What's the market doing? As always, it depends on which part of the market. For an overview of the Los Gatos Real Estate Market, my Silicon Valley Real Estate Report will update you by home type (house or condo/townhouse). In January, how things seemed depended a lot on what you were comparing it to. Clearly it's a lot better than a year ago - but we have far to go.
Single family homes (houses and duet homes) in Los Gatos - prices are slipping (thought this isn't the case in all parts of the Los Gatos real estate market), sales were up as compared to a year ago, inventory is still low, DOM is shrinking and the list price to sales price ratio is rising slowly. So another month of mixed signals but clearly some "green shoots" of hope.
Condominiums and townhouses in Los Gatos - prices are rising (condos had taken the biggest hit during the corrections earlier, so this is overdue), days on market are still terribly long and everthing else is close to status quo.
Trends At a Glance
Jan 2010
Previous Month
Year-over Year
Median Price
$675,000
$561,500 (+20.2%)
$370,500 (+82.2%)
Average Price
$679,251
$590,738 (+15.0%)
$412,833 (+64.5%)
No. of Sales
5
8 (-37.5%)
3 (+66.7%)
Pending Properties
10
12 (-16.7%)
5 (+100.0%)
Active
48
36 (+33.3%)
55 (-12.7%)
Sale vs. List Price
96.9%
97.2% (-0.3%)
104.7% (-7.5%)
Days on Market
140
103 (+35.2%)
146 (-4.0%)
To get the whole scoop on the market for Los Gatos (or Monte Sereno, Saratoga, Cambrian Park, Almaden Valley) or anywhere in San Jose or Santa Clara County, please click on the links above!
What part of the Los Gatos parks don't we need or use?
Unfortunately, Los Gatos is not immune from the massive economic crisis we're now enduring. And that's also true for the Los Gatos Parks Department.
Budget cuts are coming to the Los Gatos Parks Department. So what can be cut?
It's always easy to say "no one uses" this or that park if you're not there to see or use it. One item on the potential chopping block is the upper meadow at Belgatos Park (shown above is the lower area, not far from the playground, the photo below is of the upper meadow). The argument being made is that the water is expensive and no one uses that part of the park, so perhaps we should plant some trees and forget about maintaining a lawn. Is that true? Not when I've walked up the trail toward the resevoir. The upper meadow is a great place for picnics, throwing a frisbee or enjoying some peace and quiet away from the playground, restroom, and the hill where kids slide down on cardboard - we jokingly call that lower meadow and hill "cardboard hill" (seen above).
Belgatos Park is at the far eastern edge of the town boundaries, so perhaps it seems extraneous. But it is also connected to the Heinz Open Space Preserve and lots of connected trails. Altogether is is a magnificent place for locals to enjoy the outdoors.
If you were going t cut services to one of Los Gatos's many parks, which one would you cut, where and why? At one time, the playground at Belgatos Park was also eyed as a place to be cut to save some money, but local residents voiced their objection and the playground was refurbished.
Hopefully there will be a hearing before any needed cuts are made. Meantime, ponder the question - what should be cut?
I just updated my Belwood of Los Gatos website with what has closed in the last three years in that part of town (including the Surmont and Belgatos areas). At the top of the page is a live mls-searching map which shows what's available in that area. Right now there's just a duplex for sale there, no houses whatsoever! Scroll down to see first sales in 2009, then 2008, and finally 2007.
Some of the numbers are disturbingly low (disturbing if you are a homeowner). Some of the lowest prices have been homes which were distressed sales (short sale or foreclosure) or which were not well staged and easily accessible. Hard to see, cluttered, unstaged homes simply sell for a lot less than homes which are well presented and easily viewed. In 2009 we saw a rise in foreclosure activity in and near Belwood. This may keep up for a couple more years until the current mortgage crisis is cleaned out.
This morning we awoke to no heat, no power at our east Los Gatos home (which is in the flatlands of Belwood of Los Gatos). Luckily the power went out after the heat had kicked in at 6am, but P, G & E's outgoing message when I phoned in at 7 o'clock stated that we should "expect an extended outage".
Noddin School, just off Harwood Road and Blossom Hill Road, barely inside of the San Jose city limits, has a large tree downed (see below).
Wednesday is the tour day for Realtors in Los Gatos, Saratoga, Cambrian Park and Campbell, so I braved seeing about a half dozen homes on my way into the office. Not surprisingly, traffic signals were off here and there and most cars were proceeding carefully after stopping. Others, oblivious, flew through the intersections at times. Some drivers also forget to turn their headlights on in the rain, so they're harder to see in the downpour. So please approach cross streets with caution.
One of our agents in the Santa Cruz Mountains advised that folks stay away today unless it's absolutely necessary. She warned of sagging power lines that caused trucks to be unable to pass, blocking the flow of traffic. Mudslides and muddy streams crossing and flooding Highway 17 in places plus fallen trees and branches making trekking across "the hill" an iffy proposition.
Unfortunately, the rains are supposed to continue for quite a few more days so it will likely get worse before it gets better in many areas. This is a good time to stay close to home if at all possible. Watch for downed or sagging power lines and report them if you find them and above all, do not go near them. Wishing all my readers safety and comfort as we get through this series of storms!
The San Jose Mercury News reports that light rail is inching forward towards a connection with Los Gatos. The proposed station would be an extention of the Campbell line and be located near Winchester and 85 (close to Netflix). The Valley Transportation Agency, or VTA, has been trying to move this forward for years and with the ongoing recession and budget issues, it's been a huge challenge.
This is such a case of "what is old shall become new again". About 1900, there was a gentleman named Albert August Vollmer who wanted the Southern Pacific train to do a flag stop near his property, about 1.5 miles north of downtown Los Gatos, so that his daughter could take the train from there (rather than downtown Los Gatos) to downtown San Jose, where she worked. The SP granted his wish and allowed him to name the stop. He named it after his childhood pony back in Germany - gave it the name "Vasona". Hence the name of the park. This was later the junction of two rail lines, the other one heading north from there toward San Francisco.
Not long after, pubic transit of a lighter kind ran also throughout parts of Santa Clara County - this was the Peninsular Interurban,, which began in 1904, something of a hybrid between a light rail and a trolly car. People took it from downtown San Jose to Alum Rock Park to picnic and enjoy the hot springs for the day, for instance. One line connected Los Gatos and Saratoga. There was a long bridge where Highway 9 now runs at the dip near La Hacienda and the intersection with Quito Road and Austin Way. (It was called "The Long Bridge".) The line included Palo Alto and appears to have been centered in Saratoga.
Fast forward many years and all of the Peninsular Interurban gets removed b 1963. Cars take over. Fast forward some more and guess what? By 2000 we are wishing we still had those systems in place, but not we must recreate them. We are back to installing mass transit! Let's hope we learned our lesson this time.
Lightning is flashing, thunder is rumbling, the rain is coming down and instead of hibernating, you are trying to sell your home. With a front yard saturated and soupy, what can you do to make your home inviting and pleasing to the serious home buyers who brave this kind of soggy winter weather?
Winter home selling poses some challenges, and all of them are exaggerated in a year like this El Niño one with lots and lots of rain. Right now (as I write this) we are in the middle of a 7-10 day deluge and I thought potential home sellers might wonder what do do if they have got to sell now. Below are a few tips for selling your home in Silicon Valley when the rains seem relentless:
Make sure to keep your sidewalks, driveway, walkways and other hardscape as free of debris as possible - this will require ongoing attention but will lessen the chances of anyone getting hurt slipping while walking to or near your home, and the cleaned up appearance will make your home more appealling too.
Provide an extra mat or two at the entrances to the home so visitors can wipe their feet clean. Depending on your home's layout, you may need to place the extra mats indoors.
If you require that guests remove their shoes* (this is something to weigh carefully as there are pros and cons to it - some will refuse to enter if required to remove their shoes, for instance), place a small bench or chairs near the entry so they can do this comfortably and safely.
With rainy and overcast weather, homes can look darker than usual. Make sure to open curtains fully for daytime showings, use bright light bulbs and make every effort to brighten up the rooms of your home as much as possible. (For instance, trim bushes so that they do not obscure any part of the windows.)
Keep your home warm so that buyers and their agents are comfortable. If the home is too cold, they will hurry out and your chances of selling your property will go down.
With really big storms, sometimes we lose power, communications may be cut (internet and phone lines), and it's possible that buyers will show up with their agent after being unsuccessful in reaching you when calling ahead. If this happens, be welcoming but be safe. Ask the agent to use the electronic lock box (that way the visit is recorded for your agent and you are insured that he or she really is a real estate licensee) to obtain a key and then enter.
If you are going to be home during the showing (not usually advised but sometimes unavoidable), you may consider making a toasty fireplace fire - just make sure it's not a winter spare the air day first! Candles can be a problem since they may be knocked over or touched by little visitors, but it may be possible to use them in a way that "warms up" the home without causing any risk - so be careful should you decide to employ candles for showings!
Some homeowners make freshly baked cookies and offer them to guests. Although warm cookies or bread won't cause an overpriced or dirty home to sell, it may help buyers to linger longer and begin seeing themselves in your space - and that's exactly what you want.
Selling in winter can be a bit more work but buyers who venture out in weather like this are truly serious. If your home is well priced, marketed and staged, you should still be able to get qualified traffic in to your home and receive good offers despite the torrents of El Niño.
There are some intersections that simply seem designed for accidents. Blossom Hill Road at University Avenue in Los Gatos is one of those cases. I don't know the statistics, so perhaps accidents don't really occur there too frequently, but I've seen so many "near misses" that I am deeming it a worthy topic for this blog (though I was tempted to email Mr Roadshow, Gary Richards, of the San Jose Mercury News to see if he'd had complaints about it.).
The problem is that the intersection doesn't consist of four ninety degree angles and it makes some drivers think that they have the right of way when they don't. because they seem to think they're "going straight" when in fact they are turning.
Drivers heading south on University who want to turn left onto Blossom Hill Road think that they have the right of way. They don't. They are supposed to yield to drivers proceeding straight on University and also to those going in the opposite direction who are turning right onto Blossom Hill Road. ("Right of way" - turning right...)
Why the confusion? I think it's because at that intersection, it's a very gentle left turn. It almost feels like you're going straight.
What can be done? I think signage could be better, reminding southbound drivers that they do NOT have the right of way vs drivers proceeding through from University to University across Blossom Hill and also that they don't have the right of way against those turning right onto Blossom Hill Road.
If nothing else, I hope that this post will alert Los Gatos residents and visitors to approach this intersection with caution. But perhaps we can have a dialogue about making this stretch of our roadways more safe. Any suggestions?
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, E-Pro
Sereno Group Real Estate
214 Los Gatos-Saratoga Road, Los Gatos, CA 95030
DRE # 01153805
877 397-5391 toll-free
What part of the Los Gatos parks don't we need or use? 
If you were going t cut services to one of Los Gatos's many parks, which one would you cut, where and why? At one time, the playground at Belgatos Park was also eyed as a place to be cut to save some money, but local residents voiced their objection and the playground was refurbished.
