Gary Civello's Blog

Alamo CA Real Estate

Gary Civello (Ironhorse Real Estate Services) — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:55:53 -0700

Sold statistics of single-family detached homes for Alamo California for all years beginning with 2000 to and including August 2009 is as follows:


		Median	Average	Median	Median
2009	#	Sales Price	Sales Price	Sq. Ft	Pr/SqFt
Jan	10	$1,357,500	$1,737,700	3,603	432
Feb	6	$1,240,000	$1,177,000	3,728	365
Mar	5	$1,125,000	$1,581,250	3,708	367
Apr	7	$1,015,000	$1,174,571	2,484	424
May	6	$902,000	$979,833	2,350	381
Jun	14	$1,255,000	$1,345,892	3,285	442
Jul	9	$1,225,000	$1,402,777	3,111	378
Aug	16	$1,008,837	$1,161,404	2,938	374
To Date	73	$1,200,000	$1,320,253	3,302	378

2008	118	$1,354,725	$1,551,877	3,209	472
2007	171	$1,442,500	$1,687,335	3,066	506
2006	158	$1,570,000	$1,710,182	3,112	500
2005	221	$1,480,000	$1,621,208	3,130	486
2004	299	$1,255,500	$1,399,972	3,100	408
2003	249	$1,190,000	$1,285,378	3,400	368
2002	268	$1,000,000	$1,110,638	2,927	361
2001	170	$950,000	$1,102,431	3,161	321
2000	200	$925,000	$1,086,167	3,052	314

Oh please! Another Death to Car Leasing Article?

Gary Civello (Ironhorse Real Estate Services) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:10:42 -0700

Oh, please! Not Another Death To Car Leasing Article!

It always amazes me how some people think that leasing a car is only for financial fools - that the only real way to acquire a car is to buy it and finance it. Michelle Singletary's recent writing on Tuesday, August 12 is just another one of those diatribes on leasing where the writer obviously has no real understanding of the subject matter. Michelle writes that she has been trying for years to get people to see the financial folly in leasing a vehicle. If I had Michelle here with me now, I would tell her that she is absolutely wrong when she says that the residual value in a lease "is the amount you need to buy the car at the end of the lease". No Michelle. You don't have to buy the car at the end of the lease. You would only buy it if the value of the vehicle is equal to or higher than that residual amount. If it's not, the lessee - the person who acquired the car - does NOT have to buy it. You see that's the point. When you lease a car, you are placing the residual risk on the lender. And, if the lenders are now taking losses (which you correctly state), that's better than the car buyer taking the loss. Who's the fool? Besides, who better to subsidize the low resale values and low demand for those vehicles than the original manufacturer?

There are several things you need to look at when you're considering leasing vs. purchase financing. With the lease, there's something called a "money factor". That is essentially the rate that the lender is charging. Unfortunately, the lender doesn't tell you how to interpret that rate. But, I'm about to tell you. When a lender charges you a money factor of .003, for example, they are actually charging a rate of 7.2%. You would simply take the money factor and multiply by 24. In leasing, the lender doesn't have to tell you the rate. They have to tell you the money factor. Most people don't have a clue what it means. Now you do.

Look, leasing and purchase financing is all the same. They are both forms of financing. What you have to determine is how to compare them and whether one suits you more than the other based on the rates, residual and other terms available for each form of financing. If you don't compare, you may be losing out. There are times when purchase financing is clearly the better option and there are times where leasing is better. There are other matters to consider when comparing including the maximum miles allowed per year, as well as acquisition fees and/or security deposits associated with the lease. One positive about the lease is the fact that you don't pay sales tax on the entire cost of the vehicle upfront. You pay sales tax on the portion of capital cost reduction you pay upfront, on the rent you pay every month and on the full residual only if you buy it. If you don't buy out the residual, you don't pay that sales tax. You just give the car back subject to mileage and condition issues. That actually can be a big savings for someone who likes to buy cars and sell them in 3 years or so.

In recent years, the lending affiliates of auto manufacturers have been providing sub-vented money factors and high residuals on cars such as BMWs. Those money factors are often considerably lower than the .003 mentioned above and sometimes as low as .001 to .002. I've seen even lower factors on occasion. Now, if the lenders are going to give me a financing rate that is lower than the rate I can get in the market and they are going to take a risk on an inordinately high residual on the vehicle that you and I as car buyers don't want to take, what's wrong with taking that money? Let me say this differently, Michelle. If I were selling you my home and I said to you that I would give you a low rate - lower than you can get from a typical mortgage lender - and I also told you that I would give you a guaranteed buyback of the home should the value fall below a certain level in a few years when you want to move or otherwise get out of it, why in the world wouldn't you think that could be a good deal and worth further analysis? Would you be living above your means, as you suggest? No. In the case of cars, you would be taking advantage of the lenders gracious hospitality and its need to move cars off their lots. If I am able to drive a BMW for the same price as a driving a Buick, I am not living beyond my means. I am getting the best value for the buck. And, if that makes me look richer because I get to drive a nicer vehicle, so be it.

I have a basic philosophy that I would like to share with you. That is, as a general rule, you should buy things that go up or at least maintains it value over the course of its use period and you should lease things that depreciate in value. Cars are not investments. They are an expense. Any dealer who tells you that a car is an investment is saying that with tongue in cheek and is trying to see if you flinch. Building equity in something that goes down in value - and rather rapidly I must admit - is simply the worst thing one can do financially. There is one simple truth about leasing. Generally speaking, it costs less to get in it and it costs less every month. Now if you are one of those who like the idea of paying more upfront and throughout the use period - sort of like a savings account - so that you can say you own your vehicle and thereby build up equity in a depreciating asset, then perhaps, buying is a better alternative for you. But for me, unless and until the lenders make leasing of vehicles more expensive by placing low residual values on the vehicles and/or make the money factors too high in comparison to purchase financing, then leasing has a place in my heart and in my pocketbook.

Michelle, with all due respect, you are simply all wet and you should stick to writing about a subject you are familiar with. Simply, car buyers have different objectives and the leasing vs. purchase financing situation can be enormously different depending on the vehicle and the moment in time. In my opinion, each situation deserves to consider the benefits of leasing vs. purchase financing on a case by case basis. There have been many writers like Michelle who have been singing the praises of the coming of the death of car leasing, but I think there are too many smart people around to have these writings deter them from making the best financial move for their particular situation.

By Gary C

Sales of Homes - San Francisco East Bay - 1st 6 mos. 2008 compared to 2007

Gary Civello (Ironhorse Real Estate Services) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 18:36:34 -0700

Sales of homes in the San Francisco East Bay Area (including condos and townhomes) during the first six months of 2008 compared to the same period during 2007 vary by town/city. A chart of such activity is as follows:


		2007			2008			Up/Down
	# Units	Avg	Median	# Units	Avg	Median	# Units	Avg	Median
Alamo	92	$1,667,784	$1,435,000	55	$1,435,008	$1,385,000	-40.22%	-13.96%	-3.48%
Danville	354	$1,015,326	$932,500	208	$946,723	$879,500	-41.24%	-6.76%	-5.68%
San Ramon	531	$809,551	$760,000	337	$748,526	$710,000	-36.53%	-7.54%	-6.58%
Dublin	298	$687,277	$608,750	199	$557,273	$512,225	-33.22%	-18.92%	-15.86%
Pleasanton	458	$915,227	$769,000	254	$932,421	$750,000	-44.54%	1.88%	-2.47%
Walnut Creek	457	$754,088	$722,500	282	$707,510	$660,000	-38.29%	-6.18%	-8.65%
Pleasant Hill	179	$644,702	$625,000	122	$519,688	$513,500	-31.84%	-19.39%	-17.84%
Lafayette	173	$1,245,120	$1,050,000	107	$1,259,192	$1,140,000	-38.15%	1.13%	8.57%
Orinda	101	$1,272,173	$1,200,000	74	$1,321,166	$1,212,500	-26.73%	3.85%	1.04%
Moraga	78	$919,290	$928,750	71	$854,872	$886,750	-8.97%	-7.01%	-4.52%

As you can see from the above chart, the Lamorinda towns of Lafayette, Orinda and Moraga as well as the Pleasanton area experienced low price drop or slight increases over the same six months compared to the previous year. Keep in mind that this only compares the sales over the same 6-month period of 2008 and 2007 and does not consider what has taken place since the highs of 2005.

New Tax Law Regarding Loan Forgiveness

Gary Civello (Ironhorse Real Estate Services) — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 12:21:18 -0800

With all the real estate short sales occurring in recent months, there was a big hole in the tax law that penalized homeowners who wish to work with their lenders to sell the homes that contain some loan forgiveness by making them take the amount of forgiveness as debt discharge income. Now, President Bush has signed into law a bill which states that a taxpayer no longer has to pay income tax related to forgiveness of loans secured by a principal residence. This new tax law, called the Mortgage Foregiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, applies to debts discharged between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2009 and applies to debt incurred in acquiring, constructing, or substantially improving the primary residence up to $2 million of refinances. Instead, a taxpayer must now subtract the amount of the discharged debt from the basis of the property for purposes of calculating the capital gains of such principal residence.

For a copy of this new law, click here.

Foreclosure Auction Bidding

Gary Civello (Ironhorse Real Estate Services) — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 14:05:16 -0800

Have you ever attended a foreclosure auction at your county courthouse steps? Well, you have to do it at least once. I've actually done it many times. Companies are hired by lenders to conduct trust sales on homes being foreclosed and those companies conduct those auction sales on courthouse steps, rain or shine. You would just look up the log of homes up for sale on any given day and then you just go. Anyone can attend but to participate in the bidding, you would have to have cash (or better yet, bank checks) to immediately pay for the property being auctioned. As a matter of fact, you can't even participate in the bidding unless you first show the auctioneer the amount you have so he notes how high in the bidding you can go. Actually what you do is go to your bank and have them issue several bank checks in different denominations so that if you "win" a bid, you don't have to overpay by much. The auction company sends you back the amount of overage after a week or more. Please note that all sales are final. You make payment on the spot and you become the proud owner of the property. It's an amazing process.

I should caution those of you who think that you will get a buy all of the time. First, you must assume that the home is in foreclosure because the trustor/owner has not had the money to make payments on the loan over some elongated period of time. Secondly, the home has probably been on the market for some time and has not sold. You can also assume that the house may not have been maintained to what you are accustomed to seeing. Lastly, I must mention that someone - not necessarily the owner - has been living in the home and may not be that easy to evict. All of these point to the fact that it may take some doing to get actual possession of the property and when you do get possession, you will have to put money into the home to get it marketable. Also, make sure that when you bid, you will obtain free and clear title. In California, they tell you nothing at the auction. You will need to know what the sale is for by doing your own investigation. You can go to the county for records before going to the auction. I have one interesting story to tell about this. There we were on the courthouse steps and bidding is light on a particular property being auctioned. One individual decides to go for it and makes a bid and wonders why no one is out bidding him. Lo and behold he comes to learn that he has just bought out the second loan - not the first and finds out that the second is under water compared to the value of the home. Ouch!

Look! These auctions are attended by people who represent syndicates or teams of people consisting of a real estate broker, contractor, subcontractors, the investors, lawyers, lien investigators and, of course, the bidding member. You have to assume that these people know something about this property if they are going to bid because their job is to make money. If they aren't bidding, there's probably a reason. And, if you don't know what you are buying, don't bid.

If you wish to know anything about how to go about attending and bidding in these auctions, you can contact me.

Marriage Longevity

Gary Civello (Ironhorse Real Estate Services) — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 13:15:41 -0800

I recently saw a little promo ditty - from Princess Cruises of all places - that of all the couples currently married, 81% have been married for at least 5 years, 53% for at least 15 years, 33% for at least 25 years, and 6% have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

History of Mt. Diablo

Gary Civello (Ironhorse Real Estate Services) — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 12:18:26 -0800

Did you know that Mt. Diablo was volcanic rock beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean some 165 million years ago? It wasn't until some 2 million years ago that the peaks became exposed as low lying hills.

A reprint of the Fall 2000 edition of Mount Diablo Review is available as interesting reading on the history of Mt. Diablo including early human and more recent Indian habitation. Check it out - click here to see that reprint.

Engineered Quartz Instead of Granite

Gary Civello (Ironhorse Real Estate Services) — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 12:01:50 -0800

There is a very good alternative to installing granite in your newly updated kitchen - and that's engineered quartz. Click here to see an interesting article on this topic.

Real Estate Licensees in the State of California

Gary Civello (Ironhorse Real Estate Services) — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 11:35:40 -0800

As of the end of 2006, there are over 521,000 real estate licensees (of which approximately 141,800 are brokers) in the State of California and that number is going up at a pace of 4,000 per month. So, that means that of the over 37,172,000 people in California, one out of every 71 people in California has a real estate license - over 1.4% of the population. To see these stats, just click here.

Just think of it. You go to see a baseball game at AT&T Park in San Francisco where 43,000 people attend and you will be with over 600 real estate licensees. Good thought, huh?

Google Maps - Mapping Multiple Destinations

Gary Civello (Ironhorse Real Estate Services) — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 18:40:03 -0800

My friends at The Harper Team recently noted that the people at My Tech Opinion.com provide the steps you would take in mapping multiple locations on Google Maps. To read that article from My Tech Opinions, click here. This could be a great tool to see homes on broker tours and mapping several homes when showing to your buyer clients.

Car Leasing 101 - Another Form of Financing - Nothing More

Gary Civello (Ironhorse Real Estate Services) — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 13:48:28 -0800

You want to get a new car and you know that there may be good reasons to consider leasing that new vehicle but you don't know exactly what those reasons are. Well, let me get you started. First, in order to compare purchase financing to leasing, let's first make the point that the dealer should be indifferent. They get the sales price regardless of how you choose to acquire the vehicle. I will admit that dealers have enjoyed some upside from leasing because people don't understand how the numbers work on leasing so the dealers may be able to derive a higher selling price if all you focus on is what you are to put down and what you will pay monthly.

The basic reason why people lease is because the upfront payment and the monthly rental is usually less than that which you would pay if you obtained a vehicle using a straight loan. The second reason is that people are more comfortable with "writing-off" the business supported operating cost of a lease than to take depreciation on an owned vehicle. Those two reasons aside, you should consider that a lease is not a great deal different than a loan. It is a form of financing. Yes, you don't actually own the vehicle but you do have similar if not identical control. Let's say this differently. Let's say the dealer said to you "You can buy the car and the manufacturer will agree to buy the car back from you in 36 months at a predetermined price (residual) equal to the then existing financing payoff so long as the car does not have over 36,000 miles. At that time, you can (a) either sell the manufacturer the car at that price thereby using the proceeds of the sale to payoff the financing and thereby allowing you to walk away, or, (b) you can continue to pay the monthly payment for up to a year by extending the lease, or, (c) you can find a buyer and keep the difference between what they agree to pay and the remaining balance of the financing (same as the residual), or, (d) you can keep the car indefinitely and pay off the balance of the financing - same as the residual". Saying it that way, it seems as though your options are similar to ownership. And, you know what? They are the same.

Once you understand that leasing is not some suspicious way to get you to pay for something that you don't own, you can get down to the basics. There are two important elements - the money factor and the residual. The dealer will quote you some mysterious factor that sounds something like "point zero zero something". I'm going to use a real case situation for sake of clarity. I assisted a client of mine who was acquiring a 2007 Honda Accord EXL-V6 3.0L Sedan with Navigation. That car has all the bells and whistles and doesn't need anything else. As a matter of fact, I don't thing there were any options to be had. That car has a MSRP of $29,995 and the negotiated price was $26,339. The quoted factor was point zero zero zero nine - .0009. What is that you ask? Well, that is actually the nominal rate of the financing. You would simply multiply the factor by 24 to get the actual nominal financing rate. In this example, the rate is 2.16% (.0009 x 24). The other important element is the residual which in this case was 56% based on the included mileage requested. That residual is applied to the MSRP - not the negotiated sales price. So, the larger the discount that you are paying, the lower the factor and the higher the residual, the lower the amount of down payment and monthly payment you will have to pay. There are other items of note including an "acquisition fee" that is not usually present in loans. That amount varies from car to car but the acquisition fee was $595 on this particular vehicle. With all taxes (including local sales tax rate of 8.25%), license, titling, registration, and doc fees, this vehicle went out the door for $3,000 drive-off and the monthly payment was $277 for 36 months and no security deposit had to be paid.

Now, if one wished to purchase finance this vehicle over 60 months and you could get a rate of 1.9% from the manufacturer and you want to put down the same $3,000, the monthly payment would approximate $450. So, the lease actually saved my client $173 per month and left her with a boatload of options at the end of the 36 month lease term. Clearly, you would not be building up as much equity in the car, but, why does that matter that much? Some would say save your money for investments. Cars are not investments. Anything that depreciates as a normal occurrence is not an investment. My advice - invest in things that appreciate not in things that depreciate.

To properly reconcile the two forms of financing, the loan would have about $10,600 of unpaid principal balance remaining after 36 months. The residual on the lease would approximate $16,800. The difference is about $6,200 of equity that could have been built up under the loan that didn't build under the lease. However, the $173 monthly savings under the lease would derive about $6,700 if placed into a 5% money market account. So, when you compare the two financings in this manner, they truly are very similar. Hence, the argument that leasing is just another form of financing.

When inquiring about a lease, you will have to tell the dealer the term and yearly mileage that you wish to have as part of the lease. Also, you should know your credit score. Once you know these, you can ask for the following: money factor, residual, security deposit (usually nothing if credit is good), acquisition fee, registration & titling and doc fees. From there, you can actually derive your own spread sheet to determine the cost. The negotiation of the selling price of the vehicle is a separate issue not unlike your normal negotiation of price when buying for cash or getting a loan.

Two other minor points - under a lease, you only pay sales tax to the extent you pay rent - not on the entire cost of the car upfront. Secondly, leasing for a term that equates to the warranty period will ensure that you are never exposed to large out-of-pocket maintenance items. So there you have it - Vehicle/Auto Leasing 101.

What Do You Call This If It's Not ADD?

Gary Civello (Ironhorse Real Estate Services) — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 15:44:06 -0800

Let me tell you about yesterday. I get up, go downstairs and begin to make coffee. As I go back to my bedroom to brush my teeth, shave, shower and get dressed, I notice that one of my socks is torn. Apparently, my dog got at it and chewed a hole in it. As I pick up the sock to throw it away, I hear the toilet dripping. So, as I am going towards the bathroom to jiggle the handle, I notice that I need to empty the trash because garbage pick up is today. I bring the bathroom pail downstairs and the phone rings. I put the pail down. It‘s a lender friend of mine asking me about a loan for one of my clients. Before we even finish our call, I get a call on the "other line". I hit the flash button and it's a marketing call. I hit the flash button again and my original party is no longer on the line. Oh well, I'll call her back. I go upstairs to get ready for the day and my wife asks me to take a look outside at the sprinkler system because she heard the sprinklers go on at night and it sounded as if a sprinkler head was missing and it needs to be fixed. I go outside to find out which sprinkler she is talking about and I notice something is laying at the bottom of the pool. I begin looking for a net that we usually keep outside near the pool to pick things out of the water, but I can't find it. However, I notice a gopher hole in the grassy area. I go out to the garage to find the net and get a gopher trap and notice that one of the lights in the garage doesn't work. I go to where we keep the bulbs and wonder why the lights in one of the cars is on. I notice that one of the car doors is ajar. I then hear my wife, who is at the top of the stairs, ask me if I want breakfast. I tell her yes but that I need to do a few things. She pokes her head in the garage and tells me that I need to look over some bills that are on the counter because she doesn't know what some credit card charges are for. I go back to the kitchen and begin to look over the credit card statements and I notice that the dog is licking an empty water bowl. I walk over to the bowl and begin filling it up and the clothes dryer begins to buzz. My wife must have put a load in and is now upstairs. Before I have a chance to open the dryer, the dogs are scratching at the door to go outside. I go to let them out and notice the door to the garage is open and the lights are on. Now, who did that? The doorbell rings and I go to see who it is and I trip on the pail in the hallway. Who left that there? It's the exterminator saying that they will be spraying around the house so please bring my dogs inside. I go to the door where the dogs are usually behind and find that they are not there. I could have sworn I let them out a little while ago. The clothes dryer buzzes. My wife tells me that I need to look at the toilet because it is dripping. Also, she asks why I didn't bring down the pail from the bedroom because today is garbage day. She asks me if I had a chance to look at the sprinklers and she asked me why I didn't put any coffee grinds in the coffee maker. Also, she asks, did I know that the dog ate one of my socks. It was on the floor in the bedroom.

Well, I won't bore you with the rest of my day, but, needless to say, it wasn't much better. But, it seems like the older I get, there are more days are like that. What do we call this if is isn't ADD?

California Proposition 60 - Transfer of Property Tax Base - People 55 yrs of age or older

Gary Civello (Ironhorse Real Estate Services) — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 13:40:52 -0800

Have you been thinking that this may be the perfect time to sell your current home that you've owned for years and "buy down" in price? Your "kids" may be grown and out of the house and you would like a smaller home with less maintenance or, perhaps, you would love to put some of that equity that you've built up to work in other ways? However, you can't bear the thought of paying higher property taxes for the replacement property based on today's market prices.

Did you know that certain people can "buy down" while retaining their Prop 13 base-year value of the original property for property tax purposes? Here's some of the important requirements toward achieving this:

You OR your spouse must be 55 years of age or older when you sell your original residence;
Your replacement property must be located in the same county in California as the original residence (see exceptions below);
The replacement residence must be equal to or lesser in market value than the original residence is currently;
The replacement residence must have been (a) receving or eligible for a Homeowner's Exemption, or (b) have been receiving a Disabled Veteran's Exemption on the original and replacement residences;
This benefit is only available once in a lifetime;

There are some counties that will accept the property tax base of the original property that is outside of their county so long as the originaly property is within the State of California. Those counties are: Alameda, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Ventura Counties. Other counties will only allow replacements to be within its own county.

Proposition 60 was passed in November 1986 by California voters.

Alamo's Stonegate & Trails Communities - Prices Higher for 2006

Gary Civello (Ironhorse Real Estate Services) — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 16:34:08 -0800

Two communities within Alamo, California had reduced volume for 2006 but prices appear to be holding their own.

In Stonegate, only 3 homes sold during 2006 compared to 14 during 2005 and 12 in 2004. Median prices for those sold units were $1,900,000 in 2006 vs. $1,645,000 in 2005 and $1,588,500 in 2004. There are 202 homes in Stonegate.

The Trails community only had one home that sold during 2006 compared to 3 in 2005 and 6 in 2004. There are a total of 76 homes in the Trails and another 14 homes in a neighboring community - Alamo Country (all of which are on a street named Falcon View Ct.). No homes sold within the Alamo Country community during 2006. The one home that sold during 2006 in the Trails was sold for $2,040,000. This compares to a median price for the 3 homes sold during 2005 of $1,899,000 and a median price of $1,682,500 for the 6 homes sold in 2004.

The turnover rate of these two communities remains very low based on the number of homes in those areas - less than 2% per year for both. That is well below the stats of other communities in towns and cities along the 680 corridor.

If you wish to get specific information about these communities, feel free to contact me.

Alamo California Home Sales 2004-2006

Gary Civello (Ironhorse Real Estate Services) — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 12:52:05 -0800

In measuring real estate activity in a town or city, I use the off-market date to determine when the home went into contract and I consider it sold as of such date - assuming, of course, that it ultimately closes. With that said, There were 162 residential property sales in all of Alamo, California during 2006 versus 238 properties during 2005 and 306 properties during 2004. However, it is interesting to note that the median price of a residential home increased to $1,550,000 versus $1,437,500 during 2005 and $1,250,000 during 2004. Hence, this little sleepy town did quite well in a so-called "down market" of 2006. Of course, the numbers get skewed due to the relatively small sample size. Nevertheless, those statistics are significantly better than many towns and cities experienced during 2006.

So, You Want To Know About Alamo, California

Gary Civello (Ironhorse Real Estate Services) — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 12:41:32 -0800

For those of you who don't know much about Alamo, California, it is an oasis tucked away between Walnut Creek and Danville in Contra Costa County. It is about 26 east of San Francisco. Interstate 680 serves as the main thoroughfare in and out of Alamo. It is an unincorporated town and, as of the 2000 census, had less than 16,000 residents. There are approximately 5,500 households in an area approximating 20.6 square miles. It is an affluent area with a median income approximating $147,600. It's downtown area is just west of Interstate 680 using either the Livorna Rd. or the Stone Valley Rd. exits where a large Safeway, Longs, Rite-Aid among other smaller shops and stores exist. I will be highlighting general real estate activity for Alamo from time to time and occasionally will focus on communities within Alamo. I've lived in Alamo since 1989 and will be glad to share any thoughts or information with you. If you wish to search for homes in Alamo, just go to http://www.680corridor.com/.