Saturday, August 31, 2013

Saturday Stats: San Jose (Silicon Valley) Has the Fastest Moving Real Estate Market

We all know the real estate market in San Jose is hot, but it turns out that it is hotter than the rest of the US-- including the metro over to the north--in at least a couple metrics. This past June, a staggering 52% of new real estate listings were under contract within 2 weeks, higher than any other market evaluated.

San Jose also has the lowest level of supply in the report. Supply is the ratio of active listings at the end of the month to closed sales. More than six months of supply is a buyer's market and less than six months is a seller's market. With 1.1 months of supply, San Jose/Silicon Valley is a seller's dream. The downside is that kind of number will put upward pressure on prices and make it more difficult for new buyers to afford homes, and will likely have the side effect of pushing up rents as well.

Source: Redfin

Table 1: Speed by Market, June 2013

Speed RankingMarketPending in 2 WeeksPending in 1 WeekOnly on MLS-Powered Sites# Flash SalesMonths of Supply
#1San Jose, CA52.0%19.9%45.7%311.1
#2San Francisco, CA49.2%17.9%31.7%701.2
#3Ventura, CA48.4%31.2%50.9%161.6
#4Denver, CO44.4%27.9%32.5%391.6
#5Washington DC44.1%32.0%60.1%2151.9
#6Los Angeles, CA44.0%24.8%48.3%1651.6
#7Inland Empire, CA43.9%27.4%40.7%711.9
#8San Diego, CA43.6%26.8%37.5%601.6
#9Sacramento, CA43.1%23.7%66.7%221.7
#10Seattle, WA42.5%29.9%71.2%311.9
#11Austin, TX42.2%30.3%63.7%792.5
#12Houston, TX38.1%24.7%71.5%1042.4
#13Portland, OR36.4%26.2%20.1%572.5
#14Phoenix, AZ32.7%23.6%30.2%1352.1
#15Dallas, TX29.5%19.7%72.0%1302.5
#16Baltimore, MD28.7%19.1%50.7%603.2
#17Miami, FL24.2%16.3%29.1%274.2
#18Atlanta, GA23.0%12.7%52.4%395.7
#19Chicago, IL13.9%8.7%44.3%1764.3
#20Raleigh, NC11.4%8.4%17.4%423.9
#21Las Vegas, NV11.0%6.0%24.7%134.0
#22Philadelphia, PA9.1%4.0%25.2%65.4
National30.5%19.0%48.2%1,6363.0


Friday, August 30, 2013

C2SV Technology Conference + Music Festival Welcomes Iggy and the Stooges Guitarist to Deliver Music Keynote Address

From Pioneering Punk Rock Guitarist to Silicon Valley Executive and Back with the Stooges, Williamson Personifies ‘Creative Convergence’ of Music and Technology
Breakthrough event celebrates digital innovation explosion as tech fans and music lovers converge on Downtown San Jose Sept. 26-29, 2013
SAN JOSE, CA (Aug. 16, 2013) – Iggy and The Stooges guitarist JAMES WILLIAMSON — whose intertwining careers personify the “Creative Convergence” of music and technology — will deliver the keynote music address at the C2SV TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE + MUSIC FESTIVAL in Silicon Valley on Saturday, Sept. 28 at noon. Later that evening, he performs with festival headliner Iggy and The Stooges at St. James Park in San Jose.
THE C2SV TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE + MUSIC FESTIVAL allows Silicon Valley innovators to converge on their home turf with leading innovators in music when it takes over Downtown San Jose to celebrate the digital culture revolution Thursday, Sept. 26 through Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013.
Early-bird tickets for C2SV (Creative Convergence Silicon Valley), including multi-venue music wristbands and technology conference passes, are on sale NOW at c2sv.com/tickets.
Williamson’s keynote will be open to badge holders of the C2SV Technology Conference as well as VIP ticket holders for the Iggy and The Stooges concert later that day in St. James Park. The concert ticket is being sold in combination with a wristband that enables concertgoers to experience four days of music by more than 70 acts at 12 venues in Downtown San Jose.
The music keynote will take place in the newly-opened wing of the San Jose McEnery Convention Center on the last day of the C2SV tech conference. Williamson plans to talk about his journey from juvenile delinquent and rock pioneer to corporate executive, how one of rock’s great guitarists became embedded in a consumer electronics company.
Williamson has one of the more remarkable stories in rock history. As a member of Iggy and The Stooges in the 1970s, he created punk rock’s signature guitar sound, then settled into a quiet career as a Silicon Valley engineering manager. After 30 years, he took an early retirement buyout offer as Sony’s Vice President of Technology Standards and rejoined the band.
Completing a world tour that’s taken The Stooges from Australia to Europe, the legendary protopunk band arrives at C2SV to play the final show of its triumphant sweep on Williamson’s home turf in Silicon Valley. Williamson is an ideal icon for a conference and festival celebrating “Creative Convergence” — the fusion of information technology and the creative arts. In February, he will be inducted into the Engineering Hall of Fame at California Polytechnic University. He may be the only Rock & Roll Hall of Fame recipient to hold the same honor in the engineering world.
Born in Texas and raised in Oklahoma and Detroit, Williamson first played music with Iggy Pop while in high school and joined The Stooges in 1970, but the band was a short-lived train wreck of drug-fueled excess and commercial failure.
In 1972, when David Bowie invited Pop to record in London, Williamson was on hand and co-wrote all of the songs with Iggy, and played all the guitar parts for The Stooges’ classic 1973 album, Raw Power. Kurt Cobain called it his favorite album of all time, and Cee Lo Green ranks it among his favorites as well.
Williamson’s jagged, loud, raunchy Detroit guitar sound inspired the punk rock movement that transformed rock and continues to influence guitarists to this day. “He has the technical ability of Jimmy Page without being as studious, and the swagger of Keith Richards without being sloppy,” says Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr.
“The first time I heard him play,” Iggy Pop told Britain’s The Guardian in an interview, “which was in a basement in Ann Arbor, he did something that later became known as punk or speed metal — a great number of chords, almost all at once — but which at that time came from no known musical vocabulary.”
As the band disintegrated in the mid and late 1970s, Williamson left the music world to become an electronics engineer and earned an electrical engineering degree from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
He worked for silicon chip maker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) from 1982 to 1997, then spent more than a decade as Sony’s Vice President of Technical Standards. He raised a family in Saratoga and didn’t talk to his colleagues and neighbors about his eye liner and platform shoe days.
When Williamson got his early retirement letter in 2009, he accepted Sony’s buyout and rejoined the Stooges after a three-decade break. Four years later, they continue to tour the world together. The San Jose appearance is the final stop on the world tour.
Williamson produced Iggy and The Stooges’ Ready To Die album, released this year, which reunites The Stooges’ original line-up (minus the late Ron Asheton, and with Mike Watt on bass).
The Creative Convergence Silicon Valley (C2SV) technology conference will feature three days of speakers, including many notable Silicon Valley CEOs, entrepreneurs, technologists, authors and academics.   
Other speakers include Internet personality Robert Scoble (Rackspace, Scobleizer); author and entrepreneur Jeff Stibel (the bestseller “Breakpoint”); and Yahoo! chairman Maynard Webb.

Complete information about the conference can be found at www.c2sv.com


  • C2SV Music Festival featuring Iggy and the Stooges


  • Thursday, August 29, 2013

    Live Music @ SPSM: Daydream Nation Vol.17

    daydreamaugfinal2
    San Pedro Square Market Live Music: Join SPSM for the 17th installment of the Daydream Nation Live Alternative music series in Downtown San Jose on Saturday, August 31st starting at 7pm in the Market Plaza.

    - ALL AGES
    - FREE SHOW
    - BANDS INCLUDE: Battlehooch + David Knight + Cado 

    Wednesday, August 28, 2013

    Bay Area BikeShare Goes Live Tomorrow!

    Tomorrow is the big day. The Bay Area BikeShare program will officially go live at 10am with an event at the City Hall bike station (4th & Santa Clara). There will be 16 stations in the Downtown area and most are just two blocks apart. If you live or work Downtown, I think this will be a great way to very quickly get from point A to B without having to worry about parking.

    There are some FREE passes that will be available for San Joseans to try out the system. All you need to do is email sjbikeshare@sanjoseca.gov. Supplies are limited, so the sooner you request a pass the better.

    For more information just head on over to the Bay Area BikeShare website over here!

    http://d1jlczrezgss9n.cloudfront.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/bikeshare11.jpg




    Tuesday, August 27, 2013

    New Event Center Downtown Called "The Glasshouse"

    The space formerly housing the Entrepreneur Center on the ground floor of 84 West Santa Clara has been vacant for quite some time. Now, the same owners of the Corinthian Event Center are planning to create a new 17,000 SQFT event space they are calling The Glasshouse where the Entrepreneur Center used to sit (it has since been moved to 100 East Santa Clara).

    The plan is for a full-service venue that will cater to corporate events, weddings, conferences and parties. The aesthetic will be very modern and upscale featuring plenty of glass (you would expect this based on the name, right?). As an added bonus, they plan to eventually add a cafe with "substantial" outdoor patio seating on Market Street. Another option is a bar/lounge concept.

    This will fill up yet another key corner on Santa Clara Street and bring new life and activity to the block. The Glasshouse is shooting for a December opening.

    Source: SVBJ

    http://www.loopnet.com/Attachments/D/E/D/DEDBE545-4D50-4916-9CF0-90A938E2388E.jpg

    Monday, August 26, 2013

    Communication Hill Renders!

    KB Homes owns 300 acres of Communication Hill and is planning to build up to 2,200 homes on 75 of those acres. The rest will be used for retail/commercial, an industrial park, open space, trails, and public parks.

    We finally have some renders on what the new homes will look like, and I have to say they look pretty damn good. This is much nicer than what I was expecting. The design is very modern with sharp edges, a diverse color palette, and unique architectural features. I'm also happy to see that some of the buildings utilize seven stories, which would make them the most dense residential buildings in South San Jose.

    You can click the images below to enlarge. What do you guys think?

    Source: Anonymous Poster







    Sunday, August 25, 2013

    Fandango by History San José, Noon to 4 PM Today

     
    San Jose, CA – Celebrate early San Jose and the heritage of the Californios who settled along the Guadalupe River. History San José is hosting a Fandango on Sunday, August 25 at the Peralta Adobe Historic Site from noon to 4.
     
    “Fandango is a fun way to celebrate the heritage of what we know today as Silicon Valley,” said Alida Bray, President and CEO of History San José. “ So much of our language, foods, and aspects of our daily lives have been influenced by Spanish and Mexican culture. Come see how it all started!”
     
    Typical of that era, there will be music and dancing, as well as a descedant of the original horses that were brought by the Spanish explorers. Children will have the opportunity to make sombreros, corn husk “pocket buddies”, candles, rope a steer named ‘Fernando’ and learn more about the original settlers, the Ohlones, and the rancho period of California.*
     
    In the true meaning of Fandango, which is a Spanish dance, live music will be performed by Los Arribeños.
     
    Special horse, ‘Stone Shield’ will make her appearance at Fandango.  She is a paint mare, 18 years old with blue eyes, whose ancestry can be traced to horses ridden by Spanish settlers as they came to the new world. By 1492 Spain planned the expansion of their power, including into North America. It was the Spanish horses that carried the DeAnza party to settle Alta California and today provides the framework for thoroughbreds, standard breds, and the Morgan and quarter horse. Only 2,000 of the Colonial Spanish horses remain and are critically endangered.
     
    At the Peralta Adobe historic site, located in the heart of what is today San Pedro Square Market, Luis Maria Peralta was one of the original residents. He was the Californio who lived in the Peralta Adobe with his family, and was one of the first Alcades (mayors) of Pueblo de San Jose de Guadalupe.
     
    Home tours of the Peralta Adobe, as well as the Fallon House across the street, are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors, and $6 for children ages 12 to 17.  As usual, members of History San José receive free admission. Adult tours of the Peralta Adobe and the Fallon House will be held at 12:30 p.m.1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Tours especially created for children ages 4 to 11 will be at 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. and cost  $5. These hands-on tours will allow children to dress in period costumes while learning about life in the early 1800’s. Reservations are suggested for the tours by calling 408 918 1040.
     
    * Activitiy  tickets are one dollar each or six for $5. HSJ members earn six free tickets when presenting membership card.  Visit historysanjose.org to print four free tickets. Activities will cost between one to four tickets.
     
    The Peralta Adobe – Fallon House Historic Site is located at 175 West Saint John Street, in downtown San Jose, CA 95110. For more information call 408 918-1047 or visit www.historysanjose.org
     
       # # #
     
    About History San José: 
    History San José is a non-profit organization that collects, preserves and celebrates the stories of diversity and innovation in San José and the Santa Clara Valley. HSJ manages one of the largest and most comprehensive regional history collections in the State of California, from 1784 Spanish governmental records to twenty-first century Silicon Valley technology. 
     
    History San José     1650 Senter Road     San José, CA  95112      408.287.2290
     
    Website:  historysanjose.org
    Facebook: /historysanjose
    Twitter: @historysanjose

    Saturday, August 24, 2013

    SP2 Grand Opening Party Tonight!

    Check out their FB page over here for the details!



    SP2 Communal Bar + Restaurant started from an idea, a hope and a distant dream. A year later, and a lot of sweat, sleepless nights, and occasional breakdowns the time has finally come! We’re proud to announce that on Saturday, August 24th, from 6pm until 2am we will be celebrating our Grand Opening!

    We invite you to come and enjoy our hand-crafted beverages, our custom made furniture, and our enjoyable staff for a night that is sure to be remembered.

    Reservations are strongly encouraged, yet not necessary. Bottle service begins at $250 and patio tables will require a one or two bottle minimum, depending on the size of the group. The food menu will be exclusive to table reservations.

    Friends can put themselves on the Guest List by visiting SP2’s Facebook Page and sending us your first and last name and amount of people in your group. Walk-ins are welcome, and the barbecue will be in available for everyone for the duration of the event.

    We hope to see you there!

    Saturday Stats: San Jose Ranks as the 5th Hardest Working City in America

    The Movoto real estate blog has taken a stab at determining which cities are the hardest working. They used seven different criteria in their research: average hours worked per week, unemployment rate, commute time, employed workers per household, hours volunteered per year, lack of sleep, and cost of living. After crunching all of the numbers, San Jose ranked as the 5th hardest working city in the US. SF was right behind us at #6, and NYC came in at #11. You can get more information regarding all of the criteria by going to the blog post, and the full list is below:


    Top 10 Hardest Working Cities
    1. Seattle, WA
    2. Arlington, TX
    3. Fort Worth, TX
    4. Austin, TX
    5. San Jose, CA
    6. San Francisco, CA
    7. Dallas, TX
    8. Virginia Beach, VA
    9. Washington, D.C.
    10. Houston, TX
    Click the image below to Enlarge:



    Source: Movoto