Often I get emails from people asking if I can help them with finding a rental property. For the most part, my practice revolves around listing and selling real estate in San Jose, Los Gatos, and Silicon Valley generally, so my best information is on what’s for sale, not what’s for rent.  Once in awhile I work on rental housing, but not normally, as rental condos or houses through an agent (if they are listed on the MLS) will usually cost you more than homes you find to rent elsewhere.

The best resources I have found for locating rental properties in Santa Clara County are these (I cannot guarantee or waranty your results, but these are starting points for you):

• Craigslist (link is to the South Bay area)
• Bay Rentals (they do charge a small fee)
• ForRent.com (search by city name or zip code)
• Once you’ve located an area you like – drive around

The last bullet point might seem silly, but some of the best apartments, townhomes etc. never get listed anywhere other than a sign in the yard.  So if you love Los Gatos, Campbell, Santa Clara or anywhere else, drive it and watch for signs!

Perhaps you want to be in a hotel or inn for awhile before deciding where to rent or buy, or while on temporary assignment at a local business or university. You don’t need me to tell you where to stay in a hotel, but if you are moving here with a pet you might want assistance finding a place which will welcome your cat or dog.  Here’s a great resource for finding pet-friendly hotels, motels and inns here: DogFriendly.com’s San Jose (and nearby) City Guide, which includes accomodations, parks, outdoor restaurants etc.

A plat map comes with your preliminary title report (provided by your title company when you purchase or sell a home in California), tucked away at the back and somewhat mysterious with lots of numbers in small print.  It holds quite a bit of helpful information if you know what it is you’re seeing.  Today we’ll view a sample of one of these – breaking down the plat map shown as a small thumbnail image on the right to more readable parts so that you can learn how to “read” or understand a plat map.  By the way, this example we’re using is for a lovely San Jose neighborhood in the Cambrian Park district which borders Los Gatos and is near Carlton Avenue, Los Gatos-Almaden Road and Union Avenue.

First have a quick look at the thumbnail image on the right.  You can tell it’s some sort of map with official looking writing in the lower corners.  Perhaps most salient even in the smallest image, one important feature of the plat map is that it provides the orientation of the properties (north/south/east/west).  That info is now readily findable online, but this used to be the easiest way (and most accurate) to answer the question “which way does the home face?” Look at the map, find the parcel and you’ll know its orientation.

The plat map also provides the Tract Number (and often the name given by the builder for the subdivision – in this case, Carlton Terrace). Along the right side, you can see the source of this information: the office of the county assessor for Santa Clara County.
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The post below was written in 2008. To see the most current posts on Willow Glen and the real estate market there, please click on this link to see all related posts with the most current on top. At the bottom of this post, I’ll add links to some articles which are specifically related to the Willow Glen real estate market trends & statistics, too.

Silicon Valley has wildly divergent real estate market conditions right now, and those swings are evident in the Willow Glen district of San Jose. As is the case elsewhere in Santa Clara County, the condo market has had a far rougher time of it than the single family home market.

The market for Willow Glen houses has been fairly close to a balanced market (6 months) for much of this year, though the general trend is in the buyers favor at this point and prices are down (see chart below).

The statistics, data and trends for single family homes in the Willow Glen Real Estate Market:

While the aborption rate for condos is far worse then for single family homes in Willow Glen, pricing is amazingly strong – down a very slight amount from a year ago (much less then with houses). That said, almost no condos are selling. So likely only the best of the best is selling and everything else goes unsold. So having strong prices but most homes not selling is no consolation to sellers.

This is a trend we are seeing in most of Silicon Valley, and in all types of homes. Buyers don’t want to fix up. They want turnkey.Statistics, data and trends for condominiums and townhouses in the Willow Glen Real Estate Market of San Jose:

If you are interested in buying or selling a home in Willow Glen, please call or email me. I’d be happy to offer you a free one hour consulation.

Related articles:

Willow Glen Market Update in Brief for June 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010

The Condo and Townhouse Market Update in the West Valley for June 2010
Saturday, June 5th, 2010

(This is a comparative post which includes multiple Silicon Valley areas together with Willow Glen.)

The Micro-Markets of the San Jose Neighborhood of Willow Glen Saturday, March 20th, 2010

The Willow Glen Real Estate Market Trends and Statistics
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

It’s Not Your Imagination: There are Fewer Homes to Choose from in Silicon Valley
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

(This is a comparative post which includes multiple Silicon Valley areas together with Willow Glen.)