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

How Safe Are We in San Carlos?

San Carlos is known for being a relatively safe community.  It’s one of the big reasons that people choose to settle here and raise families — it’s still very much a “bedroom community” that until recently enjoyed relative obscurity.   When I used to work in Silicon Valley, most people I talked with had no idea where San Carlos was even located!  And that’s fine for most residents of San Carlos — a big part of the charm of this city is that it has been a hidden gem on the Peninsula for many years.

But the public safety of San Carlos isn’t something we can take for granted anymore, especially during this period of financial crisis.    Have you gotten the feeling recently that there are more crimes being reported in San Carlos?  Do you know someone who has been a victim of a crime in San Carlos?  It’s not your imagination that crime is on the uptick — because it is.

“Part 1 Crimes” Increased by 25% in 2009.

In tonight’s San Carlos City Council Meeting, Police Chief Greg Rothaus will present some alarming statistics to the City Council in his Annual Report on Police Services.  In a period of time where our police budget is being slashed, headcount reduced, and services being outsourced, Part 1 Crimes (murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, theft, arson, and motor vehicle theft) have increased by 25% from 2008.   Here’s the graphic that he will present this evening:

With the huge budget deficit that the Council must resolve this year, there’s no guarantee that police services won’t be slashed further.  To download Chief Rothaus’ complete report, click here:  San Carlos Police Report-2009

Fire Department Update

In tonight’s Council meeting, Fire Chief Douglas Fry will also be presenting his quarterly update to the Council and City Manager.  The Fire Department has fared a bit better in the funding area, as they have recently secured grants that will enable them to upgrade their radio system to be compliant with FCC mandates.  But department staffing and equipment allocation remains a big concern within the Department, because it has a direct impact on speed and quality of their response.

You’re probably aware of the fatal home fire that happened just a few days ago in Devonshire Canyon.  According to a source close to City Hall, Chief Fry will also discuss this incident in detail at this evening’s Council Meeting, with the current budget cuts as the underlying theme.  Should be a very compelling presentation.

If You’re Interested…

Tonight’s City Council meeting starts at 7:00 PM at the San Carlos City Hall, 600 Elm Street.    The meeting is open to the public.

Spike in COFI Index May Spell Trouble for Some San Carlos Homeowners.

Is your home is financed with an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM)?   Do you know what index your ARM is based on?  If you don’t know, now would be a very good time to find out, because one of the two major indices that determines your monthly payment just took a huge spike upward — and the result for you could be significantly higher monthly mortgage payments.

If you recall from a previous blog post discussing ARMs, the rate that you pay on an ARM is comprised of  two components:  The margin and the index.   Since the margin is generally fixed by the bank at the outset of the loan, variations in your payments will coincide with variations in the index.   So depending on which index your ARM is based on, you have had a widely differing ride over the past few years.     The two most widely used indices are the London Inter-Bank Offer Rate (LIBOR), or the 11th District Monthly Weighted Average Cost of Funds Index (COFI).

LIBOR rates spiked wildly during the credit crisis of 2008, but COFI has remained relatively flat to down.  In fact, if you have a COFI-based ARM, you have probably seen your payments drop steadily over the past few years… but that is all about to change.  … Continue Reading

San Carlos Home Sales in 2009: The Final Numbers.

The Results Are In.

As predicted, 2009 was a down year for San Carlos real estate in most of the key metrics that are tracked.  While we enjoyed a strong rally toward in final third of the year, it wasn’t enough to turn the year around.    As a result, 2009 to became the second consecutive year of declining sales in the San Carlos single family home market. That hasn’t happened in quite a while.

Here are are the numbers compared to 2008:

The Details.

Interested in seeing all of the homes that sold in San Carlos in 2009?  Just click on this link:  San Carlos 2009 Home Sales Summary

High Hopes.

As I discussed in my podcast preview of 2010, there are indications that we’ll reverse the declining trend this year — but a number of hurdles need to be overcome to enable this growth.  The biggest of these hurdles is inventory, and we’re not starting off the new year with any significant influx of new listings.  So keep a close eye on listings in the coming weeks.

Next week, we’ll take a fun look at these numbers with our annual “Biggest and Best” of San Carlos.