MV is over crowded and over priced.
Please see the charts below sent by a
real estate agent from Alain Pinel.

There are plenty of other neighboring towns
that the renters could move to. The rents
should be much cheaper there, given the home
prices there.

MV can't keep developing office buildings and adding
more demand for rental units. Does anyone think
logically anymore? Just stop adding offices and
adding apartments. Let people rent from neighboring
towns where the rents are reasonable.
________________________________________
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Dottie Monroe <no-reply@reachcommunications.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 29, 2015 at 10:10 AM
Subject: Interactive Santa Clara County Q2 Reports

Interactive Santa Clara County Q2 Reports Alain Pinel

Real estate in Santa Clara County remained a very hot commodity through the second quarter of 2015, with the multiple offer market continuing unabated into the balance of the spring and early summer. Sellers responded to the continued high demand by increasing prices; the single family median sales price for Santa Clara County now stands at $998,000 and the average sales price is 107% above the asking price. As inventory has continued to be added to the market, the available-to-purchase level has improved slightly too, only 17% below this same point last year. Buyers may have a reason to be optimistic as well; there is a general historical trend of increased overall inventory moving into the summer and fall. This probably won’t translate into a softening of prices, but it will offer buyers more options in their home searches.

Below is an interactive chart - do click on the Q2 tab for 2014 and then the % to see the numbers for different cities. Call me with your questions or comments any time.

Santa Clara (Median Price)
Second Quarter 2015 Market Statistics

MP Q2 2015
Web Link

MP Q2 2014
Web Link

MP % Change
Web Link

Dottie Monroe
Real Estate Broker
Alain Pinel Realtors
167 S. San Antonio Road
Los Altos, CA 94022
650-208-2500
http://www.DottieMonroeHomes.com
© Alain Pinel Corporate, 12772 Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road, Saratoga, CA 95070
This is intended for general information only and is not legal or accounting advice. For your specific situation, you must consult your legal and tax advisors.
________________________________________

Sorry folks, I made a typo on the date for the Civility Roundtable at the end of October. It should be on Oct. 29, not Oct. 28.

The problem is that rents are not reasonable in Silicon Valley or in the Bay Area, period. If you want to move somewhere with reasonable rents, you have to move 1+ hour away from your job.

Cities that add commercial space should be responsible for building more housing as well. The imbalance of commercial to residential housing is what is causing the housing crisis in the Bay Area. Pushing the residential housing burden to other cities is not the answer. If every city had that same attitude, no housing would be built and the crisis becomes exacerbated.

Mountain View is finally taking the steps to address this issue and rightfully so.

MV needs to first stop adding any more office spaces.
MV is a small town with not much space left for widening roads, etc.

It is a fallacy to keep adding office spaces and then look helpless about
the office-housing imbalance. Logical thinking is required to see
this no-win situation. The residents of MV need to wake up.

Cities such as San Jose have plenty of room to add offices *AND*
rental units.

There is no reason to make MV into an unlivably congested town.
Enough damage has been done already.

Two common arguments that have yet to be proven true:

1. Claim: If commercial rents are too high (and there's no housing), companies will leave the Bay Area. Truth: Silicon Valley is flourishing. If a company leaves, many are lined up to take its place.

2. Claim: If housing prices are too high, we will have no service workers, public safety employees, etc. Truth: Not happening. (the MVWSD teacher shortage is a State-wide issue based on a lack of people pursuing teaching degrees)


The market should continue to drive costs and pricing.

And, if Mountain View slowed things down a bit on both sides (commercial + apartments), we'd be just fine. Soon there will be another recession cycle. We may ultimately rest on a new and higher plateau, but prices will drop, vacancies will appear.

I'm assuming those same workshops are being held (or have been held) in English as well. Is that not correct? Of course they should have an English one as well.

NHN is a local non profit service provider for basic need and housing. We can help with life's challenges from food, housing, landlord-tenant issues to connecting you with the right programs & services that fit your needs.

NHN primarily serve middle income households who too often do not qualify for 'safety net' programs because of their income. NHN has no income requirement. All programs and services are free.
If you know of anyone who needs extra support Basic Needs-Jobs-Housing, NHN is happy to help. Contact Us:

For general info.
NeighborsHelpingNeighbors2013@gmail.com
650-283-0270 (No Texting, please)
P.O. BOX 113
Palo Alto, CA 94302
FACEBOOK: Web Link
NHN Events Calendar: Web Link
​We may not have all the solutions. NHN will do our best to fill the gaps.


Peer Counseling Team
​Phone: 650-283-0270 (No Texting, please)
NHN.FamilyAmbassador@gmailcom
Striving to keep our middle to low income neighbors stable & thriving.

HOUSING COORDINATOR
NHN.HousingProgram@gmail.com ​
Phone: 650-283-0270
Ask for "Relocation Packet". Best possible outcomes happen when you go prepared. Complete 'NHN Relocation Package'
include ​rental application, credit bureau, proof of income and make copies. When in doubt, or presented w/a barrier, ASK. We are here to help...

Home Sharing Program -
Housing Coordinator
Landlord Inquires – Room Rentals/other rentals.
NHN.HomeSharing2015@ gmail.com

@Posted by Solving MV's Rent Problem
a resident of another community on Sep 29, 2015 at 10:37 am

Dear 'Solving MV's Rent Problem' and others,

This statement by this poster is not correct. While rents may vary a little from city to city, it is not enough for even our upper middle or lower upper income households to afford.

"There are plenty of other neighboring towns that the renters could move to. The rents should be much cheaper there, given the home
prices there."
Neighbors Helping Neighbors has a very large Housing Network and Home Sharing Programs. Our data does not reflect that rents are being reduced or vary by more than $50 to $100 within a 100 mile radius. Yes, there are some 'rare finds' and NHN has been successful at negotiating with our participating landlords to reduce their rents enough for some of our middle income households.

Our renters do not have to tough it out on their own. Please contact our Housing Coordinator for help. We want to see that both renters and landlords have a good outcome.

Just to let everyone know, I just tweaked the story above with new info.

City staff have scheduled a time and place for the Oct. 19 study session on rent control. It's going to be held at 6 p.m. at the Senior Center.

I think it goes without saying this will be one well attended meeting. Might as well get in line now if you want to speak.

To "Neighbors Helping Neighbors":
With all due respect...

You mean to say for example rent in Palo Alto is the same
as in Campbell. It is not true.

Your response to above is not supported by any hard data.
Please publish all the rents in 100 mile radius, since you
seem to have that data.


(1)
Rents in general are proportional to housing prices.
This is logical.

Santa Clara (Median Price) data provided by Alain Pinel Realtors
Second Quarter 2015 Market Statistics
MP Q2 2015
Web Link

(2)
MV's rents are notoriously higher than Sunnyvale, Campbell, Cupertino, etc.
because some of the companies in MV are subsidizing rents for their employees.
Also because MV has super successful companies paying high salaries,
the employees are willing to pay $4000 for 1 bedroom, etc.
Also, employees love to live near their work and are willing to pay the
high rents. So it is just a supply /demand issue for MV.

(3)
There is one common sense solution to rental demand in MV ---
MV needs to stop adding offices.
This is the way to solve office-housing balance.
MV is a small town. Roads cannot be expanded, etc.
San Jose and other towns can add all the offices AND build
rental units there.

(4)
Looks like MV needs a lot of will power and common sense to
save itself from out-of-control growth that will never be
supported by its limited / unexpandable infrastructure.
Hopefully the citizens will wake up before it is TOO late.
It already is TOO late --- perhaps further erosion of
quality of life in MV can be prevented.

---------------------

Density does not necessarily beget unlivable congestion, that happens when cities neglect infrastructure in favor of residential or commercial density, which does seem to be the case with Mountain View.

We need more housing above all, and more intelligent public transit, to connect where people live to where they work. Forget the VTA and their silly BRT plans or bus lines - we need to encourage something more flexible which responds to peak demand, which isn't necessarily always along the same routes.

Berkeley is a lot denser than Mountain View, and it's a nice place to live, so is the Alameda for another local reference point. Density doesn't have to hurt quality of life.

Why is it that people feel entitled to live wherever they wish, without regard to their individual circumstances? I'd love to have a house in Atherton or on Park Ave in Manhattan, yet the reality is that I simply can't afford it.

The increase in housing prices reflects basic economic reality - supply and demand. As individuals, we can take steps to help others that we care out out - feel free to give someone a room in your house (or let them have your house) for little or no cost. This is not an issue that policy makers should be spending our tax dollars to "fix." While it may make them feel good about themselves, nothing they do will have any meaningful impact, unless the changes have massive negative implications on the community's quality of life (such as allowing unfettered high-density housing).

For all of those clamoring for landlords to reduce rents, are you willing to pay above market rents to sustain your landlord if the market turns?

"Density does not necessarily beget unlivable congestion"

Really, have you been to New City, that place is a sess pool. Last thing we want is our beautiful city to look like NYC. A sardine factory, with roaches and bed bug all over. And they have the transit system you are referring and it doesn't help one bit.

@this is ridiculous

Agreed

@Solving MV's Rent Problem:
Sure, there is cheap housing within a 100-mile radius. But that's a two-hour-plus commute. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. It'll give you gray hair in a hurry, plus traffic congestion, air pollution, etc. Is it really so hard to make it possible for people to live near where they work?

@Resident:
I completely agree. Why do people keep citing New York City as an example of something they don't want? Of course nobody wants MV to look like NYC. Berkeley has twice the population density of Mountain View, and it is indeed a nice place to live. Lots of small apartment buildings, and multiple bus lines that run every 15--30 minutes.

We should stop all office construction outside of a few designated areas, and reserve the rest of the city for housing. El Camino should be a corridor of mixed-use mid-rises, as described in the Precise Plan. I feel good about my city every time I pass a construction site on El Camino. Then we can do the same thing along Old Middlefield. Even Rengstorff and parts of Shoreline might work.

Last month, The Economist had an article about the cost of low density. The Economist is read by executives, heads of state, and policy makers around the world, so imagine my surprise when the article mentioned Mountain View as an example of incongruously low density housing. However, I shouldn't have been surprised. We are home to the heart of Silicon Valley, we aren't a small town. Silicon Valley isn't going anywhere, so we should increase density to meet the world's demand. There are a lot of retirees in our town who don't see yet that they are the vocal minority. The entire world has their eyes on Mountain View's growth. Those who want a quiet retirement with easy parking should move to a town that the Economist doesn't report on a weekly basis.

@Hmm:

I've lived in and around NYC. It's not a cesspool. It has dirty dilapidated buildings (like the seedy motels in the tenderloin in SF), and also very nice areas. NYC is huge, so your statement is like - "Really, have you been to California, that place is a sess pool (sic)".

On the downsides, it's extremely crowded at times. On the upside, you can find housing in many price points, the density allows esoteric businesses that can't survive without it, and the city is alive 24/7. Want some greek food at 3am on a tuesday? Pick one of 10 places.

Anyhow, wasn't advocating transplanting the Bronx into Mountain View. If we double density and become Berkeley Jr, I'd be very happy, even if it means an apartment complex rises up next to my house.

If you like NYC so much, why not move back there and you can free up some space here. Yes, i have lived in NYC and you can't see the sun until noon when it's right over you, thanks to the hugh high rises. Be glad you still can see the sun here. The sidewalks are filled with people. Only nice place there is Central Park.

Or if you want that type of environment, move to SF.

Make housing not affordable to low income families to make Mountain View poverty free!

My husband and I own a condo at Latham and Ortega. We were hoping to age in place here. Within the last year, the last half block of Latham - near Showers - has become Mountain View's Skid Row. Drunks sleeping on the ground. Trash. Smells like a dirty toilet. At least 10 RV's there at any given time. I'm afraid to walk to the grocery. I'm afraid to walk around the block for my daily exercise. Seldom do I see a police patrol. Let's take care of people who pay property taxes, too. These RV's need to park in an industrial area. I'm told that it's not against the law for people to sleep in their vehicles. Does this mean that our residential streets can be used as trailer parks?

Hi Liz,

You bring up a really good point. I suspect, though I have not done a study, that most of these people were camping in their cars in Palo Alto until about 1 year ago when the residents in Palo Alto understandably got upset and tried to pass a law banning car camping in that city. I think, unfortunately, the law has recently been put on hold pending further study or something like that, but enough of the people camping in PA moved one town south to Mountain View as a result of that law.

I do not understand why the residents put up with it. It was hotly debated in Palo Alto, even though a slight majority did finally vote in favor of banning car camping. The argument is often made that they have no where else to go and we should be compassionate and try to help, however I personally fail to see how it is compassionate to let some sleep in a freezing cold car or pee in the street.

I would move out of state before I let my family live like that, so we should encourage them to move where they can afford proper housing.

The Voice likes to say the homeless population in Mountain View has doubled over the last year, and while I'm sure some of that comes from people being kicked out of rentals due to rent increases, quite frankly I think the majority comes from simply driving their mobile home from Palo Alto to Mountain View over the last year.

Maybe Mountain View needs to start discussion on a similar ban. I'm sorry for your frustration. I would also be incredibly frustrated if people were camping in their cars near my house as well.

@Unproven Fears...I think you may need a reality check. Several members of my team at a local large software company have had to move far out of the area after several 100% to 150% rent increases in Mountain View and that community you seem to feel is so much less expensive, Sunnyvale. Now they are commuting over 2 hours to work, one way. This doesn't even begin to speak to service workers, and food service workers, and landscapers...all the people who make your life livable...who are sleeping sometimes 15 people to a one bedroom apartment for 1800 a month per person. Nor the toll it takes on the environment with so many more people traveling long distances to get to where they make their living. It's definitely happening. We have a crisis much like the one during the dot.com boom and we need to be smarter about how we manage commercial and living space this time around.

@courtney? 15 people at $1800/person/month = $27,000 I certainly hope their 1 bedroom is a villa in Los Altos Hills.

Or did you mean 15 people at $1800/month in which case they have a very good deal.

What is it?

I remember the "dot.com" days. Our lease wasn't renewed, our landlord gave us just 30 days notice and we had to find a new place with only .5% availability in rental units....we ended up tripling our rent so we could stay in the area.

Was it stressful? Yes, hugely so (we had a dog too so that complicated it even more, NO ONE was taking dogs then, they didn't have to)

Did we expect the landlords to lower their rates? No. We just knew if we wanted to stay in this area we had to 'belly-up'. That or move to the East Bay for something less expensive.

Such is life

@Cordelia: you wrote:

"There are a lot of retirees in our town who don't see yet that they are the vocal minority. The entire world has their eyes on Mountain View's growth. Those who want a quiet retirement with easy parking should move to a town that the Economist doesn't report on a weekly basis."

This isn't a minority/majority issue, Trying to make it one - pitting retirees against younger adults - won't solve the housing issue, the homelessness issue, or any other issue facing our community. All those sorts of generalized statements do is polarize communities.

Are you saying that retired people should be put out to pasture? That our voices mean nothing? That our wisdom means nothing? Are you trying to silence the elder voices?

I'm unable to understand your comment - as it applies to me, a retired person. I don't need the Economist advise me on where to live or vote or pay taxes.

@resident:
Yes, I'm frustrated. Walking to the grocery today, there was dried puke on the sidewalk. If I had young children, I'd be afraid to let them walk anywhere on our block. But I do see youngsters walking on the sidewalk. Guess what? Because of the height of the RV's, they're not visible from the street - no one can see what's going on behind that wall of RV's. What is the city waiting for? A tragedy.

I don't want to get started on all of this...I appreciate your response.

Here is an update. After midnight (last night) the City Council voted to include Councilmember Kasperzak's voluntary "good landlord" proposal in its October 19 study session. Some folks stayed until midnight to speak but most people had spoken earlier about rents under "oral communications" on non-agenda items. This year's Mayor announced that comments under oral communications would be limited to 90 seconds per speaker. Expect 60 seconds next time.