McKae Properties Real Estate Market Commentary

 Bay area housing, the job market, and transportation could radically change in 2021.  Employers and white-collar workers have discovered the potential and savings from working remotely. Early in the pandemic, I wrote of my observations of the change in the work status that was affecting the rental market.  Google, Twitter and Facebook decided upon some form of mobile working.  What the pandemic has provided is new efficiencies. We all know about the corporations and the owner billionaires that have moved out of the State of California.  But, did you know that it has gone beyond technology?  Lawyers, accountants, and journalists and other professionals have discovered that working from home has rewards. The shift is already putting stress on the finances of State and Local Governments.  Builders and investors in residential and office construction have joined the shift.  Office vacancy rates are expanding in the Peninsula.  Commercial properties, like residential, are moving east of th

"Welcome to the Hotel California, you can check out any time you like; but you cannot leave."  Remember that famous melody from The Eagles? The California Assembly has put that into legislation. AB 2088 will create a "Wealth Tax" on residents and any person who stays in California longer than 60 days.  Then extends the tax for 10 years!   This is certainly an answer to why Ellison and Musk moved to Hawaii and Texas.  In addition to these well known residents David Blumberg and Keith Rabois have left The Hotel California too!  DropBox and Splunk are on their way out the door.  The list most likely will go on, but a "wealth tax"?   Of course, how else is California going to pay off their massive deficit and liabilities?   But a Wealth Tax?  The California Constitution can most likely cover that on State Residents, but going across state border to attach to the wealth of citizen of other states and countries is likely to run afoul of the U.S. Constitution for

Did you ever think you would find yourself reading an article on "Pandemic Real Estate Trends"? This year has been full of surprises.  The Luxury Real Estate market is fortunate to have seen steady growth for 2020. Rather than fall apart, the luxury real estate market quickly adapted to the situation.  There is now a clear pandemic real estate trend emerging.  The real estate pandemic market is evolving as it begins to reach a state of more certainty. There is a new demographic group forming, "Trail Blazers".  Trail blazers, like our forefathers are choosing housing locations based upon family, health, lifestyle.  They adjust that to their business or work proximity.  These "trail blazers" are one of a group composed of: Explorers, New suburbanites and Resort buyers. EXPLORERS: (Trail Blazers) they tend to be younger than 39.  They are ready to seek adventure outside the big cities and suburbs.  They want to stretch their dollar and they value life experie

The Twilight Zone  (marketed as  Twilight Zone  for its final two seasons) is an American  anthology television series  created and presented by  Rod Serling , which ran for five seasons on  CBS  from 1959 to 1964. [1]  Each episode presents a stand-alone story in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described as entering "the Twilight Zone," often with a  surprise ending  and a  moral . Although predominantly  science-fiction , the show's  paranormal  and  Kafkaesque  events leaned the show towards  fantasy  and  horror . The phrase “twilight zone,” inspired by the series, is used to describe surreal experiences. (Wikipedia)" That, I think, aptly describes our situation regarding the current pandemic.  We have experienced disturbing and unusual events that have put us in a surreal state-of-mind. Let us review these issues to date: "California Love it and Leave it!" This was from an Opinion section

 Depending on the party affiliation the reader may have, they can assign the good and the bad.  The Ugly has three points to it. The first part of Prop 19 is to allow tax transfer of 55 and older when buying a new home.  To offset the property tax loss is the curailing of separate tax breaks to inherited property in which the heir would obtain a pass through the property tax basis of the deceased parent.  This loss is estimated to bring in another $11 billion to the coffers to schools, local governments and state with a big portion of the funds going to firefighters.  The transfer part is a benefit most +55 would use.  Sell your Silicon Valley home to move into a planned community with Golf and senior enjoyments on average will cost less than the tax transfer benefit.  So the real ploy was to get the first part of Proposition 13 cancelled out, inherited values.  Next to fall is the rest of Proposition 13 on residential homes. As to the heir's loss the consequences are yet to be see