San Jose – Best City for Home Sellers
In a recent Forbes magazine article (www.forbes.com) the City of San Jose California was rated best city for home sellers. According to the article:
…tough regulatory measures make it difficult to overbuild. New home construction dropped 63% last year, while jobs grew by 1.2%. Home vacancies, which were already low at 1.6%, fell to a national bottom at 0.8%, helping make San Jose one of the country’s tightest markets.
This reaffirms the feeling that some real estate professionals, including myself, have been feeling for a while. That San Jose and the greater Silicon Valley Real Estate is still a wise investment for most people. Although we are seeing some specific neighborhoods effected by large amounts of foreclosures and short sales, we see others that are holding strong with sales increases and multiple offer situations. All real estate is very local, and each neighborhood or area has it’s plus and minuses, but it’s nice to know that overall San Jose is faring quite well.
“…tourist in our own backyard” by Jaimie
Remember that day in high school when you took a survey and it magically produced recommendations of “what you should be when you grow-up”? Interestingly enough, it never contained any of the job titles I’ve actually applied for, but that’s another topic for another day. If I could go back to that day, I would have rigged my responses with the hope of getting “Samantha Brown’s Job” as my answer. Who is Samantha Brown you ask? She is the host of several shows on the travel channel where she visits exotic places, stays in fantastic hotels, and eats delectable food. Alas, I’m not Samantha Brown. Instead of traveling abroad, my weekends are filled with “James Days.” They’re like mini Samantha Brown adventures, but they’re local.
James and I love to play tourist in our own backyard and we’re very interested in the latest movements emphasizing local foods, products, and businesses. We support local eating (aka locavores), new urbanism, environmental sustainability, preserving unique homes and places, and all the benefits that regionalism offers. With that in mind, I’ve decided to compile these weekend escapes into a guide of suggested day trips.
This page is currently organized by destination and will clearly have a “houses with character” slant. I like to highlight true ‘gems’ when it comes to unique home stores and supporting local, independent shop owners. I’m pretty sure that if I had more time I could be quite the blogger… maybe in 2010. Till then, I’ll update this guide in between quarters!
Buen viaje,
jaimie
ALAMEDA ANTIQUES
The Alameda Antique Faire
One of our most favorite weekends is the first Sunday of the month. Grab some breakfast and coffee at your local coffee house and hit the road early to visit the Alameda Antique Fair. Warning: don’t let numerous friends and family members pile into your car until there’s no room. We’ve found that the first visit leads to amazing deals on large items that you can’t live without. You will inevitably have to haggle on space with your guest passenger and will seriously consider leaving them behind so your new chair will fit. Bring a stash of snacks and dress in layers. You don’t want to have to leave just because you’re famished, too hot, or too cold. And don’t fret about not being able to get to all the booths. The dealers are exceptionally good at the front gate and slowly decline as you reach the back of the parking lot (with a few great booths sprinkled about). We especially like this fair because there are some tchotchkies but a lot more furniture. The usual antique fair rule applies—the really good stuff is available in the morning at a higher price, but better deals can be had as the day wears on. Don’t be afraid to negotiate price, it’s all part of the fun.
Bacheeso’s Garden Bistro
If you’ve been able to resist the hot pretzels and turkey legs at the Alameda, it’s best to either take a picnic lunch to the park, or head directly to lunch in Berkeley. This lunch place has a terrific little buffet of Mediterranean inspired food and is always a crowd pleaser. It’s also good for large groups that have antiqued together. It’s just down the street from the Salvage Yards so it’s also a close and convenient stop.
Epicurious Garden
If you’re with a bunch of folks that can’t decide what they’re hungry for, head to my favorite Berkeley gourmet “food court.” It’s really fabulous and I’m not one to frequent food court type establishments. They have homemade soup at Soop, fresh sushi, a chocolate shop, and a Mexican grill. Visit Ciao Bella! Gelato before you leave and sit in the back garden. Or talk the Indian restaurant into letting you eat at their indoor tables while you sip and share wine from their high-tech tasting machines.
Bar Cesar
If you’re not in the mood for Bacheeso’s Mediterranean buffet or the gourmet grotto, I highly recommend this little Spanish restaurant just next door to Epicurious Garden. They have delicious, authentic tapas and to-die-for bread pudding. If you can snag the big table in the middle of the restaurant, it makes for a fantastic family style tapas experience.
The Spanish Table
Itching to recreate a memorable dish you had at Bar Cesar? Check out this specialty store carrying Spanish and Portuguese foods and cookware.
Vintage Berkeley Wine Shop
As you head to your car after lunch at the Garden or Bar Cesar, it’s worth a stop into this terrific little wine shop, even just to see the tasteful renovation of the historic Vine Street Pumping Plant.
Salvage Yards
www.ohmegasalvage.com & www.omegatoo.com
Now that you’re refreshed and refueled, it’s time to hit the three good salvage yards. Ohmega and Omega Too are not your typical salvage yards. Under separate management, they definitely cater to a higher-end crowd, but there are still deals to be found. Along San Pablo, there are three places to visit and they’re easy to traverse on foot. We usually hit up Ohmega Too first, then go across, the street, and finally end up at the fancy lighting and bath store, Omega Too. Hint: visit the bath store, find the pedestal sink you want, and then search for it online at a significantly better price; however, this store definitely carries one-of-a-kind lights and other unique fixtures. There are cheaper salvage yards in Berkeley but we’ve found they don’t have quite the same quality and you truly have to dodge forklifts and move mountains to uncover anything good.
Metro Lighting
Before you head home you have to visit this gem of a lighting store. Many of their lights have an Arts & Crafts feel, but the majority of their original designs sport an Art Nouveau, French metro inspired style. You might recognize a design or two from your local Left Bank restaurant.
Caffe Trieste
Looking for a pick-me-up before you get back in the car for the ride home? Stop into this café for delicious lattes, cappuccinos, and other afternoon snacks. It’s located just across the street from Bacheeso’s. I’m sure the caffeine and the excitement of enjoying all your new treasures will give you strength to unload the car when you get home!
BERKELEY’S 4th STREET
On a weekend when there is no Alameda Antique Fair, there are still some great places to visit in Berkeley. This day can also include the Salvage yards and lunch places above.
Fourth Street
This street is known by locals but not a place you would generally find on your own. The Crate & Barrel outlet store is what originally drew me here when I needed dishes for my first apartment. There is also a Restoration Hardware, ZGallerie, Sur La Table, NapaStyle, Anthropologie and Paper Source. If you’re looking for some great non-chain shops, I highly suggest The Gardener (www.thegardener.com) and the Pasta Shop.
The Wooden Duck
On your way back to the freeway, visit this furniture shop specializing in large pieces made from recycled wood.
The Craftsman Home
If you’re in to Arts and Crafts style, this store features fine home furnishings including carpets, mailboxes, furniture, and lighting.
Chez Panisse
If you’re looking for a special occasion restaurant that embraces all things local, sustainable, organic, and seasonal, look no further than the legendary Chez Panisse. Just next door to Bar Cesar and Epicurious Garden, this gourmet restaurant isn’t your standard Saturday night establishment, but it’s a must visit place if you live in the Bay Area. Reservations can be made one month in advance—don’t underestimate the need for a redial button.
FUTURE DAY TRIPS
- Aptos & Capitola
- Campbell
- Half Moon Bay (www.myhandmadehome.com, www.cetrella.com)
- Los Altos (www.vintagebath.com, www.saturacakes.com)
- Los Gatos
- Mountain View (www.vivesol.biz)
- Santa Cruz
- San Jose, Downtown (www.southernlumber.com, Viking Door, Trim shop, www.nagleeparkgarage.com, www.topdoghotdogs.com)
- San Jose, Rose Garden (www.commuknity.com)
- San Jose, Willow Glen
- San Juan Bautista
- Pescadero
Just Listed – Belmont CA
Peru Trip
On March 20th Jaimie and I took off from San Francisco to Miami headed for Lima Peru. After spending the night in Lima we arrived in Cuzco for out vacation to the Sacred Valley of the Inca. We spent a few days in Cuzco before heading off to the highlight of our trip, Machu Picchu. It was by far the best part of our trip and quite possibly one of the most exciting, interesting, enjoyable places we’ve visited. We would highly recommend a visit to Machu Picchu & Cuzco and would suggest spending most of your time at the Inkaterra Pueblo hotel in Aguas Calientes. Check out our view at trip advisor. We tried cuy (guinea pig), alpaca, and many different varieties of corn and potatoes. We also brought home tons of baby alpaca sweaters, scarves and finger puppets.
San Jose Municipal Rose Garden Video
A new video was posted at the Mercury News website regarding a few volunteers trying to maintain our rose garden. Check it out here:
http://www.mercurynewsphoto.com/blog/2007/12/17/rose-garden/#more-2402
Market Analysis – Feb 2008
I ran the numbers for downtown San Jose (including the Rose Garden & Naglee Park neighborhoods) for February and found some interesting info.
Let’s start with inventory numbers. Inventory is up 82% in Downtown San Jose. Quite a big jump really. Sales were down 56% over this time last year. What does all this mean? Well, seasonally we see an increase of inventory build up starting in spring and peak during the summer months. But the sales numbers are interesting, they’ve been pretty flat the last three months (16 in Feb., 19 in Jan, & 15 in Dec.) we’ll have to watch the numbers next month to see if trends start to appear. From a buyer’s perspective there are a lot of houses to choose from, and seller’s are willing to negotiate. We’ve finally seen some decent homes priced in the $400,000 for the first time in a couple of years.
Interestingly sales prices keep ticking up. Traditionally we see a pretty clear bell curve for sales price, with the peak hitting during the summer months. But with this much inventory we’ll have to wait and see how that effects home prices. Especially since we only had 16 sales in February and numbers may have been effected by the big sale of $2,486,000 on Hanchett Ave. Also of note, we had 6 houses sell below $500,000.
Days on Market went up significantly this month over last year as well. It’s showing the upward trend that we’ve been watching the last few years. Though the numbers could have been effected by the 3 houses that sold in February with over 200 days on market.
questions? comments? want the full report? contact me at jamesf@remax.net
Seattle Turning Point Retreat
Last Monday and Tuesday I spent two days in Seattle attending the Buffini & Company Turning Point Retreat. The head of the company Brian Buffini is an amazing speaker and I walked away from the event not only pumped up about real estate but inspired in many aspects of my life.
Brian discussed how right now is one of the most exciting times to be a real estate professional. With the longer listing times, increased inventory on the market, and negative press, most people think Realtors are out holding signs that say “I’ll sell your house for food”. However, now more than ever, we provide a service that can amount to a huge win for our clients. The agents role in the process is more important than ever. Being more than an agent…a resource, a friend, and a “hub” of information will set a professional full time agent far above the rest.
One of the biggest “ah-ha” moments for me was on the discussion of finances. Maybe because we are going through our financial plan now, or because I was just ready to hear it but the idea of saving, planning for the future and investing for future sources of income really hit home with me. It got me started on a path to dig a little deeper and I’ve already started the reading. (more on that later)
The most enjoyable part of the weekend though was the mixer on the first evening were I got to meet some really great people from all around the Pacific Northwest. I really had a great time and can’t wait for the Master Mind event in San Diego in August.
Stimulus Package effects
Just when you thought some relief may be on the horizon for that new home you’re thinking about purchasing, due to the adjusted conforming loan limits of to close to $750,00, you read this.
This was e-mailed to me from a friend:
Stimulus plan may lead to higher mortgage rates
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A key element of the stimulus package aimed at jump-starting the ailing U.S. housing market may have the unintended consequence of raising mortgage rates, said analysts studying the plan.
A federal proposal to increase the size limit on loans eligible for purchase by mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has unsettled traders in the $4.5 trillion market for bonds backed by the “conforming” mortgages.
Increasing the eligible loans to $729,750 from $417,000 would change the characteristics of mortgage-backed securities, leading traders to exact a premium for increased interest-rate risk.
Borrowers with large, jumbo loans are more likely to refinance since their savings are greater for each incremental drop in rates than for a smaller loan. The loans will taint the bonds since traders don’t initially know the make-up of the securities known as “agency” MBS.
Higher mortgage rates would make it even harder to unload already high housing inventories and existing homes on the market, delaying any housing recovery and potentially extending the U.S. economic slowdown….
*email me for the entire article.
Interesting. We’ll have to see if this holds true. If it does, I’m interested to see how it will effect the different markets in our area (1st time home buyers at about $550,000 vs move up buyers at $750,000-$1,000,000.)
Economic Stimulus Package for Housing
Quite a few people have asked me recently about the Economic Stimulus Package bouncing around Capitol Hill. The most important aspect of the package being “how will it effect the housing market, and more importantly, my ability to buy a home”.
The answer is a little gray right now, but it could be very important. Both the House and the Senate agree that we need to raise the limits on the maximum size mortgages our government will insure (FannieMae & FredieMac).
Why is this a big deal? Because in California and more specifically the Silicon Valley the average price of a home is well over $500,000 (closer to $750,000 in some areas). Quite a bit more than the $417,000 than our government will currently buy.
Under the proposed stimulus plan, the maximum mortgages for the government programs will jump to 125 percent of a local area’s median house price-with a top limit just under $730,000.
That’s huge. How will this play out? Will it help the current housing market? We’ll just have to wait and see.
100 Greatest Movies
While on vacation in Mexico, my brother Brett brought up how he had downloaded the “100 Greatest Film” list from AFI. (http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/movies.aspx) Which got us started on how we felt about the list and what movies had not made it. It was surprising to note that not one Mel Brooks movie made the list. Blazing Saddles is a classic and one of our family favorites.
We are discussing putting together the “Fucillo Family’s top 100” and will post it when we start working on it.