The San Carlos Real Estate Week in Review: 3/6/10

Inventory Analysis

If you haven’t noticed the trend yet, most new listings in San Carlos hit the market on either a Monday (to catch broker’s tour), or Friday (in time for the weekend open houses).   So if you’re looking for new listings, these are the two days to watch closely.  This past week, Friday brought us a strong surge of new listings as 5 new homes came on the market — and all were below the $1M mark, which is still the most active segment in San Carlos.   But with all of that new activity, we’re still below 30 homes for sale in all of San Carlos!

And for yet another week, there are more homes pending sale than there are active listings.

Here’s a snapshot of the San Carlos single family home market, as of 3/6. The previous week’s stats are in parentheses:

Single-Family Homes Sold in San Carlos:

Below are the single-family homes that sold this past week in San Carlos. Click on the respective addresses to get all the details.

… Continue Reading

A Milestone…

“Stick-to-it-iveness”

This post also has absolutely nothing to do with real estate….or San Carlos.  But it is the 500th article on the White Oaks Blog.   My hands hurt just thinking about that number.  When I started this site in the fall of 2007, I couldn’t fathom finding the material (or the initiative) to write 5 articles, let alone 500.   But the odometer that keeps track of site data has been slowly clicking away, and after 500 posts, 1,349 comments, and probably about 300,000 words (I’m just guessing on this last one, but I’m probably not too far off ), here we are.   That’s a lot of ….whatever you want to call it.

What does this mean?  I don’t know… I guess if you stick to something long enough…well,  you get stuck to it.   It also means that if I get an early onset of arthritis, I’ll know exactly why.

A Long, Interesting Journey.

Far more interesting than the numbers, is the path this site has taken over the past two or so years.  What started out as a place to post real estate data slowly evolved into a community bulletin board of sorts — it didn’t take long to figure out that while people in San Carlos are certainly interested in real estate, they’re absolutely passionate about the issues that pertain to their neighborhoods, their schools, and their city.   This is a good thing!  And with all that has been happening in San Carlos over the past 3 years, both good and bad, there has been no shortage of things to write about.

This site has opened doors and has taken me places I would never have imagined going, like landing this impromptu 30-second gig on KCBS radio.  That was definitely a trip!

But the biggest surprise to me about this site, and the aspect I treasure most, is the personal connections that it has created for me.   I have made friends with many great people through the site that I probably wouldn’t have met otherwise — residents, City Council members, police officers, fellow bloggers…all different people, but all who share a common desire to make San Carlos a great place to live.

It has been an interesting journey, that’s for sure. … Continue Reading

San Carlos “New Listing of the Week” — 1951 Eucalyptus Avenue.

Great Neighborhood, Great Home…

Whenever a home comes on the market on Eucalyptus Avenue in San Carlos, it’s definitely newsworthy.     Although it only spans two blocks, Eucalyptus is arguably one of most well known streets in all of San Carlos, due to the spectacular Halloween and Christmas displays they host every year.   But there’s much more to Eucalyptus than just holiday glitter.

A big draw for Eucalyptus is its location.  It’s only a block or so from Burton Park, and an easy jaunt to the northern “restaurant row” of Laurel Street.  Even more important to families with school age kids, it’s an easy walk to both Brittan Acres Elementary and Central Middle Schools.  So with the exception of rainy days, you should never have to drive the kids to school from kindergarten all the way to 8th grade!

But for my money, the best part about Eucalyptus is the neighborhood itself.  It’s an extremely tight knit group of neighbors, many who have lived on the street for decades.   Consequently, everyone seems to know everyone else — and if you don’t, you certainly will after the annual block party.   Ask anyone who lives there and they’ll tell you it’s a great place to raise a family. … Continue Reading

Double-Dip Recession? It’s Why Some Buyers Are Still on the Sidelines…

Waiting out the Market.

Bottom of the market? Economic recovery? That’s not how a growing number of potential home buyers are assessing the current real estate market right now. Despite many indicators that have pointed toward a gradual recovery in 2010, there’s a contrary view that’s starting to gain some footing, and it’s making these buyers and real estate investors nervous: Double-Dip Recession.

What is a Double-Dip Recession?

Investopedia defines a double-dip recession as follows:

“When gross domestic product (GDP) growth slides back to negative after a quarter or two of positive growth. A double-dip recession refers to a recession followed by a short-lived recovery, followed by another recession.”

While nobody is standing up and saying that we’re heading back into a recession, the news this past week certainly raised questions about the validity of our current “recovery”, as this article from CNBC discusses: Double-Dip Recession Fears Creep Back into the Market. For some home buyers, this specter is enough to keep them on the sidelines, even despite record-low interest rates. Here’s why… … Continue Reading

The San Carlos Real Estate Week in Review: 2/27/10

Inventory Analysis

Not only did inventory remain low this week — it actually dropped again, as pending sales outpaced new listings.  Once again, we’re below 30 homes for sale in all of San Carlos.  Interesting to note that those 29 homes that are on the market have been there for an average of 83 days — so while some homes are moving quickly, not all of them are.

Here’s a snapshot of the San Carlos single family home market, as of 2/27. The previous week’s stats are in parentheses:

Single-Family Homes Sold in San Carlos:

Below are the single-family homes that sold this past week in San Carlos. Click on the respective addresses to get all the details.

… Continue Reading

Website Spotlight: Caliber

Photography is Art.

Hey, it’s Friday…and this post has absolutely nothing to do with real estate, or San Carlos for that matter.    But it has everything to do with amazing photography, and the stories that are behind the pictures (and the lenses).  Ansel Adams once said that he felt photography was not considered an art form by the “experts” of his era, and it was this slight that drove him to become one of the world’s greatest photographers.   Make no mistake, photography IS art.

A few months back, I read about a website that had just been created that was a essentially a collaboration of the work of four very accomplished Bay Area photographers.   Rather than continue to publish their work independently, the group formed a website called Caliber to showcase their collective works.  Much of their work is based on the scenery in San Francisco — who could blame them?  It’s one of the most photogenic cities on the planet.

But a fair amount of their posts are based on the interesting people of San Francisco, most of which are candid shots like the one on the right.  There’s even an occasional series that’s called the $2 Portrait that is simply compelling.   During his daily travels throughout the City, photographer Troy Holden is often asked for money by a homeless or downtrodden person – in return for giving them $2, they agree to let Troy take their picture, and while Troy is shooting their portrait, he finds out a little bit about that person.  The stories are often times amazing, and incredibly sad at the same time.

See the World Through Their Lens.

If you love photography, or San Francisco (or both), you need to check out Caliber. The photography is breathtaking, and the commentary behind the pictures is equally compelling.   It’s a great reminder of why you chose to live near the City in the first place….

In cased you missed it embedded in the post, here the link again:  Caliber.

The San Carlos Real Estate Week in Review: 2/20/10

Inventory Analysis

Things are certainly heating up in the world of San Carlos real estate.  For the second week in a row, there has been a healthy influx of new listings – but for the second consecutive week, homes have been selling at virtually the same rate as they’re coming on the market.  Just look at the number of homes that went into contract this week (see below) and how fast they sold.   5 of the 7 that sold were on the market for less than 2 weeks.

BlogCast

For this week’s review, there’s also a BlogCast on the current market conditions in San Carlos.  Just click on the play button below:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Here’s a snapshot of the San Carlos single family home market, as of 2/20. The previous week’s stats are in parentheses:

Single-Family Homes Sold in San Carlos:

Below are the single-family homes that sold this past week in San Carlos. Click on the respective addresses to get all the details.

… Continue Reading

Looking for Open Houses in San Carlos? Just Remember “OH”…

Trouble Finding Open Houses in San Carlos?

For some strange reason, it has always been difficult to find a single website that lists all of the open houses in a particular community for the upcoming weekend.  Think of how useful that would be to get an up-to-the-minute list of what homes and condos are open this weekend in San Carlos!  Well, now you have it..  Introducing the Open House Link from the White Oaks Blog!  or, better known as the “White Oaks Blog OH.”

Just Remember the Letters “OH”…

I’ve always had the “Open House” icon on the right sidebar of the blog, which lists all of the open houses and condos in San Carlos.  But what if you’re not on the blog when you need that information?  What if you’re already in your car driving around looking for open houses?   Well, I have created a VERY easy to remember link that you can punch into any computer or smart phone:

http://WhiteOaksBlog.com/OH

This url is very cool because it’s a “live link“, meaning it’s updated continuously.    So as soon as an agent updates their listing on the MLS with new open house hours, they’re automatically captured here — without doing a thing.   This is especially useful because some agents forget to post the open house hours on the MLS until the last minute (I have been guilty of that boo-boo myself.)

Once you’re on the page, not only do you see what days and hours the home is scheduled to be open, but you also get all of the listing information on the home, just like you would if you were on the MLS — including pictures!

So check it out — all you have to remember is “WhiteOaksBlog.com” (which you already know because you’re here), and “OH” (for Open House), and you’ve got it!  Better yet, just bookmark it on your phone or computer now.  You’ll never have to hunt down a list of open houses in San Carlos again.