Sunday, July 31, 2011

Open House 1:30 to 4:30 pm 11655 Jessica Lane Los Altos Hills, CA

Open House Sunday 1:30 to 4:30 pm 11655 Jessica Lane, Los Altos Hills, CA, come see this wonderful 4 bedroom home that has the best of both worlds. It is tucked away on a quite street in Los Altos Hills for privacy and seclusion, but is just minutes to downtown Los Altos or Highway 280. It also has a new price of 2.65M.

This homes sits on about an acre of land and provides almost 4000 sq ft of living space. Amazing views from the kitchen and master bedroom. The master bedroom has ample closet space and a spa like bathroom.

The downstairs level has a family room with access to the pool and back yard. This home also has a large driveway and a 3 car garage. Perfect for entertaining friends and family.

Drop by and see if 11655 Jessica Lane, Los Altos Hills, CA could be your next home.




This is a view from the kitchen window of the secluded back yard!

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Recipe: Duck Fried Rice

Like so many of my recipes this recipe for duck fried rice was inspired by leftovers in my fridge.

I have had family out visiting this week. One of my favorite things to do when I have family out is to go to places they don't have at home.

One of the dinners we had this week included a Peking duck. I love Peking duck but it is very rich and one duck goes along way. We ordered several dishes so we ended up with leftover duck. I have never had duck fried rice but I am sure I am not the first person to make it. In any case, duck fried rice was a big hit at our house.

So if you find yourself with leftover Peking duck or roast duck I highly recommend eating the duck leftovers as fried rice. It is a fast and delicious meal.

I had some leftover fatty skin that I rendered in the pan that I added to the dish. Very decadent.



1 C chopped duck meat

2 green onions chopped

2 C of cooked rice

3 eggs beaten

2 TBL of soy sauce

Black pepper to taste

1 TBL duck fat



In large frying pan heat up leftover duck fat and skin to create about a tablespoon of fat. Add the green onions first and then the duck meat. Cook until light brown add the rice. Cook until the rice is warmed completely and then add the beaten eggs and the soy sauce. Stir constantly until the egg is combined with the rice. Serve when the egg is cooked.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Mountain View, CA: Comparing June 2011 single family home activity to June 2010

In Mountain View, CA there were 31 single family homes sold in June 2011. Homes were listed for 1.085M and sold for 1.11M on average. This represents a selling price of about 2% over asking price.

How does this compare to June 2010 in Mountain View, CA?

In June 2010, 40 single family homes sold with an average list price of 934K and a sale price of 951K. This also represents a sales price of 2% over asking price.

With this data it is so easy to create some crazy headline about how the market is up 17% in June 2011 compared to June 2010 in Mountain View, CA.

Is that really a true statement?

If you look deeper at the average house sold this year vs. last year in June the difference in price is based on the average size of the house sold.

In June 2010 the average house sold was 1585 sq ft with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths on a lot of just under 5500 sq ft.

In June 2011, the average house sold was 1884 sq ft with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths on a lot just under 7100 sq ft.

If you look at cost per sq foot in June 2010 the average was $600 and in June 2011 it is $589. So the average price per square foot has not changed significantly and it does take into account the larger lot size for homes sold in June 2011.

So it would appear that the difference in prices would be based on the type of homes sold this year vs. last, not a spike in home prices.

“Bigger houses sold this June in Mountain View, CA” does not make as interesting a headline as “17% jump in home prices in Mountain View, CA year over year”, so you need to look at the real data not just the potential headline to understand the real trends in the real estate market.

If you want help making sense of the housing market in Mountain View, CA please contact me.