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Updating the Campbell Real Estate Market

Tudor style house on graphic that says - How's the Campbell real estate market?How is the Campbell real estate market? Campbell is in a strong seller’s market that, but nowhere near as wild as last year! This article, updated monthly, offers data and analysis on the residential real estate market within this popular Silicon Valley community. Here are a few details from the latest update on Campbell’s single family housing market:

  • Low inventory and few sales cause more dramatic swings in data, so take these numbers with a grain of salt.
  • The average sales to list price ratio for homes sold last month dropped to 103.8% of asking. Homes are regularly selling above list price, but with lower overbids and with fewer offers than last year.
  • The median sales price was $1,800,000 (-4.3% since last month and down -17.2% from last year.)
  • The average sales price was $2,019,350 (-0.4% month-over-month and -9.9% year-over-year)
  • Average sales sped to 8 days on market, and market absorption shrank to 33 days. The best homes are being snatched up quickly, while others may linger longer on the market.
  • April saw a steady number of closed sales, higher pending sales, and a drop in available inventory month-over-month, further signals of a warming market, though inventory is still well below seasonally normal trends.

The market in this popular west valley city overall shows signs of a warming market.

The Campbell, CA Real Estate Market

It’s hard to predict what’s coming next, especially since Silicon Valley real estate is connected to the global economy and many buyers rely on stocks to finance their purchase. On top of that, we’re emerging from an already wild few years!

If you’re selling a well prepared, beautifully staged, and aggressively priced house, you’ll likely see multiple offers on your home for sale. We’re beginning to see more bidding wars again, but not with overbids anything like last spring. Competition for homes has waned compared to spring 2022 as buyers financial power shrank. That said, most accepted offers we are seeing are coming in over asking and non-contingent.

Desperate and worn out buyers want to get their foot in the door before the market heats up again or interest rates rise further. However we’re also seeing worn out and priced-out buyers exiting the market. Motivated buyers will go after the best properties in their market, and the outlier listings linger.

The market has been overdue for a correction and we’re beginning to see where this transitioning market is taking us. Don’t expect a balanced market any time soon – California still has a severe housing shortage and buyers are still clamoring to get property!

Here’s a quick view of the Campbell real estate market stats from Altos Research, using list prices (not sales price) which updates automatically about once per week:

Campbell Altos Real-Time Market Profile

The Altos chart is showing Campbell, CA single family homes in a strong seller’s market with a recent rise in market action paired with some leveling out of inventory. Inventory remains well below typical, and these few homes continue to sell quickly, but prices are, somewhat surprisingly, not rising.

And now –  here are some quick stats, pulled from the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) through the RE Report:

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Saratoga CA Real Estate Market Update

Orchard and Hills in Saratoga, California - photo for article on the Saratoga CA real estate market

Orchard and Hills in Saratoga, California

The Saratoga CA real estate market has been giving us some mixed signals over the last few months with home prices jiggling up and down. Here’s a quick overview from the RE Report – please view the full data here:

  • Saratoga average house prices fell by 3.8% to $4,008,360 as compared to the month before, and is down 5% from the year before
  • The median sale price for houses slipped both monthly and annually to $3,780,000 (-8.4% monthly and -7.8% annually)
  • The days of inventory in April dropped to 37 (-27.1% as compared to March and +64.4% from April 2022 )
  • The sale to list price ratio declined to 98.7% (-3.4% from March 2022 and -14.3% from April 2022 )
  • The condo and townhome market are a strong seller’s market – see all the data below.

 

How’s the Saratoga CA real estate market?

Saratoga has a diverse real estate market due to a wide range of home prices, square footage, lot sizes, school districts, and more. The luxury tier, generally $4 million and up (but in Saratoga, that’s really still just a house in an expensive zip code) normally moves slower than other price points. Saratoga’s entry level housing is usually the strongest. If the numbers swing wildly at any given month, it could be that more or fewer homes in a particular school district and pricing tier.

To really understand the Saratoga CA real estate market, you’ll need to get hyper local data for that home’s pricing tier, school district, and any other impactful data points.

 

Trends at a Glance for the Saratoga CA Real Estate Market

Data below for the Saratoga CA real estate market is from the ReReport.

 

Trends At a Glance Apr-23 Previous Month Year-over-Year
Median Price $3,780,000 (-8.4%) $4,125,000 $4,100,000 (-7.8%)
Average Price $4,008,360 (-3.8%) $4,166,240 $4,217,770 (-5.0%)
No. of Sales 22 (+37.5%) 16 31 (-29.0%)
Pending 46 (+17.9%) 39 45 (+2.2%)
Active 28 (+3.7%) 27 24 (+16.7%)
Sale vs. List Price 98.7% (-3.4%) 102.20% 115.2% (-14.3%)
Days on Market 51 (+175.8%) 19 10 (+432.5%)
Days of Inventory 37 (-27.1%) 51 22 (+64.4%)

 

 

Next, a quick glance at the Altos Research market profile for a quick summary of the Saratoga CA real estate market conditions. Altos uses LIST prices, not sold prices, for this chart and the others, below.

 

Real-Time Market Profile Saratoga, CA 95070

 

Altos Research – list prices for Saratoga CA 95070 (more…)

How do additions impact resale value and appraisal value?

Change for the betterMany times, homeowners look at the size of their home and assume that all living space is equally valuable on a price per square footage basis. That’s not always the case.

Expansions: Distinguishing Square Footage

In Silicon Valley, we frequently see tract neighborhoods of smaller houses, say 1,000 to 1,500 SF, in which additions have been made. Sometimes it’s an unattractive “pop-up” or “box on the top” which doesn’t match the home’s design or the look of the neighborhood. Other times it’s a tasteful expansion which blends seamlessly into the home. So how differently will these be priced?

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The Buena Vista neighborhood of San Jose

Map of the Buena Vista neighborhood in San JoseIf you love older residential areas with classic architecture and a canopy of street trees, you’ll want to know about the Buena Vista neighborhood in San Jose.

Situated between downtown San Jose and the Valley Fair & Santana Row areas, there’s a lot going on that’s not far away.

Buena Vista neighborhood location

Where is Buena Vista? Roughly, it includes areas north of Hwy 280, south of San Carlos, east of Leigh and west of Meridian. It is considered part of Central San Jose by the local MLS.

The eastern half of the area is in the 95126 zip code, and the western section is in the 95128 zip code.

Nearby neighborhoods include Burbank, Shasta – Hanchett Park, Sunol – Midtown, and Rose Garden on the north side of 280. South of 280 lies Willow Glen and the Sherman Oaks neighborhood.

What are homes like in the Buena Vista neighborhood?

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Naglee Park Neighborhood

The Naglee Park neighborhood in downtown San Jose is one of the most charming and historic areas in Silicon Valley. Known for older, beautifully maintained and updated homes, it boasts an annual historic homes tour and the opportunity to enjoy the Naglee Park Open Studios periodically.

Where is the Naglee Park neighborhood?

Located just east of San Jose State University, it is extremely convenient for those involved with the college or who work downtown.  Scenic Coyote Creek is its eastern boundary, Highway 280 the southern one, and E Santa Clara Street the northern edge of this community. This neighborhood is also close to the ever popular Happy Hollow Park and Zoo (which is in south San Jose, also along Coyote Creek).

You may have visited the neighborhood and not known it if you have eaten at the Naglee Park Garage, a well known local eatery.

Map of the area

Coyote Creek is the jagged eastern border.
Map of the Naglee Park neighborhood

What are homes in the Naglee Park neighborhood like?

Houses and homes in Naglee Park are primarily older, with the most historic being constructed in 1890. The average year built is 1935 as some of the properties were put up as recently as 2014 – though that is very unusual.

 

Naglee Park home - S 14th Street

Naglee Park home – S 14th Street

 

Besides being older, often historic homes, what can we say about the Naglee Park homes? First, there are 859 single family homes there, plus 39 duplexes, as well as other types of housing in the mix.  It is a good sized community, not a small pocket such as the Vendome neighborhood (see link at the bottom of this article).

Livable square footage in the single family homes ranges from a very modest 480 SF to an over sized 5007 SF of living space, with 1904 Sf being average. The average lot size is 6776 – pretty typical for most of the City of San Jose.

A variety of architectural styles can be found in the Naglee Parkneighborhood, including Victorian, Craftsman, Mediterranean, and more. A few years ago, I had the pleasure of selling a house in Naglee Park which was a beautiful Italian-Mediterranean style with classic beauty.

 

Naglee Park - Patio and Fountain

 

Are there any concerns with living in Naglee Park?

Like any downtown area in a big city, this is a place where you do lock your doors at night and can expect to sometimes deal with people wandering through who don’t live there and may be down on their luck. Naglee Park crime does exist, so do your research.

With the university nearby, parking may be an issue for some parts of Naglee Park.  Coyote Creek does sometimes flood, but most of Naglee Park is not in a 100 year flood plain. With the Coyote Creek breaking its banks in 2017, some homes on Arroyo Way were flooded, sadly.

Ask most of the residents what they think, though, and they’ll tell you that the beauty and convenience of the neighborhood far outweigh any potential issues.

What do homes cost in Naglee Park, San Jose?

Right now, in early 2023, inventory is very low, and therefore our data is also low. In general, though expect to find homes selling for between $1.5 million and $2.5 million. The exact location (busy vs quiet, scenic vs not), the home size, lot size, property condition (teardown or need of renovating versus turnkey or fully and recently remodeled or even expanded) can swing the values up or down.

If you want to purchase a turnkey home in Naglee Park it is likely to take more than 1.5 million to buy it in today’s market unless it’s quite small.

Below please find active listings of single family homes as well as condominiums and townhouses in the neighborhood. Also displayed will be sales of the same over the last year. Prices have changed over time, of course, but this will provide a fairly good idea of the Naglee Park neighborhood real estate market.

  • List View
  • Map View
  • Grid View

See all Naglee Park of San Jose, California Real Estate.
(all data current as of 6/8/2023)

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

 
 

Read more – other downtown San Jose or central San Jose areas:

Japantown
Buena Vista
Rose Garden
Vendome neighborhood

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cambrian Park Condo & Townhouse Real Estate Market Update

Cambrian Park Real Estate Market graphicHow’s Cambrian Park condo & townhouse market? Normally we answer this question in brief with regular monthly updates over on the Cambrian Park Real Estate Market Update. Here we will provide some more depth  with condominium and townhome data.

Before we dive in the the statistics for sold properties last month, let’s see what’s selling now in the Cambrian Park condo & townhouse  segment of the market.

Cambrian Park Condo & Townhouse market

Just now (as of November 14, 2022), I looked into the MLS to see the condo and townhome sales in Cambrian over the last month. Inventory is painfully low, and therefore, so are the sales.

  • There are 8 units listed for sale as “active” (not pending or under contract)
    • 6 are listed as condos (1 is “agent only” status, do not show)
    •  2 are listed as townhouses (both are “agent only” status)
  • 0 homes are under contract with one or more contingencies
  • 0 homes are pending with no contingencies
  • 7 condos / townhomes have sold and closed escrow in the last 30 days (4 condos, 3 townhomes)
    • They sold with an average of 14 days on market (condos 17 days, townhomes 9)
    • Average sale price to list price ratio was 101% (range 97% – 112%, condominiums averaged 99%, townhouses 104%)

Home prices appear to be down about 10% from the peak generally. It could be more or less in any given micro market.

Now let’s have a look at some of the numbers from our Real Estate Report:

Real Estate Report: Cambrian Park Condo & Townhouse Market – San Jose

Home prices are down from the peak here as they are throughout the valley. Please take the month over month and year over year sale price numbers with a big grain of salt. With so few transactions happening, there’s not enough data to be really accurate. What’s better is finding what else has sold for your home (or the one you’re interested in) recently. It should be within a mile, have the same school district, zip code, and similar location overall, and it should be within 10% of the home size of the comparable, or “comp”.

What we do know is that the days of inventory and the days on market are both longer than they were.  The market is jiggling up and down a little each month, and the general trend may be that we’ve hit the bottom of pricing for now.

 

Trends At a Glance Oct 2022 Previous Month Year-over-Year
Median Price $680,000 (-24.9%) $905,000 $901,250 (-24.5%)
Average Price $814,271 (-9.9%) $903,625 $945,883 (-13.9%)
No. of Sales (-12.5%) 8 18 (-61.1%)
Pending (+60.0%) 5 14 (-42.9%)
Active (+25.0%) 4 (-44.4%)
Sale vs. List Price 101.1% (+2.6%) 98.5% 102.1% (-1.0%)
Days on Market 17 (+30.6%) 13 16 (+8.3%)
Days of Inventory 21 (+47.8%) 15 15 (+42.9%)

Altos Research Live Charts

The market profiles are live, updating automatically once every week, with active inventory from MLS listings.

Most of Cambrian Park falls under the 95124 zip code.  Here’s a quick look at the main real estate market data points for Cambrian 95124 this week:

 

What’s making it strong when prices have fallen? Mostly it’s a lack of inventory couples with a healthy buyer demand.

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California lifestyle home for sale

Epitome of a California lifestyle home - 5068 Tifton Way, San Jose CA 95118If the California lifestyle home of living outdoors as well as indoors appeals to you, this Cambrian house and yard should not be missed! Clair and I just put a uniquely stunning Cambrian house on the market this evening and we’d like all of our readers to know about it before it’s gone!

  • Want to see all of the photos quickly? Check out the virtual tour at 5068TiftonWay.com!
  • Listed for sale at $1,450,000
  • MLS # ML81909106
  • San Jose Unified schools
  • The listing agents are Mary Pope-Handy #01153805 and Clair Handy #02153633 with Christie’s International Real Estate Sereno
  • The open houses will be Oct 1 & Oct 2, 2022, from 2 pm – 4 pm.

Work from home or entertain in style on a huge covered patio: California lifestyle at its best!

Beautiful pavers cover the patio and walkways in this lovely home, as well as the front porch area. So many choices for enjoying the outdoors!

The covered patio boasts nearly 700 square foot of additional outdoor living space. For most homes, that would be the size of two or more family rooms!

This amazing California lifestyle entertainment area features a high, open beam vaulted ceiling with 4 skylights and area lights, plus a fan light, making it useable at all hours and in just about every weather condition. Curtains on one side can provide extra privacy or weather protection if needed.

Summer kitchen - California lifestyle home in the Cambrian area of San Jose

The summer kitchen  provides granite counters and a wrap around breakfast bar that can seat 11! Additionally, there’s a gas barbecue (plumbed with a gas line, not a tank), an icemaker, and a Kegerator! There’s loads of counter space for meal prep or serving – room for everything!

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Meet the Oak Canyon Neighborhood of Almaden Valley in San Jose

Almaden Valley in San Jose is comprised of many neighborhoods and subdivisions. One of them, close to the border with Los Gatos and Cambrian Park, is particularly popular: the Oak Canyon neighborhood.

There are many reasons for its draw among Silicon Valley home buyers: the houses were well built by Shea Homes in about 1980, so they are relatively newer by Silicon Valley standards. They’re larger homes on comfortable lots, often 8000 sf or so but some as small as 6500 sf and others larger than a quarter acre in the Oak Canyon corner of Almaden.

Most of the homes boast a 3 car garage, which is a big help with storage of stuff, if not storage of cars. The roads gently turn, which makes a more pleasing look. It’s a very “conforming” neighborhood where everyone keeps up the homes and yards. Much of Almaden is viewed by consumers as somewhat remote, but this section, near the mouth of Almaden, is not too deep into the valley and is a better commute location for most. One of the largest pulls for the area, though, is the nearby elementary school, Guadalupe School, which has an excellent reputation for quality education and ranks exceedingly well on testing.

 

Where is the Oak Canyon neighborhood in Almaden Valley, San Jose?

Oak Canyon is found near the intersection of Camden Avenue and Coleman Road in San Jose but is bordered by Coleman on one side and the Guadalue Creek on the other sides. (The far side of the Guadalupe Creek at this point is Cambrian Park.)  Just the other side of Coleman Road is the Montevideo neighborhood, and next to that is the Almaden Meadows neighborhood.

 

Oak Canyon Neighborhood Map

 

And to provide some bearings, here’s a map of the Almaden Valley district of San Jose generally:

 

Almaden Valley Map

 

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Finding Mid-Century Modern and Eichler Homes in Silicon Valley’s West Side

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.

An Eichler home in Saratoga - beautiful mid-century modern houseMonte Sereno is home to 16 Eichler 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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Glencrest Patio Homes in the Williams area of Almaden Valley

Glencrest Patio Homes in AlmadenThe popular Glencrest neighborhood in Almaden includes both the Glencrest patio homes as well as larger houses on regular lots and streets.

This corner of Almaden is located at the end of Serenity Way near Glenview Park and Cathedral Park in the Williams area. The Glencrest patio homes area is shaped like a pentagram (a five sided object) so is easy to spot on the map.

The community enjoys a shared pool. The outside ring of homes are single family houses on large, normal lots of about 10,000 to 13,000 square feet (on Valley Quail Circle, Hollow Lake).

The more modest patio or zero lot line properties are found on the inside streets and have about 6,000 SF lots – the streets are Quail Creek Circle, Mountain Quail Circle, and Quail Cove Way.

The Glencrest homes were built by Shapell, a company which is known for a very high quality. Most were built in 1987 or 1988.

The big draws for these homes are as follows:

  • Top Almaden schools are close by: Williams Elementary, Bret Harte Middle, and Leland High School
  • Shapell is a highly regarded builder, perhaps the most valued in Santa Clara County
  • The Glencrest area homes, whether on normal lots or zero lot line / patio homes, are fairly young by local standards

Glencrest Patio Homes

 

2022-03 Glencrest Patio Homes entrance

 

As you enter the interior part of the neighborhood, a small sign has some important information for anyone in a vehicle:

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