Home&Real Estate
OPEN HOME GUIDE 58 Also online at PaloAltoOnline.com
NEW NAME, BIGGER GAME ... Dreyfus Properties, Palo Alto, became an affiliate of Sotheby’s International Realty this week, “layering their platform of national and international marketing over our business,” said Michael Dreyfus, whose company remains independently owned and operated. Dreyfus, who founded his company in 2000, said that Sotheby’s partners with boutique realty companies serving high-end clients, extending their advertising and marketing (including creating brochures and magazines) all over the world. “We have clients who come from all over the world. We can reach out to (Sotheby) affiliates” who will take care of their needs, he said. “They’re going places we want to be,” he added. Dreyfus said the international market has been growing over the past 10 years. Sotheby’s has offices in 49 countries. Dreyfus Properties will now be known as Dreyfus Sotheby’s International Realty. WORM COMPOSTING ... The City of Palo Alto will offer a free workshop on “Worm Composting Basics,” from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 7, at the Master Gardeners Demonstration Garden, next to Eleanor Pardee Park, on Center Drive near Martin Avenue, Palo Alto. Information: 650-329-2241 or 408-918-4640, www.reducewaste.org or Compost@aem.sccgov.org
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Home Front
Jim Mu, buyer’s consultant to Ken DeLeon of DeLeon Realty, Palo Alto, waits for passengers to board the Mercedes limo bus that takes mostly Chinese passengers on tours of Palo Alto homes. The tours are conducted in both English and Mandarin.
Chinese homebuyers hone in on Palo Alto
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Even high-end properties are less expensive than in home country, Realtors say
EDIBLE PARADISE ... O’Malley Stoumen, who has 40 years’ experience gardening for food production, will offer a class called “Create an Edible Paradise with Inspiration” from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14, at Gamble Garden, 1431 Waverley St., Palo Alto. After presenting photos and practical tips, Stoumen will lead students through her garden (including a chicken coop and homemade trellises that optimize plant growth), which was featured on the 2013 Spring Tour. Cost is $35 for members, $25 for nonmembers. Information: 650-329-1356 or www.gamblegarden.org
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KEEP OAKS HEALTHY ... UC Master Gardener David Peterson will offer tips on how to protect urban oak trees from common landscaping errors that promote disease, from 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14, at Gamble Garden, 1431 Waverley St., Palo Alto. The talk, which includes information (with handouts) on which plants are compatible with oaks, is free, and no reservations are required. Information: Master Gardeners at 408-282-3105, between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., Monday through Friday or www. mastergardeners.org N
Kim Heng, director of Asian operations for DeLeon Realty, gets ready to conduct a tour of Palo Alto homes for prospective Chinese homebuyers.
by Carol Blitzer ei Wu spent several weekends this summer checking out Palo Alto properties, but so far she hasn’t located her dream home. Wu (who preferred not to use her real name) grew up in Beijing, but moved to Hong Kong two and a half years ago. She says an equivalent 3,000-square-foot house in Hong Kong would sell for $20 million (U.S.), compared to the $3 to $4 million in Palo Alto. That is, if one could even find a house in condo-rich Hong Kong. Wu, a Chinese citizen, is looking for a vacation home in Palo Alto — preferably Old Palo Alto, Crescent Park or Community Center. And, she likes that “it’s a university town, it’s lively,” it has temperate weather and access to good medical care. “It has an old town feel, not too big or too small,” she said, and it’s close to shopping. Wu is by no means alone in her choice of Palo Alto for her real-estate purchase. Ken DeLeon, of DeLeon Realty, Palo Alto, reports a rising trend in Chinese homebuyers over the last few years, growing from 5 percent of local buyers in 2011 to an expectation of 15 percent this year. And the tide will keep rising for the next couple of years, he predicts. “About two years ago I started to see a build-up,” he said, after hearing about it for two years before that. “People were coming, but not buying,” he added. There are so many coming that DeLeon has purchased a 14-seater Mercedes limo bus in which he, Michael Repka, managing broker and general counsel, and Kim Heng, director of Asian operations, take prospective buyers on tours of various Palo Alto neighborhoods as well as nearby cities, from Woodside to Cupertino, twice a week. And the impact of the influx will be felt for years to come, he said. Because the Chinese buyers tend to hold onto their properties, there will be even fewer homes on the market in 10 years than there are now, making inventory even lower, he said. Just what is bringing Chinese buyers in droves, from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan? Some come because of changing real-estate rules at home, others for expanded investment options for China’s rising middle class and still more for educational opportunities, local Realtors say. While the U.S. has had pretty consistent property laws since 1776, China is quite another story, DeLeon said. “Everything in China feels so fluid; people don’t have that security.” Changing rules in China definitely have an impact on local buyers, noted Michelle Chang, an agent with Coldwell Banker, downtown Palo Alto. “At least two years ago, China(’s) government has a new policy. A couple can own only one house,” she said. V Ì Õi`Ê Ê«>}iÊ{Î)
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