Hillsborough Real Estate And Homes For Sale

hillsborough-real-estate-and-homes-for-sale.com

Could Keep A Listing Off Zillow Forever

selling a home

A large brokerage recently began encouraging its agents to withhold homes for sale from the MLS until its agents had already tried to sell the home. Zillow has begun fighting back against these brokerages.

Real Estate News reported:
“Samuelson confirmed … that could keep a listing off Zillow forever if that listing is not submitted to an MLS within 24 hours and made widely available.” The statement referred to almost all advertising, not just the increasing trend of brokerages advertising new listings on their own website for several weeks before putting them on the MLS.

The keyword is forever. Zillow gets so many property views that few home sellers would agree to keep their home off Zillow forever.

Zillow states “In California, a home sold off the MLS typically yielded $30,075 less than a home that was listed publicly (a median loss of 3.7%).”

Read more about Zillow and off-market sales at https://julianalee.com/blog/could-keep-a-listing-off-zillow-forever/

Building Backyard Cottages, In-Law Units, or ADUs

real estate laws

California laws taking effect Jan 1, 2021 allow more homeowners to build backyard cottages or accessory dwelling units (ADUs).

Cities and counties can have regulations but the regulations must have:

  • No minimum lot size requirement.
  • No required replacement parking when a parking garage is converted into an ADU.
  • No required parking for an ADU created through the conversion of existing space or located within a half-mile walking distance of a bus stop or other public transit.
  • No height limit under 16 feet or side/rear setbacks requirements over 4 feet.
  • No setbacks requirements for conversions/replacements of existing legal structures.
  • Floor area ratio (FAR) and similar restrictions must be relaxed to allow development of an 800 sq ft ADU.
  • Design standards must be objective and are assessed by staff, not elected officials.

More details are available at Backyard Cottage, Accessory Dwelling Unit