Monthly Archives: January 2014

Silicon Valley BART and future values of local real estate

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

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

Mortgage Lending Changes and Rates – Jan. 10, 2014

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

Hot new Homes in Sunnyvale_Broker Tour Jan. 9

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:

  • 867 RATTAN TERRACE, priced at $730,000, is a 1,649 sq ft townhome with 3 spacious Bedrooms/3 Baths. It is as serene as being in the middle of a quiet redwood grove forest! Beautiful and lush community just minutes to new Apple campus & 49er stadium. This is an end unit with beautiful views, plantation shutters, an open and airy feel.

Three wonderful homes on tour today were in both the Cherry Chase Elementary and Homestead High School District: Continue reading