Selling a home in Almaden Valley

Priced right, not bid up

measured: 24 months

In five of Almaden Valley’s eight neighborhoods the typical sale closed at asking or within 0.4% of it (all home types), and 59% of its house sales closed over asking, against 62% across San Jose. Graystone (2.5% over), Almaden Meadows (1.6%) and Crossgates (1.2%) were the exceptions. With little bidding past the list price, the list price has to be right on day one: we price from your neighborhood’s record and the closest recent sales.

Over asking, neighborhood by neighborhood

Measure E sits at the median

city rule

Almaden Valley’s median house sold for $2.28M, just under the $2.3 million line. In Almaden Country Club ($2.63M) and Graystone ($2.41M) the median house sold above it, and in Almaden Foothills & New Almaden ($2.28M), Almaden Meadows ($2.22M), Crossgates ($2.17M), Montevideo ($2.15M) and Guadalupe Oak Grove ($2.11M) within $200K of it. Above the line, Measure E adds 0.75% of the whole price up to $5 million, on top of San Jose’s $3.30 and the county’s $1.10 per $1,000: a sale at exactly $2,300,000 owes $10,120 in transfer tax, and at $2,300,001, $27,372. Almaden Foothills & New Almaden also takes in unincorporated county land, where only the county tax applies; your escrow officer confirms it from the parcel’s tax rate area.

By local custom the seller pays the county tax and the buyer and seller split the city taxes; all of it is negotiable, and the purchase contract decides. If your price could land near the line, we plan for it before you list.

San Jose transfer tax and Measure E

Larger houses, larger lots

measured: houses and R-1 lots

Almaden Valley’s median house measured 2,245 sq ft and sold for $1,002 per square foot, close to San Jose’s $980, while its median price, $2.28M, ran well above San Jose’s $1.66M. In seven of its eight neighborhoods the median single-family (R-1) lot is 8,230 sq ft or more, against 6,410 across San Jose. Almaden Country Club’s 10,910 sq ft is the largest median lot of any San Jose neighborhood with at least 150 single-family lots (leaving out five with large county areas), and Crossgates is third at 8,610 sq ft. Buyers here weigh the grounds along with the house, so we present the lot as carefully as the rooms.

Neighborhoods ranked by price per sq ft

Fire hazard zones in six neighborhoods

measured: R-1 lots

By City of San Jose parcel records, six of Almaden Valley’s eight neighborhoods have single-family lots at least partly in a CAL FIRE fire hazard severity zone. Almaden Country Club has 224 lots in a High zone, the third-most of any San Jose neighborhood, and 77 more in a Moderate zone (of 1,918). Montevideo has 83 High and 82 Moderate (of 414), Almaden Foothills & New Almaden 67 High (of 360, the city’s part) and Almaden Meadows 61 High (of 809); Almaden Lake & Sunrise Almaden has 237 lots in a Moderate zone and Graystone 11. Crossgates and Guadalupe Oak Grove have none, and no San Jose lot is in a Very High zone.

A High zone can bring stricter building code requirements, defensible space requirements and real estate disclosure obligations, and the seller’s natural hazard disclosure report states the zones for the property, so we pull them for your address before launch.

Flood and fire zones by neighborhood

Flood zones in five neighborhoods

measured: R-1 lots

Almaden Lake & Sunrise Almaden has 307 of its 691 single-family lots (44%) in a FEMA high-risk flood zone, nearly all in zone AE, and Graystone 159 (13%), all in zone AE. Guadalupe Oak Grove has 28 (5%), Almaden Country Club 4 and Crossgates 2; Montevideo, Almaden Meadows and Almaden Foothills & New Almaden have none.

If the house itself is in an A or V zone, lenders on federally backed mortgages require flood insurance, so we order a flood zone determination for the address before launch and give buyers the answer up front.

Lots, flood and fire zones by neighborhood