Today I was showing homes in Santa Clara to my buyers and saw one home with very “funky” (non compliant) strapping around the hot water heater. It was weird enough that I took a photo!

Unusual here - and confused - is the slanted lower strap that is in the top half as well as the bottom half of the water heater and goes around the ducting. Really bizarre!

What water heater strapping DOES require is a hefty strap in the top third and another in the bottom third of the water heater. Blocking may be required too. To see all of the requirements per the State of California, see the online directions for strapping water heaters (a how-to).

The tide is turning for Silicon Valley real estate: fewer listings are coming onto the market and more homes are being purchased by homebuyers anxious to get into a house before interest rates rise and the $8000 first time homebuyer’s credit expires.

The shift is most visible in areas with the most affordability, but even is more upscale, higher priced areas, it’s still a noticeable change.

Today I’ll share with you a series of graphs, by area, of single family homes in terms of new listings, current inventory, and pending sales (sales under contract).  These were created using our mls system (information deemed reliable but not guaranteed).

Here’s the “key” (since if I put it alongside each image it would not fit without making all of it unreadable):

Description of each graph is ABOVE the image.

Almaden Valley (95120 area of San Jose) - this is a more expensive part of Santa Clara County, but the market improvement is very clear. Cool market.

Blossom Valley (95123 and 95136 zip codes, an area of San Jose) - this is a very affordable part of Silicon Valley and has taken a huge hit on the “price rollback”.  But it’s getting better now - note the rise in sales, low number of new homes coming on the market and overall lessening of inventory. Number of pendings is almost the same as the total inventory. Hot market.

Cambrian Park (95124 & 95118 area of San Jose) - trends among listings, inventory, and sales for single family homes. The trend of less inventory and more sales is quite evident. Warm market overall - very hot under $500,000, cool in higher price ranges. (But hot only if prices are deeply reduced.)

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Money Magazine’s 25 Top Earning Towns list (of residents with the highest median incomes) included three of our prized Silicon Valley communities: Saratoga (ranked #4), Los Altos (ranked #6) and Los Gatos (ranked #19). That’s quite a show! Of course, it doesn’t necessarily reflect the highest standard of living, as our real estate is quite pricey here, particularly in those three areas. (Monte Sereno isn’t mentioned, possibly because of its smaller size. If Almaden Valley were its own town, it probably would have made the list too.)

What do these three areas have in common, besides attracting high earners?

All have excellent public schools, scenic beauty, and low crime. Each one has a vibrant downtown area and a sense of community identity with festivals and events happening throughout the year. All of them have a history connected to the orchards, vineyards, and agriculture of days past and even today tend to have a lot of trees and open spaces. You can find wineries in or near each of them too, and farmer’s markets are found in each community also. All are nestled into the western foothills of Silicon Valley.

They are all unique, of course, with pros and cons depending on your own focus for commute, amenities, and even weather (Los Altos is closer to the bay and a little cooler than Los Gatos). If you want to go to San Francisco frequently, Los Altos will be more convenient. If you want to go to Santa Cruz and Monterey more often, Los Gatos will be closer.

How’s the real estate market in Santa Clara, California? In a nutshell, it’s doing much better than the majority of Santa Clara County or Silicon Valley. Let’s look at the absorption rate first, which is the rate at which the current inventory would sell off if no new homes were to come on the market and properties would continue selling at the current rate. The National Association of Realtors says that 6 months or less of inventory is a sellers market whereas more than 6 months reflects a buyers lunch.

As you can see on the absorption rate chart above, the condo market has had its ups and downs, faring better than the single family market five months of the nine so far this year, but faring far, far worse on the others.

Next let’s track the data for Santa Clara’s houses, and afterwards, condos and townhomes.

Real Estate Statistics for Single Family Homes in Santa Clara, CA

Things seem to be improving. It will be good to keep an eye on this market to see if this month was just a blip or if the market is truly on its way back up.

Real Estate Statistics for Condominiums and Townhouses in Santa Clara, CA

Prices seem to be on their way up and inventory is up from last month but down from last year, and days on the market are down too. The Santa Clara condo market appears to be improving so this is definitely something to watch. Buyers, this may be a great time to buy a condo in Santa Clara!

 Mary Pope-Handy, Realtor, CRS, ABR, e-PRO, SRES, ASP, RECS, CNHS, ACRE
Helping Nice Folks to Buy & Sell Homes Since 1993
Co-Author: “Get The Best Deal When Selling Your Home In Silicon Valley”
Keller Williams, Cupertino, CA (Silicon Valley)
877 397-5391 (Direct/Toll-Free/Fax); 408 204-7673 (Cell)
www.PopeHandy.com & www.ValleyOfHeartsDelight.com
emailto: Mary@PopeHandy.com
Blog: www.LiveInLosGatos.com & www.ValleyOfHeartsDelight.com

Earlier today I updated my series on Silicon Valley short sales at my Live in Los Gatos blog, where I’ve been tracking the number of active listings in select parts of Santa Clara County which are offered for sale as short sales. Below please find the areas and dates I’ve charted:

To read the entire post, please continue on to Silicon Valley Short Sale Snapshot.

What’s Are The Fun Places for Kids In and Near San Jose?

There are oodles of fun things for kids and the young-at-heart to do in San Jose and the greater Silicon Valley area. Here are a few of the more dramatic highlights!

Paramount’s Great America in Santa Clara. Suitable for all ages but teens will like this best! This park does offer some water play areas and some little kid areas (but it’s expensive for that). Shows in air conditioned theaters will be welcome on warm days. Check out the Wow Card (or VIP Pass if you want to park close) if you’ll be back again in the same season.
Information on season passes & free return trips to Great America

List of Attractions Throughout Santa Clara County and Beyond

Gilroy (south of San Jose)

Bonfante Gardens in Gilroy Want to make a bigger trip of it to The Garlic Capital of the World? Gilroy offers great shopping to dress up those kids (or yourself)! Outlet Mall - List of Shops. And maybe when that’s all done, do some wine tasting. If you can take a tour, the kids may not even get bored. List of wineries (and breweries) in and near Gilroy. And lastly, don’t forget the Garlic Festival! It happens in late July every year. Yes, it’s hot. Yes, they do really serve Garlic Ice Cream. You need to try it at least once! The Gilroy Garlic Festival - information, recipes, calendar, fun stuff for kids.

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