SanJoseGreenHome.com

Who threw this monkey wrench in here?

You might have been reading or hearing all sorts of conflicting news about our market.  Prices are up, prices are down, inventory is up, foreclosures are down… Trali wali, trali wali as some say in Eastern Europe. 

Forgive the media, they generalize too much and often pick the more negative side of the story.  Then they lick that bone like a golden retriever after a day’s out in the field. 

The word is out that there are 3 monkey wrenches that may derail our slowly recovering real estate market.  

First, the expiring homebuyer’s tax credit. It’s been credited with getting a lot of buyers into the market that wouldn’t have been there otherwise. It goes bye bye in spring.

Second, foreclosures.  They continue to rise because many homeowners in financial distress are simply making the decision to walk away from their homes.  Sometimes getting rid of debt can be as easy as that.

Third wrench is the low interest rates are taking a train to Canada as well.  They’re low now in large part due to Federal Reserve purchases of mortgage-backed securities.  Those purchases are due to stop near the end of March. This move will likely cause interest rates to turn upward. 

So what do you think?  Is it possible that these three factors coming together at roughly the same time could create a perfect storm and throw our fragile real estate market into (more…)

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Do you ever find yourself so deeply entrenched in your beliefs that you miss a bigger picture?  It’s safe to say we all do.  Recently, I had a chance to speak with a lovely lady who had purchased a fantastically green home.  The house had all the latest in green building like engineered lumber, sustainable materials, non-toxic finishes and many other bells and whistles.  You can imagine that my eyes sparkled like a five year old’s at a sight of an ice-cream truck.  Meeting her filled me with much excitement.  

My first questions obviously were:  “So how do you like it?  Does it feel good to have a low carbon footprint?  Don’t you just love your solar water heater?”  I was expecting to hear something profound like: ”Wow, we love the fact how much less wood was used to construct this house, how much stronger it is because of engineered lumber, how low the heating bills were,” you know…, the standard stuff that we greenies get jazzed up about.  But you know what her answer was? “It’s nice; we love the quality of the floors and are very comfortable here.”  

My jaw dropped.  “What?” uninvited but silent thoughts started creeping in, “She’s got to be kidding… this home should be like a Lincoln monument for green building and all she cares about is bamboo floors… For the sake of the planet, what’s wrong with her!?”  

Needless to say, this was puzzling as hell but on the way back home it dawned on me (more…)

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In a market where hardly anyone is building green in San Jose, this newly constructed house in Milpitas area stands as a monument of energy efficiency and inspiration.  

It is about 35% more energy efficient than a standard home and prides itself on green elements like engineered lumber, radiant barrier roof, solar water heater, energy star furnace, extra thick insulation, excellent indoor air quality and much more.  

Come with us on a video tour and discover for yourself what makes this property truly unique.

This beauty is a five year project by Green Earth Construction, a Milpitas based and family run company.  Sylvia Leung and her husband had a vision to go green 15 years ago and are finally able to marvel at the fruits of their labor.  In addition to what you’ve seen on the video, keep in mind that the home is wired for solar and if one decided to invest into solar panels, one’s utility bills for the most part of the year could be virtually zero.  Now that’s a good number, isn’t it? 

Building green normally commands higher costs so perhaps the most pleasant detail about this home is that when considering a dollar per square foot basis, the home is priced comparably to a 25 year old home.  If you like more details, you can find all the info under Featured Listings on http://GreenHomeParter.com.  Feel free to contact me directly with any questions. 

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Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the greenest of them all…?  As if we didn’t already have hundreds of eco labels to worry about every time we visit a store, now there are green home certifications that are mushrooming up all over the Bay Area and the country.  Understanding these new ways of classifying quality and operation costs is becoming a must, especially when you build, remodel or in the market for a home.  Yet another chief reason for being able to decipher these new terms is to avoid growing generalizations or greenwashing. 

Frankly, most folks could careless about “green” homes. Very few want to pay extra for labels they don’t understand.  And why should they?! Price and quality are and should be the two high priority areas of concern.  However, if you remember from a previous post called “What’s a Green Home and Why Do We Care?“, green homes address much more than just fancy “eco-friendly” building materials.  They also encompass elements like energy efficiency, indoor air quality, water efficiency, materials use (recycled, reclaimed, sustainable), community and environmental impacts.   

Third party sources play an important role in verifying that green homes are truly are as they are cracked up to be in their marketing.  Here are the three most prevalent green home titles you are most likely to see in our Bay Area neighborhoods:  (more…)

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Love and relationships are our biggest assets

Before you bought your home or rented an apartment, did you consider how green is your community?  Chances are you haven’t.  Most people don’t.  Not only majority of folks have no clue as to what a “sustainable” community really is but for years, there has not been much need for it.  Today, however, we’re much more aware of our carbon paw prints, wasteful lifestyles and the ever growing need to just simply connect with people around us.  Fact is, sustainability of the community is becoming a huge factor when choosing a place to plant our roots for the future. 

So what is a sustainable community?  After looking at many definitions, perhaps the UK Sustainable Communities Plan defines it best: “Sustainable communities are places where people want to live and work, now and in the future. They meet the diverse needs of existing and future residents, are sensitive to their environment, and contribute to a high quality of life. They are safe and inclusive, well planned, and offer equality of opportunity and good services for all.”  Ahhh… the English, they do get some things right, don’t they?  

So ideally, a true gage of sustainability is where the environment prospers along with the people who are living in it.  In order words, the housing developments must be incorporated in the natural environment already present on the ground and not the other way around which was much too common years ago.  

Such an idealistic concept as community living in harmony with the environment and local ecosystems may sound far fetched but its not.  In fact, one such example in Bay Area is (more…)

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Green homes stand out from the pack

Whether one takes global warming 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 the real estate market?

As you may be aware, our real estate market in the entire Santa Clara County 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 environments 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 eco and health friendly homes?  Mainly, (more…)

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