The San Carlos Real Estate Week in Review: 11-5-11.

San Carlos Real Estate Summary.

Now that it will be getting dark at 5:30, will present some additional challenges for buyers to see properties during the week, unless they can get out during the daytime.  Combine that with the fact that the Thanksgiving holiday is only a few weeks away, and you can expect to see the market start to coast down to the winter time pace.  Pickings for new listings will start to get a little slim until after the New Year’s weekend.   But the serious buyers will still be out throughout the holidays, and they may be able to steal a deal.

Here’s a quick snapshot of the inventory of San Carlos single family homes as of 11-5-2011:

>>> Click Here to Read the Full Post
_____________________________________________________________________________

Have the blog delivered to you! Subscribe to the White Oaks Blog for free by clicking here. And while you’re at it, be sure to follow the White Oaks Blog on Facebook at https://Facebook.com/WhiteOaksBlog , and on Twitter @WhiteOaksBlog.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Podcast: San Carlos Real Estate is LOCAL.

“You Do Things Differently Here.”

That’s what I was told by an out-of-town agent who was presenting an offer on one of my listings recently.   And you know what?  He’s absolutely right  — not only does every county in Northern California have slightly different rules of engagement for buying and selling real estate, but those differences are often magnified in the micro-markets of small, desirable towns like San Carlos.

In this podcast, we’ll touch on why the San Carlos real estate market is so “local”, and we’ll highlight 3 particular challenges that out-of-town agents often face when trying to compete in this market, especially in those hotly contested, multiple-offer situations.   Those three challenges are:

1. Rules and Customs.
2. Knowledge of the Market.
3. Track Record.

So click on the play button below and check out this edition of the White Oaks Blog Podcast!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 8:49 — 10.1MB)

Have the blog delivered to you! Subscribe to the White Oaks Blog for free by clicking here. And while you’re at it, be sure to follow the White Oaks Blog on Facebook at https://Facebook.com/WhiteOaksBlog , and on Twitter @WhiteOaksBlog.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Exceptional San Carlos Homes: 112 Aster Road.

Victorian Flair in Downtown San Carlos.

When you first drive by 112 Aster Road in San Carlos, you get the feeling that you’re looking at one of those grand, century-old Victorian homes that you might find in the Rose Garden neighborhood of San Jose — not necessarily in San Carlos.  This home would certainly stand proud next to the grandest of San Jose’s Victorians.  But there’s one significant difference between this home and it’s brethren down south –  it’s not 100 years old… or even 25 years old for that matter.   Nope… the owners of 112 Aster Road actually created this home when they re-built the original (non-Victorian) structure from the ground up, finishing the project in 2004.  So even though there was painstaking attention paid to every detail in the house to make it feel original, it’s actually new construction throughout — and that’s not a bad combination at all.

112 Aster Road is a 4-bedroom/4-bathroom 2,860 square foot home, and is being offered at $2,100,000 by La Vonne Carroll of Coldwell Banker San Carlos (she is also the owner of the home.)

>>> Click Here to Read the Full Post
_____________________________________________________________________________

Have the blog delivered to you! Subscribe to the White Oaks Blog for free by clicking here. And while you’re at it, be sure to follow the White Oaks Blog on Facebook at https://Facebook.com/WhiteOaksBlog , and on Twitter @WhiteOaksBlog.
_____________________________________________________________________________

San Carlos Ponders Moving City Hall.

Reconfigure Resources.

Could the City of San Carlos be moving its home base?   If City Council member Matt Grocott had his way, the City would be moving its digs to another location in the city, perhaps on the east side, to a location that better fits the city government’s changing needs.  According to Michelle Durand’s article in this morning’s Journal, Councilman Grocott is re-igniting a topic he first tabled several years ago when he took his rotation as Mayor.

With the make-up of San Carlos government changing so drastically over the past 24 months, the City’s needs for facilities has also changed.  The outsourcing of the police and fire departments, combined with reduction of headcount in the city government has left the City Hall building severely under-utilized, according to the article.   Combine that with the chronic shortage of parking at the City’s main building, and it’s apparent that while the location of the City Hall is still ideal, the amenities it provides aren’t.

One of the catalysts behind the rebirth of this topic is the shortage of space within the San Carlos School District.   As the District grapples with ideas to expand the number of classrooms to accommodate its surging enrollment, there are those within City Hall who see this as a potential win for both parties.

What Do You Think?

Obviously, this discussion is just that — a discussion.  And there are many things that would need to happen before such a discussion could seriously gain any traction (like who is going to pay for it?)   But it’s an interesting idea, and one that should be explored further.  The “new” model of government we have in San Carlos doesn’t need the cavernous facilities of its predecessor.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Have the blog delivered to you! Subscribe to the White Oaks Blog for free by clicking here. And while you’re at it, be sure to follow the White Oaks Blog on Facebook at https://Facebook.com/WhiteOaksBlog , and on Twitter @WhiteOaksBlog.
_____________________________________________________________________________

The San Carlos Real Estate Week in Review: 10-29-11.

San Carlos Real Estate Summary.

The last full week of October finished fairly strong, with 4 listings finding new buyers.  The large number of sold homes (10) simply reflects the very strong sales environment that we enjoyed in the month of September.  Last month tied for the second-highest month of pending sales (along with May and June) since 2007.  You can expect to see a few more weeks of big numbers in that section of the review as the homes that were purchased in September close escrow.

Low interest rates are keeping the buyers out there on the hunt, even if there are only 45 homes to choose from in all of San Carlos.

Here’s a quick snapshot of the inventory of San Carlos single family homes as of 10-29-2011:

>>> Click Here to Read the Full Post
_____________________________________________________________________________

Have the blog delivered to you! Subscribe to the White Oaks Blog for free by clicking here. And while you’re at it, be sure to follow the White Oaks Blog on Facebook at https://Facebook.com/WhiteOaksBlog , and on Twitter @WhiteOaksBlog.
_____________________________________________________________________________

The San Carlos Real Estate Week in Review: 10-22-11.

San Carlos Real Estate Summary.

You can almost feel the late days of fall starting to cool off the housing market in San Carlos just a bit — as it always does this time of year.   As we get within a month Thanksgiving, you expect to see fewer new listings and fewer homes going into contract.  That was definitely the case this week — only 3 new listings and 4 pending sales.   That’s less than half the run-rate we were at just a few weeks ago.  But statistically, this market always slows down about now.  That doesn’t mean you should stop looking to purchase a home in San Carlos –it just means you can expect to have less new inventory to choose from until about January when things start to crank up for the new year.

Here’s a quick snapshot of the inventory of San Carlos single family homes as of 10-22-2011:

>>> Click Here to Read the Full Post
_____________________________________________________________________________

Have the blog delivered to you! Subscribe to the White Oaks Blog for free by clicking here. And while you’re at it, be sure to follow the White Oaks Blog on Facebook at https://Facebook.com/WhiteOaksBlog , and on Twitter @WhiteOaksBlog.
_____________________________________________________________________________

San Carlos Real Estate 2011: The Q3 Report.

Sales Up, Prices Down.

Does that mantra sound familiar?  It should, because it’s exactly the way that we kicked off the 2011 Mid-Year Report for San Carlos.  The trend of very strong home sales that has characterized the San Carlos market so far this year continued right through the third quarter.   In fact, San Carlos is on track to have its best year in unit volume of home sales since way back in 2007, which was the end of the last real estate boom.

But prices are not still following the uptick in sales, even despite record low interest rates that have become too tempting for even the fence-sitters to pass up.  That may sound perplexing to those of you who have been beaten up in a few multiple offer battles and watched prices escalate on a few select homes — but on average, prices are lagging about 2% below last year.
>>> Click Here to Read the Full Post
_____________________________________________________________________________

Have the blog delivered to you! Subscribe to the White Oaks Blog for free by clicking here. And while you’re at it, be sure to follow the White Oaks Blog on Facebook at https://Facebook.com/WhiteOaksBlog , and on Twitter @WhiteOaksBlog.
_____________________________________________________________________________

The San Carlos Real Estate Week in Review: 10-15-11.

San Carlos Real Estate Summary.

If you doubt the strength of the San Carlos real estate market, do so at your own peril.  This past week reminded all of us that the market for certain homes is still very hot, even this late in the year.   This past week, the homes at 1832 Chestnut Street, 2072 Arroyo Avenue, and 1020 Crestview Drive all sold with multiple offers in only their first week on the market!    If you happen to be in the market for a nice 3BR home in San Carlos, this should serve as a reminder that you’ve got to stay on top of the listings as they come up, and be prepared to move quickly and decisively in this market.   As the events of the past few weeks have show, there’s still more competition than there are available homes.

Here’s a quick snapshot of the inventory of San Carlos single family homes as of 10-15-2011:

>>> Click Here to Read the Full Post
_____________________________________________________________________________

Have the blog delivered to you! Subscribe to the White Oaks Blog for free by clicking here. And while you’re at it, be sure to follow the White Oaks Blog on Facebook at https://Facebook.com/WhiteOaksBlog , and on Twitter @WhiteOaksBlog.
_____________________________________________________________________________