San Jose’s Cambrian, or Cambrian Park, area is a very hot seller’s market.  Multiple offers are not uncommon, especially in the Union School District, where schools are trending upward.  My Cambrian Park Real Estate Report has just been published with the updated numbers from the closed sales in April. Please click on the link to see much more information there.

Prices are up nicely year over year! Inventory is crazy low – just 35 homes for sale in April compared to 57 in March and 84 in April 2011. Days on market is far lower too. All around, it is a deepening seller’s market.

Even stronger is the Cambrian condo market, which is skyrocketing!!!  Please see the Cambrian Condominium & Townhouse Real Estate Report for all of the numbers, but I’ll include a quick summary below.

Here again, notice the ratio of active to pending homes, the sale vs list price (over 100%), and most of all, the tremendous rise in both the average and median sales price.  Few homes closed escrow in February, so it is possible that these numbers are a little exaggerated.  We will know more in a month – if it’s a trend or if this is a fluke.

Now let’s work with Altos Research’s graphs and get a feel for the Cambrian realty market in “real time”.  These use list prices, whereas my REReport uses sold data.

First, the statistics by quartile for houses in San Jose 95118:

Next, the stats and trends by price quartile for houses in San Jose 95124:

Median list price of homes for sale in 95124 and 95118 (all quartiles combined):

Very interesting that the 95124 pricing appears to be swinging upward while the 95118 pricing continues to go down.  I believe that this is mainly because the schools in 95124 have been trending upward strongly with the API scores.  Prices are also at a higher level, and those are less impacted by short sales and REOs countywide.  So it may be the result of multiple factors.  (95124 is about 2/3 of the Cambrian real estate market.)

Inventory in Cambrian area of San Jose 95124, 95118:

Surprising, isn’t it, to see how differently these two San Jose zip codes are behaving from each other?

Average days on Market in San Jose’s Cambrian area

And again, really different trends on these neighboring zips, both in Cambrian!

Another anecdotal story to share: Recently I closed the sale on my listing at 5114 Nerissa Way in Cambrian with Union Schools and Alta Vista in particular. We were listed at $579,000 and received 4 offers and sold at $585,000. Interestingly, we received 2 nearly identical “best” offers, both at $585,000. One was completely As Is and the other was almost As Is (they wanted a fumigation and pest clearance provided).  That is usually a pretty good affirmation of market value, and the property did appraise at the sales price.  The other two offers we got were below list price.  One was all cash and it was extremely low.  Buyers who are purchasing without financing sometimes misunderstand the type of discount that their all-cash status will get for them, so sometimes the worst offers are all cash and that was the case this time.

Want more info on your neighborhood, your house, or your target home to buy? Please call me!

Showing properties 1 - 5 of 36. See more 95124 zip code real estate.
(all data current as of 5/24/2012)

1. $699,000 : 2757 Theresa Ln, San Jose
   
   3 beds, 2 full baths

   Home size: 1,563 sq ft

   Lot size: 8,580 sqft
   
2. $699,000 : 1898 Kay Dr, San Jose
   
   3 beds, 2 full baths

   Home size: 1,331 sq ft

   Lot size: 7,062 sqft
   
3. $1,299,999 : 14904 Leigh Av, San Jose
   
   4 beds, 3 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 3,340 sq ft

   Lot size: 10,125 sqft
   
4. $682,950 : 3591 Gavota Av, San Jose
   
   3 beds, 2 full baths

   Home size: 1,600 sq ft

   Lot size: 7,500 sqft
   
5. $1,180,000 : 1777 Kirkmont Dr, San Jose
   
   4 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 2,306 sq ft

   Lot size: 8,249 sqft
   

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

Showing properties 1 - 5 of 22. See more 95118 zip code real estate.
(all data current as of 5/24/2012)

1. $670,000 : 4241 Ranwick Ct, San Jose
   
   4 beds, 3 full baths

   Home size: 2,199 sq ft

   Lot size: 5,000 sqft
   
2. $785,000 : 3339 Beacon Ln, San Jose
   
   3 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 1,952 sq ft

   Lot size: 6,784 sqft
   
3. $998,000 : 5715 Mireille Dr, San Jose
   
   4 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 2,000 sq ft

   Lot size: 6,566 sqft
   
4. $649,000 : 1373 Adobe Ct, San Jose
   
   4 beds, 2 full baths

   Home size: 1,966 sq ft

   Lot size: 8,800 sqft
   
5. $499,500 : 5576 Dwight Av, San Jose
   
   3 beds, 2 full baths

   Home size: 1,401 sq ft

   Lot size: 6,000 sqft
   

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

Browse lists of Cambrian & Cambrian Park homes for sale:
Houses for sale in the 95118 part of Cambrian
Cambrian Park Houses for Sale in 95124

Mary Pope-Handy, Realtor, CRS, ABR, e-PRO, SRES, ASP, CNHS, ACRE
Helping Nice Folks to Buy & Sell Homes Since 1993
Co-Author: “Get The Best Deal When Selling Your Home In Silicon Valley”
408 204-7673 (Cell)
emailto: Mary (at) PopeHandy.com
Blog: www.LiveInLosGatos.com & www.ValleyOfHeartsDelight.com

Cambrian Park, or more broadly, Cambrian, is a west San Jose neighborhood or district and is one of the more affordable, high-value areas in Silicon Valley. The schools are good, the crime is low, and the commute is not too bad. For people relocating to Santa Clara County, this is a place to know about since quality education and affordability are often high priorities!

What’s the compromise for the more reasonable prices of homes for sale? Well, Cambrian doesn’t have an interesting, upscale downtown area like Campbell, Los Gatos, Saratoga, or Willow Glen.

But it does have tons of shopping & restaurants and even a Farmer’s Market. It also enjoys a top notch hospital (Good Samaritan) and plenty of parks as well as a fantastic rec center with a large park adjacent to it, the Camden Community Center, which has tons of programs (including an after school program for youth), classes, and a fabulous pool.  (My family and I lived in Cambrian in the “Cambrian Gardens” neighborhood for 10 years and loved it – our kids made great use of the community center too.)

Altogether, there are about 75,000 to 80,000 residents in Cambrian, spread throughout the three zip codes of 95124, 95118 and a little tiny bit of 95008.

If there is a “central Cambrian Park”, it would have to be near the original Cambrian Park Shopping Center, which was the first actual mall in San Jose! That area is sometimes known as Cambrian Village.  People sometimes use the three names interchangeably: Cambrian, Cambrian Park, Cambrian Village.:

Where is Cambrian Park? Map of approximate Cambrian Boundaries:

View Cambrian Area of San Jose in a larger map

Cambrian Park is a west side suburban area, part of the city of San Jose for the most part (there are a few county pockets, a bit now covered by Campbell, though), which is located adjacent to Campbell, Los Gatos, Almaden Valley, Blossom Valley and Willow Glen.

The Cambrian Park boundaries are, approximately, Foxworthy Avenue, Bascom Avenue, Carlton Avenue, Blossom Hill Road (except for a jut up in the Vista Loop area), Camden Avenue, the Guadalupe Creek (between Coleman Ave and Blossom Hill Rd.) and Almaden Expressway. There are many many zigs and zags, especially with the Los Gatos border, but I sketched out the approximate boundaries so that readers could get a rough idea of the area we call Cambrian Park – see the map above.

What are the schools in Cambrian?

Cambrian is served by 3 elementary school districts: The Union School District (in the area closest to Los Gatos), the Cambrian School District (the part to the north, closer to Campbell) and San Jose Unified School District (covering most of the 95118 section).   High Schools are served by Campbell Union High School District if the homes are in the Union or Cambrian schools area, or San Jose Unified in the rest of Cambrian. (Some school districts are elementary and middle only, with a separate high school district.  Others are “unified”, covering K – 12.)

The newest API scores for Santa Clara County’s public schools have been released as of Nov 29, 2011.  If you are unfamiliar with how API scores work, it’s on a scale of 1 to 1000.  The target number for the county is 800, so anything higher is considered good.  Getting close to or over 900 is rare and is the mark of an exceptionally excellent school.

Cambrian came out even stronger than in years past, particularly in the Union School District, where 5 out of 6 elementary schools were in the 900s and the other 1 school was at 878.

The middle schools in the Union area of Cambrian Park also scored high in 2010, with Dartmouth at 900 and Union Middle at 881. For some reason there are NO scores for 2011.

In the Cambrian School District there are 4 grammar schools, 3 of which slipped from the previous year and 1 of which went up.  Bagby was at 905 this time and the rest were in the 8s. Price Charter Middle School held steady at 864.

The high schools in this region (the Campbell Union HSD) all went up from the previous year, but only one of them, Leigh, is over 800 (Leigh has a strong 822 API).

Maps for the school district boundaries and school of attendance in Cambrian:

Map of the Union School District (loads slowly, please allow more time than seems reasonable):
http://www3.unionsd.org/unionsd/lib/unionsd/union_boundarymap.pdf

Map of the Cambrian School District of its boundaries (zoom in for better view), showing school of attendance maps also (they include the Farnaham charter School):
http://www.cambrian.k12.ca.us/oldSite/district_site/images/Cambrian_School_District_Map.jpg

The Cambrian elementary schools covered by the San Jose Unified School District are:
Almaden Elementary (782 API), Hacienda Science/Environmental Magnet Elementary (872) , and Reed Elementary (844).  The middle schools in Cambrian or covering Cambrian for the SJUSD are Castillero (795, slipped a little from the previous year – this school is in Almaden Valley) and John Muir (782).  The map of this district is not very helpful – cannot seem to zoom in:
http://www.sjusd.org/school/district/map_district/

The History of Cambrian, via the Cambrian Community Council

A friend & past client of mine (who purchased a home with me in Cambrian) very kindly told me about a wonderful article on the history of the Cambrian area which can be found on the Cambrian Community Council website.

Cambrian Area: It was always about the schools!

As with many parts of California, interestingly, the name itself goes back to the naming of a school (Cambria being another name for Wales).  This happened in the mid to late 1800s. The details of the founding of the Union School District and the Cambrian School District are shared there, too. It’s funny to think that more than a century later, the high quality schools in this San Jose neighborhood are still of prime importance and a main driver in home values.

Where was Cambrian originally?

The article further explains that the Cambrian area was an enormous stretch of land, and that Cambrian Park is within that general area (as is “Cambrian Village”, found at the crossroads of Union and Camden Avenues in San Jose).  The boundaries got defined differently at various points in time, and at times has included part of Los Gatos. (I read elsewhere that Cambrian was said to extend as far as Dry Creek Road at one point.) Some areas that were originally Cambrian are now part of Willow Glen or part of Campbell. Our local Realtor MLS defines the area as going roughly from about Foxworthy to the north to Blossom Hill in the south, Almaden Expressway to the east and Bascom Avenue to the west. (It touches Los Gatos, Almaden Valley, Willow Glen, and Campbell.)

If you live in this wonderful part of Silicon Valley, I encourage you to visit the CCC website and enjoy their colorful article, History of the Cambrian Area.

Cambrian Park Neighborhoods

Because I sell a fair amount in Cambrian and lived there, I am very partial to this area and have begun doing posts which are Cambrian neighborhood spotlight pieces.  I hope you will enjoy them.  More posts are to come but here are a few to get you started:

The Alta Vista Neighborhood, Where San Jose’s Cambrian Park and Los Gatos Weave Together Along The Base of the Hills

The “King Street” Neighborhood of Cambrian Park on the Los Gatos Border

Cambrian Park Neighborhoods: How to Choose Where to Live?

How’s the Cambrian Park Real Estate Market?

You can read about the Cambrian real estate market (as well as other Silicon Valley real estate markets in Santa Clara County) on my REReport, which is updated in the first week or so of each month.

The current RE Report for Cambrian Park Houses
The current RE Report for Cambrian Condominiums & Townhouses

What is my Cambrian home worth?

If you live in Cambrian now and are wondering about the market value of your home today, there are two approaches you can take.  You can request from me an online valuation (which will be approximate only as it’s “sight unseen”) at either of two places:

Price Your Home request on popehandy.com or at SiliconValleyHomeValue.com

Both of these come to me and I run the numbers personally for home owners who request them (sorry, this offer is not for home buyers).  I can usually turn the info around within a day, but sometimes it takes a couple of days if I happen to be travelling or otherwise overly busy.  If you make a request and for some reason don’t hear back from me within a couple of hours to acknowledge your request, please email or phone me!  Once in awhile, technology doesn’t come through and I don’t get an email alert when I should.

Alternatively, if you do not wish to share your contact info with me at this time, you can also simply browse the sold real estate listings in Cambrian on my Property Analysis page of the RE Report.  Just input an address (it’s not saved, I won’t see it) anywhere in Santa Clara County, and you’ll be able to view nearby sold, pending and available homes for sale close to your property.

What do houses cost in Cambrian?

If you’d like to buy a Cambrian home, you can browse the MLS listings of Cambrian Homes for Sale on this blogsite.  I have them listed by zip code on separate posts for houses, and below this section are the currently available condo and townhome properties which are on our MLS.

Houses for Sale in Cambrian Park, San Jose, 95118

Cambrian Park Houses for Sale in 95124

What do townhouses and condos cost in Cambrian?

Below, please browse MLS listings of Cambrian condos for sale and Cambrian townhouses for sale in 95124 and 95118:

Showing properties 1 - 5 of 11. See more 95124 zip code real estate.
(all data current as of 5/24/2012)

1. $269,000 : 3485 Wine Barrel Wy, San Jose
   
   2 beds, 1 full bath

   Home size: 868 sq ft

   Lot size: 840 sqft
   
2. $825,000 : 2173 Vizcaya Cl Ci, San Jose
   
   3 beds, 3 full baths

   Home size: 2,421 sq ft

   Lot size: 3,952 sqft
   
3. $725,000 : 2816 Paseo Ln, San Jose
   
   4 beds, 4 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 2,438 sq ft

   Lot size: 871 sqft
   
4. $519,950 : 2881 Meridian Av #157, San Jose
   
   2 beds, 2 full baths

   Home size: 1,383 sq ft
   
5. $439,000 : 6091 Calle De Amor, San Jose
   
   2 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 1,490 sq ft

   Lot size: 2,300 sqft
   

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

Showing properties 1 - 3 of 3. See more 95118 zip code real estate.
(all data current as of 5/24/2012)

1. $199,950 : 1325 Joplin Dr #1, San Jose
   
   2 beds, 1 full bath

   Home size: 810 sq ft

   Lot size: 435 sqft
   
2. $199,000 : 4970 Cherry Av #201, San Jose
   
   1 bed, 1 full bath

   Home size: 675 sq ft

   Lot size: 1,879 sqft
   
3. $219,900 : 4568 Waterville Dr, San Jose
   
   1 bed, 1 full bath

   Home size: 771 sq ft

   Lot size: 435 sqft
   

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.

Malibu Grill in San Jose - menu

Malibu Grill is a Silicon Valley sports bar and hamburger place (and more, of course – baby back ribs, chicken, pizza, pasta) with the dual themes of surfing and all things athletic.  Jim and I occasionally pop over there for lunch or dinner as it’s just a few blocks from our neighborhood, Belwood of Los Gatos and we like the food, service, ambiance and prices.  Today we did again and happened to be there for Monday Madness Hamburgers, which save patrons a couple of bucks. That’s always nice!

A casual but friendly and comfortable restaurant, the Malibu Grill features a broad array of tasty burgers, sandwiches, and other items from the grill. It’s not all fried or carby food, though.  Today I ordered the Malibu Burger (basically a cheeseburger) with a side green salad rather than the fries (for $1 more or I could have had cole slaw, potato salad or fries at no extra cost).

Malibu Grill dining area includes views of sports on TV

Prices are reasonable.  You order at the cash register and pay, and the food is brought to your table. If you are following a game on one of the many televisions, you’ll be happy to not have to get up to retrieve your order.

This eatery has a huge collection of surfing and sports memorabilia and a lot of televisions.  Kids would find plenty to look at here, and with the classic menu items, it shouldn’t be too hard to feed the young set either. It would be a great place to dine after a kids’ or school sporting event as well as ideal to catch the NFL or other game you can’t view at home or online.

Malibu Grill beverage area

Adults will be pleased to know that Malibu Grill offers a very nice selection wine and beer on tap, including at least a couple of “light beers” too.

No matter where you sit, there will be at least one flat screen television in view.  At our booth, I was facing one but Jim could see three adjacent screens over the bar, all with different sports programs showing. (Since the Patriots were being shown on one of those, I quickly joined him in facing the multiple TVs.)

Malibu Grill in San Jose has plenty of flat screen televisions!

Located along Camden Avenue in San Jose, Malibu Grill is technically in the Cambrian area but on the edge of both Almaden and Los Gatos.  It’s easy to get there – just a few blocks off of Blossom Hill Road, not far from Hwy 85 too.

If you’re looking for a fun, unpretentious restaurant with good food and very fair prices, Malibu Grill is your match.  Read more about them on their website, or just drop by and give it a spin.

Malibu Grill
http://www.malibugrill.com/
5735 Camden Avenue, San Jose, CA

Multiple offers have returned to many segments of the Silicon Valley real estate market.  We are hearing about them in Palo Alto, Cupertino, Mountain View – areas where newly minted IPO money is having an impact – but also in more modest, middle class areas such as San Jose’s Cambrian neighborhood. The trend appears to be spreading.

What Silicon Valley home sellers need to know and do to attract multiple offers

If you’re a Silicon Valley home seller, what do you need to know to try to get multiples on your home?  What should you beware of?  In short, here’s what needs to happen if you want to attract multiple offers on your home for sale:

1. The home must be turnkey, either fully remodeled or close to it – it must look like there’s nothing or very little for a buyer to do.  In addition to being turnkey, it must be squeaky clean and well staged! It needs to be comfortable – not too hot, not too cold. You want buyers and their agent to linger longer.
   
2. The price must be at or even under market value.  That is, you must be willing to price it aggressively.  Think it’s worth $1,050,000?  You might list it at $999,999 to get in under a major price threshold and to be the very best, most attractive property for the money. Yes, it might be under priced.  Over priced listings get either one offer at best or, more likely, none at all.
3. The property must be highly accessible. If it is hard to see, you probably won’t get multiple offers (and may get none at all).  (Please see articles on accessibility and on open houses.)
4. Finally, the property must be well marketed.  This includes a wide range of factors ranging from photographs, text, fliers, signs, and even the commission rate offered to the buyer’s side.

What Silicon Valley home buyers need to know and do to compete with multiple offers

If you’re a Silicon Valley home buyer, how do you win out in multiples without giving away all of your rights or overpaying for your house/home?

Over the last few years, I’ve written a number of articles about multiple offers and tips for buyers when competing (concepts to beware of, issues around contingencies, financing and more).  This is a bit like a multi-chapter ebook on how to work with multiple offers.  I hope it’s helpful!

By way of quick summary: you must cover a few areas very, very well:

1. You must be pre-approved by a reputable lender (fully pre-approved)
2. You must have a strong down payment (20% or more)
3. You must be willing to put 3% down for your initial deposit (also called a good faith deposit)
4. You must have a good agent helping you – he or she must do a good job completing the paperwork (it needs to be thorough and without any major mistakes), must communicate well with the listing agent and represent you and himself/herself as a great team with which the listing agent and sellers will want to work
5. You must have an excellent sense of pricing.  Your Realtor should “run the comps” for you, or may even prepare a competitive or comparative market analysis on the home you wish to purchase.  Pay attention to where the value  lies – sometimes that has little to do with the list price!
6. Be prepared to balance out the price and terms offered so that you do not feel like you are giving away all your rights.  Some real estate agents may push consumers to write contracts with no contingencies for home inspection, property condition, appraisal or finance.  I believe that this is a risky and unwarranted practice – but learn about it since your competitors may be doing this.
7. Read all of the articles below – they are here to help you!

Tips for Writing a Competitive Offer  Part One

Writing an Offer in a Multiples Situation? Financing Tips Part 2

Writing Strong Offers: More Financing Tips Part 3

Tips for Home Buyers Competing Against Multiple Offers – More Financing Tips Part 4

Competing Against Multiple Offers: Contingencies and Timeframes Part 5

Real Estate Purchase Offer Terms to Consider When Competing in Multiple Offers  Part 6

Sometimes the List Price Isn’t the Expected Sales Price, So Run Comps!

The Advantages of Presenting and Receiving Offers In Person

Interested in working with an agent who’s highly experienced with multiple offers?  Call or email me today!

Not everyone is familiar with the term “patio home” or “zero lot line” house when searching for Silicon Valley real estate.  Recently a listing agent of such a property called me for feedback and when I told her that my clients did not want a zero lot line home, she didn’t know what I was talking about. She had no idea that this term applied to her listing!

So I thought maybe this topic deserved a little more attention.

What does zero lot line mean?

With most houses, the structure is set into the lot or land such that the property boundaries are at least a few feet away on all sides – often 5 or 8 feet.  One common exception is garages in older parts of Willow Glen, Los Gatos, downtown San Jose, etc., where often these buildings were set directly against the property line on one or two sides.

When a house is right up against the property line, directly on the line, that’s referred to as a zero lot line and is usually referred to as a patio home.  To view that wall, you’d literally have to go onto your neighbor’s lot to have a look.  Although this is not terribly uncommon in dense, urban areas, it’s fairly infrequent in Silicon Valley.

Why are homes designed on zero lot line properties?  The main reason is to increase the density while providing more yard to the home owner.  Rather than having two 8′ side yards, perhaps you’ll have one much larger 16′ yard.

Interestingly, these houses do not seem to sell for less with the zero lot line – at least not that I have been able to discern. (That’s counter-intuitive….)

How can you tell if it’s a zero lot line house?

It should be disclosed in the MLS as such, but often isn’t (sometimes the listing agent doesn’t even know), so you’ll have to look carefully at the neighborhood and the property to see.  Here are some clues:

• you’re most likely to find patio homes where the houses sit on very small lots
• most of the time, there are no windows on the side built against the property boundary (though in Silver Creek there are a number of these with glass block windows put into bathrooms – so there is some light, but no opening into the neighbor’s yard)
• try to walk all the way around the property without going into a neighbor’s yard – if you can’t, that’s your red flag
• most of the time, patio homes are part of a home owner’s association and are located on private roads

Where are these patio homes located?

They are really all over Santa Clara County as a good alternative between having super small lots vs a townhouse.  We are seeing more and more of these in younger construction especially.

• in Almaden Valley, the Glencrest development (by Shapell, a great builder, with top rated schools there: Williams, Bret Harte and Leland) – very popular!
• in Silver Creek, there are condos and single family homes, but some of the houses further down into the valley are patio homes
• in Cambrian, along the Almaden border, there are patio homes in 2 of the 3 subdivisions of the Almaden Winery neighborhood (Tresor and Vineland) the Vintage subdivision is not zero lot line) (See one such home I sold on Le Fevre Drive in 2010 by clicking on the link)
• and many other places throughout the San Jose area!

One caution: sometimes there are townhome communities where a unit is sold as if it is a “duet home” or “patio home”.  Be sure to read the preliminary title report carefully to note the type of ownership in the common areas as well as the unit itself. You might be surprised!

Yesterday we looked at the types of home sales around Silicon Valley by price point.  Not terribly surprising, most of the short sales and bank owned homes were in the lowest price ranges.  Today we’ll look at this type of information not by pricing tier but instead by geography – in other words, by either town, city or district of San Jose (area).  This post will not cover every area but will be a sampling a few communities, mostly on the west side of the valley (since that’s primarily where I work).

By way of reminder, the small image to the left reflects Santa Clara County’s houses for sale as a whole – all areas and all price points. (You can see the full sized image by clicking on it.) The green area represents “regular home sales” and the brick red and light orange signify distressed  properties listed on the MLS for sale (red is short sales and orange is bank owned or REOs). Next let’s see a few regions within the county to see how things are faring geographically.

1. Almaden Valley area of San Jose – homes listed for sale by type – very few distressed properties on the market!

Almaden is a lovely southwest San Jose suburban community (zip code 95120) that grew up initially with the cinnabar or mercury mining activity.  Today it’s an upscale area of more expensive homes than most of the county, it enjoys really good schools and scenic views of the coastal range as well as the Santa Teresa Foothills.  Housing here is costly but residents love the quality of life. Since the cost of homes for sale here is high, it’s not super surprising, after seeing yesterday’s post, that there are very few distressed homes on the market here. Next we’ll check the other extreme….

2. Alum Rock area of San Jose – this is a less wealthy part of Santa Clara County and generally has been harder hit by the mortgage and housing crisis.

In this east San Jose neighborhood of Alum Rock (near beautiful Alum Rock Park), almost half the homes listed for sale are either short sales or bank owned properties.  That said, Alum Rock has some areas which are much more upscale (and elevated), some with many many acres of land and those pricier properties are not quite so badly hit with the distressed property deluge.

3. Cambrian area of San Jose – a west valley community that often closely reflects Santa Clara County as a whole

The Cambrian or Cambrian Park district of San Jose often has prices, days on market and other trends which are very similar to Santa Clara County so it’s often a good “gauge” of how the area is doing generally.  If you compare this graph to the one at the top of this post, you’ll find them very similar – about 2/3 of listed houses and duet homes for sale are “regular” or non-distressed sales.

5.  Campbell -a little more expensive, great downtown, popular area

Campbell is exceedingly popular as it’s got a charming downtown, enjoys light rail access and is part of the Los Gatos Creek Trail. It’s close to Los Gatos, but more affordable. Here about 70% of the homes listed for sale on our multiple listing service or MLS are regular sales, so a little healthier than most of Silicon Valley.

6. Los Gatos – a more expensive community, fewer distressed houses for sale

In Los Gatos, there are right now just 3 short sales on the market (for houses and duet homes) and NO bank owned homes. As you can see, it’s overwhelmingly “normal sales” and this helps a lot with home values.

A year or so ago, we had a cluster of short sales in one particular east Los Gatos neighborhood and it was really damaging the property values of the “regular sellers’” homes. It’s encouraging to see this correct a bit.

7. Monte Sereno – more expensive still – no distressed houses for sale right now!

Monte Sereno is a tiny city with 4,000 residents. It’s more expensive then neighboring Los Gatos, with whom it shares police, schools, library and more.

With no businesses or commercial buildings, Monte Sereno enjoys a quieter lifestyle.  Most of the activity is either around Daves Avenue School, the post office/city building or the horse trails!

8. Palo Alto -home to Stanford and classy luxury homes

Stately and vibrant Palo Alto is home to Stanford University (and the Lucille Packard Hospital, which is a world class facility).  Schools in this city are top-rated in Silicon Valley.  The city is beautiful and there’s lots to do.  For many reasons, then, Palo Alto is probably the most sought after address in the region, and home prices reflect its desireability. Not surprisingly, then, it’s not likely that home buyers will find many low-cost distressed properties on the market.  When they do appear, they tend to go fast.  As of this writing, there’s just one short sale and no bank owned homes available there.

9. Saratoga – great schools, scenic vista, highly regarded Silicon Valley community

Saratoga is not as costly as Palo Alto, but within Santa Clara County it’s right up there near the top for least affordable.

What I find most interesting here is not the small number of distressed properties on the MLS in Saratoga, but rather that there’s an equal number of short sales as there are REOs (bank owned).  Usually the ratio is more 2 – to – 1.  Maybe it’s a fluke? We’ll have to check and see down the road!

What we see when looking at Silicon Valley houses listed for sale by sale type is that the geographical differences largely mimic the pricing tiers.  The more expensive the area – or the home within it – the less likely you are to find that bargain priced property.

For more info on Silicon Valley Communities, please also see my website’s community information page.

Many Silicon Valley home buyers seek a great home with excellent schools and an affordable price – and I have just such a listing to present to you!   Not only that, but additionally it’s located on a very quiet street (no through traffic), it has recently been updated and remodeled, and further, it’s on an over-sized lot!

Just listed this week, the home at 5114 Nerissa Way in San Jose’s Cambrian neighborhood is sure to please!  Here are some of the highlights:

• 3 bedrooms + small office or hobby room
• 2 baths – both recently remodeled
  • hall bath features shower/tub combo & big skylight
  • master bath includes stall shower
• updated kitchen with slab granite countertops, large skylight & breakfast bar
• living room offers cozy, wood burning fireplace
• family room open to dining and kitchen & offers back yard and patio access
• hardwood floors in bedrooms and under carpeting in hallway and living room
• house is appx 1233 square feet and lot is appx 7500 SF
• loads of natural light – sunny house!
• open, flexible floorplan
• 1 car garage, attached
• Room to add on to house, possible to make 2 car garage, and room for pool – many possibilities

Affordable Home in Alta Vista School Area!

This darling ranch style home is part of the Cambrian Gardens neighborhood which enjoys attendance at Alta Vista Elementary School.  Alta Vista is in the town of Los Gatos and serves homes in both east Los Gatos and the Cambrian area of San Jose.  Home prices for this school area range from the low 500s (for homes needing a substantial amount of work) to well over $1 million.  The house at 5114 Nerissa Way, San Jose 95124 is offered at a very attractive $579,000. Relative to the Alta Vista school area and immediate Alta Vista neighborhood, this is extraordinarily affordable!

Schools of attendance & 2010 API Scores:

• Alta Vista Elementary School – API score of 938
• Union Middle School – API 892
• Leigh High School – API 817

Silicon Valley Gardener’s Delight!

Step into the back yard and be amazed at the space, the flowers, the quiet!  There’s a sizable patio area with a trellis (and flowering vine) and built in bench.  Move beyond that and find a world of beauty with a yard designed with a garden lover in mind.  In addition to a nice lawn area, there are roses planted against the house, raised planter beds, a small greenhouse, a pond area with calla lilies surrounding it and every nook and cranny planted with some sort of flowering bush, annual, herb or tree, including fruit trees. Bulb plants and many others are ready to bounce into spring now that the heavy rains of March are past us.

Room to Expand or Add a Pool

Since the lot, and particularly the back yard, is so big, there’s room to grow here.  It’s possible to add onto the back of the house, for instance, and still have plenty of backyard left.  Or if your heart’s desire is an in-ground pool, there’s room for that too. This is the type of home and location where you’ll want to move in and stay for many years to come.  It’s nice to know that it’s a flexible situation in terms of your future wants and needs.

Fabulous Location: Quiet Street, Los Gatos Border

Nerissa Way is a hidden gem in Cambrian Gardens – it’s tucked away, close in, but out of the way….It’s a 3 minute drive to the entrance of highway 85 but far enough for the location to be quiet.  The grocery store, a large Safeway, is just a few blocks away or perhaps a 2 minute car ride.

This neighborhood is very close to the Los Gatos border and it’s a quick drive from here to King’s Court Shopping Center, Vasona Lake County Park and all the attractions of Los Gatos.

Want more information?

Here are a few more things you may want to know.

1. We have an open house planned on Saturday & Sunday, April 9 & 10, 2011 from 2 – 4pm both days.
2. The MLS # is 81114496.
3. You can view a virtual tour with 49 photographs at
   http://www.tourfactory.com/721887
4. I shot a walk through video with my flip camera a few hours before we went on the MLS.  (Warning, not professionally shot, no tripod!) If you’d like to literally “walk through” the house with me, the video is about 5 minutes, 18 seconds long (about the same timeframe as the virtual tour).  I’ll embed it below.
5. There are inspection reports available: property/home, pest, roof, chimney.  Disclosures should be ready soon.  We are asking for any offers to wait until after April 10th, please.

A walk through 5114 Nerissa Way, house for sale in Cambrian Gardens neighborhood of San Jose

Enjoy my video walk through this great home for sale!  Hope you will enjoy it and stop by our open house soon.

The Camden Community Center is located in the Cambrian Park area of San Jose, close to the intersection of Camden and Union Avenues (SJ 95124).  This may be the most under-appreciated recreation venue in Silicon Valley, so I wanted to give it a plug!

Stop by and you’ll find that it is a fabulous resource whether you want to work out daily, rent a room for a big party, sign up for a class, walk your dog (just cleanup after!)  or attend a community event.  My kids took “hula dancing” there when they were very young, amongst other things, and a year or two ago we visited to catch a travelling exhibit about colons. (There was a giant plastic model of one which you could walk through. Yes, really.)

The sprawling campus sports nice, newer buildings, an indoor pool, a huge grassy field, a playground, attractive landscaping and plenty of parking – it is a pleasant place in which to spend some time.  It’s also home to some funky art – a giant metal sculpture of a hand (and a hand inside another one) as if to wave hello.  (Maybe the same artist decorated the outside of the parking garage at the San Jose Mineta International Airport?).

When & where?

Open daily except Sunday, so stop by and check out the offerings. The center is located at 3369 Union Avenue, just off Camden (and behind the Lucky’s shopping center). Telephone 408 559-8553.  If you’re travelling by bus, you’ll want to use the 37 or 62 lines.  Open Monday through Friday 8:30am to 8pm, Saturdays 9am to 1pm.

Check out all of the offerings at the Camden Community Center’s website.

Close to the Los Gatos border sits one of the more affordable Cambrian neighborhoods in San Jose and the west valley generally.  It enjoys lovely views of the hills, great public schools with high API scores, a neighborhood private school to boot, and convenient access to freeways and stores.  There’s no sign, marker or gateway to the area, so many of its residents are probably unaware that the official name to it is Cambrian Gardens.

This neighborhood provides an incredible “bang for the buck” for home buyers wanting excellent schools and not wanting to pay luxury home pricing.  In many ways, it’s a “sleeper” – meaning that many people don’t know it’s there, but it’s a good deal!

Where is the Cambrian Gardens area of Cambrian?

The rough borders are Union Avenue, Los Gatos-Almaden Road, Leigh Avenue, and the West Valley Freeway (85).

Not everything within that area is part of the tracts which make up Cambrian Gardens, though. It was developed just south of and directly adjacent to the Cambrian Park area which is so well known, but now separated from it by the freeway. (Click image or here to see live map in Google.)

Cambrian Garden Landmarks

Homes built in this part of Silicon Valley were clustered around the later-built neighborhood public school (bordered by Clarinda, Laurinda, Emeline and Sandy), James De Voss, which is now leased out as a private one, the Global School, as well as Little Oak Preschool. The other major landmark to the neighborhood is Ross Creek, which slides through the middle. With it come frogs, egrets, ducks and other wildlife which are generally welcome.

What are houses like in the Cambrian Gardens neighborhood?

The property was subdivided, developed and built beginning in the late 1950s.  Most sections were completed by the early 60s but one part (Mise and Stuckey) came much later and houses there a bit larger.

Typically, the original construction consisted of smaller ranch style houses on about 6000 square foot lots with 3-4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and anywhere from 1100 to 1600 square feet. (Most common: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and 1200- 1300 SF.) Most lots have a frontage of about 60 feet with lots going back about 100 feet.

Since there were several builders, there are likewise several designs. At the same time, though, most were built within a few years of one another so basic features tend to be similar.Fireplaces, front porches, sliding glass doors to back patios, the use of tile, hardwood and abundant windows are all hallmarks of these homes.

Kitchens: a real estate trend of that era was “galley” style kitchens with a breakfast nook area or eat-in kitchen so that’s predominantly what you’ll find here. Some houses have both a formal dining area (dining “L” or combined living-dining room) as well as a breakfast room. Cabinets were often built under soffits, so if remodeling, it’s easy to get more storage by simply bringing the cabinets down directly from the ceiling.

Bathrooms: As with other construction of that vintage, bathrooms were built with efficiency in mind and are compact. The hall bath usually has a shower over the tub and the master bath includes a stall shower in most cases. (The latter often has a built in cabinet next to the shower which could be “blown out” to make a bigger stall shower.)

Houses are set fairly far back on the lot, which was typical for the time in which these properties were built.  For buyers with an eye to expansion, this means there’s room to add on in front (some build up, some build out when adding on).

Garage & laundry: Laundry is usually in the garage.  Most properties have an attached 2 car garage, but one builder provided an option that enabled purchasers to elect a 1 car garage + family or bonus room (and also to have an inside laundry room). A lot of houses have an extra wide side yard just off the garage, which appears to have been intended to function as an area for a drying line.

The majority, if not all of these houses, were built with hardwood floors (all but kitchen and bathrooms in most cases) and forced air heat (but again, one builder used wall heaters – though most of those have since been upgraded by later owners to forced air heating). They are almost exclusively on raised foundations, not slab (exception that I’m aware of being the “bonus” option on the 1 or 2 car garage design, where the family or bonus room is on slab – the rest of the house on a perimeter or raised foundation).

A challenge with some designs in the area is a shortage of closet space (for what we are used to today).  To reclaim some interior space for closets, some homeowners move the furnace from an interior space to either the garage or attic, thus adding another closet.  Others add on to the house, build “organizers” in the existing closets and have other ways of minimizing their need for more.

In looking through the Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, or CCRs, I was surprised to see the name McKeon twice listed out of three names for those who subdivided this area.  The McKeons are best known in this area for the many, many fourplexes that dot Santa Clara County.  (There were several builders, though.)

What about the schools?

This area is not all served by the same public elementary schools.  One section, north of Ross Creek, has attendance at Carlton Elementary and the other, south of Ross Creek, at Alta Vista. Both are extremely well regarded.  (Please see the boundary map for the Union School District online.) All attend Union Middle School and Leigh High School.  Here are the numbers for the API Report numbers for 2010:

• Carlton: 930 API
• Alta Vista 938 API
• Union Middle 892 API
• Leigh High 817 API

What do homes cost in Cambrian Gardens?

Naturally there is a range of size, condition, and sale type (regular sale vs short sale or bank owned) and those all influence resale value or market value.  Additionally, there are more and less desirable areas: Leigh and Los Gatos-Almaden Road are much busier than more interior streets such as Kenlar, Tilden, or Nerissa (which has no through traffic at all).  And, of course, homes that are very close to the freeway will be louder and that also impacts a buyer’s probable value for the home.

Disclaimers aside, at this time prices are running mostly in the 500s and 600s with exceptions for the extremes one way or the other (big additions or homes needing a lot of work in a less desirable area). You can check on the current Cambrian real estate market conditions here.

Overall, it’s an inexpensive area for the quality of the schools and is a great choice for people who want to live either in the Alta Vista neighborhood or perhaps closer to Carlton Elementary (such as in the King Streets or El Gato Terrace areas) but don’t want to spend that much.

See photo slide show of San Jose’s Cambrian Gardens area

Just listed: Beautiful, updated & remodeled Cambrian Gardens home on oversized lot!
Beautiful Cambrian Home, Large Lot, Alta Vista School, Affordable Price!

A key ingredient in understanding how the Silicon Valley real estate market is faring is the ratio of regular sales to distressed properties on the market (Bank owned or REO listings and short sale listings). Today we’ll study Los Gatos and four areas or districts of San Jose: Almaden Valley, Willow Glen, Cambrian Park, and Blossom Valley.

First, let’s look at the county numbers as a general overview.  In all of Santa Clara County, there are 3537 houses, duet homes, condominiums & townhouses for sale and available (“status 1″ for my Realtor readers) on our multiple listing service. Of those, merely 1964 are “regular sales” (56%), 1105 are short sales (31%) and 375 are bank owned homes or REOs (11%).

Now let’s drill down to a few areas: Los Gatos, Almaden Valley, Willow Glen, Cambrian Park and Blossom Valley.  We’ll check out the ratio of regular sales of houses and condos in each of these areas.  How do these compare to the county average of 56%? Have a look:

This is helpful information for both home buyers & home sellers.  Home sellers need to understand the challenges that come with selling in an area with more short sales or REOs, if they are in one of those parts of the valley.  Or vice versa: if there are few distressed properties on the market, this makes it easier to sell (with less downward pressure on pricing).  Buyers need to appreciate that they will have better luck negotiating in areas where many homes are being sold under some pressure.

A quick disclaimer - if we narrowed this study by school district and even neighborhood school, we might find that these “general numbers” are actually quite different at the hyper-local level.  For example, if you visit a post of mine about the Los Gatos real estate market on my Live in Los Gatos blog, you’d find that when we separated out the various school districts, and even price points, the ratio of distressed properties and their absorption rates change very dramatically.  To see those, scroll down until you see the blue and yellow boxes.

The condo market in San Jose and nearby areas has taken a beating throughout our downturn.  Even so, condos in Los Gatos, Almaden and Willow Glen are faring pretty decently.

Now let’s hone in on each of these five areas and the two main housing types to see the ratio in each of regular sales, short sales, and REOs.
Los Gatos short sales, bank owned homes, and regular sales are next.  Green represents regular sales.  In most areas, it seems that there are about 3 times as many short sales as REOs – but not always. (Read more on the Los Gatos real estate market here.)

It is very dramatic – there are very few distressed houses for buyers to consider in Los Gatos right now: just 5 short sales and no REOs.  (The REOs do come on the market but are gobbled up quickly.)

What about condos for sale in Los Gatos?

This is still pretty healthy compared to most areas we’re considering today, but about 1/3 of the homes for sale are short sales or bank owned homes.

San Jose’s Almaden Valley is another pretty healthy market with relatively few distressed homes. Next I’ll post the graph for houses, then condos, in Almaden.

One of the driving factors for both Almaden and Los Gatos are the great schools. (More reading: check out the Almaden school district and school boundary maps & API scores for all of the Almaden Valley schools.)

Willow Glen, also part of the city of San Jose, is charming, convenient, has great community involvement – it’s always been a highly desirable place in which to live.  Next are the two graphs for Willow Glen houses and then Willow Glen condos:

Cambrian Park, also in San Jose and adjacent to all of the other areas we’re reviewing today, has become more prized over the years, first after highway 85 made it more accessible in the early 90s, and then again recently as the Union Schools began to trend up strongly in the API scores.  (Cambrian has 3 different elementary school districts, ranging from good to great. Read about the Cambrian Park real estate market in more detail here.) Most houses are still normal sales – making it a lot easier for home sellers than is the case for condo owners hoping to sell in the same neighborhoods.

Blossom Valley, yet another San Jose district, is burdened with the most distressed properties by ratio of any of these five places.  For home sellers in the 95123 and 95136 areas, it may well feel like an uphill battle to get a property sold and closed. With condominiums and townhouses especially, this is difficult for sellers there.

Earlier in this article, I gave a “quick disclaimer” about the hyper-local marke.  In Blossom Valley, Sakamoto Elementary School has fabulous API scores.  I have not pulled these numbers out, but I believe that because the school is an enormous draw, homes in that area are probably selling far better than the average in Blossom Valley (and distressed homes are probably selling far faster).

What to do with this information?  If you are buying in a part of Santa Clara County in which there are a lot of distressed homes for sale, you may get a great bargain right now. But be prepared because as more come onto the market, it may hurt your home’s market value.  Conversely, if you wish to purchase in an area with few distressed properties on the market, you may not be able to negotiate as much as you’d like – but those areas may be more insulated from further drops in value.

Downsizing? It may be a dream time for you to move from Los Gatos, Almaden Valley or Willow Glen to other areas where the market is softer.

Moving up?  That may be a little painful, especially if you’re going from an area with more short sales and REOs to another with fewer of them!

No matter what your situation, if you’re interested in buying or selling in any of these areas or nearby, please contact me for a private, confidential consultation.  I’m happy to meet with you and learn if we can work together to help you achieve your goals.

Often I have clients who are interested in purchasing a 4 bedroom, 2 bath home in a good school district in Silicon Valley, particularly in the South Bay and West Valley areas.    Tonight I did a study on the MLS of homes that have sold and closed escrow in the last 3 – 6 months with these characteristics:

• single family home (house)
• 4 bedrooms
• 2 bathrooms
• 1800 to 2200 square feet of living space
• 6000 to 10,000 sf lot

Disclaimers aside, here are the numbers as I shook them out for select West Valley Communities in the San Jose area with good schools (the first number is the average sales price per square foot, the second number is the average sales price):

The home prices tend to run with the school district API scores.  You can check the 2010 API scores in Santa Clara County for both the districts and the individual schools online here.        

As you can see, there’s quite a range of pricing for our model 4 bed, 2 bath home of about 2,000 square feet – it could run as low as about $560,000 on average (Cambrian with San Jose Unified Schools) to a high of about $1,455,500 in Palo Alto.

Please remember that these homes do not represent just the most fixed up homes in the most ideal locations, short sales, regular sales, bank owned homes etc. – it’s all types of houses, all types of sales, so average numbers.  So if you are a buyer who needs a “turnkey” home with everything remodeled or new in the best location, you might want to mentally add at least another 10% to 25% to this cost. (For example, in my experience, a really nicely remodeled home along these lines in Almaden with the best schools will run between $1 mil and $1,200,000 depending; in Los Gatos it’s about 15% – 20% more for a similar home.)

Here are a few areas in Santa Clara County which are well known for good schools:

Palo Alto Unified = 925 (includes elementary, middle and high schools)

Los Altos Elementary = 965 (includes elementary and middle schools only)
Mountain View – Los Altos Union (high schools) = 852

Saratoga Union Elementary = 965
Los Gatos Union = 921
Los Gatos – Saratoga Joint Union (high school district) = 898

Cupertino Union = 951
Fremont Union High School District (high schools serving Cupertino and nearby) = 875 (but 2 high schools are in the 9s)

Union School District (Cambrian & east Los Gatos) = 905
Cambrian School District = 878
Campbell Union High School District = 761 (highest scoring school is Leigh at 817)

San Jose Unified is enormous… In Almaden, Leland has very very high scores, as does Bret Harte Middle School, so those area are preferre (all of the elementary schools in Almaden are quite good).

But wait, there’s more!

These aren’t the only areas with great schools in Silicon Valley, of course.  West San Jose and Santa Clara have areas that share Cupertino Schools, for instance.  Monte Sereno is 99.5% in the Los Gatos School area (but there were no homes matching our outline in the last few months).  The Los Gatos Mountain communities such as Redwood Estates, Holy City, Aldercroft Heights and Chemeketa Park enjoy fabulous schools (Lakeside and Loma Prieta districts).  There are wonderful schools in the Silver Creek area of Evergreen, the Warm Springs and Mission Districts of Fremont, and the city of Pleasanton, to name a few.

Silicon Valley home buyers who are looking for a good deal can’t help but notice that prices on short sales and bank owned homes are a bargain compared to regular sales in the San Jose area. But what exactly ARE they? What’s the difference between a short sale and a foreclosure? What are the risks involved in buying one of these in Santa Clara County? Today we’ll have a look at the various types of distressed properties and the risks associated with purchasing each.

What are short sales?

Short sales are when home owners need to sell their home but there’s not enough equity in the property to pay off the loans and closing costs.  So the only way they can sell is if the bank agrees to accept a “short payoff“.  The bank or banks get paid in short, hence short sale.

What are some of the risks in buying a short sale?

What is a Foreclosure?

Foreclosures – there are really two subcategories here:  (i) when the actual auction happens on the courthouse steps and (ii) after the holder of the first loan takes the home back and sells it as a “bank owned property” or REO (“real estate owned” by the bank).

What are some of the risks in buying a bank owned home or REO?

Silicon Valley home buyers, sellers, and their real estate agents rely heavily on the professional advice, insights and opinions of home inspectors, whether it’s for the property generally (house, townhouse or condominium inspection) or for some other component, such as the roof, foundation, chimney, pool, heater, etc. One of the most frustrating – and sometimes maddening – experiences for everyone involved happens when these inspection reports disagree with each other.

Either extreme is bad, either “calling” something when it’s fine or missing something if it’s not.  Often resolution is accomplished by having yet another inspector come out OR by having the two who disagree meet at the property to sort it out.

Here are some real examples I’ve experienced first hand over the years while selling residential real estate in Santa Clara County:

1. Over-called: General property inspector called for “further inspection” of heater, roof, or chimney because he said something’s wrong.  Further inspection ordered by buyer or seller, and paid for by consumer – but the professional for that aspect of the home says it was just fine.  Is it fine or not? The home buyer or seller is out some money and one of the two reports says there’s a problem with it but the other says it’s OK.  (This happened a few times where the general inspector “called” things that experts said were in good working order.  For that reason, I had to stop recommending him to my clients and began working with another inspector who wasn’t so over-eager that he called things which were not bad.)
2. Crawl space nightmare:  many homes have crawl spaces and if yours does, it’s important to either go down there yourself or have someone else do it for you periodically to check conditions there.  My buyers were purchasing a home near Carlton Elementary in Cambrian (Los Gatos border) and the pre-sale pest or termite inspection (the only one available) was from a company with the absolute worst reputation in the valley, and that report said that there was not one thing wrong in a 50 year old house (highly unlikely!).  We ordered new inspections, both home & pest.  Both my inspectors found a lot of damage in the crawl space, amounting to about $10,000 in damage not reported by first inspector.  The seller’s inspector had claimed to go into the crawl but it was evident that either he didn’t go or he didn’t do it thoroughly.  The seller wanted his inspector’s company to do the repairs but we negotiated for a more reputable provider and got it.
3. My pre-sale chimney inspection, from a reputable inspector, said my listing’s fireplace and chimney were fine (Los Gatos border area, Alta Vista neighborhood).  We got the home sold and the buyers ordered a new chimney inspection, and that mason said it was broken.  My first inspector apologized for his error (after coming back out and looking at it again, verifying that it was, in fact, in need of fixing) and said he would do the repair at a reduced rate, but he couldn’t get to it prior to close of escrow.  We could not use him because this had to be done prior to close of escrow.  Since I had referred this man, I felt partly responsible for his error and offered to split the cost of the expensive chimney rebuilding with my clients. My sellers felt that was fair.  I never, ever hired that chimney guy again.
4. Another house, another chimney: my pre-sale general inspection cleared the chimney in this lovely Cambrian Park home.  Buyers ordered a chimney inspection to be sure and a young kid (maybe 18 years old?) came out and said the chimney was broken and needed repairing. My sellers paid for another chimney inspection, and a seasoned mason looked at it and said it was fine.  The other agent and I arranged to have our seasoned mason and the boss of the young kid come out and both inspect it with everyone present.  They did and said it was, in fact, fine.  The young kid was there and I asked him why he “called” it. He responded, “I wasn’t sure so thought it was safer to have it rebuilt”. (At a cost of about $2000 as I recall!) My sellers were out about $100 for their inspection but did not have to rebuild the chimney.

There are other inspector disagreements which can cause stress, confusion and upset too.  Sometimes it’s the best solution to something amiss.  At other times it may be the level of danger present with a problem.

“Gray areas” are also problematic: Recently I had two inspectors, both of whom I trust and respect, disagree on whether or not the crawl space was safe to go into because it was extremely muddy.  If there’s standing water in the crawl, most inspectors won’t go in because it’s dangerous (fear of electrical shock if there are any wires present – and usually, in the crawl areas there are wires).  If it’s muddy, apparently some will go in and some will not (concerns about shock and chemical hazards, per link above).  In the case of my inspection, one inspector didn’t want to go in but the second one did – which confused and upset my home buyer because he felt that if one of them could go in, both could. I phoned and explained my buyer’s upset and that inspector did return and do the crawl.  But it was with great misgivings because he wasn’t convinced it was safe.  That said, there was a LOT of damage under the home (so much so that my client canceled the sale). Had they not gone into the crawl, the results would have been disastrous for my client.

I have searched on several professional inspection websites and not been able to find an answer to this last question about muddy crawls. There’s certainly support online for being wary about them, but apparently not everyone is equally concerned so it does not appear to be a hard and fast rule or guideline.  For standing water, yes – it’s definitely a “no entry” situation. But for muddy it remains unclear, as far as I can tell.

One of the best ways to avoid having conflicts is to hire exceptionally good inspectors.  Most of the time, they will agree – they will not “over call” nor will they miss things.  Of course inspectors are human and can have a bad day, get distracted, or simply make a mistake.  If that happens, most of them will go out of their way to try to “make it right” one way or the other.  When they do, we know that they can be trusted inspecting our clients’ homes or future homes and that they will do their best to give buyers and sellers the best information available.

For further reading:

Would You Recognize Signs of Subterranean Termites If You Saw Them?

Choosing Vendors When Buying & Selling Homes in Silicon Valley

What is Cellulose Debris?

American Society of Home Inspectors

California Real Estate Inspection Association

Pest Control Operators of California

If you are looking for a new or newer home in Cambrian Park or Almaden Valley, look no furter!  This exquisite house features an amazing kitchen at the heart of the home.  It  has been updated with slab granite, stainless steel dishwasher & fridge, gas range, a sunny garden window & recessed lights.  It’s open to the breakfast nook and family room on one side and adjacent to the dining & living areas on the other.

You’ll love the open floorplan and the fact that there’s  1 bed and one bath downstairs. More wonderful plusses: inside laundry, AC, dual pane windows. Big master suite offers a walk in closet, soaking tub, separeate shower, big vanity and dual sinks.

Fabulous younger home in the Almaden Winery neighborhood!

• Four bedrooms, three bathrooms (one bed/bath downstairs)
• Living room features high ceilings, hardwood floors and elegant fireplace & is open to formal dining area
• Updated kitchen featuring slab granite & stainless steel
• Kitchen includes breakfast nook & is open to family room
• Family room enjoys fireplace & back yard access
• Master bedroom suite with walk in closet, spacious bathroom boasting large soaking tub and separate stall shower plus large vanity with dual sinks
• Inside laundry room
• Attached 2 car garage
• Dual pane windows
• Central air conditioning
• Washer, Dryer and Fridge included
• Hardwood floor and tile – no carpets in this home!
• Private, landscaped back yard
• Appx one block to Almaden Winery Park and playground
• A couple of blocks from fantastic, new San Jose Vineland Library
• Reglar sale!
• MLS # 81045200

This lovely home is part of the Tresor development and has an $83 per month HOA fee. The HOA takes care of all front yard landcaping. Please see floorplan below (actual floorplan is “mirror image” of this).

Open House Sat/Sun Oct 2-3, 2010 2-4pm. Please stop by!
Related Post:
Almaden Winery Neighborhood

We're sorry, but we couldn't find MLS # 81045200 in our database. This property may be a new listing or possibly taken off the market. Please check back again.

If you are a first time home buyer and you’ve zeroed in on the Cambrian or Cambrian Park area of San Jose as where you’d like to live, what should you expect?  Assuming that you are purchasing a house (not a condo or townhome), there are some basics you’ll want to know.

Cambrian & Cambrian Park and Zip Codes

First, it’s helpful to understand that most of Cambrian is in the 95124 area, which in general is a little older & more expensive than 95118.  You may be wondering if that’s good or bad.  It’s mixed.  In general, for the same money you’ll get a little more home in 95118 (a larger house, more square footage) but because of the age, you’re also more likely to have the “popcorn ceilings” which were more in style in the early 1970s.   Most of 95118 is also in the San Jose Unified School District, as opposed to most of 95124′s Union School District or Cambrian School District.  All are good but do your research: you may prefer one area over another.  Some of it may depend upon which way you’re commuting, too. Overall,  95118 is closer to downtown San Jose (and Almaden Expressway) and 95124 is closer to 85 going north to destinations such as Cupertino and Sunnyvale and Mountain View.

Both 95118 and 95124 are home to some really upscale neighborhoods that don’t fit the cookie cutter description that follows for the generic sold numbers.  The 95124 area includes both the beautiful “Vista Loop” area which enjoys views and feels like either Los Gatos or Almaden as well as the Alta Vista and original Cambrian Village areas which are bigger homes or lots or both.  The 95118 area offers the Almaden Vineyard neighborhood with beautiful newer homes built around a 5 acre, historic park (and adjacent to the fabulous new San Jose Vineland Library.)  Both areas have some of the same builders too, such as Garcia and Ponderosa, so in some cases you can find the same house but for a different price due to the exact location within Cambrian.

Recent Solds and Numbers by Zip Code

Just now I ran the solds over the last 3 months for “Area 14″ (our MLS designated area for Cambrian) by zip code 95124 and by 95118. (There is a very tiny sliver of 95008 but too small to be helpful for our purposes.)  Here’s a quick look at what you can get for your money in Cambrian as of the summer of 2010:

95124 – 81 homes sold/closed, 68 “regular sales”, 8 short sales, 5 bank owned homes (total “distressed sales” accounted for 16% of the closed escrows).  Average sales price was about $660,000 (av list price appx $655,000), average home size 1594 square feet and average lot size 6909 SF.  Average price per square foot $419.

95118 – 60 homes sold/closed, 45 “regular sales”, 10 short sales, 5 bank owned home sales (total “distressed sales” were 25% of the closed sales).  Average sales price was approximately $573,000 and average list price was about $572,000.  Average home size 1494 square feet and average lot size 6620 SF.  Average price per square foot $393.

In general, the 95118 area is a little less expensive and is a bit more impacted by short sales and bank owned homes than the 95124 area (25% to 16%). Take it pocket by pocket, though, or subdivision by subdivision.  If you look at the Almaden Winery neigborhood in 95118, for instance, you’ll find very few distressed homes and listings that go really fast.

Buying Older Homes

If the home you are purchasing is 35-40 years of age or older, here are some things to watch for.

• Many older homes were built with galvanized steel pipes and those usually only last about 40 years, so the home may need to be repiped with copper
• Furnaces often need to be replaced by year 30 or 40, so if the heater is original, that may need changing. (The good news: the new furnaces are usually much more efficient!)
• Many of the 40+ year old homes were built with hardwood flooring.  If the house has carpets, see if you can learn about what’s under them!
  • If the house has forced air heat and the register is on the floor, sometimes you can lift it up just a tad and see if the carpet is covering hardwood.  If the register is on the ceiling, the chances are slimmer that there’s hardwood under that carpet.
• Is the 50 years or more old?  Linoleum floors that are 50+ years old may have asbestos backing and may require special crews and methods of removal.
• Does the home have an acoustic, textured ceiling?  The popcorn ceilings may contain asbestos, which was commonly used to insulate and protect against fire. Yes, it was considered a plus!  Some of the “popcorn” ceilings even include little gold sparkles.
• Most older Cambrian Park houses have breakers rather than tubes but may need the electrical system upgraded.
• Most older Cambrian area homes are bolted to the foundation, but not with the same level of quality as you’d find in a newly built house today.
• If the property is 50-60 years of age or more and is on a 10,000 SF lot or greater, there’s a good chance that it was originally on a septic tank.  When houses were connected to sewer, many left the tank in the back yard, buried.  If you’re buying such a house, try to find out if there’s a buried storage tank in the yard before you purchase!
• Homes built before 1978 may have lead paint. You can test for it if you like.

When buying an older home, it’s important to understand that it wasn’t built to our current building standards and to have a sense of what you are getting and not getting. you will want to watch for red flags.  It is imperative to get a GOOD home inspection (they are not all the same) so you have a sense of what you may need to upgrade for your safety or comfort.

Cambrian  is a wonderful place to call home, whether it’s your first house or your forever house.  Please contact me if you’d like help getting into a Cambrian home!

More information:
Asbestos – more information on my Valley of Hearts Delight website.
Lead paint – more information on my Valley of Hearts Delight site.