Almaden Valley Thanksgiving Events 2016

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Almaden Valley ThanksgivingIt’s November, and there are a number of Almaden Valley Thanksgiving events happening throughout the month. Here’s a round-up…

Almaden Community Center Senior Association Thanksgiving feast, Nov. 16, 2016

The Almaden Community Center Senior Association is sponsoring a Thanksgiving feast on Wednesday, Nov. 16 between 2pm and 4pm at the Almaden Community Club. Come join in with family and friends for a sumptuous meal of traditional turkey, stuffing, potatoes, green beans, bread and dessert. Tickets are $12 for members and $15 for non-members, available at the Almaden Community Center. For more information, call 408-268-1133.

Almaden Country School Thanksgiving feast, Nov. 22, 2016

The Almaden Country School’s annual Thanksgiving feast is a tradition of long standing. On Monday Nov. 21, parents and children will gather in school to prep and cook up a dish to serve at the feast the next day, Nov. 22. No prior cooking experience required. Come with a turkey and an oven bag. Happy cooking! For more information, visit https://www.almadencountryschool.org/appleseed/index.aspx.

Turkey Trot, Nov. 23, 2016

Castillero Middle School is doing its bit to give back to the community and the school during Thanksgiving. Castillero’s PE department is sponsoring its 2nd Annual Turkey Trot on Wednesday Nov. 23. During the Turkey Trot, students will have a choice of trotting through two events – a competitive mile lap and a non-competitive track lap. Spirit t-shirts will be sold for $10 each and all funds will go towards the Castillero Middle School PE department. Those who sign up will also donate one item of canned food for the Second Harvest Food Bank Thanksgiving donation. For more information, visit http://sjusd.org/castillero.

Run Turkey Run 5K / 10K, Nov. 24, 2016

On Thanksgiving morning, hundreds of Almaden families will gather at Leland High School to participate in the Run Turkey Run 5K / 10K. This annual Thanksgiving event is organized by the Bret Harte Booster Club.

The run/walk event begins at Leland High School at 8.30 am. Both the 5K and 10K sprints will be done on level terrain on the paved trails along the Los Alamitos Creek trail, and will end in a loop at Leland High.

Registration is $15 for kids 12 and under and $20 for adults. You can also purchase Run Turkey Run spirit t-shirts for $15 at the time of packet pick-up and on race morning. All proceeds go towards supporting Bret Harte Booster Club activities. For additional information, visit http://sjusd.org/bretharte/clubs/booster-club-athletics.

Happy Thanksgiving!

October 2016 Almaden Valley Real Estate Market Update

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October 2016 Almaden Valley real estate market update… Almaden Valley real estate ended October on a high note. Although the number of available single family homes was down from the same time last year, the number of homes that were under contract or that sold were up. Last month, 25 homes sold, up from 18 in October 2015 while the number of pending homes was 29 and 24 respectively.

Looking at the month-to-month performance, the market was much calmer, though this is to be expected as the market coasts through the holiday cooling cycle that we experience every year. The number of homes offered for sale dropped from 44 in September to 32 in October, while the number that sold dropped from 35 to 25 in the same time period.

Price per square foot retracted from $575 in September to $548 in October. This, too, is not uncommon during the holiday season, as price responds to supply and demand. Since the market is cooling for the holidays, seeing prices reduce is not unexpected.

When we compare price per square foot in October 2016 to October 2015, we can get a firm idea of how the Almaden Valley real estate market has transitioned by one controlled by sellers to one controlled by buyers. In October 2015, the price per square foot was $593. Prior to 2016, buyers were competing for a much smaller pool of available homes. This competition drove home prices up. 2016 could be seen as the year sellers decided to step forward, and inventory has exceeded what we’ve been seeing for many years. Buyers are no longer pressured to bid up prices in order to capture a home, and prices have retracted to reflect the increased inventory.

If you are thinking about purchasing a home in Almaden Valley, contact me and let me show you how I can help make your dream home a reality.

October 2016 Almaden Valley Real Estate Market

An Almaden Valley Halloween: In Search of the Perfect Scare

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Almaden Valley HalloweenAn Almaden Valley Halloween … Are pumpkin patches or trick or treating down the block during Halloween too tame for you? If you have a taste for the gothic, maybe a trip to a haunted house in search of ghosts is just the thing for you.

In the South Bay, near Almaden Valley, the most legendary and elaborate haunted house attraction is, without a doubt, the Winchester Mystery House. Up until Halloween night, visitors can enjoy Candlelight tours through 110 rooms of the massive estate. Tickets are available online or at the door. http://winchestermysteryhouse.com/

A bit closer to home, there are a number of other chilling attractions certain to give you a scare, but you may want to check out their websites before taking small children:

⇒ The Bernal Scream: Westfield Oakridge mall http://www.thebernalscream.com/

⇒ Dead Time Dreams Haunted Attractions: 2501 Tully Rd. at East Capitol Expressway http://www.deadtimedreams.com/

⇒ Rebel Yell: 1577 Rebel Way, San Jose http://www.rebelyell.info/rebelyell.html

⇒ World’s Largest Haunted House: County Fairgrounds, 344 Tully Rd., San Jose http://www.worldslargesthauntedhouse.com/

When you’ve had your fill of haunted houses and are ready to look for the real thing, give me a call!

Happy haunting!

Leland Dandiya Raas Night

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Leland Dandiya RaasLeland Dandiya Raas Night – Celebrate an Evening of Ethnic Music and Dance!

Skirts swirling, sticks clashing, Almaden Valley’s Indian community is getting ready to swing and groove to the beats of ethnic Indian folk music. On Saturday, October 22, 2016, neighborhood families, all decked out in richly patterned and colorful, traditional Indian attire, will gather in hundreds at Leland High School, for the community’s biggest festive event of the year, the annual Leland Dandiya Raas night.

Dandiya Raas, literally meaning “dances with sticks” is a traditional dance performed during the Navaratri (nine nights) festival. Almaden’s Leland Dandiya Raas Night, an annual event for almost a decade, is organized by the Leland Parent’s Club. All proceeds from this event go towards supporting Leland High School’s academic enrichment programs, capital improvements and supplies.

Over the years, the Leland Dandiya has evolved as one of the biggest fund-raising events for the school. To this end, it also draws Almaden families from other communities who mingle with friends and dance to live music and drum beats. I am proud to be a sponsor of this wonderful event.

So, come out in your ethnic best for an evening of music, dance color and gaiety at Leland High School, 6677, Camden Avenue, San Jose, CA 95120, on Saturday, October 22, 2016, 7 pm to 11 pm. Food is available for purchase at the venue, and tickets ($20 each) are sold at the gate.

September 2016 Almaden Valley Real Estate Market Update

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September 2016 Almaden Valley real estate market update… Market data for Almaden Valley real estate indicates that we are experiencing our seasonal cooling. The number of single family homes on the market, under contract and sold has decreased from August to September in the normal, predictable pattern we see during the fall/winter holidays.

When we compare September 2016 with September 2015, we see a couple notable details. Although the number of homes offered for sale remained virtual unchanged from last year, the number of homes under contract is up a whopping 68.4%, from 19 a year ago to 32 last month. This number is likely due in large part to the dramatic upswing we saw last month in homes that went under contract as well as the number of sales.

The price per square foot for Almaden Valley single family homes edged downward a little over 1% from August and is down about 2% from the previous year. Although this might sound concerning, it is most likely nothing more than the dance of supply and demand. Up until spring of this year, buyers dominated the market for a long time due to the relative scarcity of homes offered for sale, driving up home prices as buyers competed to buy. Around April 2016, we saw a sudden increase in the number of homes offered for sale, which peaked in July. This sudden influx of inventory swung the proverbial pendulum from favoring sellers due to low inventory, to favoring buyers who now had a much larger pool of possible homes to purchase and create downward pressure of price.

Although buyers and sellers tend to withdraw from the market during the holiday season (which is why we see a cooling trend this time of year), this can be a perfect time to purchase a home. Competition is less keen and prices are attractive. If you are thinking about purchasing a home in Almaden Valley, contact me and let me show you how I can help make your dream home a reality.

September 2016 Almaden Valley Real Estate Market

Broomstick Ball Haunted Hoedown Comes to Almaden Valley

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Haunted hoedownGet ready for a Haunted Hoedown right here in Almaden Valley!

Do you fancy a ride on a haunted horse? For an early Halloween party, head to the Haunted Hoedown on October 15, 2016, at the Santa Clara Horsemen’s Association at 20350 McKean Road, San Jose CA, 95120.

This year, Silicon Valley Cares (SVC), host of the Broomstick Ball Halloween party, is taking the annual event to new heights. At the Haunted Hoedown, costumed guests will be treated to a mechanical bull ride, silent auction, fun games, music and dancing as well as an extravagant dinner spread provided by Justin’s Catering. Tickets cost $130 each and all proceeds will be donated to charity.

The Broomstick Ball Halloween costume party is the culmination of a series of annual fundraising events through the summer and autumn. This year, the fun began with the Texas Hold’em Poker and Bingo tournament in August and, more recently, the Annual Par Tee Classic Golf Tournament at the Cinnabar Hills on September 23rd.

The SVC is an all women volunteer non-profit which donates to beneficiaries like Breakthrough Silicon Valley, a charity for middle school students, the Grateful Garment Project, for victims of sexual attack and the Silicon Valley Pet Project. So what are you waiting for? Bring out those costumes and head to Almaden Valley for a haunted ride of your life. For more information, visit www.siliconvalleycares.org.

A Night Out in Almaden Sponsored by Super Lion’s Club

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Night out in AlmadenWould you like to enjoy a night out in Almaden filled with good food, music, dancing and fun-filled casino gaming? Then join your friends and neighbors at the Almaden Community Center this weekend!

The Almaden Super Lion’s Club, a San Jose chapter of the Lion’s Club International, is hosting the evening to raise funds for charity. All proceeds will go to the aid of the Almaden Lion’s Charitable Foundation assisting the visually impaired, veterans and other groups in need of assistance. The chapter also organizes the I CARE Classic Bike Tour, another highly successful annual fund-raising event.

The highlight of the evening will be dancing to the strains of the 10th Avenue Band. So mark your calendar for the event on Saturday, October 1, 2016, 6:30 to 9:30 pm, at the Almaden Community Center, 6455 Camden Ave., San Jose 95120. Tickets cost $50. For more information, go to http://www.almadenlions.org/a-night-out-in-almaden.

Pay It Forward Tutoring at Leland High in Almaden Valley

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Pay It ForwardWhat does the term ‘pay it forward’ mean? It means if you have benefitted from a philanthropic act, you repay by helping another person in need instead of the one who was originally kind to you. In other words, instead of paying back, you pay it forward. In Almaden, a group of altruistic high schoolers are doing just that with ‘Pay It Forward Tutoring’.

The Pay It Forward team comprises a group of highly motivated students from Leland High who “understand the value and impact of education in their lives and in the community”. And their way of giving back to the community is by tutoring elementary and middle school children throughout the year in various subjects.

The program benefits Reading Partners, a non-profit organization that, in turn, works nationally to offer in-school, one-on-one tutoring to needy students as well as helps them develop literacy skills.

For their tutoring service, the Pay It Forward team accepts donations made out directly to Reading Partners. The team estimates that this year the donations received will help sustain individual tutoring for more than 1,300 students in the Bay Area alone. To this end, they expect to raise $10,000. So, if you have a child at home in need of tutoring, don’t wait. Reach out to http://www.payitforwardtutoringsj.org and help pay it forward!

August 2016 Almaden Valley Real Estate Market Update

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August 2016 Almaden Valley real estate market update… The Almaden Valley single family home market experienced an upswing in August. The number of homes that sold increased almost 12% from July, while the number of homes that went under contract increased a dramatic 39.3% from the previous month. When we look at inventory, we can see a possible explanation. The number of homes on the market dropped 30%, from 70 in July to 49 in August. As we are in the early stages of the holiday cool down we see every year, some of this decrease may be due to normal seasonal fluctuations, but it could also indicate buyers’ interest in concluding home purchases before the school year and holiday season starts.

The average price per square foot retracted a little over 4% from July, from $615 to $588, which may explain in part why there was so much buyer interest. Still, the price per square foot in August 2016 was 8.5% higher than the same time last year.

If you are thinking about buying or selling a home, give me a call and I’ll show you how to make the most of the current Almaden Valley real estate market!

August 2016 Almaden Valley real estate market

Back-to-School Tips for Parents

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Back-to-school tipsSummer is over and school is officially in session! Here are some back-to-school tips to ensure that your child’s school year proceeds smoothly.

Plan healthy meals and snacks. Be sure your child gets breakfast before the morning school bell rings, because breakfast is the most important meal of the day. For lunch and snacks, make sure your child has a combination of protein, fruits, and vegetables to give them energy to last throughout the school day.

Meet the teacher(s). Attend open houses and orientations, and make personal contact with each of your child’s teachers sooner rather than later to let them know you are involved in your child’s education and eager to stay connected with them.

Set up a routine. Routines help everyone stay on track, including you as a parent. In addition to night and morning routines, have an after-school routine as well. Consider allowing for a little bit of playtime before getting started on homework or beginning after-school activities. Most importantly, make sure your child gets some rest between activities and plenty of sleep at night.

Bullying. Talk to your child about the right course of action to take when he or she encounters bullying at or outside of school, whether it’s physical, verbal, or cyber-bullying. For more resources about bullying, click here.

Safety. Make sure your child gets to school safely. If they bike, make sure they wear a helmet. If they walk, remind them “Head up, phone down” to keep aware of their surroundings.

Sources:

http://www.sparkpe.org/blog/8-essential-back-to-school-tips-for-parents/

http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/going-to-school/back-to-school/back-to-school-tips-for-parents/