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Almaden Community Center and Almaden Library Updates

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Almaden Community Center and Almaden LibraryExciting updates from the Almaden Community Center and Almaden Library!

The Almaden Branch Library is now open for all in-person activities after the pandemic restrictions are lifted. Check out the new hours here.

While the Almaden Community Center is still awaiting opening for indoor in-person activities, there are a lot of sports camps and outdoor activities that you can register for. Some of the activities that are still open for July registration are:

Camp Dance:
July 19 to July 23. For kids aged 3 to 12 years. At the Almaden Community Center, Tiny Town Courtyard. This is an outdoor activity, masks are required.

Camp San Jose Strong at Vista Park: Full Day
July 6 to July 9, July 12 to July 16, July 19 to July 23. For kids aged 5 to 12 years. This is a full day camp from 8 am to 6 pm at Vista Park.

Camp San Jose Strong at Almaden: Half Day
July 6 to July 9, July 12 to July 16, July 19 to July 23, August 2 to August 6. For kids aged 3 to 5 years. This is a half day camp at the Almaden Community Center.

Beach Volleyball at Almaden Lake Park:
July 14 to August 4. For kids aged 8 to 12 years. Wednesdays from 3:45 to 4:30 pm.
July 26 to July 30. For kids aged 10 to 14 years. 9 am to 12 pm.
These are outdoor activities, masks are required.

Spots fill up fast. Register for activities here: https://apm.activecommunities.com/sanjoseparksandrec/Activity_Search

Happy summer! Stay safe, everyone.

May 2021 Almaden Valley Real Estate Market Update

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May was another month for the record books in Almaden Valley. Fifty single family homes sold last month, which is a whopping 285% increase from the 13 that sold May 2020. Fourteen single family homes were on the market May 2021 compared to 38 in May 2020. Although the number of pending sales dropped slightly to 45 from 50 this past April, it was dramatically ahead of the 32 we had in May 2020. The average price per square foot edged up slightly, $888/sqft in May 2021 compared to the $885/sqft we saw in April. Compare this to the $639/sqft we had in May 2020 and we can see that the market is absolutely crazy!

What is even crazier is the fact that at this rate, we have about NINE DAYS worth of inventory based on the rate of sales. Well-priced homes in move-in condition are finding an eager market. Although homes are often selling within days of hitting the market and with multiple offers, the rapid pace means that there are many details that can get overlooked that can cost both sellers AND buyers money. If you are thinking about buying or selling a home, contact me and let me show you how I can help you get the best deal!

May 2021 Almaden Valley Real Estate Market

April 2021 Almaden Valley Real Estate Market Update

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The Almaden Valley residential real estate market continues to skyrocket. Average price per square foot has reached record levels. In fact, April’s $895/sqft represents a major jump from the previous month’s $795/sqft.

We HAVE seen a dramatic jump in homes coming onto the market. In March, there were 12 single family residences listed for sale while in April, we saw 20. But inventory is so tight and buyers so keen that this 67% increase in inventory was snapped up, leaving buyers clamoring for more. Homes are lasting an average of ten days on the market before finding a buyer, often after spirited bidding wars.

Although many people are expressing concern about a potential bubble burst, this soaring real estate market is quite different from the bubble and burst of the early 2000’s. The Great Recession was caused in part by a mad rush for homes fueled by easy money from banks. Our current vigorous market is fueled in part by historically low interest rates and a shortage of homes due to builders having been slow to pick up their building pace after the recession.

It’s a great time to be a seller. Buyers, however, aren’t left out of the good times. The aforementioned historically low interest rates make it quite attractive to jump into the market. If you are thinking about selling or buying, contact me and let me show how I can help YOU make the best of this wild market!

April 2021 Almaden Valley Real Estate Market

March 2021 Almaden Valley Real Estate Market Update

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The supply of single family homes in Almaden Valley continues to be incredibly tight, a phenomenon that much of the country is seeing. Many homeowners who might consider moving are hesitating to do so, knowing that they would very likely be facing the exact scenario as a buyer that benefits them as a seller; fierce competition for a limited number of homes offered on the market that often results in bidding wars that increase the purchase price of listings. This well-considered hesitance to sell homes is perhaps the biggest bottleneck we’re seeing in the tight supply of homes. In one Texas market, a Realtor reported receiving over NINETY offers on a listing, with many being cash above list price with no concessions asked of the seller.

There are many factors fueling this unprecedented market. One is a slowdown in new home construction that started during the Great Recession, which not only removed new homes from the market but also resale homes as original owners put their once-new homes on the market. Increasing interest rates are motivating buyers to make purchases sooner rather than later. We are also seeing an increase in the number of younger and first-time home buyers. All these factors are creating an extremely challenging market where the number of homes that have sold has gone down only because there aren’t enough homes offered for sale. Contact me if you’d like more information.

March 2021 Almaden Valley Real Estate

January 2021 Almaden Valley Real Estate Market Update

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The last seven months have been quite unusual for Almaden Valley real estate, to say the least. We have seen a less-than-usual winter slow-down as far as sales go, but there has been NOTHING usual about this market. The number of listings offered for sale on the MLS is as low as we’ve seen them in a long while, and they’ve been lagging way behind the numbers of pending and sold listings for the better part of a year. This is most likely due to the fact that a large number of homes are being sold by agents in a “pre-market” manner.

The takeaway we have here is that inventory is critically low. The Almaden Valley real estate market has about .6 months of inventory, and homes are tending to sell for above list price. The average price per square foot has edged up to $751/sqft which may be a market record. It is DEFINITELY a seller’s market. If you are thinking about selling your home, contact me and let me know how I can help get your home sold quickly and for top dollar.

January 2021 Almaden Valley Real Estate

Happy Holidays, Almaden Residents!

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Happy Holidays Almaden ResidentsMerry Christmas and Happy Holidays, Almaden residents! This holiday season is like no other, but there is a lot of cheer right here in Almaden. Driving around or walking the streets to view the beautiful neighborhood holiday lights displays have always been a favorite activity for most families. This year too, despite many constraints, some of our wonderful neighbors have outdone themselves to provide safe holiday display viewing experiences to everyone.

Lucas Guazelli, a high school senior, has been putting up his holiday sound and light show for the last six years at 1398 Medallion Drive. The show will run from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm every night. Says Lucas on his Nextdoor post, “It features 10,000 lights sequenced to music from Star Wars to Frozen 2. Tune into the music via FM radio on your car.” The frequency is displayed at the address.

Raymond Burleigh has his annual holiday lights show up this year, too, at 6367 Vegas Drive. Says Raymond on his Nextdoor post, “Lots of new lights and graphics this year, and an expanded selection of songs to play from the button box.” To hear the music, tune the radio to 88.7 FM in your car. The lights will be on through New Year’s Eve. This year Raymond is also requesting everyone who enjoys the lights to show their appreciation by supporting the American Diabetes Tour de Cure fundraiser at http://main.diabetes.org/goto/rayspage The contributions go to the American Diabetes Association.

So enjoy these and many other beautiful holiday displays from our wonderful neighbors at Almaden. For those driving through the neighborhoods, be sure to check out the holiday lights cheer map on https://nextdoor.com/cheer_map/?is=nav_bar to get the best out of your tour.

Let’s all stay safe, happy and healthy while enjoying the holidays and ringing in the new year.

October 2020 Almaden Valley Real Estate Market Update

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The Almaden Valley real estate market has been on a wild ride since summer. From June on, we’ve seen an almost manic pace in home sales, with a sustained high number of sold homes that we haven’t seen any time in the past two years. The number of homes coming on the market has been outpaced by the number sold for the past several months as well, setting us up for some pretty spirited competition among buyers for the available inventory. We can see this happening when we look at the average sold price, which has reached new highs this month as well.

2020 thus far has also been unpredictable insofar as the pandemic and its surprising effect of bolstering the market. Generally speaking, we expect to see the Almaden Valley real estate market quiet down from summertime highs as we slip into the holiday season, but we aren’t seeing that this year. It’s an unusual market, that is for sure, and one where sellers are definitely seeing some satisfaction. If you are thinking about selling your home, now is a good time to put it on the market. Let me show you how I can help you take advantage of this unique market!

October 2020 Almaden Valley Real Estate October 2020 Almaden Valley Real Estate

Halloween 2020 in Almaden Valley

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Halloween 2020 in Almaden Valley Happy Halloween, Almaden residents! Even with a very challenging year with the pandemic, I am happy and excited to see that the celebratory spirit among our neighbors at Almaden is undaunted. Here’s how Halloween 2020 in Almaden Valley is being celebrated, with a spooky twist to the story.

Enthusiastic residents from various neighborhoods of Almaden are buzzing with ideas about how to enjoy Halloween safely, following all social distancing norms and Santa Clara County health guidelines (see country health guidelines for Halloween and Diá de los Muertos here: www.sccgov.org/cv19halloween). Simon Aslanpour, a resident of the Almaden Mockingbird neighborhood says in his Nextdoor post, “We are not going to take away the tradition of trick or treating in the neighborhood this year because of this pandemic. We will do it safely and follow the guidelines of Santa Clara county.”

Others like Michael Harding of Almaden Williams will have a “candy chute and skeleton arms for 6ft of social distance and extra Halloween fun” between 6 and 8 pm tonight. In the Glenview Serenity neighborhood, Michelle Watanabe says, “The ‘Disney House’ on Bret Harte Drive near Graystone Elementary School will be open as well. We will have one direction foot traffic, social distancing, masks and sanitized candy bags for the kids to pick up. The theme this year is Tangled so nothing scary for the little ones.” Many other residents are also offering bagged candy.

One of the most popular haunted house displays in Almaden attracting huge crowds has been the Haunted Graveyard on Little Falls Drive. Don McNally, who has been painstakingly hosting this for years, writes that he “did not want to ‘cancel’ the Halloween spirit, especially given these stressful times.” To adhere to social distancing norms, he will have an all projection/hologram display this year, “with the same intent to delight 5-year-old’s and terrify ‘kids’ over 35!”

The other street attracting huge crowds normally is Chateau Drive, which will be a bit low key this year. Janice LaVelle, writes of how she started her scary “haunted front yard” tradition 30 years ago for their own children. “The spirit soon caught quickly on Chateau, making our street the ‘BOO’ street for decades,” she writes. Micki Karrer, another resident of Chateau Drive, has been serving beverages to adult trick-or-treaters for years. This year, however, they are staying away from displays to keep everyone safe.

For those of you who intend to drive through Almaden’s neighborhoods tonight, there will still be jack-o-lantern displays and haunted yard decors to admire. Check out the Nextdoor treat map for Almaden Halloween 2020 here: https://nextdoor.com/treat_map/ for exact locations.

September 2020 Almaden Valley Real Estate Market Update

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The Almaden Valley real estate market ended September in an upswing. Generally speaking, we expect to see the market cool a bit as the holiday season approaches, but last month logged a slight upswing in average sale price and just a very minor decrease in the number of homes sold (one, to be exact.) As the number of available listings to sales shows, our market is experiencing a keen shortage of inventory the likes of which we haven’t seen since mid-2018. With mortgage rates at rock-bottom, buyers seem undeterred by the pandemic and now is a great time to put a home on the market to take advantage of the low inventory. If you are thinking about selling, contact me and let me show you how I can help you make the best deal in our unprecedented market!

September 2020 Almaden Valley Market Update September 2020 Almaden Valley Market Update September 2020 Almaden Valley Market Update

 

Almaden Valley History: Pierce Ranch Neighborhood

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Pierce Ranch The Pierce Ranch neighborhood in Almaden Valley is flanked by Camden Avenue to its north, McAbee Road to its east, and the verdant green expanse of the Almaden Quicksilver County Park to its south. It developed into a beautiful residential neighborhood in the mid 1970s.

Like much of Almaden, the Pierce Ranch neighborhood has an interesting history dating back to the 1930s. Back then, the land – about 250 acres of it – belonged to Dr. Mark Hopkins, a San Jose based physician. Hopkins, a hunting and riding enthusiast, used his country estate as a base for his hunting trips and a home for his horses.

Tony Pierce, the person after whom the neighborhood came to be named, was a young farmer and a patient of Dr. Hopkins. Pierce and his wife, Mary, saw in the land a potential for dairy farming. They acquired the land, and in 1947, began a dairy farm. They developed a commercial herd, which grew to about 600 cattle heads at the peak of the operations, added barns, homes for themselves and their dairy workers on the land.

The Pierce Ranch dairy operations flourished till 1974. By then, the demand for residential land grew in San Jose and the Pierce Ranch’s land was subdivided and sold for housing development.

For more information, listen to Joe and Teresa Pierce talk about the history of Pierce Ridge and visit http://onlineexhibits.historysanjose.org/neighborhoods/pierce/index.html

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