Once again the San Carlos Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the ever-popular Goblin Walk. When: Friday, October 25, 2013, 4:00PM - 5:30PM Where: Laurel Street, between San Carlos Avenue and Arroyo Avenue This Trick-or-Treat event is geared for children 7 years and under, who must be accompanied by an adult. Participating merchants can be identified by the orange "Goblin Walk Stop" sign. Children are encouraged to dress in costume and trick-or-treat along Laurel Street. This is a great time to get to know and support your local merchants.       10/23/2013

Halloween Haunted Hangar, October 26, 2013, 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM Bring the kids and come on out to Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, California this Saturday, October 26, 2013. The fun begins at 10:00 AM, when one can try to find the way to the witch's den, win candy and prizes in the aerial canival, and enjoy arts and crafts projects. At 12:00 Noon there is a costume review (so be sure to wear yours!) and a witch's salute. All this leads up to the grand finale - the witch's helicopter pumpkin drop!! Where do you go to find all this fun? Hiller Aviation Museum, 601 Skyway Road, San Carlos, CA 94070 Call 650-654-0200 Price is included in the regular museum admission: youth and seniors $9.00; adults $14.00; 4 and under FREE 10/21/2013

You all know Murphy's Law, right? (Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.) It happened again today, the day after I put a keysafe on my new listing at 6 Riviera Circle, Redwood City 94065, the day before my first open house -- the lock on the front door quit working! Yep--in the last 10 days it worked flawlessly--the gardener, the painter, the stager (3 times), the photographer, the person drawing up the floor plan and I (twice) all used the key with no problem. I was there yesterday afternoon. Last night I put the listing on our multiple listing service; this morning an agent went to show the property--bam! Lock frozen; door wouldn't open. I've written before about Dependable Lock and Hardware in San Carlos, CA. Once again Hagop, the owner,  came to the rescue. I drove across town ... 10/11/2013

 Clearly, the trend for the San Carlos real estate market has been up for the past few years, but where are we going from here?  You can see from this graph that March and May of this year gave us the highest sales prices in the past 24 months.  Sales prices in June and July decreased from their previous month.  So what will become of August?  My sense from what I’ve been experiencing in the market is that August is likely to be back up.  Interestingly, interest rates in  June and July were climbing.  While that was happening, we definitely felt a hiccup in the real estate market.    As interest rates have stabilized over the past few weeks, we have continued to experience multiple offers and properties selling over the asking price.  On average, they have been selling 8% above the aski... 08/27/2013

One of the homes sold in San Carlos, California is this one I listed at 1719 White Oak Way, San Carlos. List date: 6/24/13 List price: $1,250,000 Days on market: 8 Number of offers: 4 Close of escrow: 8/2/13 Sale price: $1,475,000 Ratio, Sale price to List price: 118%   Home owners and home buyers alike want to know about homes sold in San Carlos and other San Francisco Peninsula cities. Is the above example typical in San Carlos? To give you an idea of the current market, here's a snapshot from our Multiple Listing Service of transactions that closed in San Carlos from August 1, 2013 - August 15, 2013: Number of closed sales: 13 List prices:$799,00-2,098,000 Average Days on Market: 11.4 Average Ratio, Sale price to List price: roughly 107% The housing market continues to be strong in S... 08/19/2013

Home for sale, White Oaks area of San Carlos, CA 94070Sellers' Memories of Life at1719 White Oak Way, San Carlos, CA 94070 "Sunsets, on the corner deck in the back yard - then move to the front proch for that last peek at the sun and a glass of wine""Many great pool parties and barbeques - perfect for outdoor entertaining" "Winter nights by the fireplace!""Parties in our beautiful kitchen and drinks from the bar!!" "The abundance of storage in this house" "A game of lawn darts on the front lawn" "Within walking distance of downtown San Carlos and only 2 blocks from White Oaks School" "The tradition of White Oaks School for May Day!!" (children bring bouquets of flowers to nearby residents as gifts)The sellers have loved living here, but now it's time for a new owner to settle in and sta... 06/23/2013

Hot Harvest Nights! The much welcomed Farmer's Market makes it's 2013 debut to Laurel Street, downtown San Carlos CA today. The name Hot Harvest Nights! is the perfect moniker for today's opener - we're in the midst of a heat wave!   Hot Harvest Nights! features 50-60 booths set in the middle of Laurel Street between Cherry and Arroyo Avenues. Here you can stroll along, meeting and greeting your friends and neighbors, while purchasing produce, flowers, food items of many types, listening to music (today it's Aki Kumar Blues Band). Hot Harvest Nights! will be held every Thursday between now and September 20, 2013, from 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM Hot Harvest Nights! Just one of the reasons the City of San Carlos (the City of Good Living) is the choice of many to call home. 05/02/2013

Again this year my office, Today Sotheby's International Realty, is supporting two fabulous charities this holiday season.Second Harvest Food Bank serves the needy in our own communities. Did you have any idea that 1 in 10 people in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties receive food from Second Harvest Food Bank? Staggering figure, and they need our help.  You'll find collection barrels for donations of non-perishable food items in our office between now and December 17, 2012. Why not pick up some nutritious items next time you're shopping for yourself and bring them by?  (No glass jars, please.) We're located at 1250 San Carlos Avenue, between Laurel and Walnut Street, in downtown San Carlos. Office hours are 8:00-6:00, Monday-Friday; 9:00-5:00 Saturday and Sunday. Checks made payable to ... 11/26/2012

Real Estate for Sale in San Carlos, CA 94070San Carlos California, located midway on the Peninsula between San Francisco and San Jose, has a population of approximately 28,755 people. Great schools, a vibrant downtown, friendly neighborhoods and proximity to high tech jobs in the Silicon Valley and San Mateo County all contribute to its great appeal to buyers. It must also appeal to homeowners, because not many of them are choosing to sell and move elsewhere.This morning's survey of our Multiple Listing Service reveals the following about activity levels:Single Family HomesActive listings: 23.      16 are priced over $1,200,000; 7 are priced under.      (Days on market are running 68 and 6, respectively.)Pending sales: 29.       8 are priced over $1,200,000; 21 priced underClosed escrow... 11/18/2012

RealEstate.com recently published an interesting article called, Riding the Trillion-Dollar Real Estate Recovery Roller Coaster. It's a great chronicle of the recent ups and downs in the real estate market, with charts and graphics to make your head spin and stomach lurch as the wildest of roller coasters will do.But, as we're always reminding people, real estate is local. National trends are interesting; State trends also; County trends give us an inkling of what the market is like. But LOCAL information is what one really needs to know and understand to make reasoned decisions when it comes to buying or selling a residence.Take, for instance, the City of San Carlos, California. The following charts show what has been happening to single-family home princes in town annually since 2007.... 10/11/2012

Bursting at the seams in your current San Carlos home?  If so, you are likely considering whether you should expand your current digs or attempt the move-up.  Since we all tend to like the status quo and don’t like to tread into the unknown, I thought I’d take the opportunity to shed some light on how one goes about doing a move-up transition inSan Carlos or frankly, whatever town you may be residing in along the peninsula.   One option is that you buy first.  There are two ways of doing this.  If you have the cash available for your down payment without selling first and if you can get pre-approved while carrying your first home, then you are free to go off and purchase the new home while still holding on to your current home.  The beauty of this is that you are not left homeless.  Yo... 09/10/2012

When you list your Silicon Valley home for sale, Lottie Kendall, Realtor® with Today Sotheby's International Realty in San Carlos California, takes many steps to make your experience rewarding and as stress free as possible. Every transaction is different, and not every step is taken in the same exact sequence, but here's what you can expect from Lottie: Bringing the home to the market: Agree on preliminary listing price, terms and financing. Sign listing agreement, excluding home from the multiple listing service until home is ready to be marketed in its best possible condition. Determine which fixtures (chandeliers, large mirrors, large planter boxes, etc.,) if any, will not stay with the house. Open escrow; order preliminary title report, environmental, geologic and tax reports. Revi... 07/19/2012

Giving the WOW factor to homes for sale in the San Carlos CA area: a shout-out to Angel Cortez, Angel's Gardening Service, Inc, 650-222-8989. Giving the WOW factor to homes for sale in the San Carlos CA area, as elsewhere, is super important, but it's not surprising that sellers who have lived in the house many years can't see that their house is a bit tired and in need of sprucing up. One way that has been effective for me is to show them through pictures. I'll take a few photos of the house to include with a market analysis--when one sees the house in a picture, it often becomes easier for a seller to see the overgrown landscaping, the tired paint, etc. Once they realize that, they are usually amenable to working with my team of professionals to make the magic happen. Having a team to... 06/18/2012

The City of Good Living, San Carlos CA, lives up to its name A community survey was conducted this spring with the goal of understanding residents' satisfaction, priorities and concerns as they relate to living in San Carlos. Results of the survey show that the City of San Carlos is one of the top cities in the State when it comes to satisfaction with City services and programs.  Quality of Life was one area addressed in the survey. The results:     98% rated the Overall Quality of Life in San Carlos as Excellent or Good     89% were Satisfied with City Services     92% felt Safe in their Neighborhood After Dark     99% felt Safe in Commercial & Retail Areas During the Day     89% felt Safe in Commercial & Retail Areas After Dark Dr. McLarney, from True North Research which conducted t... 06/14/2012

Seven Easy Steps to Safety in San Carlos Safety in San Carlos is highly valued and desired, like it is everywhere. San Carlos California is a safe city, in a safe county. But, the 3-month period of May, June and July sees more crime in San Carlos than any other 3 month period during the year. Perhaps all the reasons for this aren't clear, but it's not difficult to lower your chances of being a crime victim. Criminals generally look for easy targets, so try following these Seven Easy Steps to Safety in San Carlos; they will reduce your chances of becoming a crime victim:   1.)   Do not store valuable items in plain view in your car.  Take them out of the car or lock them in the trunk.  If valuable items are visible, criminals will try and get them.    2.)  Lock your car.  You'd be surpri... 06/12/2012

Once again it's good to live in San Carlos, California, the City of Good Living!What: FREE compost giveawayWhen: daily, when Shoreway Environmental Center is openWhere: 333 Shoreway Road, San Carlos Up to 2 bags, each 3-cubic feet and available at the Environmental Center, of compost is available for San Carlos residents, as well as residents of the other 11 RethinkWaste service area customers. In addition to San Carlos, residents of Atherton, Belmont, Burlingame, East Palo Alto, Foster City, Hillsborough, Menlo Park, Redwood City, San Mateo, the County of San Mateo and the West Bay Sanitary District are invited. Simply go to the scale house near Gate 1 and show proof of residency. 1 or 2 bags will be given to you. Then you will be directed to the Transfer Station where you can fill up ... 06/05/2012

Once again, the City of San Carlos California is living up to its slogan, "The City of Good Living" What: Free Shredding and Goodwill Donations Event When: Saturday, June 2, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM Bring up to 5 boxes (10"x12"x15") of your personal documents and confidential materials for safe and secure destruction for FREE! Be prepared to show proof of San Carlos residency. Donations of clothing, shoes, computers, electronics, small appliances and housewares will be accepted by Goodwill at this event. San Carlos, the City of Good Living, helps you help others! 05/29/2012

FAQ: Should I remodel or should I move?It's a question I often hear, and my answer is ...... it depends! How does one know whether it is wiser to embark on a major remodel or to sell one’s existing house and buy another? Questions to be answered include: Do I like living in this neighborhood/town/area? Do I foresee it meeting my needs for a number of years? Is the location of the house itself suitable? (e.g. busyness of the street? size of the lot?) How extensive is my proposed project? Where will I live during the process? What is my tolerance threshold to disruption? Will the remodel I’m considering keep (or bring) the house in line with neighboring properties, without over improving it? How important to me is resale value? What other options might my housing dollar buy? To help you a... 05/29/2012

Pending Home Sales in San Carlos, CA 94070 As of this Tuesday morning, May 8: 43 - number of pending home sales on our MLS 34 - number of non-distressed pending sales 21 - average days on market of those 34 sales 23 - number of sales on market for 15 days or less! Homeowners, if you have been waiting for a good time to sell, now might just be it. Buyers are anxiously waiting for more homes to come on the market, like this one at 1532 School Street, coming on in 2 days. Large home in the hills, or small home downtown, they are all in demand, with buyers ready to purchase. Call for details. 05/08/2012

Dependable Lock and Hardware, San Carlos CA 94070 Packers are in the process of carefully wrapping and storing a lifetime of treasures for the seller of this sweet house on School Street in the downtown area of San Carlos which will soon be for sale. Yesterday they discovered that one beautiful antique curio cabinet was locked and they had no way to retrieve and wrap the items inside. Did I panic? No, I knew just who to call. Once again, Hagop Tatoian of Dependable Lock and Hardware in San Carlos California came through to make my job easier and provide great service for my clients. Within 20 minutes, Hagop was on site, removing the lock and fashioning a new skeleton key for us. The packers could continue their work, and the job remains on schedule. Thank you, Hagop and Dependable Lock ... 05/01/2012