Silicon Valley realtors get creative to sell homes

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- Now that Labor Day is behind us, home buyers are hoping for a surge in inventory. Although in hot spots like Silicon Valley that may be wishful thinking, which means realtors will be pulling out all the stops to get an edge.

Menlo Park is known for great schools and nice homes, so agents throughout Silicon Valley have no choice, but to be creative.

On a coveted street in west Menlo Park, residents routinely get letters from realtors.

The letters that say things like: "My client is willing to pay cash up to $5 million.

Carol Mahaffey has lived on the block for two years.

When Mahaffey was asked does she ever take these letters seriously, she said: "Because we just moved in and we have plans to stay in the area, no. But it's always fun and interesting to read them," she said.

Even in the fall, when listings are more robust, agents aren't taking anything for granted.

In addition to letters, door knocks have also become common, and so has making offers to builders of spec houses during the construction phase.

Realtor Katie Riggs of Coldwell Banker says such methods have worked for her. "They don't want to go through the hassle of open houses and putting it on tour and you know if someone showed up at their door with the right price or this make me move price, you know they'll find a place to go," she said.

Which was the case for a couple who recently sold their Redwood City home.

They were thinking about listing it, but didn't have to after someone made an offer they were happy with.

Steve Zweig and his wife now live on the central coast. "You get greedy, sometimes you wind up losing, so all things considered we came out of it feeling very good about it," Zweig said.

This is a behind-the-scenes deal that's becoming much more common throughout Silicon Valley.