Then and Now:
Los Gatos Boulevard

How did Los Gatos get its cat logo?

The town of Los Gatos was orignally named after the Spanish land grant, "El Rancho de la Rinconada de los Gatos", the Cat's Corner Ranch. But how did the town get Leo and Leona, the ubiquitous cats, as its logo?

Residing today where they were originally placed in 1922, the cats sit proudly at the entrance to 17525 Santa Cruz Highway, just a stone's throw south of town en route over the Santa Cruz Mountains. They sit guard at the gate of Poet's Canyon.

Poet's Canyon is aptly named for a fascinating married couple, Charles Erskin Scott Wood (a poet, PhD, lawyer, Civil War Vet and West Point Grad) and Sara Bard Field (poet and suffragist), who built their home back in this 34 acre nook in the hills.  They commissioned a sculptor named Robert Paine to make these 8' tall cement cats at the gateway to their home.   

All three of these people are interesting in their own right, and diverse in their talents and abilities.

To see the cat sculptures today, take South Santa Cruz Avenue out of town and onto highway 17 (going toward Santa Cruz). They will be on your right hand side just before you reach the old roadhouse tavern, The Cats (which will be the subject of another blog entry on another day).

Bring your camera. Enjoy! 

Summer Has Begun:
Reminder on Free Concerts in Los Gatos

Memorial Day Happenings

Is Now a Good Time to Sell A Home in Los Gatos?
Is It A Good Time to Sell in Silicon Valley?

When is the best time to sell a home in Los Gatos, or Silicon Valley generally? 

Many people think it's spring, others summer.  But is there a best time?

The answer is: it depends. . . and it varies.

Usually there's a runup in real estate pricing from January to some point later in the year. Then it levels off. Sometimes it even declines a little. Sometimes not. Once in awhile, there's a second runup in the real estate market too. A couple of years ago, August saw a 2% increase in pricing (other years, we've seen a decrease in pricing then). It's actually hard to predict. But normally, things heat up in January, February, and March. That part is usually fairly predictable.

Some years, the "peak" of the pricing for the year is early (March, or close to it). Other years, it's later - sometimes as late as July.

Last year, the realty market began declining in March and that "correction" continued until September. Then home prices leveled off and skated along, pretty much holding value, until January. Then they took off like a rocket again in the higher priced homes of Silicon Valley. Not so for places on the east side, really.

Other years, we've seen the market stall out because of something like an earthquake (October 1989) or a terrorist attack (September 2001), These things cannot be predicted but they do impact the market.

Besides pricing, another consideration is the cost of money. That is, what are interest rates doing? Remember that you don't really "get" a loan, you "buy" one. You are purchasing a loan product.  It's a supply and demand issue. So when the demand is high, generally interest rates will be higher as compared to when the demand is low. Demand for loan products tends to be at a low point in the dead of winter.  Interest rates often start ratcheting up close to Valentine's Day (mid-February).

There are not a lot of easy answers. Selling your Silicon Valley house in the dead of winter can be very advantageous because interest rates are low, there's not much inventory, and the "absorption rate" (the rate at which inventory is "absorbed" by the market) is often better than it is in summer.

Another consideration is what you're planning to do once you sell your house or condo: cash out or buy another home. For move up buyers who are not picky but really want "a good deal", it may be best to sell first in spring or early summer and buy later, in late summer for instance, when the market may soften. For pickier buyers, it may be good to sell their property early in the year (or more in winter) and buy later (more in spring) because the rise in inventory will provide more choices - though usually at a steeper price.

No matter when you want to sell your home, there are some key things to keep in mind, including realistic, strategic pricing (overpricing is the number one reason why homes won't sell), good staging (knowing which improvements to make, decluttering, keeping the home clean), and good marketing (make sure it's on the web and in all the right places!) are all key. It is also very, very important to hire well. A poor agent can make or break your home sale from the start. A good agent will assist you - if you let him or her and follow the advice given - to maximize your place in the market.

A couple of years ago, I co-authored a book, "Get The Best Deal When Selling Your Home In Silicon Valley". The book covers a myriad of topics from how to choose your local agent to pricing and what to expect in escrow and how to do a move-up sale/purchase. The book is available at local public libraries (Los Gatos and San Jose), at Border's Books, at nearby Barnes and Noble, and via Amazon.com. Or you can ask me to view your home and talk about your plans or thoughts on selling and I'll bring you a copy when I visit. But in any event, I do suggest you read this book (no matter whom you hire to help you sell it) so that you go into the home selling process the wiser.

Your best timing depends on a number of things, but most of all, it depends on your particular circumstances. Beware the idea that there is "one right" month to go on the market. It just isn't so. In my practice, I have seen countless people try to time the market right, but fail to stage or price the home correctly - and so despite the timing issue, it doesn't sell. And conversely, I've seen others work hard to stage and price a home correctly and seen it sell under the most adverse of conditions.

Timing matters. But contrary to popular belief, timing isn't everything.  It's only one part of the puzzle.

If you do it right, you can be successful at selling your Los Gatos home at any time in the year.

A Place for Strolling in Los Gatos:
Historic Almond Grove District in Los Gatos

The Almond Grove District is one of the oldest residential neighborhoods in Los Gatos.

The subdivision was created in 1887 by town fathers John Bean, Alphonse Wilder, Augustine Nicholson, Fen Massol and Captain Magnus Tait. The borders were from Bean Avenue to Saratoga-Los Gatos Road and North Santa Cruz and Glen Ridge Avenue. (Streets in this district include Beat Ave., Wilder Ave., Nicholson Ave., Massol Ave. and Tait Ave.)

What is really amazing about this neighborhood is the way it was originally sold, the incredibly enthusiastic response it had right from the very beginning. In September of that year, 1887, an orchardist named Harvey Wilcox had a land auction of the subdivision.  He sold 121 out of 170 lots for sale - all in one day!! 

(That same orchardist also sold the Jesuits 40 acres that would become the Novitiate up on the hill.)

The popularity of the Almond Grove District continues to this day, more than a century later.
Today the area is known for being very, very highly decorated at Halloween and Christmas. In fact, on October 31st, many children are brought in from other areas to "Trick or Treat" in this historical area with tons of (spooky) ambiance on Halloween.

Almendra is a street whose name in Spanish means "almond" and this road was the home of many mayors and important personages in Los Gatos history. It also boasts a six-sided house (which was recently home to a law office and is currently a pending sale, listed just a bit under 1.5 mil) that was built in 1895.

What folks love about the Almond Grove is that it's "walk to town" (or "close to town"), it's full of old-style charm (in a valley full to the brim with tract housing), there are wide, tree-lined streets, and of course great Los Gatos schools. But even more, it seems that the Almond Grove district exudes an immense pride in keeping the flavor of the area alive. And there seems to be a lot of community spirit too. There's no other neighborhood like this one for holiday decorating.

Are there challenges living in the Almond Grove area? Sure. Parking can be a problem - many of these homes were built before garages were a consideration!  Older construction can impact remodeling (historical preservation rules) too.

Being able to stroll to world-class restaurants, enjoy fantastic shopping or stop in at a spa for the royal treatment just blocks away is a huge plus. Living in a neighborhood full of character and history, and getting neighbors who all care about taking care of their homes is a big plus too.

I'd live there in a heartbeat.

Park Land Sale Controversy in Los Gatos

Property lines can be such a bear. The Town of Los Gatos owns a 13 acre parcel which is being used by the county in Vasona Lake County Park (leased, at no cost, since 1960, and the lease is due to expire in 2010).  The county, conversely, owns a 2/3 acre parcel of land which is being used by the town inside of Oak Meadow Park. (See image.)

Rather than continue renting, the powers that be want to sell the land in each case. The town is being offered a little more than $500,000 per acre for its land, but is being asked to purchase the county's sliver for closer to $800,000.

The townsfolk are crying foul. Some feel that the town should hold onto the land because it's too valuable to sell. Others want to keep it as town parkland so that it could be used for a sports field - as county park, it cannot be developed in that way but will be more open space recreation instead.

For now, though, the sale appears to be moving forward.

What will the town do with the money?

So far, no plans.