Face-to-Face, In the Field, Sells Real Estate in Sunnyvale CA

Amol Heda, a Realtor at Century 21 M&M and Associates in Sunnyvale, only spends 15 to 30 minutes a day at the office.  He believes his short office hours are the key to his success.

“As a Realtor, I’m better in the field, than in the office,” said Heda.  “I don’t even have a desk at the Sunnyvale office.”

It works for Heda.  An eight-year veteran with Century 21, he is having one of his best years ever selling real estate.  He sells residential, new homes and commercial properties.

Heda estimates he sells two or three new homes a year and typically closes a total of 12 to 15 real estate transactions annually.  Last April, he sold four deals, including $1.4 million and $1.35 million properties.

He does the paperwork for his real estate business from his a small personal computer.

“I have a really hard-working tablet PC,” said Heda.  “I can sign documents on my tablet PC.  My clients can sign too.”

Heda uses the DocuSign service that allows electronic signatures and paperless contract execution.

While he spends little time at the Century 21 office, Heda puts in the hours showing properties, face-to-face, out in the field.

Dorothy Oliver, sales manager at Century 21 in Sunnyvale, said Heda is among the 500 Realtors she oversees.  It literally takes a scorecard for her to know her staff.

“It’s really difficult,” she said about keeping track of personnel.  “I have photos and a master sheet.”

Unlike other parts of the state, the real estate market in the Santa Clara County region has been solid, she said.

“Our Sunnyvale market is great, along with the surrounding cities of Santa Clara and Cupertino,” said Oliver.

According to Trulia, a firm specializing in real estate statistics, the median sales price in Sunnyvale is $650,000, up 10.4 percent from the same period last year.  The average listing price of $461,254 is off just 0.1 percent from last year.  Through Sept. 8, total sales were 230, down 32 percent from the previous year.

The strength in the market, said Oliver, was in homes listing between $600,000 and $700,000.

“When you get to $600,000 to $700,000, you get multiple offers.  It’s really solid,” she said.  “I believe we’ll remain very strong through the rest of the year.  We’re optimistic.”

Overall sales, which are down from last year, have been impacted by holdups in financing.

“Some of our delays in our sales will be with our lenders,” said Oliver.  “Lenders are still very strict with buyers, even as rates are low.”

One bright spot in financing is the FHA single-family loan limit is now up to $729,750.  In addition, FHA has been strong for condominium purchases at qualifying complexes.

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