Belmont Home Sales Drop, But Values Rise

Any way you slice this month’s statistics for Belmont home sales, seller’s really made out this October.

October is historically not a great month for home sales, but in recent years with warmer fall weather, it’s been possible to market homes well into the winter months.

Let’s look at the numbers for October 2015…

Belmont Home Sales October 2015
Belmont Home Sales October 2015-Click on the image to enlarge.

 

SALES

Belmont home sales (the number of homes sold), was down 24% year-over-year; down from 21 in 2014, to 16 in 2015. A 24% drop seems like a lot, until you realize only five less homes sold.

MEDIAN HOME PRICE

Belmont’s median home price rose 19% over last October, and was up considerably from the prior month of September.

The median home price in Belmont now stands at $1,546,500. To put that large number into perspective, it has only been surpassed twice before—both times earlier in this year—in May, and again last June. The all-time peak for Belmont’s home values occurred in June of 2015 when we reached a median home price of $1,629,000. Does this mean Belmont home values have peaked? Perhaps. The homes that closed escrow back in June sold for 5.3% more than now, and yet were 6.7% smaller. We’re going to temper that statement with the statistic that the summer price peak to October fall-off has occurred in six of the last eight years.

PRICE PER SQUARE FOOT

This is a check and balance against the median home price. If much larger homes sell during a given period, the median home price will typically yield a larger number as well, while the price per square feet which homes sell for will drop. It’s a quirky inverse relationship that manifests itself since larger homes tend to sell for less per square foot. This happens because land is not involved in the square foot equation,  and can frequently account for up to 50% of a home’s value.

For example, homes which sold in October of last year, were 2,000 sqft in size, compare to 1,905 sqft this year. They sold for $707 per sqft as compared to $877 this October, while the lot sizes remained fairly constant. This means that the median price for homes went up in real dollars—not just that larger homes sold this October.

DAYS ON THE MARKET (DOM)

In both years, it took on average only 18 days to sell a home.

PRICE REDUCTIONS

In 2014, 14% of Belmont home sellers had to lower their asking price. In 2015 that number dropped to .6%–just over one-half of one percent.

OVER-ASKING OFFERS

In 2014 66% of Belmont homes sold for more than the seller’s asking price—this October that number went up to 87%.

The number of homes which sold at the seller’s asking price represented 14% of all sales in 2014 and none in 2015, while the homes which sold under the asking price dropped from 20% in 2014, to only 13% in 2015.

PERCENT RECEIVED

Of the homes which sold in Belmont this October, the seller’s received 109.5% of their asking price, contrasted to last October when they received 107.5.

As you can see Belmont housing market fared extremely well this October.

We are now into the ninth year of economic recovery, and the fourth year of the median home price increasing steadily in Belmont. The question we are being asked by many buyers is “are we at the peak”? This uncertainty in the market can cause buyers to hesitate and sit on the sidelines to wait for the next downturn. If that happens it could be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

We’re not saying that we believe we’re there yet, but one thing is certain, home values are at an all-time high and we won’t stay there forever.

Disclaimer:

Drew & Christine Morgan are REALTORS/NOTARY PUBLIC in Belmont, CA. with more than 20 years’ experience in helping sellers and buyers in their community. They may be reached at (650) 508.1441 or emailed at info@morganhomes.com.

You can find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Morganhomes and also find them on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/morganhomes

The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.

 

Save the Daylight- When Did Daylight Saving Time Start

How and When Did Daylight Saving Time Start?

It’s that time of the year to turn the clocks back to end Daylight Saving Time.

Of course you’ll remember to turn your clocks back when you go to bed Saturday night, but do you know why–beside for the obvious reasons that you want to be in sync with the rest of the country?

My brother sent me a great book a few years ago titled “Seieze The Daylight” by David Prerau that explained the whole reason we have a Daylight Saving period and how it originated. Below, you’ll find a brief synopsis of his book.

For example, did you know that one of the more staunch advocates for when to end Daylight Saving Time is the candy industry? They rely heavily on the sale of candy near Halloween. Over the years they have lobbied heavily to end Daylight Saving Time after Halloween so that their customers would enjoy an additional hour of trick-or-treating. Looks like they finally won.

Ben Franklin-of “early to bed and early to rise” fame-was apparently the first person to suggest the concept of daylight savings, according to computer scientist David Prerau, author of the book Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time. Benjamin Franklin

While serving as U.S. ambassador to France in Paris, Franklin wrote of being awakened at 6 a.m. and realizing, to his surprise, that the sun would rise far earlier than he usually did. Imagine the resources that might be saved if he and others rose before noon and burned less midnight oil, Franklin, tongue half in cheek, wrote to a newspaper.

“Franklin seriously realized it would be beneficial to make better use of daylight but he didn’t really know how to implement it,” Prerau said.

It wasn’t until World War I that daylight savings were realized on a grand scale. Germany was the first state to adopt the time changes, to reduce artificial lighting and thereby save coal for the war effort. Friends and foes soon followed suit.

In the U.S. a federal law standardized the yearly start and end of daylight saving time in 1918-for the states that chose to observe it.

But there was also a real need for standardized time too. Prior to public train transportation, people traveled very slowly from point to point. Once they arrived in a town they would reset their watch to whatever time the local town square clock tower read. Once transportation by train became prevalent, people would find themselves in perhaps more than one time zone in a day and people waiting for a train needed to know that everyone was on the same relative time.

During World War II the U.S. made daylight saving time mandatory for the whole country, as a way to save wartime resources. Between February 9, 1942, and September 30, 1945, the government took it a step further. During this period daylight saving time was observed year-round, essentially making it the new standard time, if only for a few years.

Since the end of World War II, though, daylight saving time has always been optional for U.S. states. But its beginning and end have shifted-and occasionally disappeared.

During the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo, the U.S. once again extended daylight saving time through the winter, resulting in a one percent decrease in the country’s electrical load, according to federal studies cited by Prerau.

Thirty years later the Energy Policy Act of 2005 was enacted, mandating a controversial month long extension of daylight saving time, starting in 2007.

But does daylight saving time really save any energy?

Want more? Click here…

 

Disclaimer:

Drew & Christine Morgan are REALTORS/NOTARY PUBLIC in Belmont, CA. with more than 20 years experience in helping sellers and buyers in their community. They may be reached at (650) 508.1441 or emailed at info@morganhomes.com.

You can find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Morganhomes and also find them on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/morganhomes

The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.

Uncertainty in the Housing Market

October brings to mind images of Jack-O’-Lanterns, will-o’-the-wisps, spider webs, creative costume expressions on All Hallows Eve, and the gentle stir of leaves falling from the trees. But there’s more rustling around in the wind than dry leaves right now—it’s the sound of uncertainty in the housing market. Are we headed for a crash? Or is the market still in a Bull Run phase?

We’re getting asked a lot about what we think is going on, as there’s a lot of uncertainty in the housing market. Whenever there’s a perceived slow down, it gives cause for questioning the market conditions. We think those concerns might be a little premature.

But people should be skeptical. The housing market did-in a lot of people during the great Recession and they’d be foolish not to be concerned about being in a better position for the next downturn.

So we hope that our small window of analysis will help you sleep better, at least if you live on the mid-Peninsula—the sweet spot of our market and where we focus our energy.

Belmont September 2015

Belmont–September 2015. Data from the MLS of SMC. Click on the picture for a larger image.

These are the statistics for several of the cities we watch carefully.

San Carlos—Median Price was up 11.6% year-over-year this September. Down from 14% YOY (Year-Over-Year) from 2013-2014 so a bit of a slow down there. Seller’s received 5% more over asking though.

Belmont—Median price rose 12.5 % since last September, up from just 2% YOY (a year earlier) (we discount this as an anomaly of small numbers). Sellers are still getting 107% of asking price—same as last September.

San Mateo—Median Price went up 12.8% YOY, down from a 27% increase in 2013-2014. Sellers are getting 1% more over asking this year than last.

Hillsborough—Median price fell 6% YOY in 2015, down from a 26% increase in 2013-2014. Sellers got slightly more over asking—97% last year as compared to 101% this year.

San Mateo County-This is a good indicator of the overall market conditions since it includes so many cities and a lot of data points. But it can also be somewhat misleading. For example, when prices are skyrocketing in Menlo Park, San Carlos and Belmont early in a recovery phase, Daly City, San Bruno and South San Francisco are typically still foundering. Yet when the top three start to peak in terms of price, buyers flood these less expensive areas and cause the overall increase in the median home price to appear to be climbing, when in your city it may be stalling.

Think of the San Mateo Median home price like a “composite index” if you will. It rose 12.1% YOY since last September, and seller’s received 3% more of their asking price. Last year it gained 18% and in 2012-2103 it rose 16.3%–that’s coming off a 21% increase from 2011-2102.

Let’s hope it calms down even more in 2016. A more sustainable recovery always lasts longer.

NOTE:–As always you can view these graphs on our web page.

Disclaimer:

Drew & Christine Morgan are REALTORS/NOTARY PUBLIC in Belmont, CA. with more than 20 years experience in helping sellers and buyers in their community. They may be reached at (650) 508.1441 or emailed at info@morganhomes.com.

You can find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Morganhomes and also find them on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/morganhomes

The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.

When is the Best Time to Sell My Home?

When is the best time to sell my home is perhaps one of the top five questions we are frequently asked. On my desk I have a crystal ball—literally. And often when I am asked to venture a guesstimate as to how the real estate market will perform, I simply stare down at the glass orb until my clients’ eyes follow mine to my point of fixation, and they realize their question was really impossible for me to answer with any certainty.

If you’re read our blog page, you know I love to look at the numbers—how much have homes have gone up, what percent sellers are receiving of asking, etc.

These numbers don’t really tell me what will happen—they’re historical numbers so they only tell me what did happen. But before we get started, no decent look at the market would be worth anything if we didn’t first explain our thought process and methodology.

In assigning probabilities, there are two common to employ. Frequency based probabilities, which rely and past data points to lend credibility to predicting a future event, and subjective probabilities based upon our belief that something will or will not occur.

Of course the belief or subjective probability approach at first glance appears just as the name infers—that it’s too subjective. However it’s actually quite important, and you probably use this approach more often than you do frequency based analysis when conducting your day-to-day assessment of say, whether or not you think the price of gas will be lower next week to decide if you want to wait to fill up then.

What about when we use both approaches, or aren’t sure which one is more appropriate for a given situation? Refinancing your home is a good example. Today’s question might be, “Will rates go lower than they are today, or will they soon rise to more historical levels?”. Here we might use frequency based analysis to look at the historical trend of mortgage rates and see where they are today in relation to average historical rates. Seeing how they are near the bottom of where rates have been over the last 30 years, one might conclude that they have nowhere to go but up, yet once again they dropped this October even after the Fed’s all but promised a rate hike—because things change.

One of the problems inherent in using only frequency based analysis is that there’s a trade-off between accuracy of the information (having enough data points) and relevancy (how old is the data). Going back further and plotting more data points is certainly going to give us more information to evaluate, but the relevancy begins to drop off as we got too far back in time, when say our economy was in a different state— pre-internet for example.

So it is with these probability approaches in mind that we deliver to you our trend for the percent a seller receives of their asking price–each month of the year, over the past 17 years. Glancing at the graph one can easily see that spring appears to be the best point at which sellers get the highest percentage of their asking price. Note: the months tagged in the graph above the line are the months in that year where the seller received the highest percentage of their asking, while the red numbers below the line illustrate the month in each year where the seller received the least percent of their asking price. **clicking on these graphs will bring up an enlarged image.Best Time To Sell A Home

These are the percentages of frequency in occurrence where each one has an 8.3% (1/12) equal chance of homes selling either over or under the asking price in a given month.Best Months

May is a clear winner as to when reported sales of homes showed that sellers obtained the highest percent over their asking price—statistically. Since most of May’s homes probably sold in April, it’s more likely that the sale actually was consummated in April with a typical 30 day list to close time frame.

The problem with probabilities based solely upon past performance is that things can change quickly. Governments can topple or be overthrown sending the world into economic panic, external natural effects such as tornados, tidal waves, droughts, El Nino events, etc. can all contribute to altering selling and buying patterns. For example, October never shows up as a month where the least amount a seller received occurred, except for in 2001, after the September 11th terrorist’s attacks.

Also interesting to note is that if one breaks down this graph into pre-Deep Recession and Post Recovery periods there’s much less of a clear distinction as to which month is consistently a winner—or loser. An important and fair distinction should also be made in relying solely upon the percent a seller receives of asking as a definitive demarcation as to when selling your home is optimal. Sellers could be pricing their homes lower in the spring than they do later in the year, when new higher price levels have already been achieved. So measuring how much the seller received in real dollars is actually more important, but doing so involves tracking the median price trend which is easily influenced by relatively small market samples when larger or smaller homes sell in a given month. Tracking the price per square foot per month would help add more information into the mix, but that is susceptible to errors when homes with larger or smaller lots are involved.

And to throw the final wrench into the works, one must remember that during these 17 years there have been two recessions, and a lot of variance of interest rates and various government stimulus packages which have influenced people’s personal behaviors one month over another, not to mention El Nino’s and droughts which also have affected buying and selling patterns.

We hope this has helped further the cause of trying to turn the uncertainty of when to sell your home into a measurable risk. But remember, as Mark Twain is attributed to having once said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme”.

 

 

Drew & Christine Morgan are REALTORS/NOTARY PUBLIC in Belmont, CA. with more than 20 years experience in helping sellers and buyers in their community. They may be reached at (650) 508.1441 or emailed at info@morganhomes.com.

You can find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Morganhomes and also find them on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/morganhomes

 

The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.

 

 

Best of Tour Home Search for 10/13/2015

After a break away from touring the past few weeks it was good to get back out and see what new homes are available. We’ve noticed a slight cooling of the market which isn’t all that uncharacteristic of a fall market but this year seems slower than normal–it’s still early in the quarter though.

This is our best of tour home for Belmont and San Carlos today.

Belmont

This home on Lincoln Avenue is a real fixer upper but the potential is written all over the blueprints.

Situated on a large 12,700+ sqft lot according to the agent, all it needs is a renovation to make this home worth $2,000,000.Lincoln

SAN CARLOS

6 Pepper Lane in San Carlos is on the opposite end of the spectrum. This move-in condition home is ideal for a large household with 5 bedrooms, four full baths and 3,113 sqft of living space. Great sunset and twilight views as well as plenty of room for entertaining. Listed with our good friends Teri and Kristina.6 Pepper

10/15/2015 4:30PM-6:30PM

10/17/2015 1:00PM-3:00PM

10/18/2015 1:00PM-3:00PM

Call us if you are interested in either of these two unique opportunities…650-508-1441

 

Disclaimer:

Drew & Christine Morgan are REALTORS/NOTARY PUBLIC in Belmont, CA. with more than 20 years experience in helping sellers and buyers in their community. They may be reached at (650) 508.1441 or emailed at info@morganhomes.com.

You can find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Morganhomes and also find them on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/morganhomes

The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.

 

Intense Outlook for CA Housing

The intense outlook for CA housing manifests itself in the momentum which continues in the housing market as improved economic conditions and more job availability throughout the state benefited the housing market and continued to push sales higher.

Mortgage rates returning back to near record-low levels in the first half of the year, coupled with an anticipated rise in the fed funds rate later this year, may also have prompted prospective buyers to feel a sense of urgency to enter the market. The statewide sales in July exceeded 400,000 for the fourth consecutive month, and July 2015 was the month with the highest sales level since Oct 2012. The strong momentum in the first half of 2015 elevated sales in the first seven months to 407,060 (seasonally adjusted and annualized), an increase of 7.1 percent when compared to the same period of last year. After reaching the peak in nearly eight years, the statewide median price in July dipped slightly to $488,260 from the previous month, but remained close to the recent high reached in June.

The median price continued to improve at a moderate rate from the previous year, with a year-over-year gain of 5.4 percent in July 2015. While the median price continued to improve from the previous year, the rate of increase has been decelerating steadily in the last twelve months. The combination of modest price appreciations and low interest rates kept housing affordability from declining further this year in most areas, despite higher prices. In fact, the statewide Housing Affordability Index (HAI) actually rose in the first quarter of this year to 34 percent before dropping back to 30 percent in the second quarter.HFI

With the threat of interest rate hikes in the fourth quarter of 2015, housing affordability may become a bigger challenge for many potential home buyers, particularly for those who reside in high-cost areas such as the Bay Area. The California housing market should continue its momentum and have a solid performance throughout the rest of the year. Sales, however, could cool off slightly in the fall if mortgage rates gradually rise. With the economy growing faster and the labor market improving next year, more households will be formed as consumer confidence continues to rise. As a result, sales activity is expected to inch up in 2016. Inadequate supply in high-end areas such as the Bay Area is exerting upward pressure on prices, but home sales in those regions are simultaneously being constrained.

The constraint in home sales in the Bay Area could eventually lead to a decline in the share of high-end homes sales to overall home sales, which could also lead to a further slow-down in the appreciation in the statewide median price. As such, the statewide median price is expected to increase only modestly this year and in 2016.

Drew & Christine Morgan are REALTORS/NOTARY PUBLIC in Belmont, CA. Each with more than 20 years experience in helping sellers and buyers in their community. They may be reached at (650) 508.1441.

The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.

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MorganWood Recipes–Labor Day Italian Antipasti

If you’re looking for a quick appetizer for your Labor Day BBQ, this Mediterranean antipasti dish is not only simple to pull together, it’s refreshingly light and savory.

We ordered this at a restaurant in Half Moon Bay called “it’s Italia”, located in the Half Moon Bay Lodge downtown. Their food is above average and while some dishes are banal, others are spot-on delicious—like this simple Italian style antipasti of Castelvetrano olives, Marcona almonds and peppers baked in a small cast-iron skillet with Meyer lemon peel.

The lemon peel gets slightly crisp and adds a nice acidity to the very mild vanilla-like flavor of the Castelvetrano olive. A little heat comes from the Calabrese peppers (found in a jar in most good deli sections), which can also be substituted for a red Fresno or cherry pepper. We topped ours with a a dash of house made smoked Maldon salt, but regular kosher salt would also do well. The last touch is a pinch of ground coriander and Marcona almonds, which add a delicious textural counterpart to the other ingredients.

Simply add all of these ingredients (except for the lemon juice and salt) in a bowl and toss—then bake in a cast iron pan right on the grill (we did ours on the upper shelf) until the lemon peel was a light brown and the almonds toasted. Pull it off the grill and squeeze some fresh Meyer lemon juice on top and salt to taste right before serving.

Buon appetito!

Must Have’s (should be enough for 2-4 to snack on)

  • 1 jar of Castelvetrano olives—(use 3/4 of the jar drained)Jar of Olives
  • 1 Meyer Lemon—peeled and both peels and juice reservedMeyer_Lemon
  • ½ cup of Marcona AlmondsMarcona Almonds
  • 1/2 TBSP of Maldon saltMaldon Salt
  • 1/2 TBSP of ground corianderCorriander Pile
  • 6 Calabrese peppers or substitute—whole cherry peppersCalabrian Peppers
  • Cast Iron Skillet or other fire proof panLodge

Belmont Home Values Peak–August 2015

It’s very hard to stare at numbers that are counterintuitive to what you feel about the market around you. This is the case once again in Belmont when we compare last August to August of 2015.

This August felt really slow—like there was a pull-back in the market. Many of our colleagues are still commenting about how if just feels different—but the numbers say something else.

One can account for the lag between an offer date and closing to explain away part of this nagging feeling, since most of the homes which closed in August were sales consummated in July. August could turn out to be a slow month when we look at September closings next October.

Certainly the stock market vacillation has people on edge and the Federal Reserve’s non-stop droning about interest rate hikes has people feeling uneasy, and when people feel uneasy they tend to pull back or even freeze, absent a clear path through the valley of the unknown.

 

We’ll summarize this very quickly for you: (click on the picture for a larger image).

Belmont August* Rinconada was our sale.

SALES—

The housing units sold over the two period was a dead tie at 24—so nothing to note there.

SIZE—

However the median size of a home which sold in the two periods was vastly different—as the homes which sold in 2015 were 450 sqft or 21.5% smaller and on lots 12% smaller.

MEDIAN PRICE—

That did nothing to dent the increase in the median home price, which rose another 20% year-over-year despite the homes were 21.5% smaller—that’s noticeable.

PRICE PER SQUARE FOOT—

We’d expect this to be higher, since smaller homes sell for more per square foot than their larger counterparts—and it was, 35% higher than last year.

So what’s the real median price increase if the homes are selling for 20% more and yet are 21.5% smaller? Let’s look at that difference of 450 sqft and multiply it by the amount at which homes are selling. To be conservative, we’ll use the smaller number a year ago of the larger homes—a median price per square foot of $665 x 450 = ~ $300,000, which we then add to the median price in 2015 of $1,517,500 to arrive at an adjusted median price of $1,817,500 or an adjusted 44% more year-over-year.

Looking at this from a different angle, what if we added the raw 20% year-over-year growth numbers and added to that 21.5% since the homes were that much smaller? We get 42.5% year-over-year.

Could it be that prices in August went up 40+ % year-over-year? No wonder the market feels like it’s slowing down. Home affordability is at its lowest point since the highs of 2009.

 

DISCLAIMER

Drew & Christine Morgan are REALTORS/NOTARY PUBLIC in Belmont, CA. with more than 20 years experience in helping sellers and buyers in their community. They may be reached at (650) 508.1441.

The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.

Drew & Christine Morgan did not necessarily participate in these sales.

How to Find the Best Schools

This you already know: Parents want to send their kids to good schools. So that’s why they flock to neighborhoods—sometimes paying hundreds of thousands more to live there—that purport to have them. But what does “good school” really mean? Is it really all about the test scores?

Increasingly, educational experts say: not really. These days, many of them hail the importance of other, less tangible goals such as fostering social and emotional intelligence. Others tout the importance of executive function skills: the ability to plan, focus, remember instructions, and multitask. In the Finnish school system, purportedly the best in the world, academics are delayed, homework and testing are minimized, and free play time is valued.

But not so much in the U.S. With the ever-growing emphasis on standardized test scores, including for the new Common Core standards, educators and parents worry that schools are “teaching to the test” instead of teaching what kids need.

So how can you really figure out what that is? As with all things parenting, you have to decide for yourself what’s best for your family. Here are some tips on how to figure that out.

Determine what kind of learner your child is.

No matter what kids are required to learn, there are different ways to get them there.

Kids often have strikingly different learning styles. Some are visual, and fare better when things are illustrated rather than spoken; some learn better in groups; some are better able to focus if they’re alone. And some simply learn best by doing. And while no school caters entirely to one kind of learner, you may be able to find a school whose approach works better for your kid. Talk to the principal and teachers about how they accommodate different learning styles.

Find out if the school has the basics

Traditional barometers such as class size, student-to-teacher ratio and, yeah, test scores do matter—to some extent.

“They’re the best predictors of a school or district’s academic foundation,” says Bill Jackson, founder and CEO of GreatSchools, a nonprofit organization that provides nationwide school ratings. And schools need that foundation so they have something on which to build and to set goals.

Joyce Szuflita, an educational coach and founder of NYC School Help in New York City, has another view.

“If I were stuck on a desert island and could only ask for one piece of data while considering a school for my child, I’d want to know the percentage of kids who are chronically absent,” she says, arguing that a high attendance rate indicates a positive school culture in which the staff, students, and parents are all committed to success.

Look beyond academic development

In addition to solid academics, experts increasingly tout the importance of a holistic education, which cultivates students’ moral, emotional, physical, and psychological aptitudes.

Schools with programs that teach empathy, self-motivation, and adaptability—or emotional intelligence—equip students with the life skills proven to foster success. Having a high IQ might demonstrate mastery of a body of knowledge, but a high EQ (emotional quotient) indicates that a student can be flexible and understanding, synthesize information and successfully interact with all kinds of people, which might be better predictors of future success than high grades or scores.

Seek creative learning opportunities

Forget rote memorization; the academic and intellectual skills needed to thrive in tomorrow’s multinational, dynamic workforce aren’t the same as those that led to success before the millennium.

“Expansive ideas and creative thinking will become even more essential in the future,” says Dr. Shimi Kang, author of the forthcoming book “The Self-Motivated Kid: How to Raise Happy, Healthy Children Who Know What They Want and Go After It (Without Being Told).” Consequently, she contends that a “good” school today is one that helps foster 21st-century skills such as creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking.

These might be schools with highly developed music programs, team sports, extracurricular clubs with broad focus (environmental protection, community service, even juggling or a “Harry Potter”-themed Wizards & Muggles club)—any activity that develops diligence, creativity, and quick thinking.

Consider lower-ranked or up-and-coming schools

Szuflita suggests resisting the urge to follow the crowds to the “best” schools in town, which could have problems with overcrowding and waitlists, despite their virtues. Instead, track the progress of previously overlooked schools, ones that may have a new principal, an increasingly active PTA, and/or an attendance rate that has steadily risen, even if the school itself doesn’t have the most stellar reputation or highest rankings.

Research (free) alternatives to public schools.

Themed charter schools (which receive public funding but operate outside of their regional public school districts) or magnet schools (public schools with specialized courses or curricula that draw students from across school districts or zones) infuse their offerings and activities with a specific emphasis.

At Expeditionary Learning schools (nationwide), for instance, students study a single topic from many angles. Heavy emphasis is placed on the importance of nature, reflection, and service, and classes can involve Outward Bound–style excursions.

The tuition-free Muskegon Montessori Academy for Environmental Change in Norton Shores, MI, drives home the importance of clean water by having students care for the local river.

Schools that take the multiple intelligences view recognize that intellect comes in many forms (e.g., word smart, people smart, numbers smart) and teach to individuals’ strengths.

Check out the ‘vibe’—it really means something.

This may seem obvious, but we can’t stress it enough: Go see the schools for yourself, and visit as many as possible. (By the way, did you know you can search for homes by school district on our app?) You might discover what you thought was important isn’t really at all. And test scores and state rankings don’t convey the important yet difficult-to-quantify vibe of a place.

“Actually experiencing a school is the best way to inspect the vitality of the work, the energy of the teachers, and the rapport between the staff and students,” says Szuflita.

One tip: Arrive early to the visit, so you can evaluate the school when no one is looking.

Ask yourself what ‘good’ means to you.

What do you want from your school? Racial and economic diversity? Sports and arts programs? A campus? Leadership/internship opportunities? Is your No. 1 criterion a neighborhood school that you can invest and create community in, even if it means sacrificing a few things like class size or an emphasis on the arts?

If traditional academics and high test scores really are the most important things, you’re lucky: Those are the easiest things to find.

Today, finding a good school means you grown-ups have to do serious homework, figuring out the best fit for your family and zeroing in on schools that are equipping students with the skills and experiences that will lead to a broader definition of success.

Anything else no longer makes the grade.

Contributed by Audrey Brashich
Audrey D. Brashich writes regularly about trending pop culture issues for The Washington Post, Yahoo Parenting and other national news outlets. She is also the author of All Made Up: A Girl’s Guide to Seeing Through Celebrity Hype and Celebrating Real Beauty.

Dog Days of Summer Heat Up

Today’s was our broker tour day where we typically run into several dozen agents as we view the new housing inventory—but not today. It’s eerily quiet in the market right now—like right before an earthquake quiet (without the dogs barking). Could it be that buyers have given up on finding a home?

The dog days of summer are upon us and the last heat wave conjured up that old saying in my mind. But not only are the constellations lining up and the days hotter, the housing market takes a noticeable siesta in August of each year.

When the economy is humming along—and in the Bay Area it is—people tend to take more vacations. And since REALTORS are people too, they also are gone much of the month. Of course you also have the last minute mini-trips and next thing you know school is about to start.

These stars line up to create a slowdown in the housing market—in terms of both lower inventory and sales.

Today’s tour consisted of 15 pages of new listings to view. That number can be double in the spring market.

So which home stood out today as our vote for best of tour?
Wellington Best of Tour

A San Carlos home on Wellington listed or only $998,000. Now we know you are thinking, “but it’ll never sell for that” and you’d probably be right—in fact I’d take that bet any day. But to even find a home listed under a million dollars west of El Camino is a real treat.

Now it’s not for everybody as it’s on a rather windy street and has a shared driveway and a small rear yard, but it’s a nice place to start if you want in on the west side of San Carlos. On the plus side it’s been nicely appointed and updated—our vote of best of tour—August 18, 2015

3 Bedrooms, 2 baths, 1,520 sqft.