3 Oceans Real Estate

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Lost in Translation: Does your Hummer have Pontoons?
2007-03-19 06:48:00
As a counterweight to these somber posts — ironically, all in response to a light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek blog post — I offer this African version of Lost in Trans lation, an account of what happens when heat, bureaucracy, border crossings, and fading memories of a language all conspire to create a misunderstanding…thankfully one with a happy ...
More About: Hummer , Your , Have

The Bubble - Ha!
2007-03-19 06:05:00
I came across this little tidbit in the Mercury News this morning over my latte:  “In Santa Clara County, the median home price rose to $749,000, an increase of 4% over the same time last year.” So much for a down market. . . .  Reminding us that real estate is a local business, the Bay Area ...
More About: Bubble

Why Is Mountain View So Hot?
2007-03-16 18:01:00
I?m very excited to be a contributor to 3Oceans. I hope you find my posts to be as informative, witty and entertaining as they are intended to be. I live in Mount ain View and focus on the surrounding communities of Los Altos, Palo Alto and Menlo Park. In the last couple of months since the local ...

Introducing?Chris Iverson
2007-03-16 17:54:00
3 Oceans is pleased to welcome aboard Chris Iverson, a Realtor with Keller Williams, who operates under the enticing name of Ventoux Real Estate. Chris and I have been friends for several years and, similar to myself and some other contributors, is also a corporate refugee. Glad to have him on board, ...
More About: Intro , Verso

Thank You Ben, Patrick, and Keith, uber-Bubblistsas, For Helping My Clients
2007-03-15 04:37:00
Ben, Patrick , and Keith — authors of this, this, and this housing bubble blog, respectively — have been valiantly — and successfully — helping people avoid the inevitable financial doom of homeownership since about 1998. (For your convenience, I’ve marked that year with a nice big red star in the below graph of ...
More About: Rick , Lists , List , Trick

What can a stager do for me? Part 2 of a 4 part series
2007-03-14 04:53:00
If you?re paying two mortgages and waiting on pins and needles for your old residence to sell, it sounds like you need a stager. Probably the fastest growing segment of the home staging industry is in staging vacant homes. More and more sellers are moving out of their homes before they?re sold, taking all their ...
More About: Series , What , Hat , Part , Stage

Today?s Menlo Park Real Estate Tour: The Travails of a Gluten-Intolerant R
2007-03-14 00:30:00
Alas, the Americans with Disabilities Act does not consider gluten-intolerance a protected condition, and thus I went hungry during today’s Men lo Park real estate tour, in which many homes offered tempting delicacies to lure us in. Though the dearth of housing inventory remains an issue (see the 90-day rolling average chart to the left), the ...
More About: Estate , Real Estate , Today , Rant

My Blog May Be Schizophrenic, But My Readers Don?t Have To Be
2007-03-13 04:38:00
Many blogs — for example Teresa Boardman’s stellar one in St-Paul-Not-Minneapolis-Minnesota — are hyperlocal, informing us about local churches, local real estate, local goings-on. Others, such as the one run by Odysseus The Jesuit Libertarian Bloodhound’s friend and owner Greg Swann, tend to be more industry-focussed, with prime Grade A content on mortgages, investing, ...
More About: Readers , Reader , Blog , Read , Have

Real Estate Buyers, Tired of Whiplash, Becoming More Sophisticated
2007-03-13 01:34:00
The Spring sellers’ market here in the Bay Area’s Peninsula continues unabated, with no rest in sight for buyers.  Multiple offers are still de jour on many sales in the area, with most listings selling for more than the list price. This week marks a growing trend that could perhaps be called “buyer’s revenge.”  Tired of ...
More About: Estate , Cat , Real Estate , Buyer , State

Lingering Appeal
2007-03-12 17:09:00
Friday tour in Palo Alto wasn?t necessarily a big tour numbers wise (seems sellers aren?t moving or they?re still waiting to put their houses on the market) but it was a tour in which I felt like I wanted to linger. First I wanted to linger at 293 Bryant Street ($839,000), a sophisticated 2Bedrm/2.5Bth Townhouse I ...
More About: Ring , Linger , Geri , Erin , Appeal

Sunday Morning Data Geekage
2007-03-11 10:56:00
Now ya don’t have to be a programming genius to put together neat mashups. I put this together using Altos Research data and a Zeesource map. Altos Research, Consumer, Industry, Local, Real estate, Zeemaps
More About: Data , Sunday , Geek , Morning , Sunday morning

Now Here?s How To Do Up an Eichler!
2007-03-11 04:22:00
There are Eich lers, and then there are Eichlers… Newcomers to the San Francisco Bay Area real estate scene get introduced to the Eichler scene fairly quickly. Joseph Eichler was a mass-scale builder in the 1950’s and 1960’s, constructing over 10,000 homes in the Bay Area. There are entire neighborhoods in Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, and ...
More About: How To , Here , To Do

The Alphabet Soup of Today?s Financing ? FD, SIVA, SISA, NR, NINA, ND
2007-03-09 14:03:03
Yikes! What do all these acronyms mean, and which one is the best type of financing for your? For most homebuyers (and their realtors), they don?t care how the loan gets done, they just want it done ? with as little work and hassle as possible. Behind the scenes, lenders are actually getting very creative in the types of documentation programs that they require (or waive). Some of these variants may make a difference on the pricing, speed and riskiness of the transaction, so it?s a good idea for all parties to become at least a little bit familiar with these strange acronyms. GLOSSARY: FD ? Full documentation. The crème-de-la-crème of real estate financing, and the most traditional documentation type. Borrower provides full income documentation (2 pay stubs, 2 W2s or 2 years tax forms for all borrowers) and full asset documentation (2 months full statements of all accounts used to qualify assets). Traditionally this is the documentation format with the best pricing. Minimum/...
More About: Financing , Today , Soup , Alpha , Siva

What can a stager do for me? Part 1 of a 4 part series
2007-03-06 02:00:02
By now, most of us have seen those HGTV shows where a staging team bursts into a property, and, in a whirlwind, transforms it into a buyer?s paradise in a matter of what appears to be a few hours. Usually the premise is either: a) stage this property for sale on a miniscule budget or b) stage this property for sale ? the sky?s the limit! But these shows fail to reveal all of the behind-the-scenes labor and preparation put into staging a house. Let?s face it ? loading inventory into trucks just doesn?t make for good TV. So I?ve written this four-part blog series to introduce you to what the ?typical? stager looks like, along with the services generally performed by stagers. There are, of course, exceptions and variations on what I?m writing, and I?d love to hear what others? experiences have been with stagers. So, what does the ?typical? staging business look like? Generally, it is a team of one or two staging professionals who do a good deal of the work themselves. Not all st...
More About: Series , What , Hat , Part , Stage

A Year?s Numbers Come In From The MLS: Agents Who Take More Pictures Negot
2007-03-05 19:59:01
Hot on the heels of Redfin’s controversial news that analysis of the MLS data conclusively shows that Redfin agents are better negotiators, 3 Oceans is pleased to announce the results of a study showing, again conclusively, that agents who take lots of property  pictures are better negotiators. After downloading all transactions in 2006 in the REIL MLS, the results are striking:  properties in which the listing agent only took 1-3 pictures sold on average for just under $900K, while properties with 4-6 pictures sold on average for nearly $930K.  But the really trigger happy agents did the best:  their properties with 7-9 pictures sold for a whopping $1,077,933 on average. Here’s my only question:  What happens when a 9-picture-taking listing agent goes head to head with a Redfin negotiating agent? P.S. List with me.  I’ll take 9 pictures of your property.  It’ll sell for more. Real estate, Real estate data, Redfin, REIL
More About: Pictures , Agent , Agents , Picture , Take

Bob and Betty Buy a Home (Part 1): We Meet, Discuss Their Needs, and Crunc
2007-03-05 01:57:01
Let me introduce you to the two newest stars of this blog: Bob and Betty , a fictional family, sort of a composite blend of numerous past clients. In this x-part series, where “x” is currently an unknown number, I’ll walk you through how we got them into a home, despite the heroic efforts of a cantankerous market, an incompetent mortgage broker (soon fired), and a sleazy Realtor or two to thwart our plans. Enjoy the ride… ———— I first met Bob and Betty about a year ago at a social event hosted by mutual friends. They had moved up to the Bay Area from Los Angeles two years previously after finishing their graduate studies at UCLA — Betty an MBA, and Bob a PhD in bio-something-or-other. We got talking about the real estate market — a common topic these days — and their sticker shock, only now wearing off, about Bay Area real estate prices. LA prices aren’t exactly cheap either, but the Bay Area certainly has i...
More About: Home , Meet , Part , Need

Trulia Gets More Listings and More Delightful
2007-03-04 07:55:02
Hot on the heels of Trulia’s announcement that Keller Williams’ listings will soon be added to Trulia’s database, now the company can proudly boast that another giant — Realogy — is on board. Included in Realogy’s portfolio are the giants Century 21, Coldwell Banker, and ERA. Trulia has been slowly building its relationships with brokerages around the country to get their listings on board, and has won the trust of the industry — naturally wary of online predators who take the listings, snazz them up, and then sell them back as leads — by faithfully directing traffic back to the brokerage’s sites and staying true to its promise of making money only through advertising. Don’t know how I missed this promo when it launched on Youtube late last year, but here’s some slick advertising for the company, featuring, amongst others, Alain Pinel’s CEO Larry Knapp. This is where things start to get interesting. While ...
More About: Listings , List , Light , Gets , More

Redfin Numbers Food Fight ? Oh Goody, Let Me In
2007-03-03 13:54:02
Following the scent laid down by Redfin , the Jesuit bloodhound is hot on the trail and won’t let go. This looks like way too much fun to miss, being a numbers geek and all, so I’m happy to join in on what is otherwise a fairly pointless exercise: you can make numbers say just about anything you like. Plus, the only real numbers that count are those on Redfin’s P&L statement, which are still, by Glenn Kelman’s admission, distinctly in the red; his job as CEO, of course, is to eventually change the color of that ink to black and thus handsomely reward his investors. At any rate, here we go… I hereby stand by Redfin’s original claim, slightly modified per the obscure and eventually irrelevant mistake which I took great delight in finding — not because I have any particular need to prove or disprove what Redfin is saying, but simply because I take pleasure in futzing with numbers. An Excel summary shows that, with the data Redfin used, ...
More About: Food , Fight , Goody , Numb

Today?s Palo Alto homes review: Bait ?n Switch, Bad Staging, Unresponsive
2007-03-03 01:54:02
Normally I take care of my daily frustrations through a vigorous workout at 24-hr fitness, but this time I thought I’d let my blog take the brunt of it. You see, I spent a good part of this morning touring the new crop of properties available in Palo Alto (all of which will likely sell in a flash, with multiple offers, well above list price). You’d think that if I and dozens of my colleagues are going to take the time to go see what’s out there, the listing agents and sellers would give us something good to look at! Alas, one of the first properties I went to, 797 Mayview in Palo Alto, was a “bait ‘n switch.” Looked good on paper, perhaps was good in reality…but the listing agent and her lockbox were AWOL, and the street sign said, “Don’t disturb.” Ok…you’re gonna put a property on the MLS, you’re gonna post the tour date…and then you’re gonna make the property inaccessible? Grrrr…. ...
More About: Review , Home , Today , Switch , View

Redfin?s Negotiating Prowess: Even Rocket Scientists Make Accounting Error
2007-03-02 19:53:13
—- STOP PRESS —- While finalizing this blog post on a potential error I found in Redfin ’s “we’re great negotiators” calculations, Glenn Kelman of Redfin pinged me to let me know that indeed, the error existed, but only in one transaction. Gotta hand it to these folks: they may be rabblerousers in the real estate industry, but when they make a mistake, however minor, they’re quick to fess up to it. When I pointed out the below to Glenn a few days ago, I had no idea it would lead to numerous hours of poring over HUD-1’s to get to the bottom of it! Redfin will shortly be posting a mea culpa about this mistake – which as it turns out is quite trivial. Original article follows… ——– Much ado has been made of Redfin’s recent claim that its buyer clients gained two-fold: First, from the ~2% refund they get back from the purchase and secondly from an apparent additional advantage of nearly 1% due to Redfin...
More About: Scientist , Rock , Rowe , Accounting

Let?s Double Our Check our Numbers: What Percentage of Palo Alto Home Buye
2007-03-02 07:52:29
My previous post on what impact the recent stock market fall might have on the Palo Alto real estate market generated some interest and questions.  Friend and reader Greg asked about the (apparently) surprisingly high percentage — 25% — of Chinese buyers in the Palo Alto real estate market, a fair question considering the premise of my article, namely, that the Chinese stock market could have an effect on Palo Alto home prices.  He also asked about what the percentage of home owners might be of Indian descent. Mea culpa; in my previous life, I was taught better:  don’t just throw out numbers, but document their source.  The 25% is an estimate that’s been floating around our industry, provided by one of the title companies; I’m not sure which one. Is that number right?  I decided to go straight to the source — county records — and do a quick, random, and admittedly unscientific search.  I downloaded 1000 Palo Alto home records (yes, I’...
More About: Home , Double , What , Hat , Cent

Online Amber Alert
2007-03-01 07:52:02
Alerted by John Harper, I wanted to get the word out about a recently-gone-missing teenager. Quoting John: Tonya has been missing since last Sunday, February 18. Tonya is sixteen, a junior at Monte Vista and was last seen getting on Bart in Walnut Creek, destination Berkley. Any info call Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office (925) 646-2441 Real estate
More About: Online , Alert , Line , Amber , Amber Alert

Chinese and New York Stocks Tumble; Whither Palo Alto Real Estate Prices?
2007-03-01 07:52:02
The big financial news today is the sell-off on Wall Street, sparked apparently by an even larger plunge on the Chinese stock market (New York Times article; link won’t work forever.) New York real estate blogger Douglas Heddings over at True Gotham believes it will have a positive effect on the New York real estate market. What about here in the Bay Area, specifically the famous and pricey town of Palo Alto: What effect will the Chinese sell-off have on Palo Alto real estate prices? Beyond the obvious fact that the Chinese economy is completely intertwined with the American one, there’s an even more important, and local, aspect to the question: Chinese buyers are a significant portion of the local real estate market — 25% or more – and that market has been booming of late, to the continued astonishment — perhaps even chagrin — of the perma-bears. Consider the following chart of Palo Alto’s 7-day rolling median prices. (Data courtesy of ...
More About: Stocks , Estate , Real Estate

Introducing Another New Contributor ? Ann O?Connell
2007-02-22 19:48:02
I’m pleased to announce that another real estate blogger is joining the crew.  Her name is Ann O’Connell and, like me, she is a corporate refugee, having tired of life as a lawyer.  Unlike me, she has fabulous taste in and a love for home decorating, and decided to pursue the life of a stager. Please join me in welcoming Ann O’Connell! Real estate
More About: Other , Another , Intro , Tribu

Yikes! Get these sellers a stager!
2007-02-22 19:48:02
More and more home sellers and Realtors are recognizing the necessity of investing in home staging before placing a property on the market ? but apparently not everyone has been clued in! Sometimes people balk at the thought of putting money towards staging, but these pictures of actual properties for sale across the nation prove that it?s an investment well worth making! Hmmm? living room or Elks Lodge? The way this room is presented makes you look for the banquet tables! Less is not always more. These sellers would be better off having nothing in the room. Outdoor spaces need stagers, too! This patio needs staging to show what a great entertaining spot this is. I could write an entire blog about this one (maybe I will!)! Dirty laundry? Child? Seriously, folks, never put children or family members in listing photos. Welcome to the jungle! Your refrigerator magnets and knickknacks are fine conversation starters while you?re living in you...
More About: Seller , Elle , Sell , Sellers , Stage

Glenn Kelman and Russell Shaw: Flip Sides of the Same Coin? (AKA The Geni
2007-02-19 07:45:03
Apart from both being in the real estate business, what could these two polar opposites — Glenn Kelman, Redfin CEO and industry maverick, and Russell Shaw, mega-producing Phoenix Realtor — have in common? On the surface — nothing, especially when you consider that Russell has been in the business for more years (29, I believe) than Glenn has months (about 13). Here’s one thing they do have in common: they both aim to move a lot (and I mean a lot!) of real estate. Russell and his team currently sell about 400 homes per year but they’re aiming for 2000. The number of transactions Redfin has had is not public, but however many it is, they certainly also have ambitious expansion plans, including a future foray into Chicago, Boston, and D.C. How do you do this many transactions? How do you scale any business, for that matter? It’s simple (but not easy): you find ways to outsource and you find ways to become more efficient. And here’s th...
More About: Sides , Sell , Geni , Side

Today?s Palo Alto and Menlo Park Properties: A Guard Tower to Ward off Mar
2007-02-18 07:44:03
What better way to spend a balmy, sunny, spring day than viewing the new crop of homes to hit the market in Palo Alto ? Come along for the ride as we explore the inventory, which, per our friends at Altos Research, is still tight, but improving. First up was a stray Men lo Park property — “stray” because Menlo Park properties are normally on broker tour on Tuesdays, not Fridays — namely, 1026 Menlo Oaks in the Menlo Oaks/Flood Park neighborhood of Menlo Park. A retired fireman’s residence, this classic old 3/2 home sits on a 9000 sq ft lot, a size more commonly found south of Bay Road than north of it. The listing agent, Jeanne Wangsness of Coldwell Banker, has it listed at $1,047,000, and in this market it’s anybody’s guess what the winning bid will be, despite how close it is to the charming sounds of highway 101. Look at it this way: you’re paying $100,000 for the home, another $2000 for the quaint (but gas-burning) stove, and $9...
More About: Today , War

Introducing Another New Contributor ? Ana Hays
2007-02-14 19:42:01
I made a comment in an office meeting the other day about blogging, and everybody’s eyes glazed over as they laughed, “There goes Kevin again…”  All, that is, but Ana Hays, who approached me with the eagerness of somebody who, I assumed, had a passion for real estate, a penchant for writing, but no way of marrying the two together. Turns out I was right.  Ana is a long time Bay Area resident and discovered her inner writer during a sojourn in Hawaii.  We had lunch and hit it off right from the start, kindred spirits in many ways.  She has a ton of great ideas about real estate content and just needed a platform, which I was happy to provide. Ana, take it away! Real estate
More About: Other , Another , Intro , Tribu

Shopping for Houses Isn?t Like Shopping at Nordstrom?s
2007-02-14 19:42:01
Standing at my open house the other day, I decided to make a study of how buyers shop for their dream homes. To each person or couple entering the condo open house I was hosting, I said, ?Are you looking to buy a house today?? Some laughed, grabbed the flyer I was holding and marched past me; others giggled, replied yes and with those, I held conversations; and then there were those who said, ?We?re just looking!? hoping their reply would be enough to make me go away. But standing in front of the door I had no where to go. So I asked, ?Do you have an agent?? ?No! We don?t need an agent yet.? ?Well okay, then tell me what are you looking for? Maybe I can help you find it.? ?We?ll know when we see it.? ?Well build me your dream home.? ?Really, we?re just looking. Would you mind if we just had a look?? Receiving similar replies such as these from ?lookers,? it finally dawned on me that either buyers have become so jaded by the agents jumping on them at open houses or they think that go...
More About: Shopping , House , Houses , Shop , Like

The Ultimate Remedy Against Unlicensed Contractors
2007-02-10 07:38:02
Unlicensed contractors have the riskiest of occupations. That is, they risk the legal ability to collect compensation for work they perform, and more importantly, they risk the ability to keep the money they have been paid. Why is this you say? Well the California legislature has made a point to prevent unlicensed individuals from doing business in this state by not offering them any judicial help to recover compensation even if the consumers strategically were lying in wait to prey on the unlicensed individuals. California Business & Professions Code Section 7031(a) prevents an unlicensed contractor from collecting on debts owed to them by consumers under contracts due to their unlicensed status. Similarly, B&P Sec. 7031(b) gives consumers who have contracted with unlicensed contractors the ability to sue for restitution or reimbursement of all monies paid to the unlicensed contractor for ?any act or contract.? This harsh and draconian rule applies even if the unlicen...
More About: Actors , Contract , Mate , Again , Ultimate