patrick.net

Prices taken from a RW's website in Santa Clara 95054 (Rivermark). I would say prices are down 10% from peak.

MLS List Price Sale Price Sq Ft Close Date
772815 1,400,000 -- 3395 --
761572 1,369,000 1,320,000 3395 12/31/07
732492 1,419,000 1,377,000 3395 08/06/07
721885 1,449,000 1,410,000 3395 06/28/07
704245 1,450,000 1,410,000 3395 03/21/07
754458 1,410,000 1,399,000 3113 11/01/07
710953 1,399,000 1,355,000 3113 05/22/07
783448 1,298,000 -- 3073 --
779550 1,350,000 -- 3073 04/04/08
749620 1,359,000 1,290,000 3073 10/11/07
778229 1,331,000 -- 2989 --
759080 1,349,000 1,331,000 2989 12/07/07
717725 1,395,000 1,395,000 2989 04/17/07
747672 1,269,950 1,260,000 2645 10/04/07
737725 1,335,000 1,335,000 2645 08/15/07
726142 1,239,999 1,240,000 2627 06/20/07
712603 1,239,000 1,190,000 2627 05/17/07
759851 1,250,000 -- 2408 --
774920 1,230,000 1,230,000 2408 02/26/08
736900 1,239,000 1,234,000 2408 08/01/07
734011 1,259,000 1,276,888 2408 07/12/07
703592 1,199,800 1,200,000 2408 03/16/07
765980 1,099,999 -- 2331 --
743272 1,199,000 1,199,000 2331 09/08/07
717016 1,175,000 1,217,000 2331 05/02/07
723209 905,770 858,906 2139 09/21/07
711913 1,038,000 1,048,000 2128 04/12/07
733480 1,050,000 1,082,000 2117 08/02/07
759895 1,069,000 1,080,000 2083 12/17/07
741339 1,089,000 1,108,000 2083 08/21/07
718187 1,049,000 1,081,000 2083 05/02/07
702528 990,000 1,045,000 2083 02/06/07
777885 959,000 -- 2036 --
774272 939,900 942,000 2036 03/04/08
746297 978,000 965,000 2036 10/02/07
741151 964,000 964,000 2036 09/14/07
728725 959,999 947,000 2036 06/21/07
724376 989,000 985,000 2036 05/18/07
754784 939,888 930,000 1754 10/31/07
724816 975,000 1,035,000 1754 05/31/07
716031 839,000 829,000 1716 06/15/07
762212 909,000 900,000 1671 02/12/08
771781 849,950 830,000 1657 02/29/08
729160 868,000 872,000 1657 06/29/07
723435 878,000 865,000 1657 06/28/07
722393 898,000 900,000 1657 06/15/07
704028 878,888 878,000 1657 03/29/07
774408 829,000 -- 1590 --
771664 828,000 820,000 1590 02/15/08
760836 810,000 800,000 1590 01/30/08
755399 849,950 800,000 1590 12/04/07
738529 870,000 852,500 1590 10/25/07
738194 865,000 840,000 1590 09/28/07
731682 868,888 865,000 1590 08/27/07
737987 889,850 895,000 1590 08/07/07
727569 848,000 826,000 1590 07/18/07
725285 849,900 830,000 1590 05/29/07

I found this site "MortagageNewsDaily" that doesn't appear to be updated frequently. This story is still at the top. www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/12112006_Housing_Panic.asp

Odd how the December 2006 prediction was for modest price growth extending into 2007 and 2008.

Peter P, we agree again (that makes it at least thrice in the last 6 months).

Don't we usually agree on things? ;)

But you cannot imagine how many Chinese are struggling to buy into South Palo Alto (even next to 101) just to get Palo Alto on their address so that they can brag to friends.

Teardowns are not allowed to preserve the blue-collar "character" of the neighborhood.

Only idiots brag about an address. :)

Rich people "brag" about having yachts too large to enter harbors.

"there are no libertarians during financial crises" LOL!

No sh!t!

I was so p!ssed I had to run next door to pick up fax when Larry was being... less than generous wit da' Prez. Tongue-tied as ever he tackled "moral hazard" in a fashion that would have made Will Ferrell proud! I've never seen a man so eager to get something over with.

Is there any precedent for this? Anyone? Has any former President had to go on national television to explain why the well has run dry? I'm truly *not trying to be flippant here.

Better Perma-Renter than Perma-Debter! Nice post, thanks.

Is there any precedent for this? Anyone? Has any former President had to go on national television to explain why the well has run dry? I’m truly *not trying to be flippant here.

Maybe Hoover? Carter?

I didn't realize that Hoover ever appeared on "national television".

Carter did appear in a sweater telling us that the energy well had run dry.

I didn’t realize that Hoover ever appeared on “national television”.

C'mon, you know what I mean - needing to appear before a large, if not national forum to explain why the country is in deep financial doo-doo.

Greetings from a long time lurker. I have learned so much from reading everyone here. Thanks!

A thread titled Silicon Valley Prices seems a perfect opportunity to tell my own FB story. I live in an East San Jose house my wife bought in 2005. She bought for 620k, 120k down with 500k 5-year IO loan, a little over 2 years to go until the reset. Judging by the asking prices in the neighborhood I figure our house is worth 400k. "Worth" is such a wishful word, I know.

Our current plan is to stay put until reality returns to all of the Bay Area, sell the house at whatever loss and move to a better neighborhood where we can stay long term, hopefully making up for the loss in the reduced price of the next house. We already tried to sell but it was too late. Fortunately we are financially secure and in that sense we aren't truly FBs. Refinancing to a 30-year FRM is a possibility, but that seems pointless given we don't want to live here long term.

And with all the recent bailout talks and especially with the BS fiasco I'm beginning to wonder, will we see banks become desperate enough for cash that they would consider selling me the mortgage note at a discount? Does that sounds at all feasible, or is it crazy? I'm considering offering 50%. My lender is Wells Fargo and so far they don't appear to be in big trouble but who knows.

Even if they're interested in my proposal I suppose it would only be possible if they kept my loan in house. How do I find out if the loan has been securitized and sold? Just call them up and ask? I doubt the person who picks up the phone will even understand what I'm asking.

TIA

Debtonator

Thanks for posting and sharing, and genuinely best of luck with your situation. It really doesn't sound too bad at all.

Cash flow problems at banking institutions are essentially balance sheet problems. Assuming your bank is carrying the loan, if it were to accept your offer of 50% of balance it would essentially be forced to "mark to market" your loan. This would mean a large loss recognition which would not make them happy.

Unfortunately, this scenario is unlikely.

Yours would not be characterized as a short sale, in which a bank might accept less than full note value. In that scenario, you would have to fully disclose your personal balance sheet and assets, and if you were deemed capable of fulfilling your obligation the bank would tell you to go pound sand. They will only accept a short sale when you have them cornered, which you do not.

This said, it sounds to me like you are endeavoring to game the system in your favor. If its all in your wifes name, you might nuke her balance sheet and endeavor a short sale but thats probably not ideal.

And you are talking about an act of very questionable morality, btw.

Justme

Thanks man :-)

I know you CA residents are not familiar with benefits of deregulation.....:-)

This is only the beginning IMO, we really haven't seen anything yet. Climate control will be an unaffordable luxury for most on the other side of this thing. From today’s Washington Post below:

Residents Stung by High Cost Of Power
Bills Have Risen 14 to 78 Percent

By Kirstin Downey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 16, 2008; Page A01

George Mann, an $18-an-hour grocery store clerk in Waldorf, found himself trembling last month as he wrote the check to pay his $644 electricity bill.

Still financially recovering from a $549 electricity bill in January, Mann said he noticed he was "shaking" as he paid the bill, full of anxiety about how he would find the money to pay other household expenses for the three-bedroom rambler where he lives with his wife and four children.

"When they deregulated the market, there was supposed to be competition and prices were supposed to go down," he said. "But why did the bills go in the opposite direction?"

That is a question being echoed in households across the region, particularly as heating bills rise in the coldest months of the year.

Electricity costs 78 percent more for Marylanders who get their power from Pepco than it did in 2001, and Virginians pay 14 percent more than they did at that time. Rates in the District have climbed 55 percent over the past six years.

According to Pepco, the average monthly bill in the District was $60.28 in 2004 and $87.45 in 2007. The average bill in Maryland was $90.45 in 2004 and $138.29 in 2007. In Virginia, bills have climbed from $98.85 to $103.90 in the same time period, according to Dominion.

As electricity prices have risen, so has the cost of gas heat. Its price has increased about 40 percent in the region, affected by many of the same factors that have caused electricity rates to go up, according to Washington Gas, which serves customers in Maryland, Virginia and the District. The average District resident paid $852 for gas in 2002 and $1,209 in 2007. Marylanders paid $789 annually in 2002 and $1,218 in 2007, and Virginians paid $851 in 2002 and $1,131 in 2007.

NVR,

Yeah, we're really not in a bad situation and for the most part I'm just thinking out the possibilities.

I thought that banks would rather not realize a loss if they don't have to and you confirmed it. But can that attitude ever change? What would have to happen for banks to appreciate cash more? I understand whatever cash I can offer is not even a drop in the bucket, but I'm curious as to how banks think and operate.

It's interesting you mention gaming the system and questionable morality. I knew my post would raise those alarms. Notice I didn't say I was going to walk away or engineer a way to become eligible for principal forgiveness-type bailout. Yes, those ideas have crossed my mind. ;) What I was contemplating though was buying my mortgage from the lender at a discount. I figured paying cash would make a meaningful difference, but maybe it's all the same from the bank's point of view?

northernvirginiarenter Says:
March 15th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
"I know you CA residents are not familiar with benefits of deregulation
This is only the beginning IMO, we really haven’t seen anything yet. Climate control will be an unaffordable luxury for most on the other side of this thing. From today’s Washington Post below:
Residents Stung by High Cost Of Power
Bills Have Risen 14 to 78 Percent"

I just paid my whole electric bill for last year. It was $60. Stories like this just crack me up because I've had to put up with stupid people telling me solar is not cost effective.

I just paid my whole electric bill for last year. It was $60. Stories like this just crack me up because I’ve had to put up with stupid people telling me solar is not cost effective.

I thought your bill would be negative. ;)