The downturn in the housing market is towering over Willow Glen home owners. Literally?

The SJ Mercury News confirmed this week what WGx has seen as inevitable: People don’t want to buy a view of the San Jose skyline, especially one that turns its back on Willow Glen.

Upscale condo sales have slowed to a crawl, and developers in desperation are turning their for-sale homes in the downtown into rentals, in hopes of seeing some return on their multimillion-dollar investments. …

The latest project to convert to rentals is Barry Swenson’s Skyline, an 11-story, high-rise tower near Highway 87. The San Jose City Council approved the conversion Tuesday after Swenson closed his sales office and ceased marketing the 242-unit project because he couldn’t attract buyers. …

… [D]evelopers are being allowed to rent the units for up to five years. They are banking on the housing market coming back to life, allowing them to sell the units down the road.

So, mark your calendars for September 2013 … your second chance to buy a fancy view of Downtown SJ!

While everyone else is agog over the nation’s Top Ten Insanely Priced Neighborhoods — or whatever it was that Forbes was using to sell magazines — local realtor CJ Braziel provides her own Top Ten list derived solely from actual homes for sale in Willow Glen.

She’s got her own Top Ten Bank Owned Properties in Willow Glen, wherein she compiles a list that will surely fascinate your neighbors and attract readers to her new weblog. Of course, WG only has seven foreclosed homes on the market, so her list certainly avoids controversy.

Actually, CJ’s post does a great job relaying her own experiences working on foreclosure properties, and then she provides her own suggestions for buyers interested in pursuing that route. Check it out!

It’s probably too far away from WG to mean much to us yet, but Santa Clara County is moving forward with its plan for a mixed-use development on the site of County Fairgrounds.

The SJ/SV Business Journal reports that the development team includes several Bay Area companies:

Catellus Development Group said it was selected as the preferred developer for a major new mixed-use project in San Jose on the site of the county fairgrounds. …

The company said its preliminary vision for this project incorporates a network of streets and paths that encourage walking and cycling, office and retail buildings that feature green building technology, community gathering places and parks, and affordable housing.

The county will host two community open houses at the Fairgrounds prior to the Board of Supervisors workshop on Aug. 26 to introduce the recommended developer to the community. The open houses will be Wednesday, Aug. 13 from 5 to 7 p.m. and Thursday, Aug. 21 from 5 to 7 p.m.

The project won’t be terribly visible from WG, but might lead to some traffic impact for those using the Curtner Exit from Highway 87. You also have to figure that the stores and restaurants at The Plant will appreciate the extra business.

It also remains to be seen if the Fairgrounds redevelopment will out pace the Almaden-to-Curtner exit ramp project, and be completed first.

Unfortunately – or perhaps fortunately if you are already a home owner here – the list is of America’s Most Overpriced ZIP Codes, and 95125 comes in at #10:

To live there, residents are paying the city’s highest prices relative to what they could pay to rent similar properties in the same area. When you compare mortgage payments to the value of a similar home on the rental market, the price to buy is 26.1 times higher, one of the biggest differences in the country.

Willow Glen is one example of a neighborhood where homeowners are still taking chances on future appreciation–and paying a premium above and beyond their neighbors for that confidence.

If you can get past the article’s confusing opening reference to car license plates and worshiped deities, there may be some information to be gained. Or maybe not.

One of the more eclectic pockets of WG might get a bit more interesting.

Twenty-two new “office condominiums” are proposed for the corner of Willow Street and Westwood (where Willow dead ends a few blocks east of Meridian). The proposed use permit would combine two existing parcels to include up to 22 office condominiums on the site.

OK … so what are “Office Condos?

Office condominiums work much like their private housing counterparts. Instead of renting a suite of offices, some companies purchase an individual unit in an office condominium complex. The common areas are co-owned by all of the tenants and a board usually oversees landscaping and other maintenance issues. Office condominiums are often created as part of a mixed-use renovation in downtown areas of medium to smaller cities.

The existing businesses on the block are mostly dental and medical offices, with a smattering of chiropractors and chinese medicine providers. There are also duplexes and other assorted multi-use residences across the street from the proposed “condos.”

WGx may have been on vacation, but Holly Barr was keeping tabs on the local real estate market for you anyway … Here is Holly’s most recent update:

Highlights of July 10, 2008 Willow Glen Realtor Tour
Picks of the week 1460 Kiner (my listing!) and 656 Palm Haven Ave

Earlier in this month, the theme seemed to be YARDS!!

There were some beautiful yards on the July 10 tour ! 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 gem is in the HEART of it! Nice house with upper end appliances and custom (read expensive) touches throughout. Soapstone counters and titanium appliances. 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 Avenue! $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?

It’s undoubtedly one of those neighborhood evolutionary things. Not too long ago, Pine Avenue was the unofficial WGx barometer of the local real estate market, based simply by the number of houses for sale on the street.

Times have changed a bit. A stroll down one of WG’s central east-west corridors now reveals very few homes for sale … but lots of landscape being redeveloped. Or at least, lots of landscapes companies advertising their services along the boulevard.

Check it out — there are now more landscape company signs on Pine than anything else. Pearman Landscaping (twice, actually), A Scape Artist, and a newly planted big green sign for LifeScape.

Throw in the recent toilet-paper landscape across the street from the uniquely stacked wood cuttings, along with the infrequent weedscape, and you’ve got quite an interesting variety of front yards designs.

Seriously though … if you are looking for a local landscape architect, you have many choices. The California Landscape Contractors Association lists more than 80 members serving the South Bay.

It didn’t seem noteworthy at the time, but a few months ago, there were several painting service signs. Come to think of it, maybe for-sale signs are about to come back …

Remember that whole sycamore hullabaloo last year? The guilty party in the tree-cutting fiasco has quietly moved on, and the property has apparently completed escrow for sale to a new buyer.

At least that’s what we are all left to assume. Real estate agent Terry Kelly has remained secretive about the sale, and never returned WGx phone calls. Other realtors have also noted Terry’s silence on the property.

So, it’s sold. WGx – and undoubtedly the neighbors along Willow and Camino Ricardo – can’t wait to read the next chapter.

A NEW Feature on WGx … updates from local Realtor Holly Barr! Check out Willow Glen Extra for Holly’s weekly update on real estate trends and interesting homes available on the local market.

Highlights of June 12 Willow Glen Realtor Tour
Two Picks of the Week: 1394 Robsheal Dr. and 1131 Dean Ave

DEAN, James, DEAN (Avenue)

Tricky part about being a realtor in an area you love is that I find houses that I want to BUY all the time. My husband has to pull back the reins or we would be paying for a few more mortgages than there are paychecks coming in.

I am so excited about 1131 Dean Ave.! It is an REO property which means the bank repossessed it and hired a realtor to sell it. Pretty good gig for a realtor. REO properties are usually priced very well and are much easier to purchase than a dreaded short sale.
This gem at 1131 Dean Ave. is a stroll to ‘the ave.’ priced at $499,900- Yes, you read that right under $500K (barely). Granted it is small at 1130 sq ft and 2 bed 1.5 bath. However, it has new dual pane windows, hardwood floors, REMODELED Kitchen with Granite slab and NEW cabinets. There is a spa in the tiny yet, usable backyard and sprinklers! PERFECT for a rental or for a single person or even a couple! Great deal, I love this house- can you tell??? Let me know if you want to partner on this one – I am ready to buy it!

 My other top pick is 1394 Robsheal Dr. and it has that certain something jennet se qua (or however you spell that…) Great layout, wonderful location (also walk to ‘the ave’), nicely remodeled (the remodeled garage was in Sunset Magazine!). Four bedrooms and 3 bathrooms with a backyard that has the perfect blend of grass and patio. This house is a true turnkey and priced to sell at $1,250,000.

Here are last week’s listing stats for Willow Glen’s real estate scene:

• 16 sales last week in area 10 (Mostly 95125)
• 231 active listings in Willow Glen this week 6/5/08
• 235 active listings in Willow Glen last week 5/29/08

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.

What is your favorite house on the market right now?

What have you done to your house that is creative and out of the box?

Holly Barr — Coldwell Banker
Phone: 408-887-3225 — Email: holly@hollybarr.net

A NEW Feature on WGx … updates from local Realtor Holly Barr! Check out Willow Glen Extra for Holly’s weekly update on real estate trends and interesting homes available on the local 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, and a fantastic way for sellers to get their property seen by all the top local realtors. 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!

Holly Barr — Coldwell Banker
Phone: 408-887-3225 — Email: holly@hollybarr.net

This week, Holly provides pictures from inside your neighbors’ houses … no tickets to buy … no awkward open house visits …

Highlights from the June 5 Home Tour:

Some nice flips and first time buyer homes to be had in Willow Glen this week! My personal favorite is 1864 Johnston Ave. It is in the Booksin school district and is an original Kirkland Villa home. In fact they have refinished the original parquet flooring. It is a cute original 2 bed 1 bath priced at $638,500.

Three more homes stand out as flips or first time buyer properties for me. First is1005 Spencer ave 3 bed 2 bath listed at $675,000 this house is a TOP BUY for the area! Nice house! Next is 2206 Bello Ave (off Curtner) has a nice 8192 lot size and with 3 bed 1 bath mostly original the price of $699,000 is attractive. Lastly, 1545 Fucshia is also attractive with a price of $769,000 3 bed and 2 remodeled bathrooms.

Doll house cute this week is 1158 Willow Glen Way. Everyone loves that street and this house is 2 bed 1 bath for $835,000 so you certainly pay to live on that street! I loved the cute fireplace and all the curb appeal!

If you have been thinking about a 4 plex- check out 1121 Garfield ave! Right near Rotten Robbie listed at $1,100,000. The realtors on tour thought it should be below $1 million.

My pick of the week is 1148 Kotenberg. Highly desirable street in Willow Glen, this house is a beautifully remodeled 3 bed 2 bath on a large 9300 sq ft lot. The owners have done some creative and well thought out remodeling to work with the interior space of 1520 to make it more functional as well as beautiful. Here is a picture of the creative crown that is two layers of crown with paint in between the layers to make it look even larger! Also take a look at the breakfast nook carved from the granite slab in the galley kitchen- Works well in this home.

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

• 11 sales last week in area 10
• 235 active listings in Willow Glen this week 6/5/08
• 225 active listings in Willow Glen last week 5/29/08

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.

What have you done to your house that is creative and out of the box?