Anja Kerstens - Signature Homes and Estates

Ride Bikes Save Earth

Recently, when we took a break from our usual bike ride, we stopped at First Street Coffee my favorite coffee shop in Gilroy. It is usually a busy place but today it was difficult to park the bikes because of the number of bicycles already there. Two Cannondale bikes looked very interesting. I had the pleasure of meeting a very interesting people. These bikes belonged to a young couple who were biking across the US to raise awareness for a healthier Earth.

Darren and Becky stop and visit as many small farms as they can on their journey across the United States. They hope to stop at about 200 farms. These smaller farms need to be supported just as we support other small business in our communities. You can find more information on local harvest on the website.

They started their journey on June 15th from Topley in Northern BC in Canada and rode down to San Francisco and had just left Santa Cruz and were on their way to Merced. Their goal was to bike all the way to Vermont and end their journey in Montreal Canada.

I recommend that you follow their adventures on their website ride bikes save earth.

If you happen to come across these travelers tell them I said "Hello" and let us know where they are on their journey.

I am totally impressed with their commitment to the cause they believe in: local farming is important and buying local fresh produce.

Anja Kerstens

Eagle Ridge Homeowners Association - is hosting the Eagle Ridge E-Waste Day

The Eagle Ridge Homeowners Association is hosting their first Eagle Ridge E-Waste Day for the homeowners of Eagle Ridge on September 19, 2009, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. I encourage all homeowners to save the day and to take advantage of this program. Future events are based on the success of this (hopefully) first E-Waste event.

Hi-Tec Recycling located in Richmond, will accept all electronics free of charge in the parking lot of the Eagle Ridge Homeowners Association (ERHOA) clubhouse at 2840 Caledonia Way.

You can bring all recyclable electronics such as:

• televisions
• remotes
• computers
• printers
• cell phones
• monitors
• satellite dishes
• radios, etc.

Gilroy Garlic Festival starts tomorrow.

If you are planning on going to this wonderful, popular, delicious and fun event you may want to go tomorrow, Friday July 23, because that is the least busiest day of the event; Saturday and Sunday promise to be very busy.

As I mentioned earlier it is best not to take the 101 south to Gilroy but take alternate routes.

• If you take the 101 South; exit at Route 152 (Leavesley Road) and go west. East will take you to the Gilroy Premium Outlets. Come early to avoid the traffic congestion. Gilroy's new high school, Christopher High School (named after one of the founders of the Garlic Festival) is still under construction and the road work will sure increase the bottleneck through Gilroy. You may want to avoid Santa Theresa and Masten Avenue.
• Another suggestion is to take Route 101 to Tennant in Morgan Hill and make a right going West to West Edmundson Avenue. Turn left onto Sunnyside Avenue and a right onto Watsonville Road. This road takes you all the way into Gilroy. Turn left at the T-intersection on Hecker Pass Road past Gilroy Gardens and into Gilroy. Make a right onto Santa Teresa. You are now only about 1 mile from the entrance to the parking lot.
  
• Or you can come tomorrow or Saturday evening, avoid all the traffic and stay at a local bed and breakfast or motel/hotel.

Gilroy Market Update for July 2009

The following market update is for single family homes.

July continues to be a strong month for Real Estate sales here in Gilroy. Again, more homes are under contract then there are in inventory. Many of these properties are short sales or bank owned properties.

As of today there are:

• 138 active listings ranging in price between $144,500 and $5,500,000
• 199 homes are under contract ranging in price between $111,000 and $1,075,000. Note: many of these homes are short sales or bank owned properties and these sales generally take longer to complete.
• 38 homes closed escrow during the first 22 days of July. The average days on market for these homes was 112
  • 24 of these properties are bank owned
  • 8 are short sales
  • 6 do not disclose the type of sale or are "conventional" (meaning not distressed) sales.
  • Note: one short sale property went under contract in November 2008.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  If you would like to receive more information or are interested in properties in Gilroy or Morgan Hill you can contact me. If you would like to receive a free Market Analysis of your home feel free to contact me too.
  Anja Kerstens
  Signature Homes and Estates
  
  
  
  

Eagle Ridge Golf Community Market Update for July 2009

Currently we have more homes under contract then there are available in inventory. July continues to be a strong month for Real Estate sales here in Eagle Ridge.

As of today we have:

• 14 active listings ranging in price between $599,000 and $924,750.
• 16 homes are under contract ranging in price between $479,000 and $925,000. These homes were on the market an average of 83 days before going to contract.
• 3 homes closed escrow during the first 20 days of July;

1. List price $610,000; Sale price $610,000; days on market 68
2. List price $649,000; Sale price $657,000; days on market 121
3. List price $750,000; Sale Price $725,000; days on market 404