The Willow Glen Resident

Small-town feel means big house prices in the Glen

Glen also attracts those who are tired of commute to S.J.

By Christine M. Lias

When the California Association of Realtors revealed annual housing statistics for the state April 27, the message was clear: Housing prices in California are skyrocketing.

From March 1997 to March 1998, the median price for a California single-family home soared 10.5 percent, from $177,740 to $196,400. Here in Willow Glen, the figures are equally striking, with most homes costing at least double--and sometimes triple--median housing prices.

"Revitalization of downtown is the No. 1 draw," said RC Kost, a real estate agent in the Glen office of Century 21 and Contempo Realty, who says his business's sales are up at least 25 percent from last year. "Willow Glen is also a community inside a large city. It has that small-town feel."

According to the San Jose Real Estate Board, the median single-family home price in the Glen during the first three months of 1998 was $390,738, a 7.1 percent increase over $364,700 in all of 1997. In all of San Jose, the median price was $304,944 at the beginning of 1998, up 12.9 percent from $270,000 in 1997.

Five years ago, in 1993, the median Glen home price was $263,250, the south San Jose median $175,975 and the central San Jose median $183,000.

Any increase of more than 6 percent is considered significant in the housing market, said Dolores Anaya of the real estate board.

Kost's agency had 78 sales in 1997 and has sold 39 homes this year. The market is "still hot," and local "charmers"--houses at least 60 years old and within walking distance of downtown--are in high demand, he said.

"Technology has become the gold rush of the '90s in this valley," Kost said. "I see a lot of yuppies buying older homes in the area. They've made a lot of money from investing in the stocks of some of these companies."

Recently, Worth magazine released its annual "250 Richest Towns" edition. Due to its high population San Jose could not be classified as a town, but 38 Bay Area suburbs popped up on the list. Eight are in Silicon Valley, including Saratoga (37), Los Altos (47), Los Gatos (96) and Cupertino (140).

When Prudential real estate agent Barbara Formento moved to the area from New Jersey, she was drawn to the Glen's tree-lined streets and sense of intimacy.

"On every street, the neighbors know each other, yet each street has such diversity," she said. "There's at least one elderly couple, young couples with no kids, families with children, single people on every street."

John Kost, RC's son and fellow real estate agent at Century 21 and Contempo Realty, agreed. "Willow Glen has style and charm; you don't get that from Almaden or the Rose Garden areas of San Jose. Sure, the Rose Garden's cool-looking, but the charm's not there."

"People are tired of tract homes," Formento said. "Each home in Willow Glen is different and attracts all kinds of people--artists, police, firefighters, high-tech people."

Homeseekers from West Valley areas such as Los Gatos, Monte Sereno and Saratoga are also moving to Willow Glen in large numbers to cut commutes, Formento said.

"Willow Glen is centrally located. It's only 10 minutes from downtown," she said.

With housing prices so high, many Glen homeowners are remodeling rather than moving to a bigger home, she added.

But relief may be in sight. Phil Costanza of Re/Max-Santa Clara Valley said he thinks prices will stabilize in the future to "moderate" increases. Formento said she agreed, because Willow Glen has a fixed number of homes. But until then, demand for homes in the Glen remains high.

"There is a consistent pride of ownership," the younger Kost said. "Every town has at least one or two bad streets. Not Willow Glen. There are no bad streets here."

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