Silicon Valley Real Estate Blog – 1SiliconValley.com

The Santa Clara community of Rivermark might be considered the jewel of the Santa Clara real estate market.  Where else in Santa Clara’s Silicon Valley can you find so many amenities for home buyers? 

Rivermark offers among other things, a central, self-contained community in Santa Clara of newer single family homes and townhomes intermixed with urban amenities like shopping centers, major restaurants, retailers, service providers, schools, parks, walkways, paths and bike trails.  All within a stone’s throw of major Santa Clara commute routes on highways 101 and 880.  

You can see many of these amenities in a video we put together for a listing we sold recently on Billings Circle.  Despite a much cooler Rivermark real estate market we sold 4467 Billings Circle in 23 days using a conservative pricing strategy and aggressive marketing campaign.  

Rivermark of Santa Clara was a master planned community of the City of Santa Clara built on 152 acres of state land that was once the home of the Agnew’s hospital complex.  Rivermark is located in Santa Clara between Montague Expressway, Lafayette Street, Hope Drive and the Guadalupe River.

One of the most appealing features to Rivermark is its newness.  Rivermark represents a fresh and timely approach to community development with new homes, shopping centers, public buildings and business parks.  Unlike most homes in Santa Clara country, many of which were built post WWII, construction began along the Guadalupe River in Rivermark in 2002.  Since then major builders like Centex, Shea Homes, Lennar, Greystone and others have built a variety of real estate projects appealing to homebuyers of all ages and in all price ranges from upper end, single family detached luxury homes to basic, first time buyer townhomes and condominiums. 

All of these amenities combined with relaxed market conditions make Rivermark a good value for the savvy buyer.  Consider the Rivermark listing I mentioned at 4467 Billings Circle, gem of a home with one of the largest backyards in the development and a great family friendly floor plan.

During the frenzy of the Silicon Valley dot com boom buyers were outbidding each other for an opportunity to live in Rivermark.  Despite stormy real estate market news, well-located, properly priced and marketed Silicon Valley real estate is a good investment. 

Although some of the homes in Rivermark are similar in style and size, 4467 Billings Circle was priced at $1,099,000 taking into consideration the additional value of location and lot size in comparison to another home with the same floor plan on a smaller lot and less desirable location which had languished on the market for months priced at $1,010,000.  

Today’s home buyer is tech savvy and looking online for homes so in addition to the usual open houses, MLS and agent tour, 4467 Billings Circle had a starring role in it’s own video debuting on many popular social media sites including YouTube.

Dec.22.2008 [ Filed under: Neighborhoods ] 9 Comments »

The shops on Lincoln Avenue have never been flashy, and in contrast to Santana Row and even downtown Los Gatos it is quite tame.  The residents of Willow Glen are proud and protective of their strip and can be quite vigilant when it comes to new development because of the fear of change.

However, lately there have been a lot of businesses on the Ave that have not been able to survive, especially in this economic downturn.  I was surprised to hear that two businesses recently have thrown in the towel and will close:  Vin Santo Ristorante and Willow Glen Liquors.  I am especially saddened to hear Vin Santo is closing because this is where my husband proposed to me. 

Willow Glen Liquors who is looking to stay in business but relocate off Lincoln, always has a wonderful selection of wines and as my personal mission to support local retailers, I buy my wines here instead of the BevMo directly across the street. 

The Ave is all abuzz this holiday season with holiday shoppers and faithful local residents supporting Willow Glen businesses, but what is going to happen once this flurry of shopping is over, when the decorations are boxed up and the excitement of Christmas is over?

Here are the plans.

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Dec.22.2008 [ Filed under: San Jose ] 3 Comments »

High density developments are becoming the wave of the future.  Perhaps the most prominent "high density" development in the Bay Area is Santana Row with trendy shops & exclusive restaurants, and contemporary residential lofts tantalizing the progressive bay area resident to be a part of this movement.  

This has become desirable for many bay area residents that want to have entertainment, shopping and a social outlet waiting just outside their front door.  Many downtown businesses sense the high demand of residential-retail zoning, which is alluring many business districts to take advantage of this commercial high density epidemic.

The public concern for high density zoning is that it will bring unmanageable traffic and cars and high taxes and noise to the community.  On the flip side, some residents have voiced excitement and acceptance that it will bring money to the city, restaurants and better quality entertainment.  Moreover, it will lead to higher economic activity and productivity, save tax dollars, and increase property value.  As worrisome or exciting as it may be to the community, there is hardly an area untouched by this new wave of high density development; San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, Campbell, Los Gatos and even Willow Glen are all conforming to this new way of life.

An example of high density development that has majority of public acceptance is Sunnyvale Town Center’s new urban development project.  It has been underway for some time but the ultimate outcome will be 991,000 square feet of retail space, 315,000 square feet of office space and 292 ownership housing units.  There will be a 14-screen movie theater and a 200 room hotel located at Murphy and McKinley Avenues.  The 184-acres project encompasses a large block bounded by Mathilda, Washington, Sunnyvale and Iowa Avenues, known as the Town Center Mall.  The shops are planned to start opening in early 2009.  The vision of this new development is for a lively people-friendly place for shopping, working, living and entertainment. 

Sunnyvale residents are actually quite pleased with the new development, as it will bring in revenue for the city, increase visibility to the area, bring in restaurants, and retail and ultimately boost their home values.  Some residents of other neighborhoods are not quite as pleased.

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Jul.02.2008 [ Filed under: San Jose, Santana Row, Sunnyvale ] 2 Comments »

Please join our own Sara Greenwood at the Grapevine in Willow Glen on Wednesday, July 9th at 6pm. 

She’s hosting a neighborhood mixer in her home town with plenty of food, wine and non-alcoholic beverages too.  For more information and details on the event, please visit her page on Willow Glen 2.0.

Jul.02.2008 [ Filed under: San Jose ] Comment Here »

If you have elderly relatives or friends who live in San Mateo County, you may be interested in this announcement from the office of San Mateo’s Fifth District Supervisor Adrienne Tissier. 

They asked if we could pass along this information to the consumers and real estate agents who read and subscribe to the Silicon Valley Real Estate Blog.  The event they want to publicize is the free Livable Communities for Successful Aging forum:

It will be held on May 30th at the San Mateo County Events Center.  The purpose of the forum is to allow members of the community to identify characteristics of developments that will be attractive to residents as they age and remain in San Mateo County.

By the year 2030, the county’s health department estimates that about 30% of all residents will be 65 years of age or order (about 160,000 persons). 

The forum will focus on what people would like to see developed along the El Camino Real– not only what types of buildings but also the services that would be attractive enough that people would decide to move to the El Camino and to remain in San Mateo County. 

From that vision we hope that we can offer principles of a livable community that will be adopted by city councils and the county.  The forum is sponsored by the County of San Mateo, the San Mateo County Association of Realtors, and Samtrans.

For more information, please visit the Successful Aging website.

May.22.2008 [ Filed under: San Mateo ] Comment Here »

There is a new luxury development that has been getting a lot of attention lately because of its location and close proximity to downtown Mountain View.  Not only is it close to the downtown area, but it is also within walking distance to the Mt. View Caltrain station, has freeway access close-by, and is surrounded by single family homes, parks, the Center for the Performing Arts and City Hall offices.  The Wild Orchid development is located on the corner of Dana Street and Calderon Avenue.

The exclusiveness to this area is because of the very convenient location to downtown.  It is only a ½ mile walk to the heart of where all the action is; downtown restaurants, unique shops, night clubs, coffee shops, and independent book stores are just a few of the niceties.  And if you get in now to one of these homes you won’t have to fight the parking situation of the ever-so-popular Mountain View Art and Wines Festival, coming September 7-8, 2008.

The builder of Wild Orchid development is Castle Companies, which is a family owned and operated builder in Northern California .  They have been around since 1966 and are recently building communities as far north as Yolo County , Napa Valley , down the East Bay and now into the Peninsula , which brings us to the Wild Orchid community.  The naming of these communities is as unique as each setting where these new developments are being built. 

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May.16.2008 [ Filed under: Mountain View, Silicon Valley News ] Comment Here »

For the past several years, there has been a great deal of rezoning of property from commercial to residential in the 94089 zip code of North Sunnyvale.  Within this particular plot of land bordered by Tasman Drive on the North, Morse Avenue and Fair Oaks Avenue on the West and East, and Weddell Drive running along the South end, there’s been a great land grab by various developers.

With the exception of the building pictured here, located on Fair Oaks currently leased to Paramount Tumbling and Gymnastics, various new developments have sprung up throughout the area such as City Park and Verona by luxury builder Toll Brothers, Parkside Villas, Tasman, and Crossman Place built by popular local builders Barry Swenson and Palo Alto based Classic Communities. 

One of the very first developers to stake claim to North Sunnyvale is also one of the nation’s largest builders, Pulte Homes, who built their first development Danbury Place of 168 homes in 2004.  Since then, Pulte Homes has been actively buying more land within this small one block radius and since their 2004 debut, has built 30 homes in Danbury III in 2006, 43 homes in Danbury IV in 2007, and 36 homes in Danbury II in 2008 for a total of 277 homes.  

There has been previous negotiations with the owner of the Paramount Tumbler and Gymnastics building that had not resulted in the sale of the property in past.  It sounds like now, the "last man standing" is interested in re-opening talks with various builders including Pulte Homes.  Could we see a Danbury Place V on the horizon?

Pricing for Danbury I homes in 2004 ranged from $590,000 – $630,000.  Today, Danbury Place has only 10 homes (including model homes) remaining scheduled to all be complete by August 2008.  Prices ranging from $728,900 – $834,900.  

We keep our ears close to the ground for the latest real estate news to ensure our clients have the best representation.  After all, new home construction affects the entire real estate market for both buyers and sellers.  For more information on new homes and MLS properties in North Sunnyvale, please contact Alex Wang here at the Silicon Valley Real Estate Blog.

May.13.2008 [ Filed under: Sunnyvale ] Comment Here »

From our Geography lessons and possibly from our travels, we know that Bordeaux is a very well toured port city in the southwest of France with over 1 Million Bordelais inhabitants and is proud to be known as the world’s wine industry capital. 

It is a diverse city with makeup of all different races and cultures of people and over the last decade has become an urban metropolis.  If you live here in the Bay Area you don’t have to travel to France to visit the newest community named Bordeaux; it is located in the heart of Santa Clara County , in the urban setting of Sunnyvale.  Like Bordeaux France, Sunnyvale is known to be a diverse and culturally varied city with neighboring industry and a rich past of agricultural history.  Perhaps this is how the name of the newest KB Homes community was formed, because of this vague likeness shared with the city of the same name.

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Apr.14.2008 [ Filed under: Sunnyvale ] 4 Comments »

Lane Woods, by builder Summerhill Homes, is opening a new community of 32 residences in Menlo Park targeting the active, outdoorsy family of four. 

The model homes will be opening for tours in mid-April and move in will be mid-to-late summer.  There have already been many inquiries into this community, with the majority of the curious home-buyers being families with small children and babies. 

The Lane Woods development takes its name from the Lane Family, a family of publishers dating back to the 1920s; The Lane Family put their heritage on the map with the popular Sunset Magazine, “?the’ Western Lifestyle periodical of the time.  Within this beautiful community will be the 2008 Sunset Magazine “?Idea House’, where the concept is to build a home with exciting new ideas and smart products in mind.  The very first idea house was built in Menlo Park in 1998, and for the 10 year anniversary of this project they are returning to the roots where the idea emerged.

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Apr.02.2008 [ Filed under: Menlo Park ] Comment Here »

For families interested in Sunnyvale schools, the numbers are 900 and 901.  Those were the API scores for Sunnyvale’s Cherry Chase Elementary and Cumberland Elementary, the highest-rated schools in the Sunnyvale Elementary School District according to 2007’s API growth report. 

Cumberland joined Silicon Valley’s elite schools with 900 or above API scores this year with its 36 point increase.

As you might expect, homes in Sunnyvale that feed into Cumberland and Cherry Chase are more expensive than those that feed into Sunnyvale schools with lower test scores.  Here are some benchmark 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom homes that closed in the last two months, with their schools and API scores:

	$975,000 – 1144 Lynn Way 3br/2ba; 1272 sqft ($766 per) on 6098 sqft lot; 52 years old Cherry Chase (900) / Sunnyvale Middle (797) / Homestead High (838)
	$890,000 – 214 Clarence Ave. 3br/2ba; 1365 sqft ($652 per) on 5663 sqft lot; 51 years old Cumberland (901) / Sunnyvale Middle (797) / Homestead High (838)
	$766,000 – 426 S. Mary Ave. 3br/2ba; 1552 sqft ($493 per) on 5227 sqft lot; 53 years old Vargas (730) / Sunnyvale Middle (797) / Homestead High (838)
	$715,000 – 750 Carolina Ave. 3br/2ba; 1304 sqft ($548 per) on 6318 sqft lot; 54 years old Bishop (733) / Columbia Middle (712) / Fremont High (709)
	$667,000 – 465 Wilson Ave. 3br/2ba; 1100 sqft ($606 per) on 5227 sqft lot; 57 years old Ellis (816) / Sunnyvale Middle (797) / Fremont High (709)

(I was careful to ensure that the benchmark homes were all comparables — recently remodeled with similar upgrades and of about the same size and age — so the premiums can be ballparked using the per square foot price.  Mary is a main road which may have detracted from its home’s value somewhat.)

As you can see from the benchmark homes, Cherry Chase Elementary and its reputation have been built into real estate values.  Cumberland Elementary doesn’t have that same premium because it has been on the rise, from 845 in 2003.

Another steadily improving school is Ellis Elementary, up from its 773 in 2005 (though slightly below last year’s 822).  It could represent a good deal for young families who plan to upgrade after elementary or middle school.  And people not wanting to pay a premium for schools might consider the other representative homes.

But Sunnyvale Elementary isn’t the only elementary school district in Sunnyvale.  Because of the complexity in the way school district border lines are drawn, students in a large part of Sunnyvale actually attend schools in the Cupertino Union School District.  How much opportunity is there in the overlap?

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Oct.24.2007 [ Filed under: Sunnyvale ] 4 Comments »