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June 2007
 We've had more than a decade without a drought in Silicon Valley, but this year, it did return. Our rainfall was off by about a third, and now the delta water has been interrupted due to an endangered smelt, so water is an even bigger issue.
We are being asked to cut our water useage by 10%. It's voluntary.
If you've lived here 15 or more years, you know that this is mild. In the past, we've had actual water rationing and it involved lots of rules (and fines and penalties for using too much H2O), including when you could water your yard (time of day, days of week), how much water you could use in a month and so on.
 What can the average Los Gatos resident do to save on the water bill? First, only water your lawn and garden at night (at least NOT between 10am and 5pm). Use a timer - buy one if need be. Second, shut the water off except when really needed for washing your dishes, face, hands or teeth (and don't take excessively long showers). Third, only run a full load of dishes or clothes in those machines.
A few small measures can easily cut the water useage by 10%. Let's do it now, and avoid rationing in the near future!
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The Los Gatos single family real estate market appears to be split, with some price ranges faring far better than others, but overall, it is clearly a buyer's market. For the homes that do sell, prices are appreciating somewhat.
Since June 1st, there have been just 9 closings among single family homes. Of these, the average "days on market" was a brisk 15, with one house selling after 55 days on the market and another after 33 days - both of these, however, sold for significantly less than asking price, while homes that sold fast generally sold at list price or higher than list price. None of the closeds were under $1 million or over $1.6 million (average sales price was $1,376,865).
There have been 13 pending sales since June 1st (compared to an inventory of available single family homes in this same are of 101). Not one of the most recent sales is under $1 million and not one of the recent sales is over $2 million (there are not so many available under $1 million, wheras there are lots available over $2 million).
If we consider ALL pending sales, there are 20 to view and the range of all pending sales prices (not just sold in the last 2 weeks) is a little wider than with the closeds: 2 were just a hair under $1 million, one was a low $729,000 (for an "attached" single family home) (so 3 under a million, compared to 10 available) and four ranged from $2 million to $2.5 million (compared to 53 available). Most recently pending sales are priced solidly between $1 and $2 million.
So what are a seller's odds of selling? Right now, for all homes priced under $2 million, about one in three. For homes more than $2 million, it's about 16% (there are 9 pendings - not just since June 1st but generally - and 53 available properties in that range). You are most likely to sell if your home is the middle range between 1 and 2 million and if your property has Los Gatos Schools with no adverse conditions (high voltage power lines, freeway too close, etc.).
Sales are down 15 - 20% from a year ago, and sales then were down significantly from the year before that. Prices have been rising modestly but that doesn't help a seller if the home doesn't sell! Inventory is continuing to rise and appears that we are going into a deeper buyer's market at this time. The market does ordinarily begin to soften around this time each year, so seasonally this is not out of the ordinary. But the number of sales and the narrow range within which they are selling is key. (And this quick view did not even consider school districts or other issues that can impact value.)
Sellers: This is not a market to see if you can "get your price". You will be wasting your time. This is not a market for homes that are dirty, difficult to view, poorly staged, needing work, or overpriced. The real estate market is unsympathetic to what a seller wants to get out of the house (just like the stock market), and the market is the one thing that neither the agent, nor the seller, can control. If it is important to you to sell now, then you need to put your best foot forward on all fronts, from staging to marketing to accessibility to pricing - most of all pricing. (Most homes that do not sell fail to do so because they are overpriced.)
Buyers: If you are in the market for a luxury property, now is the time to move on it, particularly if you are an all-cash buyer. Another good angle for you is to find a property that needs updating and/or has been sitting on the market awhile, since the longer the days on market, the more likely you are to get a good price. However, the seller has to be motivated for that to happen - and in every market, there are sellers who will only sell if they get their price. Don't assume that you can get a bargain just because the DOM is long. (But hey, it's worth a try.) Understand that if you buy in the most desireable areas and with the best schools, and if the home is priced well and beautifully updated, you could pay $50,000 over list price to get that "shiney penny".
For advice specific to your area, please contact me.
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 The flag's raising and lowering was a regular part of my grandparents' day when they lived "over the hill" at Pasatiempo, near Santa Cruz, in their retirement years. Granddad was a West Point grad and career army officer (retiring as a Colonel) and he took the handling of the flag very seriously, almost sacramentally. For him, it was really an icon for our country. At Pasatiempo they had a tall flagpole and it took a few minutes to properly raise the stars and stripes there. Granddad taught us kids how to raise and lower it, how never to let the flag touch the ground, to make sure it was away by sundown and how to fold and store it. The flag was to be treated reverentially. For him, every day was the right day to hang the flag. It symbolized to him everything good about the U.S.
Tomorrow, June 14th, is Flag Day - really the "birthday" of the flag as it's the day that the US adopted the Betsy Ross flag as its own. This holiday only began to be celebrated in 1885 and only slowly morphed into a national holiday in 1949. Unfortunately, it's not a federal holiday, so it's not a "day off" for anyone, but it is a commemorative day. Displaying the flag is independent of politics or political affiliation (someone asked me a couple of years ago, cautiously, if putting out the flag meant she was a Republican - I assured her that this was not the case).
At my house in a quiet part of Los Gatos, we don't put a flag out every day, but we do on national holidays and we certainly do it on Flag Day, and each time, it reminds me of my Granddad. Please join us and put out your flag!
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.jpg) Have you been "over the hill" yet this season?
To locals, that means traversing the Santa Cruz Mountains (also known as The Coastal Range) to get to Santa Cruz county. Usually the destination is one of the many beaches along the Monterey Bay: Santa Cruz, Capitola, Rio del Mar being some of my favorites. Depending on traffic, the trip is usually about a half hour by car. So by Silicon Valley standards, it's very close.
.jpg) A major destination on the other side of "The Hill", particularly when out-of-town visitors arrive on your Los Gatos doorstep, is The Boardwalk. This year, the Boardwalk is celebrating its 100th aniversary, so there's even more going on than usual!
For instance, this Saturday night, the Boardwalk features a fireworks display that should be incredible in honor of the milestone birthday. The show will be choreographed to music and will begin at 9pm.
Additionally, every Friday night (beginning June 22nd) there will be free concerts at the Boardwalk, called Bands on the Beach. The music begins at 6:30pm and again at 8:30pm.
 There are some good deals to be had at the Boardwalk if you just plan ahead. First, if you think you'll be back more than once this season, get a season pass. This is especially helpful if you have visitors here from out of the area. Also if you visit the amusement park's site, there are cupons you can print online too. Oh, and admission is free - it's only the rides, food, and souveniers that will cost you. Even if your goal is simply people-watching, you'll have plenty to do at the Boardwalk!
And here's a little secret that I didn't find on the Boardwalk's website: starting June 25th, "1907 Nights" are back. On Monday and Tuesday evenings after 5pm, rides are a mere 75 cents each (the Giant Dipper is usually $4.50!!)
So go early (avoid monstrous "beach traffic" if you go on weekends by getting onto Highway 17 by 10am), park close, and pack layers so you can stay a good long time, even if the fog rolls in. Have a great time. And don't forget the sunscreen!
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.jpg) One of the better features of the San Jose Mercury News is the Mr. Roadshow column, done by Gary Richards. Just now, I read a question there that really hit home with me from a Los Gatos reader who wondered aloud why people in Los Gatos who are walking, strolling, or jogging don't just use the sidewalks, rather than the street?
Like my apparent neighbor, I have experienced groups of people, pets, strollers and other "stuff" taking up half the road (that is, the half I'm trying to drive on) and then also giving me dirty looks as I slow down and swing out of harm's way. I also have wondered why they don't just use the sidewalk, or at least just move to the side, for their safety and my sake both?
But I think I know the answer. In most of California, pedestrians rule. Seriously, they do. My sister-in-law used to attend Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and she enjoyed demonstrating to out-of-state friends that in California, you can step out into the road in front of a moving car and the car will stop. Every time. (Do NOT try this, just take my word for it that she used to perform this stunt to amazed friends from states where this act would be suicidal.)
There is almost a moral self-righteousness that pedestrians have here. It's not just Los Gatos or Saratoga or San Jose: it is all of California. At least it is all of urban California. It's as if being pedestrians gives them the right to be in the way, to be slow, to put their safety as primarily my responsibility. That is, of course, insane.
When I'm behind the wheel, I find this all very annoying.
 And now I will make a confession. Sometimes, when I walk my dog over to Belgatos Park, we walk not on the sidewalk, but on the road. That said, we keep far to the side and I'm doing it in order to be a good neighbor. Bella, our pooch, often heels pretty decently for me. I just about have her trained to hold her business in 'til we get to the park. I don't want her "marking" someone's lawn, only to see a dead spot show up 3 days later there. By walking away from everyone's greenery, she doesn't suddenly stop walking and make a deposit. I get her to the park instead (and yes, I have baggies for cleanup).
So yes, I'm sometimes a little guilty, but with a big exception. When I hear or see a car, I move over to make lots of room.
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 The town of Los Gatos enjoys a truly fantastic Farmer's Market each Sunday morning from 8am - 12:30pm. It is located on Montebello Way and Broadway, two of the streets touching Town Plaza Park (next to the Post Office). Parking can be a bit tricky, but try either across North Santa Cruz on the main part of Broadway or go down University and make use of the underground parking at the new part of Old Town or, if you're early enough, at the Old Town parking lot itself.
At the Farmer's Market, you will find an assortment of fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers, and prepared foods of all kinds. Additionally, sometimes there's live music (someone selling CDs) or other entertainment. Most popular with my kids is the Crepe Stand - the crepes are oversized, made while you watch and command a good sized line. I'm told they're worth it!
 For more information on this very neat weekly event, please check out the town's page on the Los Gatos Farmer's Market.
Just one note: Since the town is extremely dog friendly (and highly dog-populated) and the open air market winds around the Park, there tend to be a lot of folks with dogs coming through. Please note, though, that just as you cannot bring pets into a regular grocery store, you are not allowed to wander between the stalls of the farmers market with them either. There are signs posted, of course, but many people just don't notice them.
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Summer brings new risks around the country. I read a lot of real estate blogs and have the impression that now is a good time to be concerned about one dangerous thing or another. In the southest, it's hurricanes. In the midwest it's tornados. In southern California, I hear it's snakes. And in Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga, Almaden Valley, Los Altos and the hillside areas of Silicon Valley especially, the new danger of the season - to lives, to homes - is fire.
Fire Season officially runs from May 1 to October 1. Wasting no time, May had one house fire and one fire at Lupin Lodge (the nudist resort in the Santa Cruz Mountains). If your imagination is working overtime on the second of these, you can rest assured that it was not a fire that required mass evacuations of naked people into Los Gatos....
 We had a couple of weeks without incident, but again late last week the skies of Santa Clara Valley were a murky brown and smoke could be seen rising, almost like a funnel, in the east foothills near Evergreen. Here on the west side of the valley, we get a little more rain each year and things tend to be a little greener. But on the east side, the hills are grassy instead of tree-filled, and it gets the late afternoon wind coming off the San Francisco Bay - so it's ripe for fires burning out of control.
Ironically, Friday's fire was caused by someone trying to do the right thing in the east hills of San Jose: clear the brush around his house. Unfortunately, a malfunction in his lawnmower caused the opposite to happen when it ignited a fire that ended up burning 10 acres. The fire was brought under control by a coalition of several firetrucks plus a helicopter dumping water from above.
It could have been worse, but luckily, the Evergreen area neighbors had cleared the brush away from their homes. That's how it's supposed to work - clear the brush, keep safer.
What areas are most at risk? There are a few things to consider, but the most important appears to be housing density. The closer homes are together, usually the less risk for fires (lawns and shrubbery tend to be green and firefighters normally have an easy time reaching a developed area). When homes are on larger, 1 acre parcels, there's much more risk. And when they are on lots of 5 acres, it's extreme. Another factor is the slope of the land, again because of the accessibility issue but also, I believe, due to the effect of wind on the spreading of the fire. So if you are located in a hilly and/or rural area, you are probably in a State Fire Responsibility Area or a Wildland Fire Hazard Area.
By the way, sellers are obligated to inform buyers if the property is located in this zone. Seems fair, doesn't it?
What can be done to prevent a fire, or to minimize fire damage? Everyone should have smoke detectors in the hallway leading to each bedroom, at a minimum. Better: have a smoke detector in each bedroom, too - and replace the batteries every six months! A fire extinguisher in your home is a good idea as well, and in many cases it will lower your home owner's insurance bill.
If you are located in a State Fire Responsibility Area (SRA), (map available here for each county in California after accepting terms of service), you will be required to clear the brush 100 feet away from your home, have a spark arrestor with 1/2" wire mesh on your chimney and trim any branches that hang over your roof, among other things. A list of suggestions can be found at the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council's site. And for even more information, there's a 20 page handbook you can obtain online and at no cost from the same agency entitled, "Living With Fire in Santa Clara County" This excellent guide includes information on fire resistant plants, why you need 100 feet of clearance, information on roofing materials and fires, and even information on what to do if a fire approaches.
 One last thing: Independence Day is fast appraoching. Firecrackers and fireworks of the "safe and sane" (they don't leave the ground or explode) variety are not allowed in the unincorporated areas Santa Clara County or in the towns/cities except for Gilroy because of the risk of fire. Even so, each year, someone will trek to Gilroy or San Bruno or whereever they are sold and each year, someone's hurt and a fire is ignited. It's not worth it, not with our hillsides which are like kindling this time of year.
Be safe out there.
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Live in Los Gatos:
A blog about Los Gatos real estate, homes, houses, condos, townhomes, housing market, neightborhoods, history, events, businesses, parks, schools, photos, issues, and lifestyle.
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