5/22/08 Willow Glen Realtor Tour

The first home we saw was the most amazing house on market right now. It is 1252 Cherry Ave. This amazing Victorian was built at the end of the Civil War in 1865. You look out the leaded glass windows and you can feel the history, almost hear the horse drawn carriage and picture the view of miles of open land. The house is perfectly restored down to its ornate matching door hinges on every door and mother of pearl light switches. The soaring ceilings are oozing charm and history with period wall paper, stunning curtains and furniture. The current owners did a wonderful addition that make the house even more amazing and useable for entertaining and family. The house is listed for $2,475,000 with 3 bedrooms 2.5 bathrooms and 3814 sq ft on a 13,041 sq ft. lot.

I noticed a dichotomy while on tour this week. On the one hand the smaller homes on tour tended to be tight and I heard several comments about how the owners needed to remove several items to open up the space. Then we went to 1951 Peregrino Way and at 6000 sq ft. the comments were the opposite. The house was staged yet, if felt ‘empty and lacked the wow factor’ were the comments I heard. ‘The staging does not fit the style and scale of the house’ was another comment I heard. The lesson there is you have to find that ‘staging’ balance to appeal to the emotions of a buyer (and the realtor working with those buyers).

From speaking with various agents and lenders, it appears that buyers are starting to be less afraid and are starting to buy. They understand that interest rates are low and prices are low! As I tell my clients, everything is on sale, now is the time to buy!

Here are some interesting numbers about this past week in Willow Glen’s real estate scene:

· 17 sales last week in area 10

· 225 active listings in Willow Glen this week 5/22/08

· 238 active listings in Willow Glen last week 5/15/08

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 (225 this week!) indicates Willow Glen to be a stable market.