A community meeting will be held to introduce and discuss the proposed North San Pedro Housing Project. The San Jose Redevelopment Agency staff and the developers of the North San Pedro Housing Project, The Olson Company and Barry Swenson Builder, will introduce the concept plan and answer questions about the project.

North San Pedro Housing Project Community Meeting

Date: Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Time: 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: St. James Senior Center, 199 N. 3rd Street, San Jose

If you happened to drive along Coleman Ave. yesterday or today, you might have noticed that El Pollo Loco just opened up at the San Jose Market Place. Even if you are not a big fan of El Pollo Loco or fastfood in general for that matter, seeing the national retailers and restaurants coming to the downtown San Jose area is a great sign of things to come. Next up in the San Jose Market Place . . . Carl’s Jr.!

As I mentioned earlier this week, I was doing some research on how the market is doing in downtown San Jose. So, as everyone always asks, how is the market doing? Let’s look at the facts. These are statistics for condos/townhouses in central San Jose (the area covering downtown San Jose).

2007 . . . . . . . Inventory . . . . Median Sales Price
January . . . . . . 105 . . . . . . . . $547,500
February . . . . . 108 . . . . . . . . $472,000
March . . . . . . . 136 . . . . . . . . $499,950
April . . . . . . . . 141 . . . . . . . . $524,500
May . . . . . . . . 141 . . . . . . . . $546,500
June . . . . . . . . 170 . . . . . . . . $500,000
July . . . . . . . . 159 . . . . . . . . $500,750

As you can see, the median sales price has fluctuated throughout the first half of this year. What is more noticeable, however, is that despite a slight dip in inventory from June to July, the amount of inventory in central San Jose has increased significantly since January. Normally, increased inventory would signal a buyer’s market. But with lender’s more closely scrutinizing loan applications, the continued subprime fallout, and rumors of Countrywide’s impending bankruptcy, can anyone really say what kind of market we are in right now?

*These statistics are generated using information from the RE Infolink MLS, but have not been verified and are not guaranteed. RE Infolink disclaims any responsibility for the accuracy and reliability of these statistics. This information should not be relied upon for real estate transaction decisions.

The high rise residential complexes in downtown San Jose are swiftly climbing higher and higher. Construction at both Axis and Tower 88 appears to be progressing as each tower approaches the 20th floor. Both Axis and Tower 88 have also started installing the glass on the windows. At Axis, you can begin to see how magnificent looking the structure will be when completed with all of the glass. People will undoubtedly view living in downtown San Jose much differently when these two high rises are completed. High rise, luxury living in downtown San Jose appears to be around the corner.

I was doing some research to post about the real estate activity in the downtown San Jose area when the San Jose Mercury printed an article in today’s paper, “Santa Clara Home Sales Fall, While Prices Rise - Again.” The article by Pete Carey states that “Home sales in Santa Clara County continued a familiar pattern in July, with sales volume dropping nearly 11 percent while the median price of a single-family home climbed 7.4 percent to a record $805,500.” The article further went on to describe how sales may vary depending on the neighborhood and area. So how does downtown San Jose compare with the rest of Santa Clara county?

For the condo/townhouse market in Central San Jose, which includes downtown San Jose, the number of sales in July 2007 increased 13% from the previous month while the median price also went up by .15% to $500,750. Compared to July 2006, however, the number of sales for July 2007 is down 13.3% and the median price is also down slightly by 1.62%.

If you need an incentive to buy a new home, developers are offering plenty of incentives to potential home purchasers. With a fragile real estate market and unsteady financial outlook, many developers are hoping to convince buyers by sweetening the deal. Incentives can vary but they usually come in the form of upgrades, paid HOA fees, or credit towards closing costs. In recent weeks, a number of the new developments in downtown San Jose have started offering or increasing buyer incentives.

Even if a developer isn’t offering incentives, in the current market, its a good negotiating tactic. The fine line is how much to ask for. Ask for too much and the seller may not take your offer seriously, and you run the risk of having your offer rejected altogether. But if you don’t ask, are you shortchanging yourself?

One of the problems with redevelopment is what to do with the low-income or homeless in the urban neighborhoods that suddenly get a makeover. Essentially, the poor and homeless get priced out or moved out, as the case may be, by people that can afford the nicer, newer properties. The gentrification (some refer to it as urban gentrification) of St. James Park in downtown San Jose was the topic of Joshua Molina’s San Jose Mercury article today. The article, found in The Valley section of the Mercury, discusses the crossroads that face the homeless who, for lack of a better term, hang out at St. James Park. With Barry Swenson Builders soon to be embarking on a luxury condominium project, Park View Towers, directly across from St. James Park, the issue will become even more prevelant. The park view these luxury condo owners will want undoubtedly will not include any homeless in St. James Park.

But what happens when the homeless get moved out of St. James Park? This is not just a problem for St. James Park. Its an issue for other parts of Silicon Valley and throughout the country. How do we solve this issue?

Its summer, its downtown San Jose, and its the San Jose Jazz Festival. This weekend, August 10-12, 2007, is the 18th Annual San Jose Jazz Festival. This is a fantastic event featuring over a 100 jazz performances in Plaza de Cesar Chavez and other various venues throughout downtown San Jose. In addition to all of the live performances, the festival will also include jazz classes, a Festival Club Crawl on Friday night, and a 48 Hour Jazz Club at Smoke Tiki Lounge.

Admission to the 18th Annual Comcast San Jose Jazz Festival presented by Southwest Airlines is only $5 per day. Children 12 and under are free. For more information, visit the San Jose Jazz website.

Speaking of earthquakes, would you know what to do if a major earthquake hit? Does your family have an emergency plan if a major disaster occurred? The San Jose Office of Emergency Services offers FREE two hour classes to San Jose residents on Home and Family Disaster Preparedness. In the class you will learn about the various hazards you should prepare for as a San Jose resident, how to plan for a disaster to reduce the risk of loss and injury, and how to create a family disaster plan. In other words, learn how to become more disaster prepared.

Classes are held throughout San Jose from August through October. For downtown San Jose residents, the closest location is Gardner Community Center with a class scheduled for August 22, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. To register or for additional class dates and locations, contact San Jose Prepared! at (408) 277-4598 or sjprepared@sanjoseca.gov.

No, not a tremblor on the Richter scale but the return of professional soccer to San Jose. Major League Soccer (MLS) recently announced that it awarded a franchise to an investor group led by Oakland A’s owners Lew Wolff and John Fisher thus leading to the return of the San Jose Earthquakes in 2008. While the Earthquakes will be playing in temporary venues the first two seasons, there are plans to build a privately funded, soccer-only stadium near downtown San Jose by 2010. The proposed location is on Coleman Avenue across from Mineta San Jose International Airport.

It’s too bad that Lew Wolff couldn’t get his Oakland A’s to downtown San Jose. Instead, professional soccer and David Beckham are on their way.

The previous MLS franchise based in San Jose moved to Houston, Texas and now plays as the Houston Dynamo. The San Jose Earthquakes are now accepting deposits for 2008 season tickets.