Mary Pope-Handy's Silicon Valley Real Estate Commentary

Los Gatos is an upscale town nestled into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The perception sometimes exists that folks who live in Los Gatos are all wealthy, live in huge homes on enormous lots (and many envision oversized pools, vineyards, and views).

While that is accurate for a portion of the area's homes, it's certainly not reflective of all or even most of them. There are many modest homes that are small, tract ranchette homes, for instance, as well as the gracious old Victorians that line the streets near downtown.

We've got variety.

We've got the smallest house, on the smallest lot, in Santa Clara County. (Can you guess HOW small?)

To learn more about this fascinating home (with its unusual history), please visit my Smallest Home post on my Live in Los Gatos blog!

Mary Pope-Handy
Keller Williams
http://www.LiveInLosGatos.com
http://www.popehandy.com/
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The numbers have been crunched for December and for all of 2007 and it's not a lot different than what we expected.

Overall, sales are WAY down. And overall, prices are UP.

How does that work?

In a nutshell, only the best homes are selling - homes that are in ideal locations (no busy roads, no high voltage power lines, you get the idea), nicely updated and priced aggressively.  Homes that aren't all of these things go on the market, get a little attention, and then proceed to NOT sell.

You can read a very detailed report, complete with charts and graphs, for San Jose and its districts (Almaden Valley, Cambrian Park, Willow Glen, West San Jose, Blossom Valley, etc.) as well as the cities and towns that make up Santa Clara County (Los Gatos/Monte Sereno, Saratoga, Cupertino, Campbell, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, etc.) by visiting my online Real Estate Report. Want more? I've also got an 18 page pdf with oodles of info and commentary! Have a look: http://rereport.com/scc/print/MaryPopeHandySCCannual.pdf

It's really not a bad time to sell or to buy. Buyers need to understand that sellers aren't giving away their homes, and that interest rates are favorable. This is as good as it gets. What are you waiting for??? Sellers need to understand that while prices are rising, most homes are not selling, so they still need to be ultra-realistic about their home's condition and pricing.

Please call me if you'd like to chat. I do offer a free one hour consultation to prospective clients.

Best regards,

Mary

Mary Pope-Handy, Realtor,  CRS, ABR, e-PRO, SRES, ASP, RECS, CNHS, ACRE
Helping Nice Folks to Buy & Sell Homes Since 1993
Co-Author: "Get The Best Deal When Selling Your Home In Silicon Valley"
Keller Williams, Cupertino, CA  (Silicon Valley)
877 397-5391 (Direct/Toll-Free/Fax);   408 204-7673 (Cell)
www.PopeHandy.com    www.ValleyOfHeartsDelight.com   
emailto: Mary@PopeHandy.com
Blog: www.LiveInLosGatos.com

Report: How To Buy The MOST Home for the Money
How to Attract More Buyers With Seller Financing
RELOCATION KIT

It's January, it's pouring rain and the wind is howling here in Silicon Valley as a giant Alaskan storm is dumping water by the bucket. This is the largest storm since 1995.  We are thankful for the water since precipitation has been low and there's talk of a drought and rationing by next summer.

But how does this, or even "normal winter weather", impact real estate sales? Does it make this a better time to buy or sell? The obvious answer may not be the correct one!  With the inclement weather, there's an opportunity - for both buyers and for sellers of homes in Los Gatos and the west valley communities of Santa Clara County generally.

Today I blogged about this at Live in Los Gatos. Pop by if you'd like to learn more!

Mary

Mary Pope-Handy, Realtor, CRS, ABR, ePro, ASP, SRES, RECS, ACRE
Helping Nice Folks to Buy & Sell Homes in Silicon Valley since 1993
Co-Author, "Get The Best Deal When Selling Your Home In Silicon Valley"
Keller Williams Realty (Cupertino/Silicon Vally)
877 397-5391 (direct/toll-free/fax); 408 204-7673 (cell)
http://www.PopeHandy.com   http://www.ValleyOfHeartsDelight.com
visit my blog at www.LiveInLosGatos.com
Mary@PopeHandy.com

What do those designations and certifications mean?

(CRS) Certified Residential Specialist (held by only 4% of all Realtors)
(ABR) Accredited Buyer's Representative
(ASP) Accredited Staging Professional
(ePro) Internet Marketing Specialist
(SRES) Senior Real Estate Specialist
(RECS) Real Estate Cyberspace Specialist
(ACRE) Accredited Consultant in Real Estate