It is still not too late to move to bay area!!

Job market is still booming and expected to continue to boom.. not sure about rest of the california, however, SF/SJ and surrounding bay area counties are booming and if you have good skills in technology, it is still good time to move in.. Agreed, that housing has gone to the roof again, but that is expected to stabilize or get some minor correction when mortgage rates come off from their historical lows.

Come on friends.. it is great time to be back in valley!! and build or help build new FBs..

AUGUST HIRING

Growth in jobs gaining steam

South Bay labor market has best month in 13 years, while Bay Area overall gains 12,700


By George Avalos

gavalos@bayareanewsgroup.com 

The Bay Area job market boomed in August, adding 12,700 jobs for its best one-month performance since October 2012, state labor officials reported Friday.

Santa Clara County did even better, adding 8,500 jobs, the best one-month performance for the county in more than 13 years. Those gains accounted for two-thirds of the jobs added in the Bay Area and more than one-fourth of the jobs gained in California last month, this newspaper’s analysis of data from the Employment Development Departmentshows. “The South Bay knocked one out of the park in August,” said Scott Anderson, chief economist with San Francisco-based Bank of the West.

The strong gains in August were a sharp contrast to July, when the Bay Area lost 4,400 jobs, sparking fears among some analysts that the region’s economy had begun to sputter, and the rebound might falter. 

The most recent results show that the tech sector, primarily in Silicon Valley, continues to serve as the foundation of a rebound that is gaining strength in a range of other industries across the Bay Area. 

“The tech sector is definitely doing well,” added Jordan Levine, director of economic research with Beacon Economics. “Companies are still investing in software, equipment, and intellectual property.” 

The East Bay, consisting of Alameda and Contra Costa counties, added 2,300 jobs in August, the EDD figures showed. The San Francisco- San Mateo-Marin region added 1,900. 

California added 29,100 jobs during August, labor officials reported Friday, in a second straight month of robust employment gains statewide. The statewide and Bay Area numbers were all adjusted for seasonal factors. 

The statewide jobless rate worsened to 8.9 percent, the EDD reported, from 8.7 percent in July. That can occur because the jobs data and the jobless rate are compiled in separate surveys. 

Improving rates 

In contrast, unemployment rates improved throughout the Bay Area in August, according to a Beacon Economics analysis of the EDD figures. The Alameda County-Contra Costa County jobless rate was 7.1 percent, versus 7.4 percent the month before. The Santa Clara County-San Benito County jobless rate was 6.6 percent, compared with 6.9 percent. The San Francisco-San Mateo- Marin August jobless rate was 5.3 percent, better than the month-before rate of 5.5 percent, the Beacon analysis showed. During the one-year period that ended in August, job totals expanded by 1.9 percent in the Bay Area. The U.S. job market expanded by 1.6 percent and California by 1.5 percent over the same period. 

“The Bay Area is growing more robustly than California and the nation as a whole,” said Jon Haveman, chief economist with Marin Economic Consulting. And, he added, “it is creating more jobs with better wages” than the nation and the state. 

Strong sectors 

The strongest industry in Santa Clara County during August was the tech-focused professional scientific and technical service sector, which gained 1,500 jobs. Another tech sector, information services and products, gained 900. But manufacturing added 1,200, administrative support was up 1,100, retail gained 800 and construction added 700 jobs, according to Beacon. 

“Tech is still the economic engine for Santa Clara County, but the majority of the new jobs that were added were outside of tech,” said Michael Bernick, a research fellow with the Milken Institute and a former director of the state EDD. “You are seeing real diversity in the Santa Clara County job market.” 

The strong gains during August aren’t an anomaly, said Steve Levy, director of the Palo Alto-based Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy “The trend in the Bay Area is real,” Levy said. “Very strong job growth is building. You see expansion everywhere from San Jose to San Francisco, and now the East Bay has turned modestly positive. Because of tech, the Bay Area will continue to do well. You have Google, Apple, LinkedIn, Microsoft and other companies expanding their office space because they are hiring employees.”Contact George Avalos at 408-859-5167 or 408-3733556. Follow him at Twitter.com/georgeavalos. 

Can this save Yahoo? NO TELECOMMUTING!!

This call by Yahoo CEO Marissa started fierce discussions on merits of WF-Office or WF-Home.. In my view, it depends... It depends on the group.. it depends on the phase of work you are in.. it depends on your personal condition.. it shouldn't be either one way or highway.. We are all adults and should be capable to decide about it..

Though, I also agree that in general, working in the office is better for collaborative type of work. If there is collaboration needed, then there is no way you can replace face to face discussions or meetings with any kind of tool.

At the same time, depending on phase of work, you may need some un-interrupted space to work and focus.. There is tons of value in that as well.. Depending on your personality and kind of work you are doing, you may simply produce thousand times better quality work when you are left alone.

Finally, flexibility.. that is key issue.. Telecommuting is important tool which allows you to be flexible and helps you balance personal and professional life. In case you have to pick up or drop your kid and it is 15 min job from your home, but if you have to come all the way from work and spend hours in traffic to do it.. then you are better off with WFH. That is one corner case.. but then there are multiple corner cases like this..

Overall, I am in favor of working in the office even though it does creates problems like traffic and lost commute time etc.. In offices, you meet more people face to face and definitely will have better ideas or refinement in your own ideas by simple act of discussing it casually.. Our current economy is all about intellectually brilliant ideas.. and in that case, it is always One + One is Eleven.. mostly.. and this mostly makes me say that there has to be flexibility..

Finally, I am also big fan for great and free lunch at cafeterias.. Honestly.. think about it.. how much it could cost.. may be $10 or $20 for best of best meal served there.. How much is hourly rate in technology.. anything between 50-100 or even more.. If this great lunch saves you even 30 minutes (instead of going out for lunch) this is more than break even... I can't understand why some corporations can't figure this simple math..

Lastly (Finally.. Finally), I am dead against these shut downs or forced vacations.. to save some few penny.. bloody hell.. if you want to save money then close company for entire money.. won't it be better.. in that case you will save all the money on salary and office space and utilities.. and what not.. Amount of productivity loss due to forced shut downs actually sends your company even closer to death spiral..


Cheers!!! enjoy this article..

NO TELECOMMUTING

Yahoo CEO calls workers back to office

Order stirs an impassioned debate over a long-standing perk in valley

By Brandon Bailey

bbailey@mercurynews.com 

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s decision to order telecommuting employees back to the office has sparked a passionate debate over the increasingly common practice of working from home.

Criticism from some workers, especially working parents, portrayed Mayer as abandoning a modern, enlightened approach that helps employees juggle conflicting demands.

Supporters said she may have reason to shake things up at the once-vaunted Internet company, which earned a reputation in recent years for falling behind in both innovation and competition.

The firestorm ignited Friday when Yahoo’s human resources chief sent a memo announcing that all employees will be asked to work in company offices starting in June. The memo quickly leaked to a prominent tech news blog, All Things D. 

It’s an issue that resonates sharply in Silicon Valley, where companies like Google, Cisco and others make Web-based software, videoconferencing systems and other high-tech tools that can help workers be productive at home. Yet some of Yahoo’s biggest competitors, including Google and Facebook, have spent heavily to design work spaces that encourage in-person collaboration, while providing free meals and other amenities that make it easier for employees to spend long hours at the office. 

‘Time together’ 

When people ask how many Google employees telecommute, Chief Financial Officer Patrick Pichette told an Australian tech audience last week, he replies, “As few as possible.” Pichette explained, according to an account in the Sydney Morning Herald, that Google wants workers to talk informally over meals or coffee. “There is something magical about spending the time together, about noodling on ideas, about asking at the computer, ‘What do you think of this?’ ” Google and Facebook allow employees to work from home, relying on the judgment of employees and their managers, according to sources at both companies, which declined to comment on Yahoo’s policies. But both companies have said they see a benefit in the creative sparks that come with random meetings in corridors or cafeterias. When Facebook moved into the former headquarters of Sun Microsystems, it remodeled the buildings to create open clusters of desks, as well as “living spaces” with couches and kitchen equipment, where workers can talk shop and trade ideas. Google has similar features in its buildings. And both Facebook and Google are famous for offering all kinds of free treats, from gourmet meals to massages and yoga sessions, for workers on their respective campuses. 

Yahoo appears to be seeking the same kind of synergy. “We need to be working side by side,” Yahoo human resources chief Jackie Reses wrote in her memo last week. 

Reses cited the importance of “decisions and insights” that can arise from impromptu meetings. But in what some view as an indication that Yahoo’s new boss isn’t satisfied with telecommuters’ performance, Reses added that “speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home.” 

A Yahoo spokeswoman declined to comment, so it’s unclear how many workers will be affected, but the company has not disputed the memo’s authenticity. 

Mayer, a former Google executive, has previously taken steps to improve work conditions at Yahoo, giving employees new smartphones and providing free meals, among other amenities. But critics said the Reses memo seemed hamhanded and oppressive. 

“A desperate move by a desperate company that has trouble trusting their employees,” Stewart Bauman, who works in tech but not at Yahoo, wrote in a post on the Mercury News Facebook page. 

Others said they saw hypocrisy by Mayer, who is both a new mother and a wealthy CEO — and who used her own funds to install a nursery next to her office, according to All Things D, which noted that other employees don’t have that option. 

Experts warned the memo could backfire. “The question is whether this move will result in an exodus among the company’s top talent,” John Challenger, CEO of the outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas, said in an email noting that “many Silicon Valley tech firms are battling each other to attract and retain the best talent.” 

A matter of skill level 

Surveys show telecommuting is increasing across the United States and elsewhere. In a paper published last week, Stanford economics professor Nicholas Bloom described a recent nine-month study of a Chinese online travel firm, CTrip, which found call-center employees were more productive and performed at a higher level when allowed to work from home. But Bloom drew a distinction between call-center workers and higher-skilled professionals, such as executives or software developers. He said the latter can benefit from the flexibility of working at home but also from collaboration in the office. 

“It’s typical for high-end employees to work from home one or two days a week,” he said. “They get time away to think and time to be creative and to have a work-life balance. But it’s not helpful to have them permanently absent from the workplace.” 

Contact Brandon Bailey at 408-920-5022; follow him at Twitter.com/ BrandonBailey. 

“The question is whether this move will result in an exodus among the company’s top talent.” 

— John Challenger, CEO, Challenger Gray & Christmas 

Wao... Look at this.. Go Silicon Valley.. Go..

Despite very poor overall job report from the country.. there is some silver lining.. Rest of the country should learn from this... Some of the key numbers which are hidden deep bottom of this article about jobs.. 


San Jose Bay area created:

1. almost half (44%) of California jobs in month of June
2. one fifth (21%) of entire US jobs which means that almost half of the US jobs were created in California!!

Sad part mentioned in this article is... as per them need for technology and tech-equipment is even more due to slower growth in other areas. Which as per them makes employers to buy more technology to maximise their productivity.. I kind of disagree this statement.. I think, jobs where you need human power are difficult to be replaced by machines.. as per me human jobs are needed where you need brain to think!! not just using your hands to do some repeatable jobs.. those jobs are any how machine jobs..

Creation of jobs is about creating value added work.. though no offense to service industry but service industry jobs should follow real value enhancement jobs like R&D/Technology and manufacturing.. Manufacturing jobs are also coming back to US, but still, long way to go.. unless, US workers accept fact that they are not very high paying and all that Union etc.. bull-shit won't work.. it is difficult to get them back..

 Best hope for nation is to create technology jobs like in the ones being created in California.. California has two major job engines.. Technology in North and Media/Arts in South.. Now a days, even media/arts is heavily dependent on technology.. so essentially, you need big investments in technology for arts & media.. which enables lot of art/media work to be off-shored.. Which is a fact of life.. "Work, live, play.. Anywhere!!!" is going to be the way forward.. there is no escaping of it.

If you think you have Geo-Location advantage.. No.. you are wrong!!! it may give you slight edge in beginning but eventually someone else will catch up and take away your work and do it not only cheaper but most likely better.. Only way for you to sustain that job locally in that physical geo location is that you re-invent and continuously create additional value.. you have to be good in science/tech/arts/media.. whatever you are doing..

To enable this, US has to change few things.. Current education system prepares majority of kids to be ready for service industry or sales / marketing type of jobs.. unless.. parents works hard with kids to get their focus back to Science and Maths.. They have to change the way maths, science and more importantly technology is taught in elementary, middle and high-schools.. US has to make technology a mandatory subject like arts, language and maths etc.. upgrade technology infrastructure of schools..

US spends so much on education.. this mandatory technological upgrade cost will be nothing as compared to their regular spending.. they have to set it up right now.. it is already too late.. but better late than never. Kids over here are so brilliant (for that matter all the kids are brilliant) due great creative and lively way of education.. if kids start applying their same creative sense to technology as well.. there could be thousands of other silicon valleys across the US.. and then we don't have to look up only to Silicon Valley to create jobs..

Tech hiring spurs June jobs surge across Bay Area

By George Avalos

gavalos@bayareanewsgroup.com 

The Bay Area job market roared to life in June, reversing a recent slowdown in growth by creating nearly 17,000 jobs.

A strong technology sector combined with robust job gains in the East Bay to produce the best onemonth job growth performance since September for the nine-county region.

“What really leaps off the page is the big gain in the East Bay,” said Michael Bernick, a research fellow with the Milken Institute. “The other big factor is technology. Tech, social media companies, Internet commerce firms — they are leading this.”

The East Bay added 7,400 jobs, the South Bay gained 4,000 and the San Francisco-San Mateo-Marin metro region produced 6,100 new jobs, according to seasonally adjusted numbers from the state’s EmploymentDevelopment Department.

Overall, the Bay Area added 16,900 payroll jobs in June.

High tech accounted for at least one-quarter of the gains, this newspaper’s analysis of results supplied by Beacon Economics shows.

“We continue to see tech companies that are growing,” said Mark 

Howard, managing director of the Berkeley office of Management Recruiters. “That kind of expansion requires additional employees.” 

Two categories dominated by technology employees — professional, scientific and technical services, along with information services and products — combined for a gain of 4,700 jobs in June. The South Bay, East Bay and San Francisco-San Mateo-Marin regions all showed gains in these tech sectors. 

The upswing in the Bay Area was a welcome counterpoint to the sluggish employment gains of the spring. Employers added only 2,400 jobs in April and 3,800 in May, a sharp slowdown from the previous months of winter and fall. 

Some analysts feared that the suddenly sluggish job growth nationwide could produce a slowdown in the Bay Area. But the region produces what companies and other organizations want, said Jordan Levine, director of economic research with Beacon Economics. 

“Nationally, you still see a lot of purchases of computer equipment, Internet products and services, software,” Levine said. 

Ironically, the overall feeble U.S. economy may be giving a boost to the tech industry, according to Levine. “Tech is a way for employers to maximize productivity and efficiency without hiring employees,” he said. 

California added 38,300 jobs last month, which means the Bay Area accounted for 44 percent of all jobs added in the state — and 21 percent of the job gains for the entire nation. 

“The Bay Area has basically helped California get its mojo back,” said Steve Levy, director of the Palo Alto-based Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy. 

The statewide unemployment rate improved to 10.7 percent in June, compared with 10.8 percent in May, the EDD reported. 

The Bay Area jobless rate was 8.5 percent in June, down from 8.6 percent in May, the Beacon study found. The East Bay posted a 9.2 percent jobless rate in June, down from 9.3 percent the previous month; the South Bay was unchanged at 8.6 percent; the San Francisco area was at 7.1 percent, down from 7.2 percent the previous month. 

Non-tech sectors also enjoyed gains. The East Bay added 1,200 construction jobs and the South Bay added 700 wholesale trade jobs and 600 retail jobs. The San Francisco metro region gained 800 hotel and restaurant jobs. 

“The overall recovery has spread out from its base in technology,” said Jeffrey Michael, director of the Stockton-based Business Forecasting Center at University of the Pacific. 

Contact George Avalos at 925-977-8477. Follow him at twitter.com/george_avalos. 

Time to move in to Silicon Valley?

Seems that Valley's real estate is hot again. I guess, now is time to move in before it gets way too hot and all my friends start complaining about cost of living in valley.. time to grab piece of valley is now.. come on guys.. nothing can beat Silicon Valley..

On cautionary note, it already looks hot.. but knowing Silicon Valley's past history, this is just a start..

Hope to see lot more friends soon!!!
Cheers!!

BAY AREA HOUSING

Home sales go through the roof

Anxious homebuyers tempt sellers with deal offers as median prices in the region hit a four-year high

By Pete Carey

pcarey@mercurynews.com 

Bay Area home sales in June erased any doubt that it’s a sellers’ market, with some frantic buyers even sweetening their offers with a timeshare vacation or a couple of months of free rent.

Real estate agents said low inventory is driving up prices in some areas as people try to outbid each other for more expensive homes while ultralow interest rates are drawing in first-time homebuyers.

“Sellers should be very happy these days, and buyers are really scrambling,” said Barbara Lymberis, president of the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors.

In the latest snapshot of the Bay Area housing market, median sale prices were up 6.4 percent for existing single-family homes from last year, their highest level since July 2008, according to a report Wednesday by DataQuick, a real estate information company. Yearover- year sales of all types of homes increased 10.4 percent, the 12th month in a row they have gone up.

Every time interest rates drop — averaging 3.56 percent for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage last week — more first-time buyers come out, said Kevin Kieffer, an associate broker with Keller Williams in Danville.

Part of what is driving up the median price is a shift in the mix of homes for sale, with a greater number of expensive houses on the market and fewer foreclosures.
Prices hit $329,000 in Contra Costa County, a 17.5 percent gain from June 2011, DataQuick reported. Alameda County had a gain of 9.3 percent to $437,000. Santa Clara County saw a median price increase of 7 percent from last year to $640,000. San Mateo County was essentially flat at $650,000.

“Some people are offering free rent back, or a vacation for a week anywhere in the world for the seller,” said Mark Wong, with Alain Pinel Realtors. “It’s crazy. But you’re talking about less than 10 grand. If you get the house, that’s a good deal.”

Wong said the craziest offer he’d heard of was from a buyer who simply offered to pay $200,000 more than the highest bidder. “This guy probably had been outbid 10 times and was desperate.”

But sometimes even special perks aren’t enough.
An offer that included six months’ free rent in an exclusive Walnut Creek condo still didn’t land the Alamo home that was for sale, according to Kieffer, the would-be buyer’s real estate agent.

In Sunnyvale, a homebuilder held a “Bingo style” drawing last weekend for 12 homes with 60 potential buyers.

“The market has just really heated up in Silicon Valley,” said Susie Frimel, marketing manager for the developer, Foster Citybased O’Brien Homes. “Inventory is really tight and a lot of people are very well qualified and want to take advantage of those low interest rates.” One frustrated home shopper is Henry Chan.

The 34-year-old mechanical engineer entered the Bingo-style lottery last weekend. The developer drew marked pingpong balls to determine the winners. Chan didn’t win, but said he hasn’t given up. He made an offer of $20,000 over asking price on another home last weekend and lost out to an even higher bid.

“We continue to shop around,” he said.

The condo market also is seeing strong price gains.

The median sale prices for a condominium is up 14.2 percent in the nine-county Bay Area from a year earlier, DataQuick reported. That includes annual price gains of 19.1 percent in Contra Costa County to $202,500; a 20 percent jump in Santa Clara County to $360,000; and single-digit gains in Alameda County to $231,500 and San Mateo County to $335,000.
Contact Pete Carey at 408-920-5419.

---

JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES

Sales of all types of homes in the Bay Area increased 10.4 percent from a year ago. Construction of new homes, such as this one in San Mateo, was also up awin June. 

This is Valley.. The Silicon Valley!!

Where fortune changes frequently.. and everyone can't be Mr. Zuckerburg.. I am sure Kevin will still be fine.. I am sure he is already one of the best consultant for Google Ventures.. He can hopefully see failures or advise his clients on right time to exit.. He could have made couple of hundred's of million dollars.. but at that time he probably was looking for couple of billions..

Cheers!!

WEB 2.OH NO

Once hot Digg sells for paltry $500,000

Firm saw fortunes fall as other social sites rose

By Patrick May and Peter Delevett

Staff writers

In a remarkable Silicon Valley rags-to-riches-to-rags saga, the onetime social media darling Digg was sold Thursday for a reported $500,000, an embarrassingly paltry sum given that Internet rock star Kevin Rose’s company had raised a total of $45 million in venture funding and was once valued at more than four times that amount.

Digg’s fall was spectacular in both its steep pitch and cultural resonance, serving up a sobering reminder that a valley superstar can turn into a shadow of itself in a relative heartbeat. The collapse is even more startling because Digg was center-stage as the era of social media was launched. Digg, a social news site that let people “vote” online stories up or down and share them with others, was once called “the new New York Times.” 

---

Founded: 2004 by 27-year-old Kevin Rose, above

Former darling: Google reportedly considered offering $200 million for firm Sold: For $500,000 to Betaworks 

The sale to New York tech incubator Betaworks came after the majority of Digg’s engineering staff left in May for Social Code, a subsidiary of The Washington Post Co. 

“Over the last few months, we’ve considered many options of where Digg could go, and frankly many of them could not live up to the reason Digg was invented in the first place — to discover the best stuff on the Web,” Digg CEO Matt Williams said in a blog post. “We wanted to find a way to take Digg back to its startup roots.” 

Digg’s website will continue to exist, and Betaworks will soon launch a new “cloud-based version of Digg” to complement its current offerings, Williams wrote. 

Launched in 2004 by then 27-year-old Rose, San Francisco-based Digg rose to prominence as an aggregator of online news and other content, becoming at one point one of the more highly-trafficked stops on the Internet. The site let users endorse — or “Digg” — links, an early precursor to how Facebook and Twitter help spread “viral” content today. 

The company raised a total of $45 million in funding from established venture capital firms like Greylock Partners. At one point, Google was reportedly considering buying Digg for $200 million. And in 2006, Rose starred on a widely circulated BusinessWeek magazine cover, flashing his thumbs next to the headline: “How This Kid Made $60 Million In 18 Months.” Digg struggled over the past few years, thanks to turnover among top management, user-generated problems such as some heavy users dominating the site with their submissions and growing competition from newer and flashier websites like Twitter. In September 2010, Williams took over as CEO, ending Rose’s troubled tenure as interim chief executive as the company grappled with technical snafus and disgruntled users. Last March, Rose went to work at Google and later became a venture partner at Google Ventures. Rose could not be reached for comment Thursday. But late Thursday on the Digg website, he praised Betaworks founder John Borthwick, saying, “John understands the real-time nature of the Web and how to capture and surface trends as they occur.” Saluting Borthwick’s work with several other startups, Rose said, “I can’t wait to see what he does with Digg.” 

The 2006 Business-Week story documented the front end of the fateful arc of Digg from initial redhot success to looming failure. “Digg is emblematic of the ethos of Web 2.0, new consumer and media sites revolving around social networking and do-it-yourself services,” wrote authors Sarah Lacy and Jessi Hempel. “Others include YouTube, which serves up some 100 million requested videos a day, rivaling the audience of NBC. Then there’s Facebook, where the college crowd practically lives. 

“Some even refer to Digg as the new New York Times,” they wrote. “News sites are discovering they can benefit too: Get a story on Digg’s front page, and in comes a flood of traffic from people clicking on the link to read the story on your site. So far, Digg is breaking even on an estimated $3 million annually in revenues. Nonetheless, people in the know say Digg is easily worth $200 million.” 

Adam Kalsey, a blogger and serial tech entrepreneur in Sacramento, was among those tweeting scoldingly Thursday about Digg’s demise. He chided Rose for turning down Google’s reported mega-offer and said the company’s fate is a warning for other social media startups. 

“You don’t create a community and try to control it,” Kalsey said in an interview. “They made a bunch of changes, there was a user revolt, and the base dropped off.” 

Digg’s monthly traffic, which topped 14 million unique visits in January 2010, had plunged to fewer than 9 million a few months later after Rose forced through unpopular changes to the site, according to data at the time from comScore Media Metrix. 

The reported sale price — less than the median price of a Silicon Valley house — doubtless comes as an embarrassment to Digg’s backers, who include topflight investors such as Ron Conway and Marc Andreessen. But Kalsey quipped, “You’ve got to figure at this point, any VC was just looking for a way out. Investors would rather have a dud than a zombie.” 

Contact Patrick May at 408-920-5689 or follow him at Twitter.com/ patmaymerc. 




Digg’s phenomenal early success landed founder Kevin Rose on the cover of Business Week in 2006. 

Silicon Valley IPO machinery chugs along..

Good to see my favorite Kayak going public.. Honestly, I didn't realize that it could be such a big business that will go IPO.. Well.. this statement tells about my bullishness on it.. isn't it.. ;-)

All the best.. Keep getting money for our Bay Area!! As long as you get more money and jobs.. I am fine ;-)

Cheers!!

GOING PUBLIC

Palo Alto Networks, Kayak file for IPO

Pair of tech firms price shares as freeze following Facebook’s bungled debut begins to thaw

By Jeremy C. Owens

jowens@mercurynews.com 

A lull in stock market debuts for technology companies after Facebook’s record-breaking initial public offering has faded, as two tech companies made filings Monday for IPOs expected to occur this month.

Palo Alto Networks, a Silicon Valley network- security startup, and Kayak Software, a Connecticut-based company that runs a popular consumer travel website by the same name, filed prospective pricing for shares in their IPOs Monday, one of the final steps on the road to a public debut.

The IPO market has been stagnant for more than a month, as Facebook’s bungled Wall Street debut and unstable price — along with concerns about the macroeconomic situation and general stock instability — have kept startups on the sideline.

Facebook debuted May 18, and the inability of Nasdaq to handle the volume of trades, along with whispers of falling revenue projections, led to the stock falling hard in its first two weeks of public availability. 

The resulting fallout was seen in June, when only four companies went public, the lowest total for any month since the deepest point of the recession, in 2008, according to financial analysis firm PrivCo. Before that, an average of more than 13 companies were moving to the U.S. market every month in 2012, which was still below the pace set last year. 

However, companies that target big businesses as customers, like Palo Alto Networks, have proved strong this year — Silicon Valley enterprise software companies Splunk, Jive Software, Proofpoint and Infoblox are among those that have gone to market in the past year and have share prices higher than their IPO prices. 

Palo Alto Networks, which is actually based in Santa Clara, makes computer firewall and security software, and last year named former VeriSign CEO Mark McLaughlin to its top job. It is headed for its first year of profitability, showing a net gain of $5.3 million in the first nine months of its fiscal 2012, which ends July 31. In fiscal 2011, the company lost $6.5 million, its best performance up to that point. 

Revenues have been building quickly for the company, however, as they have risen from $13.4 million to $48.8 million to $118.6 million in the past three fiscal years, and the company raked in just shy of $180 million in the first nine months of this fiscal year. 

The only substantial tech IPO since Facebook was a similar company — San Diego-based ServiceNow, which provides cloud-based IT software services — and the company’s stock priced above its initial range and still increased 37 percent in its debut June 28. “ServiceNow shows that the appetite for fastgrowing tech companies in their growth cycle will be massive. I expect there to be good demand for Palo Alto,” Morningstar analyst Jim Krapfel said. The company will seek a price of $34 to $37 a share in its IPO, according to Monday’s filing, while selling 6.2 million shares, with 75.8 percent of the proceeds going to the company and the rest to early investors. The offering could bring in as much as $229.4 million. Kayak is a different kind of company, focused on Web consumers, who can be fickle, but competitors Priceline and Expedia have been two of the most successful stocks on the market in the past three years. Co-founders of rivals Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz joined together to launch the company in 2005, and the Norwalk, Conn., company has increased revenues and profits the past three years in a row, all of which showed a net gain. 

Kayak plans to price its IPO stock from $22 to $25 a share while offering 3.5 million shares, all from the company, for a possible total take of up to $87.5 million, according to its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

“They don’t have too many value-added services and most people would rather go directly to the airlines’ websites for the same deal, which is cheaper,” said Scott Sweet, managing partner at IPO Boutique, an IPO research firm. Palo Alto Networks and Kayak are set to announce their final pricing July 19, Bloomberg News reported, after their roadshows. Morgan Stanley will be lead underwriter on both IPOs, after facing criticism for the same role in the Facebook IPO. 

“Their only possible solution is to hit the ball out of the park on their next couple of launches, and the onus is on them to succeed,” said Bahl & Gaynor’s Matt McCormick, who helps oversee $6.2 billion at the firm in Cincinnati. “Expectations are going to be high and people are going to be looking for issues, and if they can compete positively, that’s a win.” 

Mercury News staff writer Peter Delevett, Reuters and Bloomberg News contributed to this report. 

Problem at Sand Hill Road.. is it really a problem?

I don't have insider scoop on these high level things.. However, I honestly don't believe or let me put it this way.. I am not really supporter of such things or law suits.. In my view.. it is free country and free world.. nobody is bonded labor or slave..

If some of the allegations were true and if they would have included her in the trips or outings or whatever they were, then she could have sued her for sexual harassment or something like that.. Moreover, if you have relationships and break-up with your colleagues or bosses then there is no sanctity in your work ethics.. and come on.. are we talking about stone age or what.. nobody can force you to do something.. it is your choice.. if someone is trying to force you then, you have a choice.. either to accept it or walk out of it.. bullshit..

If you think you are paid less, then go find another job which will pay you more or even if another job is not paying you, what you think is your worth, then it is time to start your own business and earn your worth.

After being so well educated and working such a high flying jobs, you can't complain about glass ceiling.. it does actually a damage to great institutions like Harvard and Princeton..

Instead of earning your own money right way you are trying to extract money by suing the employer. Go find another one or start your own venture.. In my view, it is cheap strategy and way to earn money quick and easy way..


Here is the link for the story:
http://business-news.thestreet.com/mercury-news/story/john-doerr-defends-kleiners-track-record-diversity/1

PARTNER’S LAWSUIT

Kleiner says discrimination allegations ‘without merit’

By Dana Hull

dhull@mercurynews.com 

In his first public statement since venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers was hit with an explosive discrimination lawsuit, partner John Doerr defended the firm’s track record on diversity Wednesday and said the allegations are without merit.

“The last several days have been a difficult time for me and my partners at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a firm I’m proud to have been a part of for 32 years,” Doerr said in a statement released Wednesday via Twitter. “It is not easy to stand by as false allegations are asserted against the firm, especially because legal constraints prevent us from responding fully at this time. But we have been heartened to hear from so many people — including many women — who have reached out to convey their support.” 

---

Doerr 

Kleiner Perkins partner Ellen Pao, who studied electrical engineering at Princeton before earning both a law degree and MBA at Harvard, filed a gender discrimination lawsuit earlier this month alleging that female partners, by design, earn less than their male peers. Pao also alleges that male partners at the firm retaliated against her after she ended a sexual relationship with a male colleague. 

Pao’s highly detailed, 19-page complaint, which is the talk of Sand Hill Road, has reignited an ongoing debate about the culture of the valley’s largely male venture capital community. Sources say Pao still works at Kleiner and has been coming to the office every day. 

Doerr said the firm hired an independent investigator to conduct an inquiry, and the report “concluded that the allegations are without merit and that our firm does not discriminate on the basis of gender.” Doerr’s statement went on to highlight Kleiner’s “pioneering track record in diversity.” 

“Our firm today is one of the most diverse in gender, age and ethnicity, as is our equally diverse network of great entrepreneurs,” read the statement, which noted that women founded or lead portfolio companies like Genomic Health and Rent the Runway. “Most importantly, we’re backing them not because they are women, but because they are the best at what they do. That is the same reason we have a dozen female partners at our firm — the most of any leading venture capital firm — including women who are leaders across our Digital Growth Fund, our newest venture fund, our Life Sciences Venture Team, our Human Capital Team, and our Marketing and Communications and Finance functions. They are outstanding executives and leaders.” Lynne Hermle, the attorney Kleiner has hired to represent the firm in the Pao case, was traveling Wednesday and could not be reached for comment. Alan Exelrod, Pao’s attorney, declined to comment. The next legal step in the high-profile case will be for Kleiner to file an official response in San Francisco Superior Court. 

Contact Dana Hull at 408920-2706. 

Silicon Valley's IPO momentum continues..

Even though we are waiting for most prized IPO of the decade (yet), smaller start-up continues their march and momentum towards IPOs.. making it close to dot.com boom time.. 

Which is good and can be seen in local economy. This is one of the best example, what rest of the US should be doing.. Innovate!!! and just create atmosphere for Innovation.. rest of the things will fall in place automatically.. 

That is much more easier said than done though. Many countries/states have tried to replicate and boot strap their local silicon valley or its equivalent.. but with hardly any major success But this doesn't mean that they should stop.. Ultimately, it is going to benefit them and rest of the world.. It will never backfire for sure.. 

So another question.. what is next big thing for silicon valley or high tech. Currently, it is era of Cloud, mobile, Social Collaboration (almost peaked, or may be not), Big Data and "Internet of Things" are most hot commodities in Valley.. What is next? 

Valley IPOs exceed expectations

Hot but Kwel Silicon Valley!!

Investors show faith in profitability of emerging startups

By Jeremy C. Owens

jowens@mercurynews.com 

Two Silicon Valley companies found success on Wall Street in their initial public offerings Thursday, with a Mountain View-based company that makes processors for Apple’s iconic iPhone bringing in the most capital.

Audience, a 12-year-old company that makes processors that improve audio quality on mobile devices, priced its initial offering of shares higher than expected, but still found investors willing to pay more for the stock. Meanwhile, San Mateo-based WageWorks priced its stock lower than expected, then saw the price bounce above the range it expected to reap. Audience derives a large part of its business from Cupertino tech giant Apple, which uses the company’s technology in its popular mobile products. In Securities and Exchange Commission filings ahead of its IPO, the company said that 85 percent of its revenue in 2010 came from Apple; that percentage dropped to 75 percent in 2011, when Samsung stepped up its purchases from the company and accounted for 20 percent of its business. Many recent Silicon Valley IPOs have found success on Wall Street despite failing to post profits, with investors betting that revenue growth can push the startups to profitability. Audience, however, has shown revenue growth and profit recently. The company posted profits of $4.8 million and $8.3 million in 2010 and 2011, respectively, and made $4.2 million in the first three months of 2012. Annual revenue grew from $5.7 million in 2009 to $47.9 million in 2010 to $97.7 million in 2011, the company reported, and revenue for the first quarter of 2012 was $31.1 million.

The company sold 5 million shares at $17 apiece after initially filing at a range of $14 to $16 a share; existing shareholders sold another 270,000 shares at the same price. The sale netted a total of $89.6 million, with $85 million of that going to the company, before expenses, which it will use for general business purposes, according to the SEC filing.

Once the stock reached the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol ADNC, investors pushed the price up higher. Shares began selling Thursday morning for $19 apiece and never fell lower than $18.96 on the open market while rising as high as $20.20. The stock closed its first day of action at $19.08, 12.2 percent higher than the IPO price.
“Audience is really alone out there within a very good market niche and that’s what has been required in past tech offerings that have really worked well,” Scott Sweet, senior managing partner at IPO research firm IPO Boutique, told Reuters on Wednesday.

San Mateo-based software company WageWorks also had a strong first day of trading Thursday, with its stock rising 40 percent from the IPO price after the company dropped the price just before the offering. The company had planned to go public more than a year ago, but put off the process due to market uncertainty.

WageWorks, which offers cloud software to manage employee benefits, sold 6.5 million shares at $9 apiece after originally aiming for a range of $10 to $12, bringing in $58.5 million before expenses. The stock then debuted Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol WAGE for $9.99 and began to rise. Shares traded in a range from $9.75 to $12.60, with that high price coming at the very end of the session and representing the closing price.

While the stock closed at $12.60, a 40 percent increase from the IPO price, it was trading for less than $11 a share just 5 minutes before the market closed and dipped back sharply in after-hours trading, when shares were selling for closer to $11.

The two successful IPOs continue a strong run for Silicon Valley stock debuts in the run-up to Facebook’s highly anticipated public stock launch, expected May 18.

An official with the Nasdaq stock exchange said Thursday that he doesn’t expect the rate of successful Silicon Valley IPOs to end any time soon.

“Facebook is obviously the most anticipated IPO in history and once that IPO comes out, I’m sure we’ll see several companies look to take advantage of that market,” Bruce Aust, executive vice president of Nasdaq’s Global Corporate Client Group, said in a New York presentation to analysts, according to Reuters.

“I go (to Silicon Valley) pretty much every other week because it is a huge opportunity when we look at what’s going on with social media, what’s going on with Apple and the applications and the ecosystem that is being created by that, and the gaming industry that is being created by social media. There is just tremendous opportunity and we’re meeting with 20 or 30 companies a week,” he said.
Contact Jeremy C. Owens at 408-920-5876; follow him at Twitter.com/mercbizbreak.

Another Strategic win for Silicon Valley

There are natural checks and balances.. and this one is for China's super growth.. despite all the growth and money who so ever can afford to migrate to US is doing so. Obviously, easy choice for them is best of best.. i.e. Silicon Valley or our San Jose Bay Area..

This shows clearly and loudly.. there is no price for true freedom. If we evaluate properly, China is still gaining from this process.. though China's gain is long term as their population spreads out and invests more into outside business and brings back better and diverse business experience... where as US' gain is short term and long term. Biggest winner of all is Silicon Valley which keeps on growing exponential rates ;-)

I am sure US is going to renew this Visa category as it is simply no brainer. It is like selling your infrastructure but at the same time keeping it or even getting more in return. I believe, very few countries can afford this type of premium for immigration growth. US has been country of immigrants and there is no doubt that immigrants in US enjoy freedom much more than most of the natives in their own country outside of US. Whatever may be said about racism or ethnicity based discrimination in US, it is stil far less than the different kind of discriminations people suffer in their own country.

These kind of independence and freedom is the key for programs like that and there is no doubt that Silicon Valley is a great place and will continue to be leader in attracting investments and job growths like these. So all my multi millionaire friends, if you want to move to Silicon valley use this and come over.

Here is the link for the details:


http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_20334626/wealthy-chinese-seek-special-visas-relocate-bay-area?

DRAWN TO BAY AREA

China’s wealthy invest in shot at green card

Millionaires finance U.S.

projects to qualify for visa

By John Boudreau

jboudreau@mercurynews.com 

Even as China emerges as a super power, many of those who have benefited most from the country’s economic rise are heading for the exits. And many are relocating to the Bay Area, whose large Asian population, good schools and comfortable lifestyle are powerful draws for Chinese multimillionaires concerned about the future of their homeland and seeking the own American dream.

“The rich people are trying to get green cards,” said Ta-lin Hsu, founder and chairman of Palo Alto-based venture capital firm H&Q Asia Pacific, who spends a lot of time in Asia. He is frequently asked by business associates about how to immigrate to the United States.

“The main reason is, they still worry about the future stability of China,” Hsu said. “The U.S. is a democracy, there is freedom and it’s a safer place.” 

The exit door for many of these wealthy Chinese is opened by the fast-track visas America offers for well-heeled immigrants. Known as the EB-5, the visa requires applicants to invest $500,000 in projects in economically struggling regions or $1 million in a commercial venture in other locations. The investments must create or preserve 10 jobs for two years. If successful, the applicants and their families — spouses and children younger than 21 — are awarded permanent residency. 

The foreign money is a welcome source of funding for many projects. Oakland city officials, for example, have eyed the program to help pay for a project that includes hotels, a convention center, shops and new facilities for the Raiders and Warriors and possibly a new A’s ballpark. 

In recent years, as the number of China’s millionaires has grown, interest in the program from across the Pacific has soared. 

Between 1992 and 2011, the number of applications for investor visas jumped 700percent, from 474 to 3,805, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. In the past two years alone, the number applicants has nearly quadrupled. More applications by far come from China than any other country. Last year, 77 percent of all of those who applied for these visas were Chinese. 

“They are standing inline,” said Scott Bachman, CEO of San Mateo-based eBee5. His company helps pair large development projects with wealthy Chinese looking to invest in the United States. 

“When I go to China, I get a Chinese cellphone and I am constantly bombarded with EB-5 (advertising) text messages,” said Kevin Wright, a consultant with offices in the United States and China. 

A survey of 980 Chinese millionaires published last fall by the Bank of China and the Hurun Report, which tracks the country’s wealthy, revealed that 46 percent of them were thinking about leaving China, while an additional 14 percent were filling out immigration paperwork or had already left the country. 

“The Chinese government is definitely worried,” said one successful EB-5 applicant, who relocated his family from Beijing to Los Altos Hills after initially moving to Texas, where he invested in a metal processing factory. The man, who asked that he only be identified as Mr. Zhang, did not want to reveal his full identity because he still does business in China and does not want to upset powerful government officials. 

Indeed, most Chinese who come to the United States on these visas strive to remain under-the-radar, particularly those doing business in China, whose laws forbid transferring more than $50,000 a year out of the country. 

Many Americans, bruised by the long recession and its painful aftermath, worry about the United States being eclipsed by China. But many successful Chinese complain about China’s pervasive corruption, polluted air, contaminated food and educational system that stresses memorization over creative thinking. “The United States looks like a pretty good option to them,” said San Francisco immigration attorney Robert Gaffney, a specialist in EB-5 visas who is fluent in Mandarin. “It’s a quality of life decision for them. They are voting with their pocketbook: They’d rather be here than in their own country.” 

The money of these deeppocket immigrants is highly valued in this country at a time investment funds can still be tough to acquire for some development projects. 

“Local financing is just not available, or it’s very hard to come by, especially for construction,” said Katie Yao with Sand Hill Property, a Redwood City developer that is planning to build a hotel across the street from the yet-to-be-built new Apple campus in Cupertino. 

So far, the company has found one Chinese investor interested in backing the project with a $1 million stake, with the hope of getting an EB-5 visa. 

“We are only trying to raise $20 million — that means 20 (Chinese) families,” she said. “We offer 6 percent returns and profit-sharing.” 

By China’s boom-time standards — which often reward investors with returns of 100 percent or more — the Cupertino hotel project hardly seems worth their interest, she admitted. However, Yao added, “People want to find a shelter for their money, someplace safe.” 

The investor visa, which began in 1992, will expire in September unless Congress reauthorizes it, but experts expect that to happen. 

“It has enjoyed bipartisan support,” said Peter Joseph, executive director for the Association to Invest In the USA, a trade group that lobbies Congress. “It’s about creating jobs without spending anything from the public purse.” 

Indeed, the risks are borne by the immigrant investors, San Jose immigration attorney Acton Yang said. 

“The EB-5 requires a risky investment,” he said. “It can’t be investing in a security. You can’t just buy a house. It has to be a risky investment that will generate employment in the United States.” 

And if investors put money in something that fails — say, a shopping center in a troubled neighborhood — they stand to lose more than their cash, noted consultant Bachman. “If the business is dead, they not only lose their money, they lose their visas,” he said. 

Still, many wealthy Chinese are willing to place such bets if they trust those they are doing business with, said Zhang, whose wife and two children live in their gated Los Altos Hills home while he splits his time between China and Silicon Valley. 

The number of people in China who can make a $1 million investment “is huge,” he said. “I am the captain of my golf team, 40 people. More than half of them can make a $1 million investment just like that. 

“The Chinese have full confidence in the United States,” he added. “It will come back. That’s why, from an investment perspective, there are a lot of opportunities here. At least a dozen people around me want to come here. They have the economic power. They have the means.” 

Contact John Boudreau at 408-278-3496. Follow him at Twitter.com/svwriter. 

Is Silicon Valley Housing is back to bubble or just booming?

Great news items on front page of our local news paper. Seems that housing boom is back and it is more or less fueled by dot.com type of boom of Facebook, Google and many more successful tech companies.

In part it is fueled by higher employment gains in technology area which is again attracting inflow of technology workers back in valley. Palo Alto especially is favorite of all is considered safe heaven as it has great schools, great neighborhood of rich and famous. Even in worst of times, I haven't heard Palo Alto real estate going down. At the most it stagnates... However, boom does percolate to rest of the region and spreads to entire valley.

It is quite contrary to rest of the US that real estate is going up in Valley. But I guess, it is all about supply and demand. Lot of investment is from China, Russia and rest of the world. Which is quite obvious as weather is perfect and on top of it, if you want to do anything in technology area, this is THE PLACE to be.

Silicon valley is best example of the fact that Cost of Doing Business doesn't matter as long as you can do business and make money out of it. Silicon Valley has one of the highest possible cost of business with highest property rates, highest Utility rates, highest cost of employees, highest rate of taxes and one of the highest gas prices (except Hawaii). Despite that people come here and start business. Why? One reason could be luck or chance that Chip/Software some how got bootstrapped here. Another more persistent one is consistent climate of technology with abundant best Universities and abundant Capital availability from bunker hill road. All that surpasses any deterrent in form of cost.

I hope this boom will continue and will be a reasonable boom rather than bubble type of like it was in 2005s. All friends and family members.. if you want to move in, this is right time. jump in!!!


http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_20235268/buyers-compete-short-supply-homes-bay-area

SHIFT IN BAY AREA HOUSING

BIDDINGWAR

IN SOUTH BAY, TECH WORKERS DRIVE UP MARKET; IN EAST BAY, PENT-UP DEMAND FUELS BUYING BOOM


By Pete Carey

pcarey@mercurynews.com 

Peter Giovannotto is smack in the middle of a major shift in the Bay Area housing market.

The Peninsula real estate agent recently had a modest Palo Alto ranch-style home draw 38 offers and sell in eight days for nearly a half-million dollars more than the asking price, all par for the course in Palo Alto’s overheated real estate market.

“We started at $1.2 million and ended up selling for $1.65 million,” he said.

A flock of eager buyers competing for fewer-thanusual homes for sale is sending prices soaring along the Peninsula, where Googlers and Facebook employees duke it out with foreign investors for a place to live.

In other parts of the Bay Area, pent-up demand has helped create a hot market for lower-cost homes, with buyers having to move fast to grab foreclosures and be prepared for stiff competition on other homes for sale. In Contra Costa County, pending sales of single-family homes are up about 62 percent from last year and inventory is down 32 percent — a seller’s market.

“We are getting lots of multiple offers on lowerend properties,” said Barbara Safran, president of the Contra Costa Association of Realtors. “One person told me they had 12 offers on a property in Concord.”

CHUCK TODD/BAY AREA NEWS GROUP 

The winning bidder on the Palo Alto home was a Google employee from China, highlighting two trends: the rise of the wealthy tech buyer and the buyer from Asia. “We’re seeing lot more buyers from that region,” Giovannotto said. “It’s difficult to buy property over there, and the power of their money is greater over here.” 

Another Palo Alto home drew 10 offers recently, selling for $325,000 over the asking price. 

In the East Bay, a relatively small supply of lowerpriced homes and an increase in demand has homebuyers jumping. 

Two couples working with Danville real estate agent Kevin Kieffer of Keller Williams used the “strike first” method Kieffer advocates to grab their homes this month. He tells clients that in this market, they have to make a bid almost immediately, not wait until the weekend when the bulk of buyers are looking. If it’s a foreclosure, the bank is likely to welcome a decent offer, he said. 

Cameron and Rissa Kossen bought a bank-owned Martinez house that’s near Pleasant Hill schools for $313,000 by making an offer quickly. Had he waited until the weekend, Cameron Kossen said, other buyers would have made offers and “it would have gone up to $330,000 or $340,000.” 

Another East Bay couple, Ken and Ashley Wilson, were outbid on three homes before landing the fourth, a threebedroom, two-bath house in Pleasant Hill. 

“The housing market is moving so quick that houses would come on the market and my wife and I were having to make decisions almost at that minute, because there were others willing to purchase the home right then,” said Ken Wilson, who works at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. 

On both sides of San Francisco Bay, real estate agents say fewer homes than usual are for sale. 

“Menlo Park and Palo Alto are both desperate for inventory,” said Wendy McPherson of Coldwell Banker in Menlo Park. She said that Palo Alto recently had only about 30 homes for sale. 

Ray Chavez of Alain Pinel in Los Gatos sold a home in Santa Clara that received five offers in six days and sold for $17,000 over the asking price of $609,000, a big bump in that market for a small home. 

“It’s amazing what’s not out there right now,” he said. “There are only 32 homes in the whole city of Santa Clara. We’re down 74 percent from February 2011.” 

The threat of historically low interest rates rising further — the rates rose above 4 percent this week — combined with increased confidence in the economy is bringing out buyers who have been holding back. 

“I think it’s a little bit like Christmas,” said Safran of the Contra Costa Association of Realtors. “People finally started buying again this Christmas when they hadn’t bought for three years. I think they’re just ready. It’s time.” 

Sales were up across the Bay Area in February, the strongest showing for that month in five years, according to DataQuick, a real estate information service. 

Silicon Valley is having its fourth-highest year in sales since 2000, said Richard Calhoun of Creekside Realty in San Jose. Calhoun, who has tracked the inventory of homes for sale in Santa Clara County for more than a decade, said that in some parts of Silicon Valley, including the Palo Alto area, the entire stock of homes for sale would be exhausted in less than a month. 

“The housing market has definitely bottomed and is on a recovery path,” said Ken Rosen, chairman at the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at UC Berkeley. “I think it is a real recovery happening, around the whole country.” 

Contra Costa County, saturated with foreclosures, is still 18 months away from a full recovery and a normal housing market, Rosen said. “There’s going to be a spillover from San Francisco and the Bay Area, but it hasn’t happened yet.” 

Some would-be sellers on the Peninsula seem to be holding out until next year, when Facebook’s newly minted millionaires will begin spending their money, potentially driving up prices even more. 

Sellers are “getting greedy” and pulling homes off the market, said Alex H. Wang of Rainmaker Properties in Los Altos. “They get multiple offers on their house and say, ‘I don’t want to sell anymore. I’ll wait until next year.’ That upsets everybody.” 

Contact Pete Carey at 408-920-5419. 




LIPO CHING/STAFF PHOTOS 

Real estate agents Peter Giovannotto, left, and Chris Iverson stand in front of a Palo Alto ranch-style house that received 38 offers and sold in eight days for $1.65 million, $450,000 more than the asking price. The agents used the lights as part of a renovation theme during the selling period. 







The three-bedroom, two-bathroom Palo Alto house features a modest living room and a double oven, but the top oven didn’t work at the time of the $1.65 million sale. 

============================
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_20242869/bay-area-adds-more-than-15-000-jobs

LEADS STATE IN JOB GROWTH

Bay Area notches three-year high in employment

By George Avalos

gavalos@bayareanewsgroup.com 

The Bay Area economy created 15,400 jobs in February, raising total employment in the region to the highest level in three years, the state’s Employment Development Department reported Friday.

But despite positive job growth in the Bay Area, the net gain statewide was a mere 4,000 jobs.

“California’s economy is being led by the Bay Area,” said Scott Anderson, senior economist with Wells Fargo Securities. “The Bay Area is certainly the bright spot in the state.”

The Bay Area has added jobs for seven consecutive months, and all three major urban centers in the nine-county region are now making significant employment gains. The South Bay added 4,100 jobs last month, while the East Bay gained 3,200 and the San Francisco-San Mateo-Marin region added 7,100, seasonally adjusted figures showed. 

“The Bay Area is producing what the world wants,” said Jon Haveman, chief economist with the Bay Area Council’s Economic Institute. “High-end computer manufacturing, information services, professional and business services are all doing well and creating jobs.” 

To be sure, the Bay Area has a long way to go to recapture the jobs lost during the recession. Still, the current job trends show the region also has come a long way since the depths of the downturn. 

Employment totals in the Bay Area are now at their highest levels since February 2009. The East Bay and South Bay are at similar multiyear highs. 

The statewide jobless rate was 10.9 percent last month, unchanged from January. The United States had an unemployment rate of 8.3 percent in February, which also was the same as in January. 

In February, the South Bay posted a jobless rate of 8.7 percent, down from 8.9percent the previous month; the East Bay’s was unchanged at 9.3 percent, while the San Francisco area’s was at 7.4 percent, worse than the previous month’s 7.3 percent rate, a Beacon Economics estimate culled from the EDD figures shows. 

The overall Bay Area jobless rate was 8.6 percent in February, an improvement from the 8.7 percent rate in January, according to this newspaper’s analysis of the Beacon figures. 

Through much of the recovery from the recession, the South Bay and San Francisco regions led in job growth, bolstered by the fastexpanding tech sector. The East Bay, ground zero for the meltdown of the housing market, has lagged. 

Now, however, the East Bay has joined the upswing, which bodes well for overall economic prospects in the Bay Area. The 3,200 jobs East Bay employers added in February follow a gain of 9,400 jobs in January. 

Despite the improvements, the hunt for employment remains a struggle for some job seekers. 

Even the information technology sector isn’t uniformly hot for job seekers. Gabriel Garcia, a San Jose resident, is finding that IT employers prefer to hire people for temporary contract jobs rather than full-time positions. 

“It seems that things are picking up,” Garcia said. “But it’s been harder than I expected.” 

Despite the tough times, Newark resident Sarah Babbitt, a mother of two, is not discouraged as she seeks a job in retail or restaurant management. 

“I’ve been looking for work for about two months,” Babbitt said. “But I’m confident in my skills. I’ll be able to find something.” 

The region is poised to produce more employment opportunities for job seekers, analysts predicted. 

“The Bay Area has longterm fundamentals that are better than pretty much anywhere else in the world,” Haveman said. “That is the result of the frontier economy that we have in this region.” 

Contact George Avalos at 925-977-8477. Follow him at Twitter.com/george_avalos.