Janie and John's June Real Estate Newsletter

Real Estate Insights

June 2024
A quick 5 minute read

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Little known fact - before ultimately deciding on a career in real estate, Janie seriously contemplated becoming a landscape architect!

For most homes, the first impression starts with the front landscaping. Is it welcoming? Is it cohesive? Does it have a color theme? Does it lead you to the front door? Our home of almost 20 years is right across the street from the elementary school our boys attended - and we didn't even look at it when it first hit the market because it was hidden somewhere in the outdated and overgrown yard. Today, neighbors regularly compliment our drought tolerant front landscaping and Janie's prized raised bed garden.

While we regularly spruce up the yard of homes we are prepping to sell, we are also more than happy to lend our landscaping expertise to clients and friends. This can include everything from helping to reimagine that underutilized space in the back corner of your yard to working with you to come up with a plan for new front landscaping that showcases your mature fruit trees. If you don't want to get your hands dirty, we can even recommend gardeners to transform your plan into reality. And, of course, if you have a really big job or just want the services of a professional, we can make that introduction, too.

Another little known fact - Janie designed her custom raised bed garden (shown above) and helped build it!

It is not an exaggeration to say that Janie spends most of her spare waking moments gardening, either in her prized veggie garden or tending to our extensive fruit tree collection. Nothing compares to fresh fruits and veggies on demand!

So, if you want a little help reimagining your yard space - or you want to be part of Janie's "extra fruit, veggies, seeds and seedlings distribution network" (tomato seedlings are on offer right now!), just let us know. At certain times of year we are actively working to gift our bounty away. And we deliver!

Our Grand Convergence - Survived!

In a follow up to our April newsletter article (available here), we are pleased to report that May 10th was every bit as intense, exciting, emotional and exhausting as anticipated.

Headlining the day - and pictured above - our older son, Jack, received his Juris Doctor (JD) degree at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley. As if by design, Jack somehow managed to be the 5th to last to have his name announced and degree conferred out of the 692 various law degrees handed out that day. Next up, Jack will be prepping for the bar exam and continuing his search and interviewing for a public policy or public interest position. No criminal law or big law ambitions here!

Also worthy of recognition, while Jack was waiting (for hours) to have his name called, Chase was simultaneously cranking on his last final of freshman year. With that now behind him, he is looking forward to his sophomore year at Pitzer where his Sagehens water polo team hope to make a run at an NCAA Division 3 Championship. This will be followed by spring semester studying abroad at the University of Bristol in Bristol, England.

And Janie had a low key birthday and Mother's Day, which was fine with her given the circumstances!

Local Market Trends

We have access to a tremendous amount of real estate data, most of which is way more current than you read in the press. If you want to take a deeper dive into the latest numbers, start here:

San Mateo County Real Estate Report
Santa Clara County Real Estate Report

Links not working? Email jbarman@compass.com and I will send you a PDF of the same info.

Want to see the data for a specific city? Let us know and we will gladly forward that along!

Featured Listings and Sales

Off market ~ Beautifully updated with solar and battery

Los Trancos Woods, Portola Valley

3 beds, 2 baths, 1,620 sq. ft.
$2,500,000

Active ~ Serene Setting with mesmerizing views

116 Foxwood Road, Portola Valley

3 beds, 2 baths plus office in 1,600 sq. ft.
$2,400,000

For lease ~ meticulously updated inside and out

940 Myrtle Street, San Jose

3 beds, 3.5 baths
$5,200/month

Luxury Property Collection

Looking for a luxury property or even a brief escape from reality? Flip through our online magazine, Compass Luxury, for some of the most exclusive listings in the United States.

Please feel free to forward this newsletter to friends and family - and remember, we are never too busy for your referrals!

Janie and John Barman

DRE #01270223 & #01281597
Realtors®
M: 650.759.1182
jbarman@compass.com
JanieandJohn.co

Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California operating under multiple entities. License Numbers 01991628, 1527235, 1527365, 1356742, 1443761, 1997075, 1935359, 1961027, 1842987, 1869607, 1866771, 1527205, 1079009, 1272467. All material is intended for informational purposes only and is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdrawal without notice. No statement is made as to the accuracy of any description or measurements (including square footage). This is not intended to solicit property already listed. No financial or legal advice provided. Equal Housing Opportunity. Photos may be virtually staged or digitally enhanced and may not reflect actual property conditions.