Harless Moser was one of Saratoga's first Realtors, starting practice here in the 1900s. This photo was taken in the 1930s when Moser's office was at 16 Los Gatos-Saratoga Road.
By Carolyn Leal
When Joe Long Jr. closes his Moser and Long real estate office at 14363 Saratoga Avenue and goes to work for Cornish & Carey this month, it will mark the end of Saratoga's oldest real estate business, one started by his grandfather in 1906.
Long's grandfather, Harless Moser, joined with Charles Bell to launch the firm. Initially, it was called Charles Bell Real Estate; then it became Harless Moser Real Estate in the 1920s.
"My grandfather was one of the first Realtors in the area, so there was no competition," Long said. "We've been in business ever since then. My grandfather and his partner ran it for a couple of decades, then my grandfather alone, then my father joined the firm." When his father joined, the firm became Moser and Long, a name familiar to Saratogans.
Joe Long Jr. went into the family real estate business in 1980, the same year that Susan Perry joined the office.
"She and I have formed a partnership, and we both will work for Cornish & Carey," Long said. They will work at the Cornish & Carey office at 12175 Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road.
One of the Moser and Long real estate offices was located in the building that now houses Corinthian Antiques on Los Gatos-Saratoga Road, Long said.
One of the deals that his grandfather closed was selling 11 acres of orchard land along Saratoga Avenue in 1909 for $500 an acre, Long said.
His grandfather bought and sold land and worked on commission, as most agents do today, Long said. He owned a ranch on the edge of Saratoga on Stelling Road.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, March 19, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.