How is the real estate market in the Willow Glen area of San Jose?  There are multiple ways of viewing it – via price point, school district, proximity to “downtown Willow Glen”, by numbers or percentages of distressed sales (sale type), and many more criteria.  Today we’ll look at the broad market numbers for the MLS “area 10″ (all of Willow Glen) and at times just the zip code for San Jose 95125, which covers the majority of the Willow Glen area.  This post will only cover houses or “single family homes”, not condominiums or townhomes.

I ran the months of inventory for homes in Willow Glen (our MLS area 10) by sale type.  Here’s what I found – most of the market appears to have about 4.95 months of inventory, with short sales being considerably longer.  (This may have had different results had I isolated certain school areas or price points – this is a “sweeping view” of the area only.) The National Association of Realtors says that less than 6 months is a sellers market, but for our area, this is fairly “cool” and most sellers would not find the market to be all that much in their favor. (Six months is supposed to be a balanced market.)

It is unusual for there to be so little variation in the MOI, so I double checked but this appears correct. Often bank owned homes or REOs fly off the market.  Odd that it’s not happening here, too.

Next, a selection of statistics and trends in the numbers from my REReport for Willow Glen (click on link for more info) – prices here reflect sold prices (median and average), not list prices:

Prices appear down from the prior month but up from a year ago.  That’s good news for Willow Glen home owners, who hope that the worst is now behind us.  Days on market are better than the previous month (but worse than a year ago) and inventory is up from last month but almost the same – just a little less – than a year ago.  It’s a mixed bag. (more…)

A key ingredient in understanding how the Silicon Valley real estate market is faring is the ratio of regular sales to distressed properties on the market (Bank owned or REO listings and short sale listings). Today we’ll study Los Gatos and four areas or districts of San Jose: Almaden Valley, Willow Glen, Cambrian Park, and Blossom Valley.

First, let’s look at the county numbers as a general overview.  In all of Santa Clara County, there are 3537 houses, duet homes, condominiums & townhouses for sale and available (“status 1″ for my Realtor readers) on our multiple listing service. Of those, merely 1964 are “regular sales” (56%), 1105 are short sales (31%) and 375 are bank owned homes or REOs (11%).

Now let’s drill down to a few areas: Los Gatos, Almaden Valley, Willow Glen, Cambrian Park and Blossom Valley.  We’ll check out the ratio of regular sales of houses and condos in each of these areas.  How do these compare to the county average of 56%? Have a look:

This is helpful information for both home buyers & home sellers.  Home sellers need to understand the challenges that come with selling in an area with more short sales or REOs, if they are in one of those parts of the valley.  Or vice versa: if there are few distressed properties on the market, this makes it easier to sell (with less downward pressure on pricing).  Buyers need to appreciate that they will have better luck negotiating in areas where many homes are being sold under some pressure.

A quick disclaimer - if we narrowed this study by school district and even neighborhood school, we might find that these “general numbers” are actually quite different at the hyper-local level.  For example, if you visit a post of mine about the Los Gatos real estate market on my Live in Los Gatos blog, you’d find that when we separated out the various school districts, and even price points, the ratio of distressed properties and their absorption rates change very dramatically.  To see those, scroll down until you see the blue and yellow boxes.

The condo market in San Jose and nearby areas has taken a beating throughout our downturn.  Even so, condos in Los Gatos, Almaden and Willow Glen are faring pretty decently.

Now let’s hone in on each of these five areas and the two main housing types to see the ratio in each of regular sales, short sales, and REOs.
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It’s possible to live in Silicon Valley and have no idea that there are still some original adobe houses to be found right here in the San Jose area. Today, though, I hope to help some of our residents discover the past which is lurking right in front of us!

The historic Adobe Woman’s Club is just a block or two off the campus of Santa Clara University, tucked away on a side street now that The Alameda is re-routed as The El Camino.  Address: 3260 The Alameda, Santa Clara.  According to the state’s historical preservation site, this state landmark # 249 is one of the oldest in the Santa Clara Valley, was built between 1792 and 1800 and was one of many row houses built for the native Americans who worked at Mission Santa Clara.  Please note that this is private property and you may not enter without permission, but the adobe abode is very visible from the sidewalk.

Today the beautifully preserved adobe house functions as a nonprofit group with these objectives: “to promote educational, moral, social welfare, cultural, civic and community service.  Anyone who supports these objectives is welcome.”  This scenic place can also be rented out for private events.  The garden is quite lovely and the interior appears to be very modern.  You can see photos of the inside of the house at the club’s website: The Santa Clara Woman’s Club.

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Spanish style houses evoke a kind of nostalgia for “old California”, and when we think of local history, homes with a Spanish type of architecture seem most appropriate, especially if the landscaping reinforces it – things like bougainvillea, hibiscus, ferns, palms, roses and citrus trees.

California features different types of Spanish style homes

There are a number of Spanish styles found locally and throughout California: Spanish Colonial Revival, Spanish Mission, Spanish Eclectic, Mediterranean, and Monterey, which is the only archietectural style hailing from California (and admittedly is a hybrid).

Where to find classic, older Spanish style homes in Silicon Valley

Some neighborhoods, like downtown San Jose’s Japantown and many of the older areas in Willow Glen, are filled with beautiful Spanish Revival bungalows which were mainly built in the 1920s and 1930s. The largest collection is probably there, close to Lincoln Avenue and near Bird & Minnesota Avenues, and especially in the “Palm Haven” neighborhood of Willow Glen.

More can be found in the older parts of San Jose’s Alum Rock Park (up by the country club), in Santa Clara’s oldest neighborhood (by the university), in downtown Los Gatos and downtown Palo Alto, more in south county, especially Gilroy, and scattered throughout the Santa Clara Valley.

What about newer Spanish style homes in Silicon Valley?

There are some newer houses and homes with a Spanish flair, but for the most part it’s limited to the exterior (or “elevation”). The interiors of most Spanish style homes built since 1950 are not at all Spanish style. There were a number of Spanish style tract homes built in the 70s and 80s, but they are essentially ranch style homes with a Mediterranean elevation only.

Too often, the very newest homes don’t seem to know what style they’re trying to reflect at all, but tile and stucco and a few arches are thrown in to attempt something generically Mediterranean. In the last 20 years, many builders have created neighborhoods with varying home styles – the same floor plans but varying styles on the exterior such that one is pseudo Spanish, another is pseudo Craftsman, another is pseudo English cottage or Tudor. Home buyers may get to choose which “style” they want if they get in before it’s built.

Resources for Spanish style homes in the San Jose area

Fabulous books can be found to help restore and remodel these homes. Older houses need remodeling for practical reasons, and the younger ones can benefit from it to make them more authentically Spanish styled.

Meanwhile, if you love Spanish style homes of all ages, browse some classic older ones here (all pre-1950).

For more reading:
Spanish Revival Style Home in Japantown Features Classic Tile Bathroom

This Thanksgiving, I want to list 25 top things we have to be grateful for here in beautiful Silicon Valley.

1. Silicon Valley Weather: we enjoy a subtropical climate and usually have 300 sunny days a year and just 20″ of rain on the valley floor annually.
2. Scenic beauty in the Santa Clara Valley: our valley includes coastal foothills with lush vegetation on the west and dry chaparral hills on the east.  Get up close!  Enjoy the redwoods!  Walk the trails at Alum Rock Park!
3. Low crime in Silicon Valley: we are in one of the safest areas in the US (San Jose is often ranked #1 for safest large city, Sunnyvale often #1 for safest mid-sized city and the Almaden Valley Country Club neighborhood of San Jose was just named as one of the safest 29 communities in the nation)
4. Fabulous parks in the San Jose area: both the Santa Clara County Parks and the local city or town parks provide wonderful opportunities to enjoy all that good weather.
5. Local wineries: you don’t need to go to Sonoma or Napa Counties to enjoy world class wine tasting!  Santa Clara County has more than 2 dozen wineries right here, mostly in “south county”, downtown Los Gatos, Saratoga or in the Santa Cruz Mountains but not exclusively there. J Lohr is in central San Jose, probably just 2 miles from the airport! You can find a partial list of local wineries on the Santa Clara Valley Wines site (but I noticed several missing, such as Ridge in Cupertin0).
6. The San Jose Sharks: there’s no shortage of support for our beloved hockey team, the Sharks.  If you live in or near San Jose, you’ll find that once in awhile, shark fins turn up in odd places, such as a police car….
7. Higher eduction: we have some great community colleges but also enjoy having three fantastic universities right here in Santa Clara County:  San Jose State, Santa Clara University, and Stanford University.
8. Silicon Valley is very Kid-Friendly: Money Magazine listed San Jose as #2 on its short list of America’s 10 Best Places to Grow Up. Great activities, low crime, lots of kids and good weather all contributed to the high ranking.
9. Diversity: Silicon Valley attracts people from all over the world to live and work here.  It’s a wonderful melting pot. (more…)

Mid-century modern homes, including those designed by Joseph Eichler, dot the Silicon Valley & South Bay Area real estate landscape.  There are probably more than 5,000 Eichlers in Santa Clara County altogether, plus all the other homes of that genre with the similar modern style, which was influenced by the ranch and prarie styles as well as the dramatic work by Frank Lloyd Wright (open beam ceilings, nearly flat roofs, lots of exposed wood & glass windows stretching from the floor to the ceiling).  Eichlers, especially, put a premium on privacy from the street but open to the outdoors otherwise.

Not every community in Santa Clara County has Eichler homes, but most have the mid-century modern style homes & neighborhoods. These homes vary from tiny, modest cottages of 1100 square feet to large & elegant  houses of nearly 3,000 square feet, featuring big, central atriums or courtyards.  (There are also some co-ops in the valley too.)  The quality varies, as the homes were constructed by several different builders with different home buying budgets in mind.  Real estate prices range from “entry level” to very expensive, depending on the location (city and schools), size of the home & lot, and condition of the property. Most of them are now about 50 years old, though some are a little younger.

Some of the West Side Silicon Valley Communities which feature Eichler and Mid Century Modern Homes

In Los Gatos there are no Eichlers but there are a small handful of single family homes which are mid-century modern on Eastridge Drive (just off Blossom Hill Road and Hillbrook). There are a couple more at the end of Magnuson Terrace (off Magnuson Loop and Los Gatos Blvd).  Additionally, there are some smaller mid-50s homes on El Gato (and adjacent portions of Escobar) off of Los Gatos-Almaden Road. Unfortunately, not all of these homes are “well kept”, though many are.

Monte Sereno is home to 16 Eichler designed houses on Via Sereno beginning at the intersection of Winchester Blvd with Via Sereno.  These houses were built in the late 60s to early 70s.
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The San Jose real estate market is cooling with lower numbers of house sales happening and inventory close to level in many areas (and growing in some).  When this happens, prices tend to soften. 

The numbers for August’s Real Estate Report are coming in (see links below) and interestingly, the average and median sales prices are up in many parts of Silicon Valley.  Does this mean home values are rising?  Perhaps. Or it could simply mean that some of the more expensive homes are starting to move.  It really depends on the area, price point, school district, and other factors.  This is true across all of Santa Clara County’s real estate market. Please see the report online for full details.

Here are some quick numbers for houses (not condos) in San Jose:

For the city of San Jose as a whole, sales in August dropped 9.8% from July , and were down 23.2% year-over-year.  The median sales price rose  2.8% from the previous month, up 17.0% compared to last year. The average price rose 4.5%, a yearly gain of 14.4%. Inventory fell 0.1% from last month, and was down 11.7% year-over-year.

August 2010 San Jose Real Estate Market

In the Cambrian Park area of San Jose, sales in August fell 26.8% from the month before, and were down 26.8% year-over-year.  Prices improved in Aug 2010 with the median price climbing 2.5% from the previous month, up 3.3% compared to last year. The average price rose 2.3%, a yearly gain of 3.6%.  Inventory fell 7.1% from last month, and was up 15.0% year-over-year. 
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