Sue McAllister of the Merc’s Silicon Valley Real Estate Blog reports that searches for San Jose real estate rose 73.7%, according to data released by Realtor.com.

Almost all of the cities where search traffic increased 50 percent or more are in California or Florida. Which could indicate that a lot of buyers who hope to get steals in places where home prices are under (downward) pressure are keeping an eye on the market

Home buying is down and many of us have certainly noticed the abundance of houses on the market for months– something not only apparent by the length of time in real estate databases, but also by their accompanying brown lawns. While the financial crisis and constant coverage of sub-prime lending problems are the second most talked about topic these days, many of us might be lost in the wall of terms and information flooding our brains.

Have you actively searched for the value of houses in your neighborhood? Are you looking for investments or are you curious how low a neighborhood home’s asking price has fallen? Or do you know of people from out of state looking for a great deal in our fair valley?

Leave a comment below!

The owner of this house wants to demolish it and four other units on the property to build new houses.

A proposed property development at the corner of N 15th St and Berryessa Rd has caught the attention of nnasj, and was also a discussion topic at tonight’s 13th Street Neighborhood Advisory Committee (NAC) meeting. The property owner wants to demolish five homes, currently rental units, and build in their place four new detached homes.

The property currently contains two Spanish-style bungalows, one of which has three attached apartments. The courtyard between the two buildings is paved and used for parking. The three apartments look to be incredibly small, maybe only one or two rooms each, and built with minimal architectural detail at minimum cost. The two bungalows, though, presumably are considerably older, and have the kind of style that would make them terrifically desirable if they were only freshly painted and located in Willow Glen.

The owner wants to knock all of that down and replace it with four contemporary two-story houses. In a neighborhood dominated by bungalows, the planning department have somehow concluded that the impact of this change on the “existing visual character or quality of the site and its surroundings” would be “less than significant”, which is at least a highly debatable conclusion.
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Last February we were relieved to hear that BEA Systems Inc. would move its headquarters downtown, occupying the landmark blue Sobrato building on Almaden Boulevard.

With this mornings news that Oracle will buy BEA Systems for a reported $8.5 billion, will Oracle CEO Larry Ellison want another glass tower in Silicon Valley?

I had the occasion to drive by this home in the hills of Saratoga as it was being built. It stood empty, For Sale sign beckoning, for the longest time. One reason may have had something to do with the cemetery over the back fence. No Feng Shui found here. Then one day I noticed a basketball hoop and bikes in the driveway indicating that finally someone had moved in. A family who could care less about ghosts or Feng Shui? Anyway, it was nice to see it occupied.

And the good news, now that 49ers coach Mike Nolan will keep his job the home will not be back on the market!
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When I drive past the vacant building at Bird and Minnesota Avenues in Willow Glen, that was once an Albertsons, I can’t help but wonder what business will eventually occupy the space. I believe most Willow Glen residents would prefer a new grocery over another type of retail. I’m happy to report that our wish may come true.

Yesterday afternoon I stopped in at the Zanotto’s market on Naglee Ave. to pick up a few things and ask any employee, or anyone who looked to be a Zanotto’s family member, my question. My question is always the same, “So, do you think Zanotto’s will be opening in Willow Glen?”  The reply is always a version of, we don’t know.  Yesterday was different. Yesterday I was told that things are being worked out, and it would take approximately five months to get the store ready to open. Not a positively absolutely yes that Zanotto’s will takeover the old Albertsons, but close enough to start a shopping list for Thanksgiving.

Near Crystal Springs Reservoir Highway 280 between San Jose and San Francisco.

Why is the house on the hill pink and orange? Is it a layer of primer?

William Nicholson designed and built this house in 1976. The house formed over giant inflated aeronautical balloons. A frame of half-inch rebar, a coat of cement then gunite shot over all.

Update

House Pics

the Wave magazine

As morning and evening commuters make their way along the Guadalupe Parkway (HWY 87) one thing that stands out, after the yellow ducky atop the The Children’s Discovery Museum, is the big blue building shimmering in the sun.

Though one of the city’s more recognizable landmarks, the Sobrato Tower at 488 Almaden Boulevard has been standing vacant, like an elephant in our living room, since its completion in 2002.

The Silicon Valley began to show signs of a slowdown in 2000. With the area having a high unemployment rate from 2002 through 2003, the wisdom of erecting a 17-story, 381,000 square-foot downtown office tower should have seemed unadvisedly a bad idea.

Over the years there have been ideas, rumors, offerings, and deals that fell through. The idea to make it City Hall went nowhere, the offer to eBay got a no thanks, and the deal with NVIDIA Inc didn’t happen.

Now we hear that BEA Systems Inc is going ahead with their plans to make the blue tower their headquarters. If all stays on schedule the deal to buy will close in April.

I’m sure the City of San José will benefit from the buying power of the new guys on the block, but this brings us back to that morning and evening commute. Think of the impact that the added BEA employee’s vehicles may have on the already busy 87 and 280. Will this be a case of be careful what we wish for?