Concerned Santa Clara

Long time no see. I have not blogged about Bay Area and predominantly Santa Clara county real estate since a long time, probably too much time. In mean time the wonderful real estate sites appeared. One of them Concerned Santa Clara covers high-density development in Santa Clara namely Fairfield Residential’s plans for the graffiti painted Kaiser site at 900 Kiely Boulevard and Santa Clara Square on the property currently occupied by Kohl’s at 3700 El Camino Real and Lawrence Expressway.

Median California Home Price in February

The median California price fell to $373,000 during February 2008, almost $100,000 down from $472,000 in February 2007. In the same time people who wish to buy a home in Cupertino School District should consider that cheapest house one market today is one bedroom, one bathroom condo in Cupertino Montebello complex at 20488 Stevens Creek blvd. The asking price what this small condo is $449,900 plus $308 HOA fee every month.

Cupertino Square Shopping Center

The beer is coming to Cupertino Square, Hofbräu Beer Hall – 400 seat beer hall and restaurant like in Munich. Cupertino Square developers are trying to capitalize on Cupertino's rich population, which the city said has an average household income of more than $150,000. Unfortunately for developers Cupertino residents don't behave like typical affluent customers. This is a very family oriented community and the expensive housing sucks up most of their earned incomes. I'm not surprised the ice skating rink, AMC Cupertino Square 16, and Strike Cupertino bowling alley are doing well. I suspect Target is the most successful retail establishment in the area. If they really want to make a killing, they should go after more discount retailers and businesses that appeal to families, for example Costco. There is a market for people going out for after work drinks like Outback Steakhouse, Elephant Bar Restaurant and BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse, but I doubt enough of those after-work drinkers will go to the Hofbräu Beer Hall in Cupertino Square to keep it in business.

Bay Area rents surge 9.4% in 2007

Average asking rents for apartments in the nine-county Bay Area reached $1,562 during the fourth quarter, up 9.4 percent from a year ago, according to a report released Thursday by Novato research firm RealFacts. Rents are up 16.3 percent from 2004.

Rent vs buy house in Bay Area

Forbes published the list of most expensive cities for renters in 2007

1. New York
2. San Francisco
3. Boston
4. San Jose
5. Los Angeles

In the numbers for Bay Area rent market:

San Francisco, Calif. $1,904

Very few residents here can afford the city's $800,000 median home-sale price. The result is an extremely tight rental market, which is expected to see the largest year-over-year jump, with rents expected to grow 8.6%. It's very difficult to add new inventory due to limited space, cost of business and developers' reluctance to dive into the fervently rent-controlled market.

San Jose, Calif. $1,612

The city to San Francisco's south suffers from many of the same ailments; there are, however, fewer barriers to expansion. San Jose rents are expected to climb 5.5% this year thanks to a low vacancy rate second only to New York City. Investor-cap rates are high, which, not surprisingly, means that construction in the rental market will surge 29%, relaxing some price pressure.

That's good news for Bay Area landlords, but bad for renters.

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