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 35. See more 95124 zip code real estate.
(all data current as of 5/25/2012)

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 24. See more 95118 zip code real estate.
(all data current as of 5/25/2012)

1. $829,950 : 1259 Bryan Av, San Jose
   
   5 beds, 3 full baths

   Home size: 2,238 sq ft

   Lot size: 8,050 sqft
   
2. $670,000 : 4241 Ranwick Ct, San Jose
   
   4 beds, 3 full baths

   Home size: 2,199 sq ft

   Lot size: 5,000 sqft
   
3. $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
   
4. $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
   
5. $649,000 : 1373 Adobe Ct, San Jose
   
   4 beds, 2 full baths

   Home size: 1,966 sq ft

   Lot size: 8,800 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

Monte Sereno is an upscale, small city of about 4,000 residents. It shares police, parks, library and school services with neighboring Los Gatos and the residents of Monte Sereno tend to be very involved in the life of Los Gatos for that reason. In a sense, they are like sister cities living next door to each other.

Monte Sereno is not just a mini-me of Los Gatos, though.  Unlike its larger next door neighbor, there’s no industry in this city.  Aside from the post office and city offices, it’s 100% residential: there are no commercial buildings whatsoever. And it’s pricey! Houses tend to be a bit more expensive in MS, even though it has the same schools (a larger driver of home values in Silicon Valley) and zip codes with LG. There are a good number of estate properties and luxury homes too. Looking for an exclusive neighborhood? This will fill that bill – along with much of Los Gatos and Saratoga.

How’s the real estate market in Monte Sereno?

I update my readers via this blog and also via my Live in Los Gatos blog fairly often on various Silicon Valley communities, including Monte Sereno. Here are a couple of resources for keeping a pulse on the market trends and statistics in this neat little city:

• blog post on this site on the Monte Sereno Real Estate Market
• my Monte Sereno Real Estate Report for houses, updated monthly
• check on listings, pendings and sold homes via my property analysis page

Properties for Sale in Monte Sereno CA

The vast majority of residential real estate in Monte Sereno is single family homes (houses & duet homes), but there are a few townhouses in the city limits too (some townhouses are held in PUD ownership, others in condominium ownership). Also, most (99%) of Monte Sereno is in the 95030 zip code (tiniest of fractions in 95032) and in the Los Gatos School District (tiny fraction in Moreland schools).

At any given time there are usually fewer than 50 houses or homes for sale. Below are the listings currently on our MLS, beginning with those listed most recently. If you click through, you may also view the available properties via map – an easy way to get a lay of the land!

Showing properties 1 - 5 of 9. See more city of Monte Sereno real estate.
(all data current as of 5/25/2012)

1. $3,999,999 : 18090 Daves Av, Monte Sereno
   
   6 beds, 6 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 7,000 sq ft

   Lot size: 43,560 sqft
   
2. $2,295,000 : 15630 Michael Ln, Monte Sereno
   
   5 beds, 4 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 3,924 sq ft

   Lot size: 9,583 sqft
   
3. $1,599,950 : 16172 Rose Av, Monte Sereno
   
   4 beds, 2 full baths

   Home size: 2,212 sq ft

   Lot size: 17,327 sqft
   
4. $1,799,950 : 16215 Rose Av, Monte Sereno
   
   4 beds, 2 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 3,508 sq ft

   Lot size: 9,147 sqft
   
5. $4,500,000 : 16036 Greenwood Rd, Monte Sereno
   
   7 beds, 7 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 7,336 sq ft

   Lot size: 1.17 ac
   

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

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.