The consensus is that our economy is improving and that we should see moderate growth in 2011. This is good news for the real estate market. Some of our local markets have already shown signs of improvement reporting an increase in number of sales over last year. Most recently there have even been multiple offers on some properties—especially in the Palo Alto market place. The demand for housing continues to exceed our supply on the peninsula. More good news—the upper end of the market is starting to show signs of recovery as well. ...

Nordstrom Rules: Rule #1: Use best judgment in all situations. There will be no additional rules.

Here is a fascinating graphic from the Washington Post about where in the US, by County, foreclosures have taken place, color coded by percentage.

Situated in one of Redwood City’s oldest and most coveted neighborhoods, this graceful Edgewood Park home sits on an expansive lot to create an exquisite living environment. Rarely do you find the perfect combination of home and neighborhood! Approximately 4,050 square feet of living space situated on a lot of approximately 33,350 square feet Four bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms The family room kitchen offers views to both the front and rear yard. It is highlighted by a fireplace and floor-to-ceiling w ...

We are proud to say that our new listing at 451 La Mesa Drive, in Portola Valley, was selected by the agents at a competing firm as the most interesting new home to come to market in the past week. The attached advertisement is currently running in The Daily Wamp. The Daily WAMP is a new local newspaper targeting residents living in Woodside, Atherton, Menlo Park and Portola Valley (hence the name, WAMP). WAMP has teamed up with Dreyfus Properties to review new listings from local brokerages. Dreyfus Properties’ agents pick one home e ...

Portola Valley School District is pleased has just announced that they have become a member of the growing CarpooltoSchool.com network. Now parents from Ormondale School and Corte Madera School who wish to start or join a carpool, walkpool, or bikepool can go online and find other potential school poolers. Superintendent Tim Hanretty said, "We are excited to implement this new and innovative program. In addition to reducing our overall carbon footprint, carpools, walkpools and bikepools all help to reduce traffic congestion near our schools i ...

The Market As predicted, sales nationwide slowed this summer. This was due in part to the end of federal tax credits for homebuyers. Despite the slower volume of sales, home values have been steady for the past 18 months. Comparing home values from July 2009 to July 2010, NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun, reports that the price of homes increased .7%. Also, Yun reports that annual sales averaged 4.9 million in the past 20 years. But for 2010, annual sales are expected to reach 5 million because of the healthy activity from January to J ...

In light of the recent tragedy in San Bruno the City of Palo Alto recently released information about the effort made to maintain the City's gas lines ... Ensuring the safety of the community is a top priority for the City of Palo Alto, and it conducts ongoing and proactive safety efforts that include leak detection surveys, pipeline upgrades and replacements, pipeline corrosion control, 24/7 customer response, and promotion of gas safety awareness and education to residents and businesses in Palo Alto. The most important safety tip, ...

The Portola Valley Cultural Arts Committee presents "Movies Under the Stars," a free outdoor summer movie. They will be screening "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." Popcorn, sandwiches, non-alcoholic drinks, and treats will be sold. This event will be held on Portola Valley's Town Center courtyard lawn on Friday, August 20. Folks are encouraged to come at 6:30 to picnic, socialize and listen to music featuring CD's from local bands. The movie will be begin at 8 pm. Family, friends, and well-behaved dogs are all ...

Common ground Garden Supply and Education Center has organized an inspirational self-guided tour of ten organic edible gardens in Palo Alto. It is scheduled for next Saturday, July 24th, 2010 from 11 am to 4 pm. ten beautiful suburban gardens with organic edible landscapes visit the Common Ground Demonstration Garden meet the creative gardeners who transformed their gardens get great ideas for your garden 10:45 am - 3:00 pm, Saturday, July 24 Maps including bike routes and garden descriptions provided at check-in ...

If you think the federal government is hard at work taking the necessary steps to avoid future financial catastrophes, think again. If you click on the image below you will be taken to a video created by Think Big Work Small. It's about five minutes long, but it is a great outline of the deal the FDIC made during the sale of Indy Mac's assets to One West Bank.

My number one rule for this blog is to keep the content strictly limited to real estate topics. I'm breaking my number one rule because I'm so proud I can't contain myself. My son started walking this weekend, and here is a short video of his first steps. In the future I will continue to limit myself to the world of real estate, so please forgive me for this one transgression.

Not sure about you but I've always been dismayed by the difficulty of identifying the properties that will be open each weekend. In the past we've relied on the local newspapers to gather all of the weekly open house details, but as advertising has continued to move to the internet the role of the newspaper's open house guide has been diminished. Unfortunately, many brokerage firms and Realtors have been slow to adjust their advertising practices, and open house schedules found on Trulia.com, Zillow.com, and the myriad of other sites are ...

Palo Alto, CA – In California , nearly half of all urban water use is applied to yards. State law has been amended to require all cities to adopt more stringent water use requirements for landscaping. Residents and businesses in Palo Alto seeking permits that include new or upgraded landscaping are currently required by state law and an ordinance developed by the state’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) to meet the new water efficiency regulations. This new requirement went into effect on January 1, 2010. As of January 1, 2010, the DWR ...