Month One and Counting Shelter in Place

Harley my Old English Sheep Dog looked up at me as I waited for cocktail hour to begin and said, "Now you know why a chew on furniture".

We now are looking forward for the Governor to decide on the resumption of our economy.  Good Political play from POTUS.  If it is successful he wins and if it is a failure the Democratic Governors who opposed him making the decision are left holding "The Bag".   A stinky bag it will be.  Redwood City has declared that all walking outdoors must now wear a facemask.  Isn't this locking the barn door after the horse is stolen?

Homes for sale declined 15.7% in March and so far this month the results are:

Atherton: 6 new listings, 3 cancels, 2 cuts
Menlo Park:  13 new listings, 6 pending, 7 sold, 1 withdrawn,1 expired, 3 cuts
Palo Alto:  17 new listings, 9 pending, 9 sold, 3 expired, 4 cancelled, 3 cuts
Woodside:  5 new listings, 1 pending, 5 sold, 1 withdrawn, 1 expired, 0 cuts
Portola Valley: 2 active, 3 sold, 1 withdrawn, 0 cuts
La Honda: 1 active, 1 sold, 1 expired, 0 cuts
Redwood City: 24 new listings, 10 pending, 20 sold, 1 withdrawn, 1 expired, 2 cancelled, 7 cuts

Days on the market are increasing.  So far, the effects of Shelter in Place and the requirements in listing and viewing documents have not shown an impact.

I am taking a pessimistic attitude toward the ability of realtors to show property and get virtual tours from some of the listing agents.  Sellers are reluctant to show homes and buyers are cautious on viewing homes.  There must be a process to keep everyone pleased.  I will be creating a sanitized home condition for all homes that I list and close.  For viewings there will be the California Association of Realtors inspection form, I will require facemasks, gloves and booties.  I suggest all you buyers become prepared to view your chosen house with your own equipment.  Make offers at below list and make offers contingent upon a sanitizing of the house and living areas.  That includes garages and storage areas.

The desire to live in communities that have active city centers will diminish.  The joy of a vibrant downtown area like Palo Alto, Los Altos, Mountain View and Menlo Park will come under pressure as the joy of sitting close to one another in conversation will be gone.  Face masks make word recognition difficult and down right impossible when one has a hearing disability.  Why pay up to live in a city when it is dangerous and unhealthy to walk to downtown area?

I have always believed that the value of Woodside, Atherton and Portola Valley has been the privacy and security a large land parcel offers owners.  Children can enjoy the outdoors without incurring the potential health threats of a playground in Menlo Park, Palo Alto or Los Altos.  The value of the former with a $5 million home on an acre or more seems far more beneficial than a 12,000 square foot lot in Menlo Park. 

I think there will be a greater risk of ownership when a Facebook employee must work from home for the next 8 months.  Now I know what Solitary Confinement means as a punishment!

There are communities in Silicon Valley that offer solitude and space and are within minutes of local cities and work environments.  There will be the areas of growth while the hot downtown cities will see declining home values.  IF, the return to normal does not occur as all expect it will happen.

On a weekly basis I send out selections of homes that are presently on the market or have recently come on the market as values, as I perceive them as.  Get on my

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