you are actively looking to buy or sell your home or just trying to keep up with this adrenalin fueled ride of a market, you need stats and info to clearly understand how the market is moving. If you look around or jump on google you can find huge amounts of data out there [...]