Sell Homes in the Holidays?

Most home sellers decide to sell their homes in the Spring. This is the "selling season" when the market is the best - right? Maybe and no. Reality is historically sellers get the highest percentage of asking price between Thanksgiving and New Years Eve. Why? A lot of sellers who could not sell their homes in the fall will let their listings expire toward the end of the year, waiting again for the Spring. Many other sellers will not list their homes because they don't want to be bothered by people traipsing through their homes during the holidays. The pool of buyers declines too, although the buyers who are truly motivated to buy a home remains constant. This see-saw of buyers and sellers nets out to more motivated buyers with less choices and hence better results for sellers. So sometimes you may ask, why wait?

Open House Saturday and Sunday 1:30pm-4:30pm

Come and see this gorgeous house located at 2098 Arrowood Lane in San Jose, CA 95130
this weekend from 1:30pm-4:30pm both Saturday and Sunday.... Look forward to seeing you there....




-4 bedrooms and 2 full baths
-Approximately 1,585 square feet of living space
-A thorough and stunning renovation was just completed
-Huge master suite with office adjacent and two large closets with organizing systems in the dressing area.
-Master bath with new spa tub, new tile floors & tile surround, new double sink vanity and stone vanity top with new faucets & light fixtures.
-Kitchen with large island, granite counters, all new Kenmore stainless steel appliances (side by side refrigerator, dishwasher, trash compactor, microwave, wall oven & 5 burner gas island stove top), custom cabinets with roll out drawers, 6 glass display doors, new sink & Price Pfister integrated spray faucet and herb garden window above sink.
-Central gas forced air heating and central air conditioning
-New Kenmore washer & dryer in garage
-Wood burning fireplace with gas starter, new tile face & skirting
-Skylights in both bathrooms, office and kitchen
-Dining area with custom built buffet, granite top & glass display doors
-All new sod, new trees, plants, sprinkler system front & back, tile front porch, painted rear patio and redwood bark ground cover.
-New six panel interior doors, new hardware throughout & new lighting
-Excellent Moreland Schools - Baker Elementary - a California Distinguished school, Moreland Middle & Prospect High School all nearby
-Nearby great shopping and dining at Westgate Mall and El Paseo de Saratoga shopping center

New Home for Sale in San Jose - Completely Renovated

2098 Arrowood Lane, San Jose--Gorgeous remodel. Interior, exterior, landscaping, etc. Huge master suite, new bathroom with spa tub. 4th bedroom is office off of master suite. Double pane windows, tile roof, new landscaping, interior paint, hardwood floors just refinished, new textured walls, etc. This home is stunning. Great area too. Baker Elementary - A California Distinguished School - is walking distance. Listed at $825,000

Short Sale Opportunity on Magnificent Home Near Silver Creek

This stunning 6 bedroom 5.5 bath, approximately 5,000 square foot home is a very good value. It is the largest home in Bel-Aire! The home has spectacular views, professionally designed landscaping, beautiful stonework and a wonderful gazebo.
Call me if you would like to tour this gorgeous home with a great price. Offered at $1,999,999.

Monte Sereno (Los Gatos Schools) Short Sale

This wonderful location Monte Sereno home has great potential. 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 3,480 square feet on over 1 acre lot for $1,500,000. This is a short sale. There were offers on this home, yet it is not too late. A deal with the bank can still happen. Call me to view your best opportunity in the Los Gatos area.

Short Sale in Saratoga's Golden Triangle

This beautifully remodeled home is on a quiet cul-de-sac, 10,454sf lot in the prestigious Golden Triangle area of Saratoga. 1966 square feet, gorgeous pool and spa, great lot, excellent roof, remodeled, upgraded, etc. This home has it all. It's a pre foreclosure short sale and is a very good opportunity. Call to tour soon.

Great Short Sale Opportunity in Almaden Valley

This is a wonderful tri-level home in a great neighborhood of Almaden Valley. The home has a good layout, floorplan and lot. It does need some TLC to make it perfect though. Offered at $858,000, this is a very good value for its location and size. It is a short sale and the price could be negotiated better too, depending on what the bank is willing to do. Let me show you this great home.

360 Residences - New High Rise Condos Downtown San Jose

Another dramatic building in downtown San Jose. This building will put you in the heart of downtown San Jose next to the Fairmont Hotel and walking distance to all the restaurants, clubs and theatres. This is a landmark building designed by the same group which developed One Rincon Hill in San Francisco. The sales center is located at 170 S. Market Street. Call us for a tour.

City Heights San Jose Condo High Rise

Great incentive program right now for the impressive San Jose condos at City Heights in downtown San Jose. Up to $50,000 for upgrades, price buy downs, interest rate buy downs, closing costs, property taxes and more. The building is located at 175 W. St. James Place, San Jose. Great location walking distance to San Pedro Square and West Santa Clara Street. Check out the views from the penthouse units - absolutely stunning! Barry Swenson has done it again in San Jose. Units priced from the $400s to over $1.5M for the penthouse units. Call us to tour.

4,486 Single Family Residences on the Market as Active Listings
725 SFRs "in escrow"
6.2 months of inventory

1,527 condo/townhouses active
269 "in escrow"
5.7 months of inventory

The number of listings is starting to decline over the last 3 weeks for SFRs and over the last 5 weeks for condo/townhouses in Santa Clara County.

Great Time for Europeans Buying in the US

This is a wonderful opportunity for Europeans to use the strength of the Euro to buy real estate assets in the US. Many destination cities such as New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and even Las Vegas are seeing a strong influx of European buyers. If the Dollar is historically low, then when it adjusts back to a normal trading range, these US homes will make very good exchange rate returns. The homes don't even have to go up in value for Europeans to win in this situation. Of course, real estate values will rise over the next few years as we get out of the sub-prime mortgage situation - a key reason why our dollar is so weak now. That double whammy (a true real estate term) will make huge returns for foreign investors. Any Germans, Dutch or Brits reading this?

Housing Inventory vs. Interest Rates

We are seeing a great divergence between the cost of money for loans and the amount of homes on the market in Santa Clara County. This is a great opportunity to act now.

Open House this Sunday...Come and stop by....

Come visit this Sunday my new stunning listing in Silver Creek Valley Country Club at 5230 Birkdale Way, San Jose, CA 95138 open house from 1:30-4:30. 4 bedrooms plus an office, 3 full baths and one half bath, black bottom pool and spa, two story vaulted ceilings in the dining and living rooms, former model home, valley views, large master suite, spacious kitchen, two car garage plus offset one car garage - perfect for the prized weekend sports car, over 3,100 square feet, just painted, great flooring, etc, etc, etc. Come check it out this Sunday! $1,349,950

Open House this Saturday from 1:30pm-4:30pm

This beautifully decorated custom home has 4 bedrooms and 2 baths.
-Approx over 1,600 sqft of living space-cozy wood burning fireplace in the spacious living room and vaulted ceilings with customized skylights through out -kitchen has custom tile, stainless steel appliances with breakfast nook and breakfast bar-All bedromms have fan hook-ups-the roomy master bed has back door and large master bathroom- With so many more features to mention come and see it, I promise you will fall in love with it. P.S We also know of 53 other mobile homes in san jose for under $200,000 and 100 Condos and townhomes for under $300,000. Call Alexandria or Mario at 408-342-8694 & 408-342-3155 if you are interested in us helping you find a home....
OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY DEC, 1 FROM 1:30pm-4:30pm Come and stop by.........

See You There.....

Bay Area Commercial Real Estate Marketing Meetings

This is an updated list (as of June 2008) of commercial Realtor marketing meetings in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you know of another meeting that should be on this list, please let me know.

First Tuesday
Investment Marketing Forum (IMF)
7:30am Registration, 8:00am – 9:00am, $20 members, $25 non-members, full breakfast
Orinda Country Club, 315 Camino Sobrante, Orinda
www.imf1.com
Membership: Richard DiNottia 415-247-2470 rdinottia@landam.com
Moderator: Dave Carney 925-944-1031 dave@davecarney.com


Second Tuesday
Northern California CCIM
$60 non-members, $45 members - includes lunch
8:30-9:30 mentoring meeting, 10-1:30 Regular meeting & lunch
Location varies, typically is at the Sheraton Hotel , 5121 Hopyard Road, Pleasanton
Please verify location and RSVP before going.
Contact: Terry Shores 866-588-CCIM NCalCCIM@earthlink.net


Second Wednesday
Bay Area Apartment Brokers Forum
8:00am – 9:30am, no charge, coffee/pastries
First American Title , 1737 North First St., #100, San Jose
Apartment Investments Only
Chairman: Richard Domich 408-453-7466 rdomich@cbre.com


Second Wednesday
San Francisco Investment Forum
11:30-1pm, includes lunch; Contact Dena Cruz before attending
Embarcadero 4 in the conference room, San Francisco; Must RSVP
Contact: Dena Cruz 415-989-1300 dcruz@firstam.com


Second Thursday
Income Property Marketing Group (IPMG)
7:30am – 9:30am, $5 charge - free if presenting listing for sale
8 Presidio Terrace, San Francisco, CA 94118
Contact: Clifton Wong 415-346-2030 cliftonwong@fnf.com
Moderator: Stephen Pugh 415-345-3056 spugh@pacunion.com


Second Thursday
Commercial Broker's Forum
11:30-1:30
777 N 1st Street, San Jose, CA
Contact: Brad Wheeler 408-292-4212
wheelerb@ctt.com


Fourth Tuesday
Peninsula Investment Forum
7:45am – 9:00am, no charge for meeting, coffee/pastries
First American Title , 555 Marshall, Redwood City
Strengths: Good speakers related to the Peninsula region
Contact: Mary Kay Kennedy - mkkennedy@firstam.com

Every Other Fourth Tuesday - last one was May 2008
8:00-9:30am, no charge for the meeting, coffee/bites to eat
UCSC Extension in Cupertino on Bubb Road
Stregths: best commercial marketing meeting in the South Bay
Contact: Terry Shores 866-588-2246, ncalccim@earthlink.net

San Francisco 2 Units Mixed Use for Sale

2 units on Mission in San Francisco available for sale at a great price - $878,000. One residential flat above a commercial space. No rent control since there is only one residential unit. Due to a fire, much of the building was rebuilt in 1997. No parking although this is a great area for public transit and walking. The commercial lease only has a few months left on the lease. Strong rental market for clean commercial space such as this. Call before this hot deal sells to someone else!

Commercial Office Condo San Jose for Sale

Brand new construction commercial condo fully built out for an office user available in San Jose. Location is east of 880 between Brokaw & Montague. 1,416 square feet, 10 foot high ceilings in a new industrial - flex office condo complex. Offered at $399,000 or $281 per foot. This is a good value for an owner-user who wants to stop paying rent and start earning equity. Call for a tour this week. Larger units available too.

Silver Creek Valley Country Club Home for Sale

5230 Birkdale Drive is an outstanding value within the gates of Silver Creek Valley Country Club. 4 bedrooms plus a den, 3.5 baths, 3 car garage and over 3,100 square feet for just $1,349,000. Nothing else at this price or lower until you drop 600 square feet. Former model home that you will love to own. Call for a tour.

Santana Row Loft Condo for Sale

DeForest Building west facing condo available just above Straits Cafe and Cocolat. What better location can you ask for? This unit has - in my opinion - the best kitchen cabinets and flooring available when the units were built out. Also, situated on the quiet side of the building so you won't be up all night - unless you want to. At $579,900 - this is a very good price for this unit. Hurry before this rare, well priced unit gets snapped up. Call for a tour.

24 Duplex & Fourplex Pre Foreclosures in San Jose

Two fourplexes and 22 duplexes are on the market in San Jose in a short sale or pre foreclosure situation. With rents going up and vacancies dropping, this is a great time to invest. Let's take this opportunity to buy locally and watch equities grow over the next few years as this financial downturn stabilizes. Silicon Valley is hiring and we will lead the nation's recovery.