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Even Kissinger would find this a tough topic, so anything I say will definitely be with "tongue in cheek". A big tongue! And primarily as relates to Silicon Valley, a.k.a. the San Francisco Bay Area of California.
We hear of massive layoffs by banks and high-tech companies because it's sensational and the media has been trained that that's what sells newspapers. One almost has to check the Obits to discover the reason we're not sliding into the Pacific is that quietly new companies are hiring, many companies are expanding, and the slack is continually being taken up. The foremost venture capital congregation is in Palo Alto/Menlo Park. Nowhere else can one find such seeds of entrepreneurship!
As for real estate buyers, the past year has been one of much enjoyment working with new arrivals from Russia, Sweden, Belgium, China, Australia, Poland, India, etc.! They see the tremendous opportunities here and realize that high home prices are but an offshoot. How many of you can recall when "affordable" housing was in the $10,000-$15,000 range and annual salaries were $3,000-$10,000?
Until after the turn of the century, the pace of life pretty much stayed at the horse-and-buggy speed. Look back 30 years and much of what we take for granted today wasn't even conceived of then! Along the way, we have disruptions like the stock market falling and then climbing back. At the moment (Fall of 1998), market volatility may slow growth funding by IPOs (Initial Public stock Offerings) and mergers & acquisitions. Companies will take new directions such as Kaiser leaving the hospital business. But market growth - the steady increase in housing prices - will climb as has the stock market, commodities, etc. over the years. There will be plateaus, even a slight step back in time, but the long term is always up!
Website Property Pricing
Try these websites on your PC or Mac:
- www.realtor.com
- finehomesandestates.com
- homescout.com
- century21.com
- homeadvisor.com
- ired.com
- fanniemae.com
Read a Good Book?
Just click on the book to order!
The Perfect Storm : A True Story of Men Against the Sea
"One of my personal favorites from recent times."
- Len Smith
by Sebastian Junger
Paperback
Published 1998
"Probably the finest Grisham novel yet."
- Len Smith
Or, order the cassette.
by John Grisham
Paperback
Published 1998
The Tech Museum of Innovation opened 10/29/98 across from the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose. Its IMAX theater opens with Everest and I can attest it's a real cliff-hanger!
Spring of '98 was a real "go-go" market with multiple offers and bids above list. It slowed some in pace and picked up in July/August. By mid-August, many more listings went on-line and the trend in many areas appears to be a "soft" market, with lower pricing and negotiations easier for buyers.
The upper Peninsula spots like Belmont, Palo Alto, and Redwood City appear "tight". I think we'll be seeing more of a "Buyer's Market" in the South Bay. Good buys: Blossom Valley, San Lorenzo Valley, even Willow Glen.
Restaurant Par Excellence !
There are times when a small restaurant is so good you hate to share it for fear future reservations will be difficult, or they'll decide to expand and then fall apart. Buca La Pastaia (408-871-3135) on Winchester Blvd., ½ block S. of Campbell Ave., in Campbell, is just such a place.
We sadly lost Maison du Café earlier this year, but Buca easily makes up for it. Looking for candlelight, romance, perfection, and superb dining? I'll say no more!
A Restaurant in Hollister?
You've got to be kidding! The younger generation looking for new affordable housing seems to end up in Tracy (try The Orchard Restaurant for breakfast) or Hollister. The main street of Hollister looks the same as 30 years ago, but new shopping centers and strip malls have been sprouting up to service the new subdivisions.
In one small non-descript retail strip you might find DeMaggio's (Nob Hill market is across the street). It lacks atmosphere, and is just a rectangle, but why is it crowded with smiling diners? At first, you may think the fresh salad or good soup is a mistake, but when the entrée (like a highly-flavorful fork-tender pork tenderloin) arrives, you know it's beyond the ordinary, so go inquire of the chef's credentials ... to find one here trained by Paris' Cordon Bleu School is unbelievable! Tel: (831) 636-6968.
Whoa!
Did you say you wanted to sell your rental(s), ship an Exchange, and just pay the Capital Gains tax? And your reason for so doing is that your net after paying off the loan balance and sales costs will be too minimal to consider an exchange?
Stop to think back at your many years of accumulating depreciation; that will make your "gain" far greater! Ask your CPA now! But, you say, you never bothered to take depreciation? Maybe so, but the IRS may say it was "allowable" and you could have taken it and they could possibly hit you for "gains". Again, ask your CPA!
Why Building Permits?
A building permit is a document that identifies the scope of a structural or mechanical building project and monitors, through signoff signatures at various stages of completion, that it meets code requirements. The building permit verifies that sound construction practices are being used and that health and safety are protected.
Predictions from the Past
- "There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home".
(Kenneth Olsen, president/founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977).
- "Computers in the future may perhaps only weigh 1.5 tons".
(Popular Mechanics, forecasting the development of computer technology,1949).
