No Xin, this has nothing to do with trade war or foreign money. This is what happens when the housing bubble 2.0 explodes. This bubble is bigger than the last bubble and the results will be worse. Interest rate will pass 5.0% soon and those bagholders/speculators will be running for the exit. The problem is there is only one exit door and not enough idiots to bail them out.

We are planning to sell our house in Midtown. It is an old Brown & Kauffman that can best be described as a fixer-upper. Instead of opting to remodel the kitchen, re-pipe the indoor plumbing, re-wire the AC, paint the exterior et al, it's probably cheaper just to list the house and see what happens. We paid $900K for it in 2000 and I imagine it's probably worth in the vicinity of $1.75M+ in its current state.

Not overly concerned as someone will eventually buy it. Everybody wants to live in Palo Alto these days...for what reasons I haven't the foggiest.

We're relocating to Washington (Mercer island).

To Bye Bye PA...
As a former PA resident for many years, I can tell you there are many great reasons to live in PA. You may discover, as you move to the PNW, that:
1. It rains. A lot. It's beautifully green...there's a reason. I call it PNW Post Nasal Drip. Folks will tell you it only rains 36.5" a year. They won't tell you that's only 0.10" a day. Every day.
2. Seattle traffic is awful, at least as bad as the Bay Area; maybe worse, since transit options are more limited. The run from Portland to Seattle was 2.5 hours ten years ago. Now it's five hours, no longer a day trip. Newsweek once called Seattle "LA with Rain." They weren't too far off.
We live in the rain country, have for many years. We escape for a month to warmer/sunnier climes each winter. I can no longer afford to live in the Bay Area, but I do miss it at times, particularly its weather. If you're great at enjoying the outdoors despite some gray and rain, you'll do well in the PNW. If not, you may be returning south. The first winter is a curiosity, new and exciting. It's the second one that determines whether or not you're a Webfoot.
It's a bit dated, but you may enjoy Timothy Egan's book, The Good Rain.
P.S. Don't feel you need to quickly remove those California plates from your car. Fully half the folks in the PNW are from California.

Just off-season for homebuying. No big deal. Things pick-up around April.

Heading off to Matzatlan and then Maui. Sold my quota+ for 2018. Almost too easy.

70% of my buyers were from overseas (China) and I don't even speak the language!

"70% of my buyers were from overseas (China) and I don't even speak the language!"

No need to speak language. Numbers are universal language.

"Things pick-up around April...70% of my buyers were from overseas (China)"

Would next spring be a good time to list? I have no issue (or problem) with who's residing in PA as I won't be here anymore.

I believe Xin is reading too much into the current situation. I will admit, sellers can no longer play, "hide the weenie", and expect buyers to load up on the mustard. It is the fall and we have had some cool evenings. School is on everyone's mind. The only ones who are concerned are the traditional real estate agents who are used to making a million a year in commissions. For those folks, you might have to settle for 500 K. So sorry.

If you are a real estate agent, it's going to be a long fall and winter.

The only ones who are concerned are the traditional real estate agents who are used to making a million a year in commissions. For those folks, you might have to settle for 500 K. So sorry.

Why be so greedy? $500K is enough to live on.

Trust the invisible hand, economics 101. We sold our house in August ... 100 block Kellogg in Old Palo Akto for $4.6M before it even hit the MLS. The preemptive offer was $300K more than the intended list price. Many of the houses that are sitting on the market were priced too high .... this is absolutely it.

QUOTE: Many of the houses that are sitting on the market were priced too high .... this is absolutely it.

The key strategy...price the house/property slightly lower than what potential buyers expect. Then watch them grovel with competing bids until you get an offer close to what you are anticipating or desire.

Around here, the buyers from overseas with CASH usually win this game of oneupsmanship. The only drawback is that prime properties become overvalued.

The local RE market is not chilling. You just have to have the right property (location, floor plan, amenities etc.) + buyers who can pay outright. Not the ones that have to arrange financing and get approved.

We jacked the price up on our house and while there were no offers for the first two weeks or so, a very nice Chinese family met our asking price and paid cash as well.

Moral of the story...don't waste your time with first-time buyers and various tire kickers. They're just there to snoop around and eat the free cookies.

I wonder if new federal financial disclosure rules are playing a part in this recent trend?

Web Link

Agree that homes that linger on the market are usually priced too high. Now is a good time to find more affordable (at least by Palo Alto standards) homes without multiple competing bids by bidding below asking price on one of these lingerers.

> Market showing signs of chilling

2 years ago

> Now is a good time to find more affordable (at least by Palo Alto standards) homes without multiple competing bids by bidding below asking price on one of these lingerers.

They price too high because they cannot afford to sell below that number, because they bought too high to weather any disruptions. I have to wonder if we are teetering on the edge or a larger market collapse in this area, with Trump licking his chops over any blow he can deal to CA, and the tech companies finally starting to realize that people are fed up with their surveillance and the fact that they just take and take and take and do nothing to help make the country better, except the fake MAGA.

Even Americans who voted for Trump with the direction things are going.

And putting more fake voices online than real voices to trick everyone doesn't do it in the long run.

> Everybody wants to live in Palo Alto these days...for what reasons I haven't the foggiest.

Please, give me a break, for those of us who have lived here for decades or grew up here, do not think you are going to find a time warp anywhere to Palo Alto of the past. You might as well dream about Mayberry. Things have changed and people have changed all over.

Comparatively, if you can afford it, Palo Alto is still a very nice place to live and with the central location, education, services, better real estate market than most of the country, and and jobs, not to mention the weather there are plenty of reasons to want to buy here.

>Things have changed and people have changed all over.

Yes. Newer residents from overseas who can afford to pay cash for their PA homes and lower income + millennials who can barely afford the rent.

>Comparatively, if you can afford it, Palo Alto is still a very nice place to live...

Yes. For those who can afford it or have resided in PA for awhile and whose 1976 property tax rates are protected under Proposition 13. To purchase a PA home via conventional means (down payment/30 year mortgage/1% property taxes at current home valuations) amounts to indentured servitude as one will essentially be paying rent for a lifetime.

While residing in Palo Alto may be an enjoyable living experience for some, for others it is little more than a slave sentence...which is why relocation to other more affordable communities is perhaps the best alternative.

Unfortunately, there are those who refuse to leave. Thus PA has the current development conflict.

If priced attractively with potential for appreciation, houses will sell in Palo Alto regardless of slow sales. Overseas buyers with available cash always on lookout and real estate agents in China prospect SF bay area for homes.

Cupertino, Sunnyvale and Mountain View very popular locations but Palo Alto better. Costs more but has more prestige. Good school district and expensive places to shop.

Next spring, more Chinese will be exploring Palo Alto housing opportunities.
Paying $8-$10M+ for home not restrictive.

Existing-Home Sales Suffer Largest Annual Drop in Four Years
Sales fell on an annual basis in October, as higher mortgage rates reduce home affordability
Web Link

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