This house at 2573 Malaga Dr. has a lot to offer with a 4th bedroom that was opened up in to an office or living room, A/C 1678 sq. ft. on 7660 sq.ft. lot with hardwood floors and dual pane windows on a great street with Booksin Elem. I was shocked to read that it was a short sale and listed at $799,000. That price just does not have the ’short sale’ ring to it.

It was interesting to see all of us agents adjust our thinking once we realized it was a short sale. Because of the stress a short sale puts on the transaction and the time involved, the value in our minds appeared to drop.

As I was walking through this house I was listening to the agents discuss the details and I noticed the built in entertainment area and how my husband would be removing the wall to get his tv to fit.

Nice house and I recommend taking a look if you are in the market!

holly@hollybarr.net 408 887-3225

The count is up-that is a great thing for buyers! Willow Glen has 257 properties on market. The agreed upon healthy number is 225.  From what I am hearing from other agents and clients is that there are more houses coming on market. My hypothesis is that sellers are trying to get on market before the holiday and seasonal slowdown. I know of three listings coming to market in the next few weeks and I have heard from other top producers that they all have one or two coming as well!

While on tour this week, I saw 10 houses and my pick of the week is 911 Ellis Ave. CUTE little 2 bedroom 2 bath home with a finished bonus space off the garage perfect for an office! Beautiful remodeled open kitchen with two living spaces within the 1229 sq. ft.  (it feels like 1500 or more). Both bathrooms have been updated and all the details have been attended too. WONDERFUL treelined street and steps to downtown!

Open house this Sunday 1:30.

What have you seen out there in real estate world?

10 new listings on tour in Willow Glen today and 5 of them were ranch style homes. These ranchers range (you know like, home on the range…) in price from $798,000 for a 3 bed 2 bath 1652 sq ft on Wawona to $1,099,000 for a 3 bed 2 bath 1880 sq ft. on Willow Oaks. The house on Willow Oaks has a SIX plus car garage (you could store a lot of ranch equipment there). Here is a picture:

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Pick of the week! CARMEL COTTAGE CHARMER IN WILLOW GLEN! 1580 Cherry Glen Way (off Hicks & Mercer) 3 bed 2 bath 1732 sq ft. $1,199,000. This house felt like Carmel charm and just gave you a hug when you walked through the white picket fence (sounds cheesy I know, but really you should check this house out.- Open house on Sun. 8/10/08). And, there is a happy little dog that is due any minute with puppies so you might be able to see puppies at the open house! Okay, back to the house, charming bathroom with a claw foot tub and chandelier, remodeled kitchen with what the agent called Metaphoric Granite (jade green marblelooking stone that is said to be harder than granite) and a full size master suite addition that works well for privacy and access to the backyard.

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Pick of the week 2498 Westgate Ave. 5 bed 4+ bath all one level, 3937 sq ft. on 12,350 lot @ $2,975,000. There was a mixed reaction about the price. Mostly that it appeared to be high. Although the area and home are PRIME, $3M is still tough for Willow Glen.

Here are two cool videos about this house. Keep in mind that I am new to this video thing!

It appears the more highly desired streets are having more listings come on market. This week we looked at properties on Westgate, Husted, Mulberry, Fairglen and Koch. The buzz is that both in August and mostly September there are a lot of sellers planning to put their homes on the market. Typically, September is known as a slower month. From what I am hearing from local agents, this September is shaping up to be a September to remember!

• Number of houses on market for the week of 7/24/08 for Willow Glen was 235
• Number of houses on market for the week of 7/31 for Willow Glen was 227

Professionals in the Willow Glen area agree that 225 is a healthy threshold for the # of houses on the market.

If you are going to call it a third bedroom, that bedroom has to be INSIDE the house... Just for the record if your third bedroom does not have a closet it is not a bedroom. Also, if your third bedroom is in a separate structure, like a garage, appraisers state that it is technically not a 3 bedroom house. I recommend you put a clear description of where that bedroom is. Here are some interesting numbers about this past week in Willow Glen’s real estate scene: • 10 sales last two weeks in area 10 (Mostly 95125) • 229 active listings in Willow Glen this week 7/17/08 210 active listings is the gold standard for a sign of a healthy market for this area. The fact that we are consistently in the 230-240 range indicates Willow Glen to be a stable market. Every Thursday I attend a realtor tour of all the new listings in Willow Glen. It’s a great way for realtors like me to stay on top of the market.. The tour is organized by Mike Gains of REMax, and usually includes 25-50 realtors. Every week I’ll report back on highlights from this tour – a summary of what’s going on in the Willow Glen market, exceptional new listings, stuff like that. If you ever have any questions about what I put here, or would like to see me take a different approach with this weekly summary of the tour, please let me know!

The theme this week seems to be YARDS!! There were some beautiful yards on tour this week! While it was hot and you did not really want to be outside at all, it does help to have something very pretty to look at (and a cool drink in your hand). Realtors on tour often offer cool drinks and food to help us stay longer at a house and to help us remember a house–nothing calls to memory like a yummy snack or a free lunch! First up was 1018 Carolyn Way for $1,129,000. Cute charming house with lots of fun details throughout. The yard was mostly behind the garage. Once you got to the yard, it was like an English garden. Many of us said how nice it would be to have a small wedding back there! Sorry I did not get a picture for you on that one! Next up was 656 Palm Haven Ave. for $1,699,000. Gotta love the Palm Haven area being close to downtown and such an exclusive yet community feel… and this jem is in the HEART of it! Nice house with upper end appliances and custom (read expensive) touches throughout. Soapstone counters and titanium appliances

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The yard was out of a magazine. It has built in heaters and fans.

Of course the best house on the market right now is my listing at 1460 Kiner Ave. $949,950 between Cherry and Plummer. Talk about a yard… HUGE park-like yard with music, landscape lights and a playground. It is a ranch style house is very family friendly with some nice upgrades on a tree lined WIDE street.

What is your favorite house on the market right now? Here are some interesting numbers about this past week in Willow Glen’s real estate scene: · 22 sales last two weeks in area 10 (Mostly 95125) · 215 active listings in Willow Glen this week 6/28/08 210 active listings is the gold standard for a sign of a healthy market for this area. The fact that we are consistently in the 230-240 range indicates Willow Glen to be a stable market.