AccessAlmaden

Quicksilver History Hike – April 2022

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Quicksilver History HikeThe next Quicksilver History Hike will be on April 24, 2022 from 9:00am-12:00pm.

Join a Park Interpreter to explore what remains of the once-bustling mining operations in the hills above New Almaden. This moderate, 3-4 mile hike in Almaden Quicksilver County Park leaves from the Wood Road parking lot off Hicks Road in San Jose. Dress in layers with sturdy shoes, sun protection, and bring plenty of drinking water. There are no bathrooms nor drinking fountains along the hike.

Pre-registration is required. Space is limited. This hike is offered once a month. Registration for the hike opens on the 1st of the month that the hike is offered. To reserve space on the upcoming History Hike, go to the Quicksilver History Hike page of the Santa Clara County Parks website.

Questions? Call 408-918-7700 or email interp@prk.sccgov.org.

Virtual 5K Art & Wine Community Event

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Virtual 5K Art & Wine Community EventThe Almaden Valley Women’s Club will be hosting its 2nd annual Virtual 5k Art & Wine Community Event from June 26-July 3, 2022, in place of the annual Almaden Valley Art & Wine Festival. The Virtual 5K Art & Wine Community Event is fun for the whole family. Participants can follow a suggested mapped route provided by the Women’s Club, or they can use their own route at their leisure over the 8-day duration.

In keeping with the AVWC tradition, they will be kicking off this event with the 2022 logo contest. One winner and two finalists’ logos will be selected from submissions by eligible students. The final logo will be featured on their yearly commemorative wine glass, the 5K event t-shirt and swag bag, and 2022 marketing material.

As with the Almaden Valley Art & Wine Festival, 100% of proceeds will be awarded to local schools and charities. For more details and to donate, visit: https://www.almadenwomen.org.

Water Lantern Festival at Almaden Lake Park 2022

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Water Lantern Festival at Almaden Lake ParkTickets are selling fast for the Water Lantern Festival at Almaden Lake Park! This popular family friendly event will take place this year on Saturday April 30 and Sunday May 1, 2022. Early bird tickets are on sale now until March 31. Along with entry to the festival, each ticket comes with a floating lantern kit, commemorative drawstring bag, and more. Gates open at 5:00, when you can enjoy food trucks, music and fun! At 7:30 you’ll design your lantern, and then at 8:00 is the Lantern Launch, where you’ll witness the beauty of thousands of lanterns and their lights reflecting upon the water. Learn more about this amazing event and get tickets on the Water Lantern Festival website.

Almaden Community Center 2022 Spring Activity Guide

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Almaden Community Center 2022 Spring The Almaden Community Center 2022 Spring Activity Guide is now available! Registration for community center classes, spring break camp and a wide variety of summer camps begins Feb. 26 at 10am. You can register in person at Almaden Community Center or online at www.sjregistration.com.

Spring break camp for ages 5-12 will be held at the Almaden Community Center Monday-Friday April 11-15 from 8am-6pm.

Dozens of week-long full- and half-day summer camps will take place at the Almaden Community Center or at neighboring parks starting the week of 6/6-6/10 and continuing through the week of 8/15-8/19. Camp instructors are from such groups as Mad Science of the Bay Area, Young Rembrandts, Futsal Kings, Skyhawks Sports Academy, Engineering for Kids, Dance Arts Academy and more.

Registration for Active Adults 50+ begins on Feb. 23 at 10am.

The Almaden Community Center is located at 6445 Camden Ave., San Jose, CA 95120. The center follows all state and county guidelines regarding mask requirements and daily health screenings. For more information about classes, camps or health guidelines, call the Almaden Community Center at 408-268-1133.

December 2021 Almaden Valley Real Estate Market Update

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The year 2021 was, by all accounts, a banner year for Almaden Valley real estate. Extremely high demand due to low interest rates, the migration of tech employees from the office to the home, and San Jose’s approval of Google’s 80-acre campus in downtown San Jose helped push Almaden Valley’s prices up. The median sales price for a single family home was $2,080,000 in December 2021, a whopping 25% over December 2020’s figure of $1,660,000. TrendGraphix shows a similar 25% increase in Almaden average price per square foot, from $737 in December 2020 to $924 in December 2021.

Inventory remains tight, though we generally tend to see an increase as we move into spring. Interest rates have already inched up each week for the past month, and predictions are that rates will continue to rise in 2022. It remains to be seen if the predicted increase in rates will stimulate more buyers to enter the market sooner in order to take advantage of current rates. Even with rates going up, though, they still remain quite attractive, and we don’t believe they will have a significant dampening effect on our market, at least not for the next few months. If you’re thinking now might be the right time for you to buy or sell, give me a call!

Almaden Valley Real Estate Market 2017-2021

2021 Almaden Holiday Lights Contest Winners

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The 2021 Almaden holiday lights contest winners in Shadow Brook have been announced! Every year the popular Almaden Shadow Brook neighborhood holds this contest, and this year there are two winners. If you’re looking for some holiday fun, drive through the neighborhood and enjoy the show! And while you’re there, take note of the dozens of red bows hung by the Red Bow Brigade, a neighborhood group of volunteers committed to making the Shadow Brook neighborhood an extra special community for the holidays.

Here are the winners of this year’s holiday lights contest:

2021 Almaden Holiday Lights

6774 Bret Harte Drive

2021 Almaden Holiday Lights

965 Summerleaf Drive

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The People’s Choice award went to:

2021 Almaden Holiday Lights

6744 Heathfield Drive

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Honorable mentions went to:

2021 Almaden Holiday Lights

1089 Hedgecroft Place

2021 Almaden Holiday Lights

6704 Bret Harte Drive

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, Best Decorated Street this year goes to the southern end of Heathfield Drive.

May your holidays this year be as bright as Shadow Brook!

October 2021 Almaden Valley Real Estate Market Update

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Almaden Valley single family real estate appears to be easing into its annual holiday slowdown… or at least elements are. Sellers have pulled back on putting their homes on the market as we would expect with the holiday season upon us, with only 10 homes added in October (which is, if not a record low for inventory in our market, pretty close to it). 31 sales closed in October, up over 40% from the 22 closings in September.

When we compare 2021 numbers with those of the same time last year, we can see that tight inventory is running the proverbial show. This October’s data is across the board lower in three key factors: number of homes put on the market (10 this year versus 19 same time last year); number of sold listings (31 versus 39); and number of pending sales (25 versus 30). In 2020 October saw about half a month’s inventory, while this year we’re seeing not much over a week’s worth. In looking at the price per square foot, we can see just how tight inventory is. Last month we saw $868/sq ft, up from $825 in September. The average price per square foot in October 2020 was $712, representing an almost 30% increase.

There is no question that Almaden Valley real estate is highly competitive, even going into the holiday season. If you are thinking about selling your home, call/email/text me and let me show you how selling now can help you take advantage of the high buyer demand we’re seeing!

October 2021 Almaden Valley Real Estate Market

Halloween in Almaden 2021

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Halloween Almaden 2021Happy Halloween, Almaden!

It is the most spooktacular time of the year! Ghosts, witches, jack-o-lanterns, and of course, mountains of candies. Halloween is here, and Almaden is a funtastic place to soak in some real scares.

This year some of our more ghoulish neighbors are hosting haunted houses that are definitely worth a visit. At David Vengerov’s home in the Montevideo neighborhood, this year’s theme is “Toy Factory”. Don’t forget to peek into the attached trailer at the property. Says David on his Nextdoor post, “the distinctive features of the house will be the “dynamic” scares.” Address: 1487 Montalban Drive.

Daniel Paulazzo of the Almaden Meadows also invites neighbors and Halloween fans to his haunted maze at “Deadmond Ave.” Address: 1394 Redmond Ave.

For Jamie Lee Miller’s family, Halloween is by far their favorite celebration. Miller promises tricks and treats and invites friends and neighbors to their ghostly display having spent “countless weeks on our family home making it a sight to see and experience to have with your friends/ family and kids”. Address: 1104 Allston Way

Beth Swartz of Glenview Serenity promises a fantastic display with some pop-up scares, skeletons and more! “This year we will have candy in individual bags and pop-up scares that kids can activate themselves. Please drop by our place on Halloween – 6pm – 9pm (or until the candy runs out!)” she says. Located on Corvallis Drive between Elwood and Glenview in Almaden.

For more locations of haunted houses and a quick look at streets to hit for candies and scares, visit: https://nextdoor.com/treat_map/?is=nav_bar

September 2021 Almaden Valley Real Estate Market Update

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Mortgage interest rates have been inching up but buyers are still keen on Almaden Valley real estate. Perhaps the rising mortgage rates are why we saw a dramatic increase of 80% in the number of pending homes last month as buyers may have hastened their purchases in order to lock in lower rates.

August/September is when we usually see the market cool for the holidays, and if it weren’t for this flurry of home purchasing we might be seeing it this year. Inventory is edging upwards and sales were slowing down in a predictable seasonal pattern. However, I anticipate the sold numbers for the next month or so will increase as the pending contracts close.

Average price per square foot has retracted a bit, to $825/sqft from August’s $866/sqft. Still, when compared to the same time last year we’ve still seen an almost 20% increase from $688/sqft in 2020.

Negotiating our unpredictable market requires a high level of experience. If you are thinking of buying or selling, call, text or email me and let me show you how I can help make the best deal!

September 2021 Almaden Valley Real Estate Market

August 2021 Almaden Valley Real Estate Market Update

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Leading real estate information news site Inman recently released their 2021 Fall Housing Market Outlook in which they predict that prices will cool but inventory will remain tight. We are seeing this general trend in the Almaden Valley market, which we tend to see as the year progresses towards the holiday season.

When examining the average price per square foot, we can see that the Almaden Valley real estate market for single family homes has remained pretty stable over the last several months. In April 2021, the average price per square foot was $885 and August ended with $866/square foot. We ARE seeing prices retract a bit, but this is very likely due to fact that inventory has risen and that we are entering the holiday season when the market tends to cool a bit. In May of this year, we were at about .3 months’ worth of inventory, which has gradually climbed to about .5 for August. Although this increase in inventory has relieved some pressure on the upward pricing trend we were seeing earlier in the year, as Inman suggests inventory is still tight.

These are unusual times, with factors affecting our real estate market that we haven’t seen before. If you are looking to buy or sell a home in Almaden Valley, contact me and let me show you what I can do to help get the best deal in this unusual market.

August 2021 Almaden Valley Real Estate