Not too shabby.....

I was doing my Open House Sunday, when an elderly gentleman walked in saying he wanted to check out how the prices of homes were doing in the neighborhood. He was an original owner in the tract. He paid $17,500 for his 3 bed 2 bath unit 52 years ago. He is a very nice grandfatherly gentleman who apparently enjoyed watching the gasps and jaw dropping responses emanating from me (hopefully I wasn't drooling too). He said he could not afford the $17,500, on his Veteran's loan so he had to borrow more to make the purchase. He said he and his wife though they was getting in way over their heads. Sound familiar? It seems like every single first time buyer of mine repeats this sentiment.

He told me that there were possibly 3 original owners left in the tract. He just got through paying the second installment of his property tax and he paid a little over $700. Less than $1,400 a year in property taxes! This was all very interesting to me because you don't get to meet original owners very often in 50 year old neighborhoos.

His house is off Quito near Clemson in Saratoga. The same unit that he owns is now on the market for $1,179,000! By my calculation, his house is now worth approximately 68 times what he paid 52 years ago! Not too shabby.....

Steve Mun, Silicon Valley Realtor
http://www.stevemun.com/