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

July 2020 Almaden Valley Real Estate Market Update

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Almaden Valley real estate continued to be a seller’s market through July, continuing the overall trend this year of scant supply compared to demand. We had 47 active listings and 44 sales in the MLS for July, up slightly from the 45 active listings and 39 sales from June. But we can see how dramatic the market shift has been when looking at July 2019 stats, when we had 95 active listings and 37 sales.

Although the average price per square foot has not varied as wildly as the sales data, we’ve been seeing an increase in this metric over the past few months as well, where it ended at $714/sqft for July 2020 versus $640 the previous month and $643 the same time last year.

In short, sellers are firmly in control right now and a well-priced listing garners a lot of attention from eager buyers frustrated by low inventory. If you are thinking about selling your home, let me show you how you can get the best price and the quickest sale!

June 2020 Almaden Valley Real Estate Market Update

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As the COVID-19 issue pushes on, Almaden Valley real estate has proven to be resilient if not thriving. When we look at trends over the previous six months, the number of sales is not as high as we’ve seen in past summers, but the market definitely did not stall. Although the total number of sales were down, the number of homes offered for sale was down as well. The telling tale on this situation is the average days to sell, which dropped dramatically as summer approached. This is a good indication that buyer interest in the available inventory was high. Our prices are being held up by a combination of extremely low inventory and very, very low interest rates.

The average home price stumbled briefly when the pandemic was first announced, but recovered quickly. We’ve seen the Almaden Valley real estate market switch back and forth between being a buyer’s market and a seller’s market, but it has remained incredibly stable given the current events. If you have any questions or are ready to make a move, give me a call!

 

DIY Garden Projects for the Long Weekend

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DIY Garden ProjectsThinking about DIY garden projects for the Memorial Day weekend? Spring gardening is a favorite recreational activity for many of us, and though we are still sheltering-in-place, there are a lot of cool backyard DIY garden projects we can do while enjoying this beautiful weather.

Raised garden beds

Raised garden beds are great for growing seasonal vegetables and herbs. These can be made with bricks if you have any left around the yard or with untreated, but rot-resistant wood. Raised bed kits can also be ordered online. Place them at a location where they get at least six hours of sunlight. Here is a good resource for DIY garden beds.

Bird houses

Bird houses in the backyard are a nice way to attract small birds like robin, bluebird, wren, sparrow, and swallow. Bird houses also help some bird species thrive by providing a safe shelter from other predators. Find out more about placing bird houses here.

Arbors and trellises

Arbors and trellises make a beautiful feature for any backyard or front yard. Arbors create an inviting entrance and can highlight a special part of your garden. Trellises can offer support to pretty flowering creepers or vegetable plants. Learn more about how to install garden arbors and trellises here.

COVID-19 and Almaden Valley Real Estate

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COVID-19 and Almaden Valley Real Estate… Despite the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, home sales in Almaden are still happening – just at a slower rate. Real estate agents are considered essential services (part of financial services) but, per Santa Clara County COVID-19 rules, we can only show vacant homes and we can only show to 2 parties from the same household at a time. So, we cannot do open houses unless they are virtual. Right now, there are only 23 single family homes on the market in Almaden. In February, we had 25 single family homes in Almaden go into contract. In March, there were 23, and, for the first half of April, there have been 6. I’ve noticed more showing of my listings in the past two weeks since there is now more clarity on what agents can and cannot do. In fact, I’ve had 3 of my listings go into contract within the past 10 days plus I had 6 closings in Almaden since the beginning of March.

If you are wondering how current events may impact the sale of your home or home purchase, contact me and let me explain how I can help navigate these challenging times.

COVID-19 and Almaden Valley Real Estate

A Colorful Story for Your Backyard Garden

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Backyard gardenHello Almaden families! Hope you are all safe and sheltering in place right now. We are all facing a tough situation, but it need not be completely frustrating. We can use this opportunity to get a lot accomplished around the house and in the backyard garden, along with some great family bonding time.

It’s spring, and the beautiful weather calls one out to the garden. It’s time to go out for some planting. Spring is the best time to plant seasonal flower bulbs, saplings and beds to yield the summer.

In late March or early April, spring planted bulbs will transform your garden into a glory of colors in the summer. Some of the most popular varieties are calla lilies, dahlia, gladiolus, begonia, anemone, canna, and a variety of lilies like rain lily, nerine lily, and the Asiatic lily.

Late April is the time to plant the saplings directly into the ground. You can create beautiful borders or fill up those empty spaces in your backyard garden. While planting, take care to position sun-loving and shade-loving varieties in the right zones. Some of the plants you can place directly into the ground at this time are roses, which will bloom right through September or early October. While gardening stores stock a variety of annuals, you can get better yield from your hard work by planting perennials which keep blooming year after year. Popular perennials are lavender, geranium, daisy, iris, aster, black-eyed susan, bugleweed, and clematis, among others.

Stay safe and enjoy some family time in the garden.

For more planting information, visit:
https://gardenerspath.com/plants/flowers/best-flowering-perennials
https://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-calendar/CA/San%20Jose
https://www.ufseeds.com/learning/what-to-plant-in-april
https://www.americanmeadows.com/flower-bulbs/spring-flower-bulbs

January 2020 Almaden Valley Real Estate Market Update

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January 2020 Almaden Valley real estate sales figures for single family homes indicates that 2020 is off to a very good start. The number of homes for sale crept up from 14 in December to 17 in January, while the number of homes under contract practically exploded from 15 to 23 in the same time frame. The number of sales dropped from 25 to 15, but when the dramatic increase in pendings is taken into consideration, it appears that this is nothing more than a lag due to the holidays. When compared to January 2019, the numbers look even better. Not only were the number of homes on the market and pending higher this year than last, but the number of sales was higher as well.

If you’re thinking of getting into the market, give me a call and let’s talk!

January 2020 Almaden Valley Real Estate