Cinnabar winery sign (Big Basin Way, Saratoga)

In many communities such as Saratoga, Los Gatos, Los Altos, Willow Glen, Campbell and Palo Alto, there is a high premium placed on homes which are close to the downtown area.  Many real estate agents advertise these as “walk to town” but the idea is simple: it’s nearby, you can stroll, skate, ride or bike, wheel yourself and forget the car.

Downtown Saratoga, also called Saratoga Village, welcomes residents and visitors to a charming, scenic area with fabulous shops, spas, wine tasting venues, restaurants and more.  This part of the city boasts top scoring schools as well as lovely older and historic buildings and a gorgeous park alongside Saratoga Creek. Whether you spend an afternoon or a lifetime in Saratoga, this part of town will call you back again and again!

What do you need to know about buying a house, townhouse or condo in downtown Saratoga?

There are a few points which you are well served to know when purchasing residential real estate in this upscale community. We’ll touch on a few of them here: historic homes, traffic & noise, natural hazards, parking, and special issues with condos, townhouses and PUDs (planned unit developments).

First, this downtown Saratoga Village zone is historic; while not every property is deemed historic, many are and that means that there will be restrictions on remodeling and expansion of single family homes or houses. For instance, original glass in windows may need to remain if you’ve got a Victorian house dating from the 1890s, and expansions may need to be off the back of the home so that the facade keeps its initial look and feel (just examples).  This can be frustrating if you buy a luxury home that “needs work” and you are surprised later. If the house was built before 1950 or so, double check the rules!

Second, traffic and noise can be an issue and vary from day to day as well as from one time of day to another; there are a variety of traffic related concerns.  Big Basin Way is an alternate route to Highway 17 for access to Skyline Boulevard and the coast.  Cars and motorcycles may be thick on Saratoga Avenue, Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road and Saratoga-Los Gatos Road when the weather is good.  Motorcycles can be especially loud when large groups go on a road trip together!  Of course there will be extra cars when a concert is featured at The Mountain Winery (off Big Basin Way) or Montalvo (off Saratoga-Los Gatos Road).  If you have a serene view property it might surprise you how much motorcycle noise can carry – so be sure to visit the property on a warm weekend afternoon or two to check it out.

Additionally, because Big Basin is an alternate route to Highway 17, it can also get a lot of traffic if there’s a problem on 17 in winter due to weather such as with downed trees, mudslides, car accidents with severe backups, etc. So when weather is good and when weather is bad, Big Basin and nearby roads can get very congested and move slowly.

Commuters who live in the mountains as well as others choke Saratoga Avenue at rush hour.  This is slowed further by having to pass two schools (Sacred Heart and St. Andrews) before getting to Highway 85.  Saratoga Avenue has just one lane in each direction through the historic zone, but after the freeway it’s much better.  (Saratoga-Sunnyvale isn’t bad as there are 2 lanes but remember to slow down at Saratoga High – the road is wide so the temptation is to go too fast.)

Natural hazards:  Depending on the location of the home in relation to the village, you could be in a wildland fire zone, in an unstable soils zone, a seismic zone or other “natural hazard” areas.  Also, if you are closer in to the hills or near a creek (and there are 2 in downtown Saratoga), there will of course be an increased contact with wild life, such as deer – but potentially also mountain lions, bobcats, racoons, possum, skunks, etc.  Most people love seeing the deer but others find it upsetting that their beloved garden is viewed as a buffet!

Finally, as with many downtown areas, parking can be a little tricky at times.  Valet parking can be a big help but no matter what, do pay attention to how long you’re in a spot and what the limit is – it can be expensive if you forget!

Are there special issues with Condos, Townhomes or PUDs in downtown Saratoga, CA?

In some cases, yes, PUDs, condominiums and townhouse communities may have special issues due to any of the items listed above.  In 2010 I had a great listing at Saratoga Oaks, a lovely and luxurious townhouse resort community.  Because of their proximity to the hills, the home owner’s association had earthquake insurance and that was quite costly.  The HOA dues covered not just the multiple pools, tennis courts, pool house, roads etc. but also fairly expensive blanket and earthquake  insurance as well. (That listing of mine on Placida Court is sold and closed but you can check the photos out here to get an idea of the area.)

A problem throughout Silicon Valley is condo, PUD and townhouse home owners defaulting on their monthly dues (and any special assessments).  Whenever you purchase one of these types of homes it is very important to know how financially sound the community is.  If there are many defaults, it is possible that the reserve account will run too low, resulting in either deferred maintenance, raised dues or special assessments  for those who are paying.  (With a short sale, some of the owed monies may be forgiven, and with a foreclosure there may be no recouping of debts owed at all.)

There are very few distressed sales in Saratoga, relative to the rest of Silicon Valley, so this risk should be lower in downtown Saratoga or anywhere in that city, but do check the situation out so that yo aren’t later handed a big bill to pay!  Here are a couple of related articles that you might find helpful:

Why are those Silicon Valley HOA dues so high?

Does your HOA have enough in reserves?

Want to learn more about living in this piece of paradise?  Browse listings below – no need to register, just have a look!  And if you want to buy or sell real estate in Saratoga, please contact me.  I grew up there (graduate of Saratoga HS), I sell there, and I’m happy to assist you in making it your home!

Find a home for sale in Saratoga, CA (all of Saratoga, not just downtown):

Saratoga California condominiums or condos for sale

Showing properties 1 - 3 of 3. See more city of Saratoga real estate.
(all data current as of 5/25/2012)

1. $539,888 : 14345 Saratoga Av #28, Saratoga
   
   2 beds, 2 full baths

   Home size: 1,347 sq ft

   Lot size: 1,344 sqft
   
2. $410,000 : 18944 Sara Park Ci, Saratoga
   
   2 beds, 2 full baths

   Home size: 1,100 sq ft

   Lot size: 1,364 sqft
   
3. $413,000 : 14345 Saratoga Av #25, Saratoga
   
   2 beds, 1 full bath

   Home size: 1,100 sq ft

   Lot size: 1,344 sqft
   

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

Saratoga California townhouses or townhomes for sale

Showing properties 1 - 4 of 4. See more city of Saratoga real estate.
(all data current as of 5/25/2012)

1. $939,000 : 14593 Big Basin Wy, Saratoga
   
   3 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 1,854 sq ft

   Lot size: 759 sqft
   
2. $728,000 : 14607 Oak St, Saratoga
   
   2 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 1,556 sq ft

   Lot size: 920 sqft
   
3. $839,000 : 20580 Oak Creek Ln, Saratoga
   
   3 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 1,807 sq ft

   Lot size: 1,512 sqft
   
4. $859,000 : 14611 Oak St, Saratoga
   
   3 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 1,556 sq ft

   Lot size: 920 sqft
   

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

Saratoga CA houses for sale – single family homes for sale in Saratoga California

Showing properties 1 - 5 of 82. See more city of Saratoga real estate.
(all data current as of 5/25/2012)

1. $674,000 : 16240 Wood Acres Rd, Saratoga
   
   2 beds, 1 full bath

   Home size: 712 sq ft

   Lot size: 1.24 ac
   
2. $699,000 : 13489 Chalet Clothilde Rd, Saratoga
   
   1 bed, 1 full bath

   Home size: 641 sq ft

   Lot size: 15,404 sqft
   
3. $999,999 : 0 Skyline Bl, Saratoga
   
   3 beds, 1 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 1,300 sq ft

   Lot size: 11.16 ac
   
4. $1,095,000 : 12695 Saratoga Creek Dr, Saratoga
   
   3 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 1,964 sq ft

   Lot size: 8,320 sqft
   
5. $1,108,000 : 18701 Wood Dell Ct, Saratoga
   
   4 beds, 2 full baths

   Home size: 2,018 sq ft

   Lot size: 9,000 sqft
   

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

The Campbell, CA, real estate market for condos and townhouses has been a little up & down, but for houses it’s a stronger market.  That does not mean that prices in Campbell are where the owners or sellers would like them to be – just that residential real estate which is appropriately priced is selling pretty well.

Here’s a visual of market conditions (not prices) generally, through June 2011:

What about prices and home values?  Are they holding up?

Campbell houses for sale:  prices appear to be slipping slightly.  Some volatility is to be expected this year and next, so it’s possible to see some up and down (but probably not super dramatic unless you just barely have equity and it’s the difference between being able to sell without bringing money to the closing table or not).  Here are the figures for June – see the whole report on my R E Report site for Campbell CA houses:

The market for houses is good, but pricing is soft, as you can see in the numbers above.

What about for condos?

Condominiums and townhouses in Campbell – see the full real estate report online (updated each month around the 5th – 8th).  Isn’t it interesting that although it’s a cool or cold buyer’s market, prices there are actually inching up pretty noticeably.  That is very good news to condo and townhome owners who want to be doing a “move up”.

Next we’ll take a brief overview of the “big picture” in Campbell’s housing market by looking at statistics related to currently listed homes for both houses and condos or townhomes there. (Charts and data by Altos Research, to which I have a subscription and permission to use here.)

Median Price of condominiums and single family homes:

It’s interesting to see that there’s a rise in the median list price of houses for sale in Campbell whereas a leveling off with the condos and townhouses.

Inventory of houses and condos and townhouses in Campbell – both classes of housing are seeing a rise in inventory, but it’s more dramatic among houses:

Days on the market for homes for sale in Campbell – the two “markets” are now dialectical!

These numbers – for both houses and condos – can only give you a broad picture of what’s going on.  If there are no homes for sale in your townhome community and it’s in a great area, and you price it well etc., you should find it relatively easy to sell.  But if there is too much supply (too many similar homes on the market), it will be far more challenging to sell.

The residential real estate market, like everything else, is all about supply and demand.  For information on your specific neighborhood, please call me or email me today.

For more reading on Campbell CA real estate:

Affordable, Inexpensive Real Estate and Houses for Sale in Campbell, CA

Campbell, California: Once the Heart of the Fruit Canning Industry

Find Campbell, CA Houses for Sale:

Showing properties 1 - 5 of 24. See more city of Campbell real estate.
(all data current as of 5/25/2012)

1. $570,000 : 1127 Springfield Dr, Campbell
   
   3 beds, 1 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 1,040 sq ft

   Lot size: 6,660 sqft
   
2. $250,000 : 2871 S Bascom Av #408, Campbell
   
   2 beds, 1 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 841 sq ft

   Lot size: 902 sqft
   
3. $425,000 : 1270 Hoffman Ln, Campbell
   
   4 beds, 1 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 1,462 sq ft

   Lot size: 15,252 sqft
   
4. $799,000 : 4192 W Rincon Av, Campbell
   
   4 beds, 2 full baths

   Home size: 1,512 sq ft

   Lot size: 6,695 sqft
   
5. $849,000 : 1776 Leigh Av, Campbell
   
   4 beds, 3 full baths

   Home size: 2,160 sq ft

   Lot size: 7,700 sqft
   

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

Browse Campbell, CA Condos Listed for Sale on the MLS:

Showing properties 1 - 4 of 4. See more city of Campbell real estate.
(all data current as of 5/25/2012)

1. $250,000 : 340 N 1st St #4, Campbell
   
   2 beds, 1 full bath

   Home size: 798 sq ft

   Lot size: 2,000 sqft
   
2. $370,000 : 557 W Latimer Av, Campbell
   
   2 beds, 2 full baths

   Home size: 1,126 sq ft

   Lot size: 1,306 sqft
   
3. $374,950 : 55 Redding Rd, Campbell
   
   2 beds, 2 full baths

   Home size: 992 sq ft

   Lot size: 1,025 sqft
   
4. $175,900 : 2785 S Bascom Av #5, Campbell
   
   1 bed, 1 full bath

   Home size: 588 sq ft

   Lot size: 612 sqft
   

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

View townhouses or townhomes  in Campbell, California, listed for sale on the multiple listing service (MLS):

Showing properties 1 - 4 of 4. See more city of Campbell real estate.
(all data current as of 5/25/2012)

1. $413,000 : 1124 Capri Dr, Campbell
   
   2 beds, 1 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 1,336 sq ft

   Lot size: 1,150 sqft
   
2. $335,000 : 1116 Capri Dr, Campbell
   
   2 beds, 1 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 1,336 sq ft

   Lot size: 1,150 sqft
   
3. $499,900 : 672 Cypress Ln, Campbell
   
   3 beds, 3 full baths

   Home size: 1,358 sq ft

   Lot size: 1,742 sqft
   
4. $468,000 : 480 W Hacienda Av, Campbell
   
   2 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 1,597 sq ft

   Lot size: 920 sqft
   

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

Saratoga, California is a scenic, small city with a fabulous downtown area known as Saratoga Village.  Once a logging town, Saratoga is now a Silicon Valley bedroom community.  It is known for expensive homes & luxury estates, fantastic schools that score highly in the nation, low crime, and scenic vistas.

Find Saratoga, CA, listings and homes for sale

What’s on the market now? Below please find all currently available houses that are listed on our local MLS. (They are in order of price from the luxury real estate listings to the most affordable cottages in town.)

Please note that there is a lot of variety within this community.  One of the big drivers of value is the school district, and here there are three of them!  The part closest to the Village falls under “Saratoga Schools”. The other districts are Moreland and Cupertino schools.  Of these, Saratoga & Cupertino rival each other for most expensive generally and the Moreland area is consistently much less expensive.

One other factor that tremendously impacts the listing and sales price is the proximity to Big Basin Way and the village.  If it’s considered “walk to town”, the price will be higher!

Showing properties 1 - 5 of 89. See more city of Saratoga real estate.
(all data current as of 5/25/2012)

1. $17,500,000 : 22030 Mount Eden Rd, Saratoga
   
   6 beds, 6 full, 2 part baths

   Home size: 13,459 sq ft

   Lot size: 14.00 ac
   
2. $16,750,000 : 21116 Comer Dr, Saratoga
   
   6 beds, 8 full, 3 part baths

   Home size: 12,505 sq ft

   Lot size: 7.88 ac
   
3. $9,988,000 : 13388 Surrey Ln, Saratoga
   
   4 beds, 5 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 8,500 sq ft

   Lot size: 1.05 ac
   
4. $6,988,000 : 13815 Pierce Rd, Saratoga
   
   6 beds, 5 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 8,000 sq ft

   Lot size: 1.87 ac
   
5. $6,950,000 : 19730 Glen Una Dr, Saratoga
   
   5 beds, 4 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 5,461 sq ft

   Lot size: 2.80 ac
   

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

As of today, there are nineteen condominiums and townhomes for sale, and just one pending sale, in the upscale Silicon Valley city of Saratoga, CA.

Homeowners are used to buyers stretching to buy homes their corner of Santa Clara County.  It’s a highly desirable place to live, with great schools, low crime, scenic beauty, character, history, and community involvement.

Right now, though, the hottest segment of the Silicon Valley real estate market is the lower priced single family home market.  Conversely, the coolest part part of the market is the luxury condo market, that is, condominums and townhouses in expensive areas like Los Altos, Cupertino, Saratoga, Los Gatos and Almaden Valley. Put directly, homebuyers with a  four or five hundred thousand dollar budget can purchase a single family home in San Jose for the same amount that a condo would cost in Saratoga.   The selling challenge appears to be even more acute as the price point rises.  It has been several months since a million dollar towhnouse in Saratoga has sold.

A good tool for understanding  the market condition is the rate of absorption, which factors in current inventory levels with sales. The question being answered is this: if no new homes were to come on the market, how long would it take for the current inventory to be absorbed if sales continue at the current rate?  (It can be viewed as days, weeks, or months of inventory.)  For example,  if there are one hundred homes for sale and twenty of them sell in a month, there’s a five month supply of inventory, or five “months of inventory”.

If there are under six months of inventory, it’s considered a sellers’ market. Six months is neutral. More than six is a buyers’ market. Obviously, the higher that number goes, the more extreme the market gets into the buyers’ favor.

Right now, it’s quite acute.

For the last two months in Saratoga, there have been NO closed sales among condos and townhomes. None.  This is almost a total market rejection by consumers – they don’t want what is offered at the prices offered. So the months of inventory would be infinite – if we could graph that. This chart doesn’t do well with intangibles like that, so I’ve plugged in in as if there were one sale in January and February – but there were not. So please envision the last two months as having bars that continue through the top of the chart.  Here’s how the history of the months of inventory in Saratoga look when put into a graph (March 2001 is missing data):

The numbers are from MLSListings, our mls provider. I did the crunching to get the absorption rate. The information for March 2001 was missing on MLSListings.com for some reason – so you’ll see a gap in the chart where that info belongs.

What’s happening with prices? The peak of pricing was about two years ago, and prices have been dropping since then – if slightly at first, it’s more dramatic now. This has been a very deep correction, and prices have “rolled back” in time a number of years.  For some properties, it’s only to about 2005 or 2006. For others, it’s between 2002 and 2004 prices. Since no condos have closed recently in Saratoga, it’s hard to pin the “rollback year” down. It is, however, clear that buyers don’t like the list prices of the homes for sale – if they did, they’d be buying.

When will it recover? It’s hard to say.  This correction has been deep and it may take a few years to see a recovery.  Buyers will need to feel confident in their jobs, particularly in purchasing a luxury condominium.  I would not expect to see peak prices again for another five years or so, possibly more.

The Almaden Valley real estate market is not greatly changed now from a month ago.

List prices of homes, both condominiums and single family houses, continues to decline in Almaden Valley:

The amount of inventory continues to fall. Homeowners tell me, “I don’t want to sell my house at the bottom of the market”. If this continues, it will help give some balance to the market and keep prices from losing value as much in Almaden Valley.

The days on the market, though, are rising very dramatically in Almaden Valley.

Overall, the market is tougher for condos and townhouses than for single family homes. This has been the case for most of the valley for over a year.

(Above 30 is a seller’s market, below 30 is a buyer’s market.)  As you can see from the steeply dropping black line above, the condo market has gone from bad to catastrophic.  My educated guess is that potential buyers who could have purchased a luxury condo in Almaden have decided to buy a single family home in a less expensive area instead, since the costs are now very similar.

Homeowner Associations (HOAs) are created to oversee condominium complexes, townhome communities and planned unit developments on behalf of their members. These are non-profit organizations whose purpose is to manage common areas, enforce neighborhood rules and standards, and often, unofficially, to foster community unity too. In most cases, they collect fees from members and have local authority. In other words, if you do not pay your homeowner association dues, or abide by one of its rules*, the HOA can and usually will fine you or even foreclose on you!

There are loads of HOAs in Silicon Valley. As with all organizations, some are better run than others. Its a little different than owning real estate outside of a homeowners association.

What are the pros and cons?

At their best, Silicon Valley HOAs keep the communities they manage beautifully landscaped and maintained, they hire good providers for needed improvements, and minimize risk to all the members. By having reasonable rules and community buy-in, the neighborhood can look inviting and property values can be better maintained.

At their worst, HOAs can be unresponsive to members needs, erratic, arbitrary and irresponsible. They may, by poor planning, cause huge assessments to be necessary or raise HOA dues so that they are very high – to the point where they make homes hard to sell. Not only are those an unhappy occasion, they can also make it hard to sell a home with a special assessment looming. Fortunately, this is seldom the case in most areas – but if the HOA has a high number of defaults due to owner bankruptcy or inability to keep up with mortgage, property insurance etc. it can cost all of the members eventually.

Is it less expensive to buy a house in a PUD? Maybe. You will have monthly fees that may cover your front landscaping, exterior of your structure, and roof. But perhaps not. Its possible that the fees will only cover the street paving – you have to read through the documents to see whats included.

What are some of the issues to be aware of surrounding HOAs in the San Jose area? What are some questions to ask if you are thinking of buying a property with a HOA?

1. HOAs may be big or small and may be professionally managed or may be run by volunteer homeowners. Many small HOAs are run by volunteers, while larger complexes or subdivisions may have ˜professional management (paid). First, youll want to know which it is.
2. HOAs tend to have a lot of rules – and they are not all intuitive – so if youre buying a home in Silicon Valley with a Homeowners Association, be sure to read the HOA packet throroughly. This will include the last years worth of minutes (great for understanding what the homeowners consider ˜issues), the bylaws, the budget, the current financial statement (very important for grasping whether a special assessment may be coming your way in the future), and more. This tends to be dry reading but is vitally important for you to understand before you remove your property condition contingency!
3. HOAs have the power to levy assessments to pay for needed improvements such as repaving, replastering the pool, replacing the roofs, refencing, etc. Most HOAs are underfunded and periodically have these ˜special assessments, so beware!
4. Some HOAs have planned assessments several times a year, so dont be fooled when you see the monthly HOA fee. It may not be reflective of the true cost. For example, Saratoga Oaks, a stunningly beautiful townhome community in Saratoga, has assessments for both blanket insurance and for earthquake insurance which are ˜extra payments occurring during the year. By splitting these out, the monthly HOA looks less imposing than it is in reality.
5. New construction often has unrealistically low monthly dues or HOA fees. The builders want the properties to be attractive to buyers so put the monthly cost on the low side. Eventually the homeowners realize that they are underfunded and then must either raise the monthly charges, do an assessment, or both. Its not fun when that happens.

Selling a home governed by a HOA?

If you are selling your San Jose area condominium, townhome, or single family home governed by a HOA, plan ahead! You (not the HOA) will be required to give the buyer the HOA packet and will need to ask your Homeowners Association to provide the documents that compose it. Your HOA will do so, but will need some time and there will be a fee for this service. It is a good idea to have the HOA package ready to deliver to the buyer once your home goes on the market. (If it takes a long time before your property sells, you may need to update it.)

Your HOA may have rules about for sale signs and open house signs, so check before you get your home on the market. Gated Communities (while fairly small in number here in Santa Clara County) may have rules about hours for open houses, access, too, so find out ahead of time.

If you dont like authority, dont buy in a HOA community.

*The story is told that a HOA had a rule that each condo owner needed to allow the HOA in once every 6 or 12 months to test the smoke detector. The thinking was that if one condo caught on fire, theyd all be at risk because of the nature of the complex. One homeowner didnt want to allow the HOA in, so refused. What did the HOA do? It took the owner to court, ran up a lot of legal fees, and eventually the homeowner was made to not only let the HOA in to check the smoke detector, but was forced to pay a large sum of legal fees too.

Most folks who live in areas governed by a HOA are happy with the association and its work. Many of these neighborhoods, such as La Rinconada in Los Gatos or The Villas of Almaden in Almaden Valley, are impeccably maintained and its clear that the owners appreciate the value of real estate thats well managed. There is often an easier lifestyle associated with living in a HOA because someone else does much of the landscaping, or there may be common areas to enjoy such as a garden, park or pool. And in senior communities, such as along Alberto Way in Los Gatos or The Villages in San Jose, there also can be more affordable and quieter housing made available. As long as its well managed, being in a HOA can be not only a good experience, but good for your homes value.