Saturday Stats: It is 17% Cheaper to Buy than Rent in San Jose

While the costs of buying a house and renting are both astronomical in San Jose, a Trulia report claims that it is still 17% less expensive to purchase a house than to rent in our area. The study covered the largest 100 metros in the US and uses quality-adjust measures so that the comparison is apples-to-apples (it did not compare average rents to average home values, which would have been very biased towards buying).

While 17% seems significant, it was the second lowest figure in the entire study. Honolulu came in at the lowest with 16% and San Francisco was 5th at 24%. This means that it is a tougher call than most metros in the US on whether you should try to buy a home here (assuming you can afford the down payment) or rent. One other tidbit of information is that San Jose has the 8th highest average HOA fees in the country.

To see the full Renting vs. Buying report, click here.

Ready for the Bacon Festival of America?

The Bacon Festival runs today and tomorrow from noon to 7pm at Plaza de Cesar Chavez. In order to get everyone ready for the event, a few weeks ago the organizers decided to launch bacon from San Jose into SPACE. Check out the delicious journey in the two minute video below, then head over to the Bacon Festival of America!

New Boutique Hotel Coming to Santa Clara Street

It looks like the former San Jose Entrepreneur Center on Santa Clara and 3rd is going to be transformed into boutique hotel called the Hotel Clariana. The five-story building was originally built for dorms but has been used for Class B/C office space over the last several years. After the conversion, there will be a new lobby and 44 hotel rooms on the upper four floors. Unlike the original dorms, each room will have its own bathroom (in case you were wondering).

There is no official ETA for opening, but one of the sleuths from the San Jose Development Forum learned that they are hoping open by the Super Bowl. A hotel on this corner could really help improve the block, which is neither Downtown's cleanest nor safest today. While it is always tough to lose office space, something that is open seven days a week is likely the best use for this corner.

Source: SJSharks DowntownGuy and Robertee from the San Jose Development Forum

South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk + STREET MRKT Tonight

The latest South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk is going down tonight from 7-11pm in Downtown San Jose's SoFA District. 20 different venues will be open late and featuring a wide variety of local art to enjoy. Also part of the event tonight is an outdoor street market comprised of local vendors. To learn more about the participants before the walk tonight, head over to the South FIRST FRIDAYS website over here!

70 N 2nd Street Office Building Remodel

The era of bland, mediocre office buildings in Downtown San Jose is slowly coming to an end. As Downtown's profile and brand rise, so do aesthetic expectations. Have a look below at the renovation currently underway at 70 N 2nd Street (near Ike's). The transformation is going to be dramatic even though the current shell is still being utilized. It looks like they will have a cafe on the ground floor topped with contemporary office space featuring tall ceilings and an open feel.

The twin office towers next door are also expected to get a multi-million dollar makeover in 2016.

Source: Robertee from the San Jose Development Forum

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Edward Nowak's Downtown San Jose Photos

Edward Nowak is a talented photographer that lives in Downtown San Jose. I stumbled upon his work thanks to a post by Cardinal2007 in the San Jose Development Forum. I absolutely love his photos! He captured some perspectives of our city that I have not seen before. Below are a few of my favorites, but he has many over here.

Stormy San Jose Sunset - Oct. 31, 2014 

Evening Arrival at San Jose International Airport

Downtown San Jose from City Heights

Blue Sunset over San Jose - Mar. 14, 2015 

Downtown San Jose from the Taylor Street Bridge

San Jose Targets Manufacturing Growth With New Incentives

While manufacturing may not be as sexy as many of the tech jobs that dominate Silicon Valley right now, the sector is a critical source of middle-class jobs and tax revenue for our city. Last month Sam Liccardo unveiled a collection of incentives to boost manufacturing under a new program called "We Are Built in San Jose."

The incentives include waiving permit fees for renovating existing manufacturing building, guaranteeing permit approvals within 60 days for expanding and relocating manufacturing companies, cutting construction taxes by 75% (from a 4% tax to a 1% tax), and special PG&E rates.

There are tons of available manufacturing buildings throughout San Jose, particularly in North San Jose, that are just collecting dust. While several existing companies are expanding their manufacturing capabilities in San Jose, there are still millions of square feet of space to fill. The advent of 3D printing and advanced robotics will one day make it much more cost effective to build locally in the US than oversees. Now is the time to start preparing for that future and expanding our manufacturing capabilities.

Source: SVBJ

British Airways is Coming to San Jose!!!

In what can only be described as a monumental win for SJC and the city of San Jose, British Airways announced that in 2016 they will begin a nonstop flight between San Jose and London. This will be San Jose's 5th international route (Guadalajara, Cabo San Lucas, Tokyo, and Beijing are the others). It may very well be the most important route that SJC has ever landed as London is the #1 requested international destination in Silicon Valley.

“We are thrilled to see British Airways provide direct service out of Mineta SJC Airport to London,” San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Matthew Mahood said. "This is a great opportunity for both business and personal travelers to experience the benefits of flying directly out of Silicon Valley’s airport – Mineta SJC International."  

The flight will feature a state-of-the-art Boeing 787-900, which is 20 feet longer than the 787-800 pictured below. The plane will be the first in San Jose International's history to have four classes of service: 8 First Class "cabins," 42 Business Class seats, 39 Premium Economy, and 127 Economy seats. Those who have flown on British Airways can attest that even the cheapest seats are pretty nice compared to typical American planes, and this will be the very best plane in the British Airways fleet.

This new route will give San Joseans easy access to far more than just London. The flight will land in Terminal 5, allowing in-terminal connections to 130 destinations in Europe, Africa, and Asia. I can only imagine the amount of momentum this will give our airport going forward.

The first flight will land in San Jose on May 4th, 2016 at 6:05pm and depart to London at 8pm. It is expecting to be highly utilized by both business and leisure travelers. I know I'll be on one of those flights next year!

Source: SVBJ