Courtesy Tony Guaraldi, VP of Mortgage Lending Guaranteed Rate
Welcome to our Friday update. The Jobs report for February is out and it beat expectations coming in at 175,000 jobs created above expectations of 150,000. Additionally there were upward revisions from the past two months reports of 25,000 additional jobs created.
CLICK HERE for the current mortgage rate sheet. Continue reading
By Jeni Pfeiffer, Associate Broker, Realtor
How will the future Silicon Valley BART affect Bay Area real estate values?
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is building the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Silicon Valley Project with expected service to begin in 2018. This will extend BART coverage from Warm Springs Fremont to Berryessa with a stop in-between at Milpitas.
What does this mean for Silicon Valley real estate? Reflective in Japan, Sweden, and European countries, transit-oriented development (TOD) have been enthusiastically desirable here for residents seeking alternatives to transportation via car only.
KB Berryessa Project_Courtesy Calthorpe Associates
TOD developments are mixed-use residential and commercial area designed to maximize access to public transport and often incorporates features to encourage transit ridership. Builder KB Home, for example, purchased 10 acres on the north side of the 120-acre San Jose Flea Market operation, and has already started selling homes in their Berryessa Crossing Development. Continue reading
Courtesy Tony Guaraldi, VP of Mortgage Lending Guaranteed Rate Mortgage
Holly Guacamole! We unexpected got a lousy jobs report this morning and Mortgage Bonds are the beneficiary! The Bureau of Labor Statics reported the economy created 74,000 jobs missing huge on the forecasts that predicted a range of 200k to 250k jobs! For comparison the number for October was 200k created and November was 241k created so this was really out of left field! The Jobs Report each month is always the biggest market mover and again its tied to Fed stimulus right now so reactions to the news are exacerbated for Mortgage Bonds. You can see the large green box on the right of the chart below showing the bond market rally today but you can also see we are a long ways off from where rates were in Mid-November. We will enjoy the improvement for now and continue to watch it as we still have some room to run before hitting resistance. Hopefully we can hold onto these gains today as its typically a volatile day after the jobs report like this!
CLICK HERE for the January 10, 2014 Guaranteed Mortgage Rate Sheet Continue reading
By Jeni Pfeiffer, Associate Broker, Realtor
First Broker Tour of the year in Sunnyvale and new homes that I viewed today! One of my favorites, tucked away in the exclusive Hidden Valley Complex:
Three wonderful homes on tour today were in both the Cherry Chase Elementary and Homestead High School District: Continue reading
Courtesy Tony Guaraldi VP of Mortgage Lending
We’ve got some housing numbers to share with you this week and all of it points to a strong and stable housing market. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index was reported this week showing values increased nationally by 0.3% in September. The Year over Year is up 8.5% which is a good number for national appreciation of home prices. The Case Shiller Home Price Index for September which tracks closing prices in 20 major cities in the US reported values were up 0.7%. Home Prices are up 13.3% according to them year over year. This is the best number in 7.5 years! Robert Shiller was interviewed on CNBC and although the numbers look good they did not scare him in terms of a potential housing bubble. He explained that those surveyed were not too optimistic which alleviates any bubble concerns he may have had. He noted the rate of appreciation is slowing but this is probably a good thing as 13% appreciation is not sustainable, but there is nothing wrong with 6% appreciation which may be where housing is headed nationally.
CLICK HERE for the current Mortgage Rate Sheet Continue reading
326 Church St, Mtn View. Courtesy Michael Galli, Alain Pinel
By Jeni Pfeiffer, Associate Broker, Realtor
Nov 22 Broker Tour: Really unique homes on tour today! Top of the list is 326 CHURCH ST in Mountain View, built by Ugo Mancini, with an architecture blend of Eichler meets Art Decco and Palm Springs with a touch of Italianate Style. The home boasts 2,005 Sq.Ft. with 3 Bedrooms and 2 Baths, and a spacious backyard listed at $1,398,000. Mancini had owned a car dealership on El Camino called Mancini Motors. Agent Michael Galli, from Alain Pinel states that Mancini, also built the fascinating, iconic home next door as well.
420 CHIQUITA AVE in Mountain View is a jewel of a home, with 2 bedrooms and 1 bath and 1,147 sqft of living space. The spacious backyard invites relaxing and entertaining. It is listed at $899,000. Continue reading
by Ronald R. Rossi
Pickpocketing, one of the world’s oldest and most common crimes, involves stealing money so cleverly that the victim doesn’t notice he’s been robbed until the pickpocket is long gone. This particular crime appeals to many thieves because it’s safer than many other criminal pursuits. It has been said that someone skilled in the art of pickpocketing can steal as much money as an armed robber with much less risk of getting caught. Pickpockets depend on speed, sleight of hand, and clever tricks designed to distract a victim, directing attention away from the crime in progress. Continue reading
November 15, 2013 Friday Rate Sheet and Market Commentary _ Courtesy Tony Guaraldi VP of Mortgage Lending
As we had hoped the Mortgage Bond markets bounced back this week recovering some of the losses from last Friday’s Jobs Report. The highly anticipated event for this week was the Confirmation Hearing for our new Fed President Janet Yellen which took place yesterday morning. She is perceived to be “Dovish” which in our world means likely to continue the stimulus that has been keeping interest rates low and the stock market rising. In her Q and A session at the hearing she did say as expected that the Fed would continue the bond purchases until the economy improves. She did also mention that she believes the real unemployment rate is closer to 10% rather than the number from last week’s Jobs report at 7.3%.
CLICK HERE for the November 15 Mortgage Rate Sheet.
By Jeni Pfeiffer, Associate Broker, Realtor
Really great homes on Sunnyvale Broker Tour today – BRAND NEW Construction TUDOR Style 2,069 sqft Home located at 1216 Hollenbeck AVENUE in the CHERRY ORCHARDS Neighborhood, $1,348,000 with Cumberland Elementary School.
515 Carroll St Courtesy Maha Intero Real Estate
Another newly remodeled and expanded home in the HERITAGE DISTRICT located at 515 Carroll Street boasts 2,263 sqft of living space with 4 Bedrooms and 3 Baths. It features an open floor plan, kitchen with granite counters and mosaic backplash, stainless steel applicants listed at $1,380,000.
Looking for a Pool? 1458 ORMSBY DRIVE $1,547,000 4 Bed/2 Baths 1,944 sqft of living space s.f., also features a home theater area and cherry wood floors in the Chester W. Nimitz Elementary and Homestead High School District. Continue reading
By Jason Green Oct 30, 2013
Steve Jobs’ childhood home (Patrick Tehan/Bay Area News Group)
The humble home where Silicon Valley tech titan Steve Jobs built some of his first computers and co-founded Apple was added to a list of historic Los Altos properties Monday night.
The Los Altos Historical Commission voted unanimously to designate the home at 2066 Crist Drive a “historic resource” due to its association with Jobs, as well as to place it on the city’s historic resources inventory.
CLICK HERE for the San Jose Mercury News story.