Los Gatos is fortunate to be home to both a history museum and an art museum, and there are ongoing events at each throughout the year. The Art Museum of Los Gatos will soon be hosting "Altered Perspectives" from Dec 4, 2009 to Feb 26, 2010. The featured artists are Jesse Allen (prints and painings) and Angelio Batle (graphite sculpture).
A lecture, open to the public, will be held on December 10th from 7 - 9pm at the art museum (the old firehouse, 4 Tait Avenue, which is at the corner of Tait & W Main)
Museum hours are Wednesday to Sunday, 12 noon to 4pm.
It's late November and that means the holidays are almost here: Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year's are all just around the corner. It's time to count our blessings, share the joy and spend time with loved ones. . . .Maybe, too, it can be a time to give back to the community and do some volunteer work. More on that below!
The Fantasy of Lights festival at Vasona Lake County Park
When: The Fantasy of Lights begins Nov. 27 & continues through Dec. 31, 2009, 6 - 10pm nightly.
Where: Vasona Lake County Park, 333 Blossom Hill Rd. (adjacent to Oak Meadow Park, which is at the corner of Blossom Hill Road and University Avenue), Los Gatos
How much: The cost varies. For lowest pricing, go early in the season! Discount price of $10 per car up to December 10th. $15 from 12/11 - 12/31. For vehicles. with 10-15 passengers, admission is $25. It is $50 for (commercial) busses.
For more info, volunteer opportunities and some special holiday events at this annual holiday light festival, click on the Park Here site (county park website).
Horse-drawn carriage rides begin after the tree-lighting ceremony on Friday December 4th and continue through Wednesday, Dec. 23rd. These charming 15 minute rides are not available every night, but on weekends and some weekdays. Please check the Chamber of Commerce's website for schedule, pricing, and to make a reservation.
School & Non-Profit Christmas Tree Exhibit at King's Court
From Dec. 5th (kickoff 12 - 4pm) to December 20th, beautifully decorated Christmas trees will be on display at King's Court Shopping Center (Blossom Hill Road and Los Gatos Blvd). Please stop by and vote for your favorite!
Volunteer Opportunities In & Near Los Gatos: A Way to Give Back to the Community
Although it's very "PC" to say "Happy Holidays", let me instead wish you a Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year! (And if that doesn't cover it, Happy Holidays!)
Full Spectrum Jazz Big Band will be at the Los Gatos Lodge tonight, Thursday, November 19, from 7:30 to 10:00. The band will play 2 sets. There’s no cover or minimum.
Los Gatos Lodge
50 Los Gatos/Saratoga Road
Los Gatos, CA 95032
(408) 354-3300
(this is not a paid ad... I just like their music so am giving a plug)
A moment ago, I read about a federal tax credit in my California Association of Realtors weekly newsletter, which said, "This year and next, the federal government is offering a tax credit of 30 percent of the cost of qualified water heaters, up to $1,500." Just about one year ago, we replaced both our furnace and water heater - with no such credit. Getting several hundred dollars back is a nice bonus, so I wanted to spread the word!
Are there bargain homes to be found in Los Gatos (and Monte Sereno), as in a lot of short sales or bank owned houses, condos & townhomes on the market? These types of properties have been in far shorter supply in the Los Gatos area than in most of Silicon Valley (San Jose, Santa Clara County). Yesterday I logged onto MLSListings.com and did the research on the "Area 16" or Los Gatos - Monte Sereno real estate market - tedious, but interesting. (Area 16 includes Monte Sereno, consists of the 95030 and 95032 zip codes and a sliver of Campbell and San Jose, Cambrian Park - but is about 95% Los Gatos). Results below:
If you are a Los Gatos homebuyer, you'll find that there are not very many distressed properties on the market.
Los Gatos Houses for Sale
Of the 142 active listings in "area 16" (the Los Gatos area, including Monte Sereno and an exceedingly small sliver of Campbell and San Jose - Cambrian Park), only 10 are distressed homes for sale (short sales and REOs combined). That's just 7% of the available pool of Los Gatos houses for sale are distressed properties (4% short sale, 3% bank owned).
Los Gatos Condos and Townhomes for Sale
Among the condo market, about 10% is short sales and none is a bank owned property.
Pending & Closed Sales of Homes in Los Gatos
The pendings show a lot more activity among short sales - but will they close escrow? (Unfortunately a significant percentage of short sales never close. Buyers get tired of waiting, banks request things that sellers won't do, such as sign a promissory note, or foreclosure happens prior to the short sale being completed - just a few of the reasons why the success rate is lower than with either regular sales or REOs.) Although about half of all homes in escrow are short sales, a look at the closeds over the last month belies that most won't close - only about 3% of the combined closed sales in the last month are short sales. Fourteen percent are bank owned - still a small fraction of the combined market (12% are distressed properties).
Will the info (and percentages of sale type) be different if we view it "year to date"?
It's pretty similar in that the distressed homes in Los Gatos are a small pert of the market - among the single family homes sold in 2009 in Los Gatos, about 6% are short sales, 11% are bank owned homes (about 17% of the solds are "distressed" sales). Interestingly, the amount of recently closed houses that are distressed is a lot less than the year-to-date.
Among the condo and townhome market, year to date about 8% of the sales are short sales and about 5% are bank owned home sales (13% are distressed sales). For the current month, it's a similar 12%.
The distressed element of the Los Gatos real estate market is significant but a minor part of the available, pending, and sold properties in the Los Gatos area. The lower prices of short sales and bank owned homes will have a negative effect on home valuations, but not nearly so strong as is seen in most of the San Jose area. Depending on your price point and location, there may be more or less of an impact on your home's value (or the value of the home you wish to buy).
For more posts on short sales & bank owned homes in & near Los Gatos, please see: http://www.realtown.com/LiveInLosGatos/blog/short-sales-and-bank-owned-homes
Townsfolk know, but newcomers may not, that in the Town of Los Gatos, the residents do not vote for the mayor or vice mayor. Instead, we vote for the members of the town council, who in turn vote each year on which member of the council will take the jobs of mayor and vice mayor. You can read more details about our form of government in the Los Gatos town website.
On Monday (11-16-2009) at 7pm, mayor Mike Wasserman will be stepping down as mayor and the council will vote a new member into that post and have the swearing-in also.
The Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce is hosting a reception immediately following the meeting in the lobby of the town council chambers at 110 E. Main Street, Los Gatos. You can view the informational flyer for the reception online via the chamber's site.
Mike Wasserman will next be running for Santa Clara County Supervisor. You can read about him and his campaign on his website, http://www.mikewasserman.com/
Today on my Valley of Hearts Delight blog, I posted a long article on the Monte Sereno real estate market. In places I compared and contrasted it with the Los Gatos & Saratoga markets, so readers of this blog might find that piece interesting as well.
A blog about Los Gatos real estate, homes, houses, condos, townhomes, housing market, neightborhoods, history, events, businesses, parks, schools, photos, issues, and lifestyle.
Mary Pope-Handy
Realtor, CRS, ABR, SRES, E-PRO
Luxor Real Estate Group
Mailing Address for Mary: PO Box 440 Los Gatos, CA 95031-0440
877 397-5391 (office/toll-free)
.jpg)
RSS Blog Feed
