Lozano's Car Wash Coupons - 33% Inflation Over 2016

Here are the latest coupons for Lozano's Car in Mountain View CA. 

This coupon, found on the back of my Safeway receipt, is good through 12/31/17. 

 These higher priced coupons are good through January 31, 2018. Note that their blue "Tuesday Only" price is up $6 or 33.4% over last year at this time!

The various coupon prices are $2 higher than the mid 2017 price that expires in a few days.

This $2 jump matches the $2 per hour jump in Mountain View's minimum wage.

Note that inflation has soared for many reasons including the cost of ACA/Obamacare, soaring Mountain View minimum wages and the high cost of living here means businesses have to pay more to keep good workers.

MOUNTAIN VIEW MINIMUM WAGE ORDINANCE

Visit the Minimum Wage by 2018 page for more information

This car wash is located at the corner of Palo Alto, Los Altos and Mountain View California.

This coupon from last year at this time with an 10/31/16 expiration date is $17.99.  Thus $6 inflation in 12 months or $6/$19.99*100%=33.4% inflation!

It is hard to believe we could get our cars washed for $12.99 just four years ago.  I guess that explains why I wash my two autos myself more often than in the past! 

High inflation but still low CD rates

Los Altos Home Prices - Real Estate Gained Double Digits Again in 2015.

2015 Los Altos Home Price Summary

Median home prices in Los Altos gained another 15.7% in 2015 while the average home jumped 13.4%.

My calculations for the change from 2014 to 2015:

• Median price went up 15.7% from $2,370,000 to $2,741,00
• Average price went up 13.4% from $2,594,807 to $2,943,503

"Kirk's Two Investment Letters - Which is Best for You?"

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If you are not interested in individual stocks, then just follow one of my two core portfolios for 100% of your investment assets.  One portfolio is for "conservative" investors and the other is for "Aggressive" investors.  They use the same funds, but with different percentages so you can easily move from aggressive to conservative as you age or have success and want to lock in nice gains to retire early.

Below is a summary of data I got in the mail from Los Altos realtor David Troyer. Contact David@DavidTroyer.com

Kirk Lindstrom's Investment Letter

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Current Open House Today

This shows what was there before they tore it down and built a new home (3b/2b 1504 sq ft home on 9928 sq ft lot)

Today maxed out 3084 sq ft house (Biggest you can build on that lot) for $4.3 Million!

Support The Milk Pail Market During Construction

I just got back from the Milk Pail Market. Traffic was horrible as usual and much harder than usual to park and get out due to all the construction. (Construction pictures below)

We need to make an effort to help them get through this.  Follow and "Like" the Milk Pail Facebook page to get coupons and to show your support.

Here are some pictures I took today from the Milk Pail's parking lot along with a rendering of what will go in the open space that was between the Milk Pail market and the super ugly, $4,000 to $6,000 per month "Carmel The Village Apartments" where the owners make a bundle on rent while we suffer the traffic gridlock on San Antonio Road.

Best viewed in Full Screen

Best viewed in Full Screen

Traffic will continue to get worse in the Bay Area as city councils allow over development. I don't see an end to the over development either as local politicians are desperate for funds to pay huge pensions they promised workers AND reward developers for making campaign contributions.

You are not alone if you feel like a sardine in what was once a beautiful place to live. What we need to do is

1. Support local businesses like The Milk Pail
2. Voice our displeasure with the over development at EVERY opportunity.

• Write your city council
• Post on facebook and Twitter pages for anything related to city government letting them know how upset you are with this over development
• Start a petition to change the name of "Mountain View" to "Brooklyn West" to reflect we are losing our views of the beautiful mountains so the top 0.1% who own these tech companies can cram more workers into their buildings so they can live here rather than places with lower density and less environmental impact from too many people.

It is AMAZING how big the hole is... it looks like the space will hold enough workers to fill all the homes in Los Altos. I may have to bite the bullet and buy Amazon.com stock despite its over valuation as driving to go shopping won't be fun.

Rent and Layout for 2b/2b "Carmel The Village" as of 12/21/15

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Lozano's Car Wash Coupons - 38% gain in Two Years

Here are the current coupons for Lozano's Car Wash in Mountain View, California.

The lowest price, best coupon for those watching their spending, is up 38.5% in just over two years while CPI inflation in the US is up less than 5%.

click images for full size

Compare it to the coupons for just over two years ago.

Notice how the very best price offered, the Tuesday Special, went from $12.99 to $17.99, a gain of 38.5% in just over two years!

Official inflation over this period is, according the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BEA) is less than 5% so why did the price of a car wash go up 38.5%?

Mountain View's minimum wage is currently $10.30 per hour with a goal of $15 per hour by 2018. See Mountain View boosts its minimum wage to $10.30, with $15 goal by 2018

Lozano's Brushless Car Wash is in Mountain View.

Link

The minimum wage was $9 per hour before so my guess is most of the higher car wash prices are the costs to comply with Obama Care.  

It is good that workers have health insurance but it is not free.  We all pay for it.  I find I go much longer between car washes these days and I wash my cars more often at home.  If everyone does this due to the higher price, it is possible there are fewer jobs at the car wash than before helping explain why the economy isn't growing as fast as it has in past recoveries.

With the cost of Obamacare - ACA slated to go up 17.3% for me next year and higher minimum wages slated for Mountain View, I wonder what sort of prices we'll pay to get a car wash in 2016.

What do you think?  Feel free to comment below or on my facebook page.

Los Altos Real Estate Gains 12.9% in 2014

Real Estate in Los Altos gained 13% on 2014 compared to 2013 prices.

The median single-family home price for Los Altos California at the end of 2014 was $2,370,000 a gain of 12.9% over 2013 when it was "only" $2,100,000.

2014 was a seller's market as the average Los Altos home sold for 11% above the asking price!

Located between Apple, Google, Facebook and Tesla and just a short drive to Stanford University, Los Altos is central to many of today's growing companies that turned founders and employees into recent millionaires.  With some of the top schools in the country, Los Altos is a prime target for young tech titans looking to diversify their stock holdings and settle down to raise a family or just live in a town with a low crime rate and larger lots for the money when compared to Palo Alto on its Northern border.

Since 1998, the average is up $1,750 or 282% for an annualized gain of 8.7% over 16 years, see:

• Los Altos Real Estate Statistics for 2014

Los Altos real estate data courtesy of Alain Pinel realtors Jeff Stricker (jstricker@apr.com) and Steve Tenbroeck (stenbroeck@apr.com)

Los Altos Home Prices for August 2014

The median single-family home price for Los Altos California as of August 2014 is $2,250,000 a gain of 2% over August 2013 when it was $2,204,000.

The average Los Altos home sold for 5.7% above the asking price!

Located between Apple, Google, Facebook and Tesla and just a short drive to Stanford University, Los Altos is central to many of today's growing companies that turned founders and employees into recent millionaires.  With some of the top schools in the country, Los Altos is a prime target for young tech titans looking to diversify their stock holdings and settle down to raise a family or just live in a town with a low crime rate and larger lots for the money when compared to Palo Alto on its Northern border.

Click for

Historical Mortgage Rates

August2014 Los Altos Sales Summary

The three portfolios in Kirk Lindstrom's Investment Letter are again near record all time highs.  

Subscribe today and get the September 2014 Issue for FREE!

Los Altos real estate data courtesy of Alain Pinel realtors Jeff Stricker (jstricker@apr.com) and Steve Tenbroeck (stenbroeck@apr.com)

Los Altos Home Prices for June 2014

This article shows:

• The 6-month trend for Median Single-Family Home Prices for Los Altos, California
• Individual Single Family Home Sales List for June 2014
• The three portfolios in Kirk Lindstrom's Investment Letter are again at record all time highs. Subscribe today and get the July 2014 Issue for FREE!

Located between Apple, Google, Facebook and Tesla and just a short drive to Stanford University, Los Altos is central to many of today's growing companies that turned founders and employees into recent millionaires.  With some of the top schools in the country, Los Altos is a prime target for young tech titans looking to diversify their stock holdings and settle down to raise a family or just live in a town with a low crime rate.

The median single-family home price for Los Altos California as of June 2014 is $2,350,000

Historical Mortgage Rates

June 2014 Los Altos Sales Summary

The three portfolios in Kirk Lindstrom's Investment Letter are again at record all time highs.  

Subscribe today and get the July 2014 Issue for FREE!

Los Altos real estate data courtesy of Alain Pinel realtors Jeff Stricker (jstricker@apr.com) and Steve Tenbroeck (stenbroeck@apr.com)

Home Prices vs API Scores Los Altos, Palo Alto, Cupertino, Saratoga, Los Gatos, Mtn View and Sunnyvale

This table compares 2013 API Scores and Median Single Family Home Prices for some of the top school districts in the San Francisco Bay Area's Silicon Valley. 

Cupertino, home of Apple (AAPL), has the top score while its median home price is less than two million dollars.

School District - API Score - Median Single Family Home Price

Cupertino Union - 962 - $1,530,000    

Los Altos  -  961 -  $2,450,000  

Saratoga Union  - 959  - $2,280,000

Palo Alto Unified   - 932    $2,535,000  

Los Gatos Union  - 929 - $1,772,500

Mountain View / Whisman   -  863  - $1,420,000

Sunnyvale - 831 - $964,500

 This table has the above plus changes in median price over the last year and since the 2007.

From California Department of Education: Home » Testing & Accountability » Accountability » Academic Performance Index (API)

Academic Performance Index (API): The cornerstone of California's Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999; measures the academic performance and growth of schools on a variety of academic measures.

API Reports and Data Files

• API Reports
• API Data Files

Los Altos Home Prices for May 2014

This article shows:

• Los Altos Single-Family Home Prices Sales List for May 2014
• Los Altos Average Single-Family Home Prices
• Los Altos Average Prices for Condos & Townhomes
• The three portfolios in Kirk Lindstrom's Investment Letter are again at record all time highs. Subscribe today and get the June 2014 Issue for FREE!

Located between Apple, Google, Facebook and Tesla and just a short drive to Stanford University, Los Altos is central to many of today's growing companies that turned founders and employees into recent millionaires.  With some of the top schools in the country, Los Altos is a prime target for young tech titans looking to diversify their stock holdings and settle down to raise a family or just live in a town with a low crime rate.

The average single-family home price for a home in Los Altos as of May 2014 is $2,541,631

Historical Mortgage Rates

The average price for condos & townhomes in Los Altos as of May 2014 is $1,190,941 

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Is this the top of another bubble or have towns with good schools and large lots in the Silicon Valley joined the ranks of world class locations like London, New York, Paris, etc. as places people want to live and those with money will keep the prices going up?

The three portfolios in Kirk Lindstrom's Investment Letter are again at record all time highs.  
Subscribe today and get the June 2014 Issue for FREE!

Los Altos Home Prices Break Two Million Mark for a Modest Home

Located between Apple, Google, Facebook and Tesla and just a short drive to Stanford University, Los Altos is central to many of today's growing companies that turned founders and employees into recent millionaires.  With some of the top schools in the country, Los Altos is a prime target for young tech titans looking to diversify their stock holdings and settle down to raise a family or just live in a town with a low crime rate.

This house on 914 Mercedes Ave is a short walk to highly rated Santa Rita Elementary (942 API score) and Egan intermediate (984 API Score) schools.

Historical Mortgage Rates

Is this the top of another bubble or have towns with good schools and large lots in the Silicon Valley joined the ranks of world class locations like London, New York, Paris, etc. as places people want to live and those with money will keep the prices going up?