Posts Tagged ‘San Jose’

Intero Insider: The News Is Up! And It Is…Good?

By Gino Blefari | May 12th, 2010 0 Comments

Yesterday, the good folks over at Zillow released the results of its First Quarter 2010 Survey. Was the news good? Sort of. Maybe. A little.

First, the facts:

Home values in California appear to be on the rise. During the First Quarter of 2010, home values in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura County showed marked increases.

Nationwide, home values continued to decline in the first quarter of 2010. The Zillow Home Value Index showed a 3.8% decline for the same period last year — this makes thirteen consecutive quarters with year-over-year declines. In 106 of the 135 markets tracked, home values fell.

Negative equity is rising steadily. In the Fourth Quarter of 2009, 21.4% of single family homes had mortgages that were “underwater” or “upside-down,” meaning that more was owed on the mortgage than the home was worth. In the First Quarter of 2010, that number rose sharply to 23.3% — nearly ¼ of all mortgages on single-family homes.

Foreclosures reached an all-time high in March 2010. According to Zillow’s survey, more than one out of every 1,000 U.S. Homes — a startlingly high number — went into foreclosure that month.

It is interesting to me to compare this national level data with what I am seeing here in Silicon Valley at the Street level, which is always, in my opinion, the most useful way to look at the housing market. Here I am seeing lots of signs of market vitality. Recently, a listing in Cupertino received 14 offers. A listing in San Jose received 6 offers just this week. This seems to be going on at both the entry level – where one might expect to see such things – but also towards the higher end.

This is information that, especially if you’re planning on selling a home, is very important for you to understand. You need the big picture, but also the picture in your neighborhood or on your block.

Please talk to your Intero real estate professional. We’ll make sure you have all of the facts, and every tool at our disposal to make sure that you make educated decisions about your home sale. We’ll tell it to you the only way we know how: like it is.

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Can Your Roof Save You Money and Cool the Planet?

By Tadas Narauskas | April 14th, 2010 2 Comments

Did you know that your roof color can actually affect your energy bill, your comfort in the house and even contribute to climate change?  It’s true.  Our traditionally dark composition roofs contribute to what is called an “urban heat island.”  The problem with most home roofs is that they absorb the heat of the sun, the temperature of the area rises, and our air conditioners have to work much harder to keep us all cool and cozy.

What’s a Heat Island?

No, it’s not an island in the Bahamas.  “Heat island” describes built up areas that are hotter than nearby rural areas.  According to the EPA, the annual air temperature of a city with 1 million people or more can be 1.8–5.4°F warmer than its surroundings. In the evening, the difference can be as high as 22°F.

Heat islands are no joke.  They can affect communities by increasing summertime peak energy demand, air conditioning costs, air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and heat-related illness.


graph provided by EPA

What Can Home Owners Do?

Very simple.  Next time you are replacing your roof, opt for a light colored type with a radiant barrier.  You see, this type of roof reflects and the sun’s heat back into space instead of transferring it to the building below. This helps keep your roof cooler and reduces your cooling load and air conditioning needs.  Cool, isn’t it?

Most roofers in San Jose area are aware of this and do offer options to address this problem.  All we need to do as a community is to ask.

Let’s say you opt for the most common option – a standard 30-40 year, light tile composition roof.  All you need to do is combine OSB (oriented strand board) sheathing with radiant barrier foil and lay the tiles on top it. Voilà!  You got yourself a cooler roof.  There are some other methods of achieving the same but you get the point – the solution is not complicated or expensive.

The installation cost premium for cool roofs versus conventional roofing materials ranges from zero to 5 or 10 cents per square foot for most products but the benefits of these cool roofs are huge.  In fact, according to the EPA website, a California study found that cool roofs provide an average yearly net savings of almost 50 cents per square foot. This number includes the price premium for cool roofing products and increased heating costs in the winter as well as summertime energy savings, savings from downsizing cooling equipment, and reduced labor and material costs over time due to the longer life of cool roofs compared with conventional roofs.

Now cool roofs are not going to entirely solve the heat island problem.  In order for that to happen we will still need more vegetation and cool pavements but it’s a start.  Steven Chu, the US Secretary of Energy and a Nobel prize-winning scientist, said a few months ago that making roofs white or light-colored would help to mitigate climate change.

So there you have it, another no brainer solution that requires nothing but a shift of awareness and a slight style adjustment.  Not only your energy bills will be lower but you will be doing a great deal of good for the environment.

More on Green Homes:  http://SanJoseGreenHome.com

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Are Greener Homes a Passing Fad or Here to Stay?

By Tadas Narauskas | February 12th, 2010 0 Comments

solar home

Whether one takes climate change seriously or not, one truth stands tall for any home buyer – energy efficiency, resource conservation and healthy indoor air is becoming a must.  But with the economy still unraveling and the cloud of uncertainty hanging over our heads, a question looms… Can green homes gain traction in our fragile housing  market?

As you may be aware, Santa Clara County real estate market has been quite unpredictable.  It went from four months of inventory into less than one month of inventory in one year and no one really knows what the future holds.  Even some of the biggest market experts have been embarrassed and increasingly keep their Nostradamus like market predictions to themselves.

At the same time, for the past few years, we may have noticed a quiet revolution taking place in our hearts.  Not only we are craving to live happier, healthier and more empowered lives, we are seeking friends and atmosphere that will support that earning.  Also, with raising energy costs and ever growing health problems, many of us are looking for answers right where we sleep – our homes.

So what has kept more people from seeking out these energy efficient and often healthier homes?  Mainly – the lack of awareness and price.  We’ve been conditioned to think that everything green and organic come with an extra big price tag, and with a good reason!  However, when it comes to homes it’s not always true.

Some new home builders who have built green home developments in San Jose claim that their homes are not more expensive than their non-green certified competition. The reason being is that builders are able to buy renewable energy systems like solar panels at bulk prices and receive incentives from PG&E and the state.  In fact, smart builders can use fewer resources to build homes and save money on materials.  This effectively helps developers pass the savings to the consumer.

Now if an older home has undergone a deep retrofit and was upgraded with energy saving systems like solar panels or solar water heater, it may indeed cost a bit more than regular homes.  One must keep in mind though that here we must look at price vs. cost of ownership analysis.  What do I mean?  Well, imagine your home had a mortgage that is $100 higher than your neighbor’s but you were saving $150 in utility bills, would that be such a terrible predicament to be in?

One may say… but wait, some folks really go all out with their upgrades and “eco-chic” elements that they will never re-coup the costs.  It’s true, but it’s also true with high end upgrades that have nothing to do with energy efficiency or sustainability.

As for the future of our real estate market and green homes, my crystal ball has nothing but beautiful images.  Why?  Because energy conserving homes not only produce less pollution but also because owning one will absolutely, most definitely make perfect financial sense.

Think about it, if you had a choice whether to buy a home that is more energy efficient, healthier for your kids, and conserves resources or a home that was built to minimum standards that had high utility bills, which would you choose?  You see, once we are increasingly presented with this choice in the future, the decision will be as easy as popping a soap bubble.

Personally, I am thrilled to see more and more people considering the impact their homes have on the environment.  In addition, something very profound is taking place during this economic turmoil – we’re shaping to be smarter consumers.  We’re growing in wisdom that we must consider the true cost of owning “stuff”.  This is why greener homes will set new standards of quality and resource management in the very near future.

More on Green Homes:  http://SanJoseGreenHome.com

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San Jose Makes Effort to Become Completely Energy Independent

By Theresa Wellman | September 8th, 2009 0 Comments

San Jose Councilman talks about San Jose’s plans for becoming energy independent.

Led by Mayor Chuck Reed, San Jose, CA is working toward a 15-year plan to Go Green and become energy independent with the design to also grow the local economy in the process. The unique plan is focused on three main elements: Clean Tech Innovation, Sustainability, and Green Mobility.

San Jose’s Green Vision includes:

1. increasing trail connectivity for alternate transportation

2. converting all public fleet vehicles to alternate fuel

3. planting 100,000 new trees

4. converting all street lights to zero-emission lighting

5. recycling or reusing 100% of our waste water.

6. getting 100% of it’s power from renewable sources

7. divert waste from our landfills

8. adopt a plan for sustainable development

One key challenge the mayor set forth, is for local solar companies to come up with creative financing so San Jose residents can install photovoltaic systems on their homes. The intention is obvious; to help the local businesses grow and decrease energy consumption in San Jose’s neighborhoods. The mayor even put solar cells on his own home just this past month.

Local students at Santa Clara University and California College of the Arts are creating excitement about green and sustainable building too by building their very own Refract House, a Zero-Energy Home. It is obvious this topic is on the top of the minds of tomorrow’s leaders, so it is great to see our local leadership today making goals and progress toward a green and more sustainable future as well.

Green is not just a fad, it’s a new way of living that we are seeing more and more apparent in the homes we sell in Silicon Valley. Energy consumption and sustainable materials are a concern for many of my clients and friends and family.

To learn more about green living in a home you are looking to buy or sell, talk to a certified EcoBroker.

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