San Jose’s Almaden Valley offers a great deal of scenic beauty, much of it enjoyable on foot or by bicycle.  The Alamitos Creek Trail also includes a hint of the region’s past.  Recently I took some photos of the Pfeiffer Stone House, a storage shed for the Goodrich’s Free Stone Quarry that was built around 1875.

You’ll find this curious bit of history at the corner of Graystone Lane and Pfeiffer Ranch Road, along the Alamitos Creek Trail.

View Pfeiffer Stone House in a larger map

This is water district land and the stone hut sits behind a chain link fence together with a plaque put up by the Mountain Charlie Chapter of E Clampus Vitus.

The creek is to the right of this photo, and the Graystone area is off to the left. (To see a few more photos, please click on the link below.)
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This week one of my buyers asked me about the inventory levels in Santa Clara County (San Jose, specificially) and wondered if they’re lower than usual.  I get this question a lot lately so wanted to present the numbers to the readers of this Valley of Hearts Delight Blog. 

How low is the inventory? It’s way off from last year in most parts of the west valley. But remember, last year was unusual.  (Below are the numbers for single family homes, or houses.)

How much is this year’s inventory off from the average of the last 6 years?

Almaden: down appx 10%
Cambrian: down appx 18%
Campbell: down appx 20%
Los Gatos: up appx 6%
Saratoga: up appx 38%

Once again, “easy answers” allude us. 

If we were to push this further, we’d find that certain price points (or bands or strata) in the market are way above or below the typical numbers.  It is very hard to generalize accurately.  Anecdotally, though, it seems as though there’s very little on the market as far as my buyers are concerned (and right now, my buyers are looking at properties in Santa Clara County ranging from the 400s to between 1 and 2 million). 

For information on your particular situation, please contact me.

Single family homes in the more affordable price ranges seem to be flying off the market in the San Jose district of Almaden Valley.  For the last twelve weeks or so, the absorption rate or months of inventory in the 95120 zip code has been hovering around 2 - 3 months. That’s fast!  (6 months is a balanced market, less a sellers market, and more a buyers market.)

This comprehensive post will include data from three subscription based  sources.  First a summary of the October 2009 sold data (care of my RE Report ).  Then, with the aid of Clarus Market Metrics (a subscription through my MLS and real estate board), we’ll take a two year view of the Almaden real estate market, its months of inventory and supply & demand ratios.  Then we’ll incorporate data from Altos Research, another subscription service I utilize, to look at the data for listed homes today, broken down by price quartile (since what may be happening in Almaden overall may not be the experience in a subset of this market).

Fewer homes are coming on the market now, so the old inventory is getting absorbed.  Prices often are getting pushed up in multiple offers if the home sells quickly (in 3 - 4 weeks).
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Last weekend, my husband and I had guests, Tisza and Mel, visiting to help me celebrate my 50th birthday.  They hail from Claremont in southern California and enjoying seeing new and unique places, so Saturday afternoon I suggested that they visit the historic Hacienda Cemetery and Memorial Park in New Almaden, off Almaden Road near Casa Grande. (Tisza is a Realtor and blogger too. You can find her online at Route66Living.com.)

What follows are photos of their trip to the scenic old graveyard, which they kindly permit me to post here.

This area of Santa Clara County was filled with mercury (quicksilver) mines, and that product was vitally important in extracting gold from rock during the gold rush years.  The New Almaden Mine (named after a large mine in Spain called Almaden) was at one point the largest producing mercury mine in the world.

The final resting place for the miners and early San Jose pioneers is an oak-studded glen, close to a creek and in the shadow of foothills.  The graves are each surrounded by picket fences of various styles and shapes.

Here’s a grave with an unpainted fence (most are white).  There are a few markers made of wood - some maintained and others crumbling with age.

Flowering trees add to the beauty of the spot.

One of the most peculiar aspects of this memorial park, and the reason I suggested that Tisza and Mel visit it, is the grave for the arm of Bertram Barrett.

Richard Bertram “Bert” Barrett

His Arm

Lies Here

1898

May It Rest

In Peace

You just don’t see this type of thing everyday.

The Folklore Regarding the Arm of Bert:

Growing up in Santa Clara, I’d always heard the tale of “Bert’s Arm”. It was the stuff of campfire stories, grist for frightening younger kids.   As the story went, Bert’s arm was severed in an accident in 1898 and was buried at the graveyard in the country….. The rest of him went to God in 1959, but by then there was no room left at the little graveyard where his arm was buried. So his body was placed at Oak Hill Cemetery several miles away. (So far, this is all true.)  The fable went on to say that every night, the arm of Bert rises from the ground, searching desperately for the rest of the body…..  At this point, storytellers may move their arms around wildly, gripping ahold of an entranced and scared child to acheive the full impact  (most effective around a campfire, ideally in Almaden Valley somewhere).

I’d heard the story but was suprised to see this marker for Bert’s arm when a field trip for girl scouts from St. Mary’s Elementary School in Los Gatos brought us to this very spot a decade or so ago.

Want to see it? This is not a hard place to find but it’s not exactly on the beaten path.  From downtown San Jose, get onto Almaden Expressway and follow it south until you reach Almaden Road.  Continue on beyond the city’s borders and into the countryside, where you’ll view horses grazing.  After a couple of miles you will be in the historic “New Almaden” area. Normally Casa Grande is open and you can see the museum for the mine, but in 2009 it is closed for renovation.  Bertram Road loops from one part of Almaden Road to another in this neighborhood.  Oddly, the road cuts straight through the graveyard and undoubtedly covers unmarked graves. (I cannot imagine that it isn’t haunted!)

Mel and Tisza enjoyed visiting the Hacienda Cemetery and Memorial Park, and found the story amusing too.  Many thanks to them for sharing their photos of the day with me and with my blog readers!  (And thanks to Tisza too for making the most incredible birthday cake I’ve ever enjoyed!)

If you are planning to buy or sell a home in Los Gatos, Almaden Valley, Saratoga or anywhere in Silicon Valley, you may be wondering which inspections or reports you’ll need and how much money you’ll be spending on them.

First, let’s distinguish between an inspection and a report. An inspection is done on site. That is, it’s done at the property or home that you want to buy or sell. Often the written findings of those inspections are called inspection reports, but some non-inspection reports are done without going to the site at all. For our purposes in this post, we’ll refer to reports as information generated off site.

The main inspections for a single family home in Silicon Valley are these:

Home or Property Inspection
Pest or Termite Inspection

Additonally, sometimes these next two are ordered upfront, and sometimes they are ordered only if there’s a “red flag” or reason for concern in the property inspection:

Roof Inspection
Chimney Inspection

Assuming that these inspections are done for typical homes, not very large, remote or historic homes, the total cost of the four inspections should be less than $1000. Many inspectors have a fee chart that factors in the size and age of the home, and many inspectors will charge more if the property is far from where they work. Another element in the cost is when you pay. Most companies have smaller fee if they are paid the day of inspection and a larger one if you
bill it to escrow.
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What makes Almaden so highly desireable a place in which to live? Real estate prices are among the highest in San Jose (and Silicon Valley). For much of Santa Clara County, its a little remote; the commute might be a little too far for some, or so its thought. But that may be a misconception.

Where is Almaden Valley?

Almaden sits nestled between the Santa Teresa foothills and the Santa Cruz Mountains in a southwest corner of Santa Clara County. It touches the Los Gatos and Cambrian Park borders on one side, Blossom Valley on another and stretches toward Morgan Hill at the base of the valley. The major roads winding through Almaden are Camden Avenue, Almaden Expressway, and Coleman Avenue. The local landmark, viewable from much of Almaden Valley, is the famous Mount Umunhum, perched at a high point of the coastal foothills. (Someday, it is hoped that will be a park accessible to all - like Mount Tam to the north.)

Why Choose Almaden Valley?

Great living: Almaden boasts low crime, great schools, and strong community involvement. With nice public facilities such as a rec center and library, and some neighborhood communities with cabanas and busy swim teams, its family oriented and kid friendly.

Scenic open spaces: Almaden has lots of open spaces with golf courses, parks, and trails. The southernmost part of Almaden and some of the hilly areas are still beautiful horse country too.

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