Bay Area Info, Silicon Valley News Alex Wang Bay Area Info, Silicon Valley News Alex Wang

Top Silicon Valley Shopping Malls

Based on the latest information for 2024, there are a few more malls in Silicon Valley but the four that I reviewed in 2006 are still thriving:

Stanford Shopping Center - Palo Alto: Known for its beautiful open-air design, this shopping center offers a unique Northern California shopping experience with around 200 stores featuring top names in fashion, jewelry, and electronics. It also has a remarkable bakery and specialty grocery storesโ€‹โ€‹.

The Great Mall of the Bay Area - Milpitas: This is a large indoor mall offering a mix of outlet stores, mid-range retail, and family entertainment. It's known for its wide variety of shopping options, although not all stores are outletsโ€‹โ€‹.

Westfield Valley Fair - San Jose: An upscale mall with strong anchor stores and brand names, covering about 1.5 million square feet. It features large play areas for children and an enormous food court with outdoor seatingโ€‹โ€‹โ€‹โ€‹.

Santana Row - San Jose: A trendy urban residential neighborhood that blends a downtown shopping experience with city living. It offers fine dining, wine bars, and a lively nightlife scene on weekendsโ€‹โ€‹.

Gilroy Premium Outlets - Gilroy: Located about an hour south of San Jose, this outlet mall features around 150 stores, offering a wide range of major brands and family shopping options. The entire town of Gilroy has grown in popularity, hosting traditional retailers as wellโ€‹โ€‹.

Westfield Oakridge Mall - San Jose: Notable for its bright neon signs and tall architecture, it houses a variety of shops and restaurants, including popular brands like Michael Kors and Nordstrom Rack, as well as Century Theatresโ€‹โ€‹.

Eastridge Center - San Jose: A three-story mall in east San Jose, offering mostly casual-end brands and three department stores: JCPenny, Macyโ€™s, and Sears. It also features AMC Theatresโ€‹โ€‹.

These shopping centers offer a mix of high-end retail, family entertainment, bargain shopping, and trendy urban experiences, catering to a wide range of shopping preferences and needs in Silicon Valley.

My previous 2006 post: There's no shortage of places to shop in Silicon Valley but there are five places that have a distinct flavor all their own.

Image of Stanford Mall Garden

Image of Stanford Mall Garden

Stanford Shopping Center - Palo Alto (Best Experience)

This beautiful open air shopping center has all the staples you'd expect from a high-end mall, presented in a uniquely Northern California way. Actually, "mall" and "shopping center" don't adequately describe the town plaza atmosphere created by the combination of architectural design and greenery. The Stanford Shopping Center boasts about 200 stores with the best names in fashion, jewelry and even electronics represented. Sweet tooths are rewarded by the impressive La Baguette bakery and the adjacent courtyard where you can enjoy your fresh pastries. Plus you'll find specialty grocery stores and a butcher onsite.

The Great Mall of the Bay Area - Milpitas (Largest Shopping Center)

The Great Mall of the Bay Area in Milpitas is the spiritual opposite of the Stanford Shopping Center. Inside this gargantuan building, you'll find a schizophrenic combination of outlet mall, mid-range retail and family entertainment. And while you won't always find the lowest prices here (since many of the stores like Old Navy are not actually outlets) there are an almost infinite number of places to hunt for bargains. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes and bring a stroller for the youngsters because it's actually possible to walk several miles if you explore the whole mall!

Westfield Valley Fair - San Jose (Best Traditional Mall)

Valley Fair is an extremely popular upscale mall, run in the typically efficient Westfield style with strong anchor stores and brand names. The mall is large, with about 1.5 million square feet of stores, and though walking through all of it is real exercise, it isn't daunting because of the layout. Parents often appreciate the large play areas for children and the enormous food court has outdoor seating which makes for a nice break from the bustle inside. There's bustle outside too as parking is tough on the weekends --- though it (seriously) may be easier than the line for the ladies room during peak times.

Santana Row - San Jose (Most Trendy)

Santana Row, located across from Valley Fair, is actually a relatively new urban residential neighborhood that was master planned to blend a downtown shopping experience with city living. Almost self-conscious about its own elegance, Santana Row is trendy without feeling contrived. Fine dining, wine bars, and even a courtyard chess set complete with two-foot tall pieces round out the experience --- until the weekend comes. Seemingly with the flip of a switch, the Santana Row nightlife becomes "the scene" with music, drinking and entertainment. And with the switch, parking becomes a dogfight in the tight garages.

Gilroy Premium Outlets (Best Bargains)

About an hour south of San Jose, the Gilroy Premium Outlets are a collection of about 150 outlet stores with an enormous selection of major brands and stores for everyone in the family. Because of the popularity of the outlets, the entire town of Gilroy is booming with traditional retailers as well like Costco, Home Depot, Best Buy, and others, making it a good one-stop shopping destination. Traffic between Silicon Valley and Gilroy is sometimes limited by a stretch of Highway 101 which narrows down to two lanes in either direction, and often leads to bumper-to-bumper conditions on weekends.

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Introducing Colony Sierra Homes in Mountain View

A New Chapter in Modern Living

Welcome to Colony Sierra Homes, Mountain View's latest residential marvel, brought to you by MBI Groups. Nestled at the prime intersection of Colony Street and Sierra Vista Avenue, this community is a stone's throw away from Google's Headquarters, embodying the perfect blend of luxury and convenience.

Architectural Excellence in Every Corner

Colony Sierra Homes consists of 9 masterful new homes, showcasing a brilliant mix of attached and detached units. Each home is a testament to architectural finesse, featuring open floor plans, community gathering spaces, and a series of modern amenities that cater to the contemporary lifestyle.

Unmatched Location and Connectivity

Location is everything, and Colony Sierra Homes doesn't disappoint. Just a mile away from Google Headquarters, 1.3 miles from the Shoreline Amphitheatre, and within close proximity to the vibrant Downtown Mountain View and Los Altos, these homes are at the heart of Silicon Valley's bustling activity.

Home Features That Speak Volumes

These homes are meticulously designed for comfort and style. The attached units, spanning approx. 1850 SF, feature private front porches, 2-car garages, and 4 bedrooms with 3.5 bathrooms. The detached units, approx. 2110 SF, add the luxury of side porches. Every home ensures an exclusive living experience with top-notch finishes and thoughtful layouts.

Educational Excellence at Your Doorstep

Families at Colony Sierra Homes benefit from the acclaimed Mountain View Whisman School District & Mountain View Los Altos High School District, promising a bright future for your children.

A Community That Cares

Colony Sierra Homes is more than just a housing development; itโ€™s a community designed for interaction and growth. With common areas to meet and mingle, and homes that encourage a neighborly spirit, this is where lifelong friendships are formed.

Experience Colony Sierra Homes

We invite you to discover this rare gem in Mountain View. To learn more and to schedule a private tour, please contact me directly.

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Alex Wang Alex Wang

JULY 2020 SILICON VALLEY REAL ESTATE MARKET UPDATE

July 2020 Silicon Valley Real Estate Market Update

Welcome to our newsletter. This month, we take an initial look at the first half of 2020 in the context of the local, state, and national real estate markets. Since March, the pandemic has brought us largely into our homes. Many of us have learned through the last several months that the quality of our dwellings greatly affects the quality of our lives. Our time in our homes will likely continue as Governor Newsom began scaling back Californiaโ€™s reopening on July 13 without a stated end date. During uncertain times like these, we continue to provide you with the most up-to-date market information, so you, our clients, feel supported and informed. 

In this monthโ€™s newsletter, we cover the following:

  • Key News and Trends this past July: Across the United States, COVID-19 cases continue to rise as the economy struggles. Local rental markets experience rent drops. Meanwhile, pending home sales set records nationwide.

  • July Housing Market Updates: Silicon Valleyโ€™s single-family home prices increase with all three counties reporting higher prices compared to last year. Sales rebound and months supply of inventory heads back down towards familiar lows.


Key News and Trends in July:

Data released on July 8, 2020 by Johns Hopkins University, showed that California was among 12 states with record-high, seven-day averages for daily new coronavirus cases. California also saw a surge in the number of hospitalizations. Gavin Newsom said at a news conference on July 8th that over the previous two weeks, the state has seen a 44% increase in hospitalizations and a 34% increase in intensive care unit (ICU) admissions.

In our May newsletter, we cited the same sources, which predicted that nationwide hospitalizations would be near zero by July. Now, experts predict that hospitalizations will continue to trend upward as we head later into the year. This will prolong some of the negative economic effects that the pandemic has already inducedโ€”nearly one in every six California workers is out of a job, and many others face reduced hours.

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The Silicon Valley rental property market is one sector feeling the effects of the prolonged pandemic. As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, rents for a one-bedroom apartment dropped most in the cities with a high concentration of tech jobs. In Mountain View, home to Google, rents fell 15.9% year over year, while in Appleโ€™s hometown of Cupertino rents dipped 14.3%. In San Bruno, where YouTube has its offices, rents tumbled 14.9%. Compared to homeowners who have access to useful financial support tools, namely refinancing at a lower rate and forbearance, lowering rents is difficult to do because rents can only be renegotiated if the landlord is willing. While local governments can extend the moratorium on rent evictions during the pandemic, the protections do not include rent cancellation; renters will still owe missed rental payments within six months. 

In general, renters are the first to experience housing burdens because they have much smaller savings and are more vulnerable to income shocks. As reported by UC Berkeley in April, roughly 50% of likely-impacted renter households were already struggling with rental cost burdens before the COVID-19 crisis took hold. Although the decline in renters will not necessarily impact single-family homes and condos immediately, a persistent exodus and subsequent rent price declines could slowly make its way to homeownersโ€™ equity. One way to value a home is to calculate the net present value of rental income were the owner to rent the property. 

Meanwhile, both state and local housing markets remain resilient, partly because of healthy home sales in an undersupplied market, which is a phenomenon also seen nationwide. On June 29th, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that pending home sales mounted a record comeback in May, rising 44% and chronicling the highest month-over-month gain since the indexโ€™s inception in 2001.


July Housing Market Updates for Silicon Valley

In the month of June, single-family home prices rose in all three markets. Looking at the last four months, price movements have been relatively stable.

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Looking at median price data compared to the previous year, all three markets finished June with higher prices. This was a big jump from May for San Mateo and Santa Cruz, where prices had been lower by 7% and 9%, respectively. 

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Similar to San Francisco and neighboring counties across the bay to the east, condo prices struggled. June saw condo markets decline nearest the economic centers of San Francisco and Silicon Valley. Those farther away, like Santa Cruz, posted gains in the condo market.

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Silicon Valleyโ€™s single-family home prices were buoyed by lack of supply compared to demand. As we continue to report, the biggest impact has been on sellers who face logistical challenges in selling their homes, such as the safety of inviting prospective buyers into an occupied home. The majority of sellers are simultaneously buyers themselves, which means they are navigating two transactions. For this reason, sellers have taken a tempered approach to entering the market.

Unfortunately, COVID-19โ€™s rise seems to have amplified buyer and seller tendencies. Weekly new listings for single-family homes are having a tough time rising above pre-pandemic levels.  During a typical year, the summer months see many more new listings than winter.

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Meanwhile, buyers have been more aggressive. Matt Levin, head Housing and Data journalist for CalMatters, argues that prolonged record-low inventory coincided with the huge millennial generation reaching home buying age. Much of these hopeful and credit-worthy home buyers built up the savings to meet tight lending standards. These home buyers still want access to homeownership. 

To address Levinโ€™s point, Silicon Valleyโ€™s homes under contract have far surpassed pre-pandemic levels, albeit the rise in homes under contract tapered in June as news of the prolonged pandemic set in.

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We can also take a look at home salesโ€”the result of homes under contract that close within 30 daysโ€”on a monthly basis. Compared to May, home sales in June rebounded in all Silicon Valley markets. Santa Cruz similarly saw a positive trajectory when compared to last year and sales in Santa Clara were only down by 1%.

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Together, fewer listings and higher sales moved inventory levels back down for single-family homes. Measured weekly, we can see the levels for single-family homes trended lower every week in June. Conversely, we also see a steady rise for condos.

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Months of Supply Inventory (MSI), the measure of how many months it would take for all the current homes for sale on the market to sell at the current rate of sales, has an average of three months in California. A number lower than three means that buyers are dominating the market and there are relatively few sellers; a higher number means there are more sellers than buyers. In June, the MSI for single-family homes fell well below the three-month average and continues to favor the sellers across all three markets. For buyers in Silicon Valley, these are familiar lows.

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Higher prices indicate that there are not many bargains on the market. However, Juneโ€™s sale-to-list ratiosโ€”which compare the prices buyers pay to the original list prices of homesโ€”suggests that buyers are also not paying large premiums due to bidding wars. In Silicon Valley, buyers negotiated prices in line with the original list price, or at a slight discount, to put a property under contract.

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In summary, as we discussed in previous newsletters, the fundamentals of the housing market were strong before the global economy stalled, and they have continued to show stability. The prolonged pandemic will continue to cause fluctuations in the market, some of which can be measured weekly. It is now more important than ever to have access to the advice of real estate professionals.

Looking ahead to August, we anticipate the undersupply in housing to continue. The COVID-19 spike in California and across the country has created economic and personal unease. Sellers tend to be more timid during this time while buyers are more aggressive, feeding into the undersupply and lifting home prices. As more supply becomes available, there could be a correction in the market, but we do not believe that is likely through the summer months. 

As always, we remain committed to helping our clients achieve their current and future real estate goals. Our team of experienced professionals are happy to discuss the information we have shared in this newsletter. We welcome you to contact us with any questions about the current market or to request an evaluation of your home or condo.

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June 2020 South Bay / Peninsula Real Estate Market Update

Welcome to our June newsletter. This month, weโ€™ll continue to update you with important information about your local real estate market. First, we will cover new survey data from the California Association of Realtors (CAR) that shows buyers and sellers are operating under differing expectations about the real estate market. Following that, we will review the local market. Although 2020 is proving to be unique, we hope to provide you with an encouraging analysis of Mayโ€™s housing data as well as an overview of our expectations moving forward as we phase out of the strict stay-at-home orders.

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Welcome to our June newsletter. This month, weโ€™ll continue to update you with important information about your local real estate market. First, we will cover new survey data from the California Association of Realtors (CAR) that shows buyers and sellers are operating under differing expectations about the real estate market. Following that, we will review the local market. Although 2020 is proving to be unique, we hope to provide you with an encouraging analysis of Mayโ€™s housing data as well as an overview of our expectations moving forward as we phase out of the strict stay-at-home orders. 

This monthโ€™s topics include:

  • Key News and Trends Impacting Your Local Market: The June CAR survey reveals a rift between buyer and seller expectations. Median home prices remain resilient. Sellers are more hesitant to enter or remain in the market, while buyer demand gets a lift and mortgage applications rise.

  • May Housing Market Update: Housing inventory plateaus, single-family homes and condos continue to sell close to list price, and homes under contract climb.


Key News and Trends Impacting Your Local Market

Since most California counties are beginning to lift restrictions, we will start to see the housing market steadily recover. Although an exact end date to quarantine does not exist, on May 20th, Governor Newsom confirmed that more than half of the stateโ€™s 58 counties were moving into phase two of the widely adopted โ€œfour-pronged approach.โ€

On June 3rd, the California Association of Realtors (CAR) released survey data sampling California agents and their clients over the last week of May. The results revealed that buyers and sellers are now operating under very different expectations about the real estate market: the majority of buyers expect home prices to be lower while only a small number of sellers are reducing their listing prices.

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In the long run, who is right will depend on how long the economic recovery takes. In the short term, however, the data tells us that single-family home buyers, at least, appear to have wishful thinking.

Silicon Valley median home prices did not decline enough for sellers to cut the listing price. In May, single-family home prices in San Mateo and Santa Cruz were only down slightly compared to the previous year while prices were higher in Santa Clara.

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Compared monthly, prices did decline, most notably for Santa Cruz homes and San Mateo condos. However, monthly price movements, which are more volatile and often donโ€™t capture as accurate a picture as year-over-year comparisons, will require sustained declines before homeowners should start pricing their homes materially below comparables.

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Weighing in on the subject in his June 3rd market update, Jordan Levine, Deputy Chief Economist at CAR, said:

โ€œWe [now] expect some price impacts eventually as a result of some of the negative economic impact. . . . The price impacts will be in the modest category of the low single digits for 2020.โ€

Evidence supports the idea that price declines will only be in the low single digits for the 2020 calendar year. The market continues to see a larger sell-side impact, meaning that housing supply has declined more than buyer demand. The survey data below shows that far more sellers withdrew listings than buyers withdrew offers.

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While sellers continue to grapple with the state of the market, California is again facing a major housing shortage, which prevents prices from dropping. The CAR survey also provided the most recent mortgage application data for both California and the United States. In May, California mortgage applications for home purchases (as opposed to refinances) rose significantly from April and are only down 1.7% from this time last year. Mortgage applications correlate with buyer intent to purchase a property and indicate the number of homes under contract and home sold.

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All of this is welcome news. The May data assures homeowners that their home equity is still intact as restrictions begin to lift. It should also encourage buyers who may have been delaying a home purchase to enter the market.

A fourth CAR survey result illustrates the degree to which both supply and demand is currently stagnating. Over half of the California realtors surveyed indicated that they had at least one client that was delaying buying or selling until conditions changed. We assume that this pent-up demand will give way in the coming months to more participation and market activity from both sides.

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Alongside pent-up demand, there are the changes to daily living which may impact home purchasing decisions in the future. In order to ensure employee safety, companies have massively shifted toward a remote workforce, which creates new space requirements for potentially millions of Americans. As a result, millions of Americans may need to consider purchasing a new home that better accommodates work from home. Remote work also means employees can live almost anywhere. Without physical restrictions, employees may look elsewhere for places to live such as locations with lower costs of living. Between new housing requirements, low rates, and pent-up activity, there is potential for a busy summer buying season that is similar to what we usually see in the spring.


May Housing Market Update for Silicon Valley

Over the last three months, the housing market has changed so rapidly that we began to look at the data on a weekly basis rather than a month monthly basis (as is typical) to illustrate how significantly the market has changed over a shorter timeline. 

In the month of May, the weekly Silicon Valley housing data for single-family homes supported the survey data from CAR. First, housing inventory has hit a plateau after a steady climb from the March trough as sellers continue to hesitate entering the market.

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The plateau in inventory is also due to an increase in buyer demand; homes under contract have increased steadily since the phased reopening of the economy began. They have risen well past pre-pandemic levels in early March. 

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The sale-to-list ratio reflects the change in the original list price and the final sale price of a home. For example, a ratio of 100% means that a home sold for the price at which it was most recently listed. In the Silicon Valley, sale-to-list prices have been consistent; buyers and sellers are negotiating the final sale price in line with the list price.

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We also look at months supply of inventory, which measures how many months it would take for all current listings on the market (including listings under contract) to sell at the current rate of sales. In May, the months supply for single-family homes rose. This may seem counterintuitive to the weekly data above (which shows less inventory and more homes under contract), but remember that months supply compares inventory to sales. Low sales volumes recorded in May are the result of the low volume of homes under contract in late March and early April; said another way, homes under contract turn into sales around 30 days later. Expect recorded sales volume to increase in June and months supply to decrease. San Mateo stayed relatively flat from April to May because sales and inventory increased at a similar rate.

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In May, sales volumes were only slightly down from the previous year in Santa Clara and Santa Cruz, rebounding from April lows. In San Mateo, sales were up by 20%. This shows how rapidly the housing market is recovering.

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As we discussed in previous newsletters, the fundamentals of the housing market were strong before the global economy stalled, and they have continued to show stability during the months of quarantine.

Looking ahead to July, we anticipate housing market activity to increase as pent-up demand turns into participation from both sides. We will closely monitor the evolving state of the market to make sure that our clients are pricing and negotiating to get the most value out of their transactions.

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Partnering with Peninsula Open Space Trust in Pacifica || MRE

One can not do it alone. In this episode of Moving Real Estate, I head to beach town of Pacifica to help sell a house that was donated to Peninsula Open Space Trust. Partnering with a local Realtor, we navigate multiple offer negotiations, sewer lateral work, and all within 2 weeks to get my non-profit client the highest possible price.

Special thanks Heather Kantor & Jeanine Crider at the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST). POST is one of my favorite non-profits, committed to protecting and caring for open space, farms and parkland in and around Silicon Valley.

Check out their website:
https://openspacetrust.org/

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Alex Wang Alex Wang

Sharing Social Proof at Women's Council of Realtors | AWV 021

๐Ÿ“น ๐Ÿ“บ AWV Episode 021: This week I was invited to speak ๐ŸŽค๐ŸŽค at the Womenโ€™s Council of Realtors, where I had the opportunity to talk about Social Proof ๐Ÿ‘ ๐Ÿ’ฏ and its place in modern real estate ๐Ÿ˜๏ธ marketing. Social Proof is the positive reinforcement of approval by the community, like how Yelp and Facebook have changed how people find a business to work with. Watch to see how Social Proof will have an impact on your business ๐Ÿ“ˆ๐Ÿ“ˆ.

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Alex Wang Alex Wang

Being Digital Mayor | AWV 020

AWV Episode 020: This week we visit one of my favorite local coffee shops, Red Berry Coffee Bar in Los Altos, where I get the opportunity for a quick sit down with the owners. On the real estate side, we return to Stowell one last time, recap on the Casanova sale, and discuss how to handle a potential client who already has an agent.

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Alex Wang Alex Wang

When to Step Away | AWV 019

๐Ÿ“บ๐Ÿ“น AWV Episode 019: ๐Ÿ’ญ Knowing when you push harder is a great skill. Knowing when to take a break or step away is an even better one. Sometimes you need to reflect and notice when your ๐Ÿ”‹ batteries ๐Ÿ”‹ need a rechargeโšกโšก. After all the sales, listings, and negotiation, what is the answer to being overworked?

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Real Estate Quarterback | AWV 018

๐Ÿ“บ๐Ÿ“นAWV Episode 020: This week we check back in on the progress for our College ๐Ÿกand Stowell ๐Ÿ listings. With Trung back from his trip ๐Ÿ›ฌwe'll get to see what loose ends need to be tied up before open house this weekend.

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Alex Wang Alex Wang

4 Properties in 1 Day

AWV Episode 017: In this vlog we take a deep dive into the ins and outs of my week in Silicon Valley real estate. We life-hack my phone, conduct weekly agent meetings, and visit four properties across the peninsula that need my attention. Seems simple, but simple does not mean easy.

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