Los Altos Townhouse Prices Track House Prices
Los Altos townhouse prices have been tracking Los Altos house prices since about 2013. In 2000, the dot com bubble pushed house prices up significantly more than townhouse prices but they fell back to a similar spread in 2002. Then in 2008, the sub-prime mortgage fiasco depressed townhouse prices before house prices. By the end of 2012, townhouse prices had increased back to the ratio they had previously been at. Since 2013, the price ratio has remained fairly constant.Learn more about Los Altos real estate.
Los Altos Hills Houses Reach All-Time Largest
The Los Altos Hills average size of houses sold reached an all-time quarterly high on Aug 18, 2023. However, the average size of Los Altos homes sold was at the lower side of recent trends.What makes this catch our attention is that the average house size for eight San Mateo County cities (Foster City, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Pacifica, Portola Valley, San Carlos, San Mateo, and Woodside) and for Palo Alto spiked upward to their highest-ever quarterly values. The trend was so broad that the San Mateo County average size of houses sold also reached an all-time high.Although no reason is known for the spike in the average size of houses sold in San Mateo County, it appears that Los Altos and Los Altos Hills are probably not similarly affected. Learn more about Los Altos real estate.
New Housing Developments Begin Including Granny Units
On January 29, 2021 Weingarten Realty Investors submitted an updated plan for San Jose's Cambrian Park Plaza which proposes having 30 houses to now include granny units on the ground floor. The granny unit would have its own entrance.The second and third floors would be an entirely separate single family dwelling from the granny unit below.One San Jose City Council member, Pam Foley, has voiced support for the addition of the granny units saying it is "one way to naturally add affordability into any project".With the new California wide regulations on Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs, granny units, backyard cottages), this is likely to become commonplace for new Silicon Valley housing developments. It is a path to meeting demands placed on many Silicon Valley cities for both more housing and more affordable housing.
Corona Virus - Larger Lots?
There have been a few reports (without data) that the corona virus pandemic is leading home buyers to prefer larger homes with larger lots. In Silicon Valley the city of Los Altos is known for having lots larger than most other Silicon Valley cities.Comparing house sales price trends for Los Altos to downtown Palo Alto does not yet show any change in preferences. Prices have been relatively flat since the beginning of 2019 for both areas through the end of November 2020.Average Los Altos House sales price per sq.ft.Average downtown Palo Alto house sales price per sq.ft.
Real Estate Commission
Real estate agents have been creating new real estate commission plans. JLee Realty has recently implemented a 0% real estate listing commission plan. Their expressed goal is to attract as many buyer agents to their listings as possible.If their own buyer agent submits a successful offer, they reduce their listing commission to zero percent. JLee Realty will not receive any more commission if their seller accepts an offer from JLee Realty than if a purchase offer is accepted from any other brokerage.Furthermore JLee Realty is not offering any enticements for a buyer to drop their own buyer agent and use a buyer agent from JLee Realty when they make an offer.
Los Altos Real Estate Trends
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