California Layoff Notices
This is a database of layoff notices filed with the state Employment Development Department under the California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. The WARN Act requires certain employers to give affected employees at least 60 days advance written notice of any plant closing or mass layoff. (Note: The state updates the WARN list once a month. The data below is based on information provided on Nov. 10, 2008.)

To wrap up Thanksgiving weekend, be thankful that your company is not listed on this site.

Or is it?

S.D. home prices fall but sales are brisk
While nearly 39 percent of San Diego homes sold were affordable in the third quarter, the New York City area was deemed the least affordable with only 10.6 percent of homes sold at a median $500,000 and within reach of the median-income household earning $63,000.

Four of the least-affordable markets were in California: San Luis Obispo, 13.4 percent; San Francisco, 16.6 percent; Los Angeles, 20.7 percent; and Napa, 23.2 percent.

To be clear, these are definitely tough times. With house prices not going up as fast anymore, there’s definitely some gloom. It saddens me that we still can’t beat New York City in unaffordability, but we sure beat them in median income  (wtf, $63k? cafeteria chefs make more than that here!)! And, it should hearten some that we are at least in the Top 10 for being unaffordable.

Mixed signs for sure.

1855 Felta Rd Healdsburg, CA 95448
Price: $849,000

Beds:     1
Baths:     1
Sq. Ft.:     768
$/Sq. Ft.:     $1,105
Lot Size:     2 Acres
Property Type:    Residential, Detached, Single Family
Style:    Cabin, Craftsman
Year Built:    1945
Stories:    1
View:    Water
Area:    Healdsburg
County:     Sonoma
MLS#:     20831778
Source:     BAREIS
Status:     Active
On Redfin:     13 days
Enchanting 1945 craftsman cabin on magical 2 ac property on both sides of Mill Creek with cable foot bridge leading across creek to 3M yr old volcanic rock outcroppings and caves. the cabin is one bedroom with a great room (stone fireplace, kitchen) large deck just above high water is perfect place to experience the muscularity of the creek’s storm flow and the serenity and sensuality of spring/summer flow. Only 8 min to the Healdsburg Plaza.

Thanks to Burbed reader Mark for this find. Here’s what he had to say:

$1105 / sqft with a cesspool!!!

Love the description … ‘perfect place to experience the muscularity of the creek’s storm flow’ i.e. keep oars under your bed – you may need them.

Holy cow! I had to look on a map to remind myself where Healdsburgh was – oh right, it’s near Snoopy. And frankly, when I first saw this house, I thought it was a set piece from Lord of the Rings. But in any case, welcome to the Real Bay Area Healdsburgh. Congrats!

Black Friday is typically the start of an economic boom – will this house set it off?

Usually I publish the annual Thanksgiving price comparison – which shows that groceries in the Bay Area are dramatically more expensive than they are in our competitors of Seattle and Washington DC (also known as the “The other places where there are Safeways”). You can see last year’s edition here.

Unfortunately, this year I waited too long, and as a result, Safeway started having crazy sales which made direct comparisons impossible. Whoops. My bad on that.

So, instead, this year I will list what I am thankful for, and I hope you share as well:

1. That I have this site.
2. That the Bay Area is still incredibly special.
3. That the comments on this site are still pretty darn good (compared to… say… youtube comments!)
4. That people keep reading this site.
5. All the fine people who have donated to the site. Most recently – a $50 contribution from madhaus! Thanks a lot! (You too can contribute!)

Of course, there’s plenty more I’m thankful for, but I’ll leave it short and sweet for today.

What are you thankful for?

300 El Cortez Ave, South San Francisco, CA 94080 Francisco Terrace MLS# 80845235 – Property Details

300 El Cortez Ave, South San Francisco, CA
$399,000

* Status: Active
* Bedroom: 2
* Bathroom: 1
* Year Built: 1950
* Lot Size: 3780
* Square Footage: 970
* List Date: 11/13/2008
* Garage Spaces: 1
* MLS#: 80845235
2BD/ 1BA Bungalow with a convenient SSF location. Possibilities for this house are endless! This home’s large corner lot provides a perfect opportunity for a contractor/buyer looking for a home to put their own touch on. The LR leads directly into the DR. It?s perfect for entertaining! Both BD?s are well proportioned and have an abundance of light. The Eat-In kitchen has the opportunity to shine!

Here’s what Burbed reader Jeff had to say:

Not pictured: El Camino Real, See’s Candies factory

Literally. This dump is right next door to the See’s Candies factory..
and it’s on a frontage road right in front of El Camino. I was wondering how long it would take for this house to pop up on the MLS, and now I know.

Wow… easy access to chocolate. Sign me up! I think what Jeff is missing on though, is that the living room leads directly into the dining room.

Let me repeat that.

THE LIVING ROOM LEADS DIRECTLY INTO THE DINING ROOM. Hot damn! I’m tired of houses where the living room leads the bedroom, the bathroom, the sunroom, the datacenter, the garage and then dining room. This is an amazing improvement – a feature that you will never see anywhere else.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving – this house is perfect for entertaining guests. You wouldn’t want them to stumble through the bedroom, the bathroom, the wine cellar, when walking from the living room to the dining room after all – would you?

1222 NORTH Rd Belmont, CA 94002
Price: $594,900

Beds:     2
Baths:     1
Sq. Ft.:     980
$/Sq. Ft.:     $607
Lot Size:     5,400 Sq. Ft.
Property Type:    Detached Single Family
Style:    Ranch
Year Built:    1961
Stories:    1
View:    Bay, Neighborhood, City Lights
Neighborhood:    Belmont Country Club
County:     San Mateo
MLS#:     80836670
Source:     MLSListings
Status:     Active
On Redfin:     48 days
REO Property with absolutely fantastic views! This is a perfect home for 1st time home buyers with 2 bedrooms 2 bath and 1 master bedroom suite. Hardwood floors, needs minor updating inside, but certainly liveable. Must come to see the potential and opportunity. Easy to show. Please use CAR Purchase agreement.

Thanks to Burbed reader Pralay for this find.

Have you ever seen one of those horror movies, where someone touches a substance, and suddenly it engulfs the person – covering them in the substance? (I didn’t see Spiderman 3 – is that what happened to him?)

That’s what this house reminds me of. “Oh yeah, I just wanted a little granite here and there, when suddenly it GRANITED ME!”

Or maybe this person was looking to thwart the terrorists with this confusing pattern. I have a headache just looking at it!

To those who are more Realtory-ish – what’s the significance of that last sentence?

424 BUENA VISTA Ave San Mateo, CA 94403
Price: $1,900,000

Beds:     4
Baths:     2.5
Sq. Ft.:     2,853
$/Sq. Ft.:     $666
Lot Size:     6,500 Sq. Ft.
Property Type:    Detached Single Family
Style:    Contemporary
Year Built:    2008
Stories:    2
View:    Neighborhood
Neighborhood:    Beresford Manor
County:     San Mateo
MLS#:     80845081
Source:     MLSListings
Status:     Active

Go Green in the Newly Constructed home! No expense was spared in this opulent home with its celebrity designed landscape, custom painted walls, granite above the fireplace, slate and hardwood floors, imported Italian carpet in the sunken living room, chef’s kitchen with cherry cabinets, Thermador and Miele appliances. Great home for entertainment including pub and black bottom “beachfront” pool.

Thanks to Burbed reader SW for this find. Wowsers! $1.9 million! $666 per square foot. Very Real Bay Area.

Let’s take a look at this millionaire’s neighborhood!

Very impressive. Look, it’s almost at Alameda de Las Pulgas!

Just think of the pride of ownership when you buy this $2 million dollar baby. When you drive to your compound, your castle, your 6500 square foot lot palace at night in your Hyundai Genesis, you can say to yourself: I’ve finally made it.

You deserve this house. Go scoop it up today.

NorCal median home price plummets 41 percent
A real estate tracking firm says the median home price plunged 41 percent last month in a nine-county region around San Francisco Bay, as homebuyers snapped up homes that had been foreclosed and otherwise discounted.

Figures released Thursday by MDA DataQuick show the median sale price in the region declined to $375,000 October, compared to $631,000 in the year-ago period.

October’s median was down 6.3 percent from September and nearly 44 percent below the peak median of $665,000 in the summer of 2007.

Last month’s home sales climbed nearly 39 percent from a year ago to 7,613 and nearly 5 percent from September.

Foreclosure resales accounted for nearly 45 percent of preowned homes sold last month.

Bay Area H8ters will probably celebrating this news and throwing it in our face. But let’s be clear, this refers to the 9-county region in Northern California. I can’t even name all 9 – can you?

Come on folks, please write letters to the editor explaining to them the concept fo the Real Bay Area. It’s all about (most of) Santa Clara, (some of) San Mateo, and San Francisco county.

Mountain View Voice Mountain View Voice: Letters to the Editor November 14, 2008
Editor:

I know a lot of Mountain View people are pleased with Barack Obama’s election, and it has brought them hope. My Mexican neighbor and friend pays about $1,800 a month rent on his townhouse, and he thinks hopes Obama will bring his rent down.

I was a successful “affordable rent” landlord for 35 years in three cities including Mountain View and two counties. Trust me — there is no hope coming in Mountain View.

Obama, like any other reasonable government leader, wants to keep Google employing 10,000-plus people here. Jobs, right now, are far more important than keeping the unemployed, retired or subsidized citizens in high-quality medium density housing.

The City Council has been wise in tearing out the older, cheaper, less desirable housing units that prevent the younger, more educated people with far more financial potential from displacing the “dead wood” people like me who have lived here and stood in the way of “progress” for years.

Mountain View needs higher rents, more tax revenue, higher utility rates, less services and much higher resident turnover.

Just ask our city manager, our mayors past and future, our city staff members or any of the City Council candidates. I think they would all agree with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and President-elect Obama: former residents should get out and make room for the future. Go Google.

Donald Letcher

N. Rengstorff Avenue

Maybe I just use too much sarcasm on this site, but honestly I’ve read this twice now, and I can’t figure out if this person is being sarcastic or not. What do you think?

1817 HOPKINS Ave Redwood City, CA 94062
Price: $819,000

Beds:     3
Baths:     2
Sq. Ft.:     1,440
$/Sq. Ft.:     $569
Lot Size:     8,255 Sq. Ft.
Property Type:    Detached Single Family
Year Built:    1925
Stories:    1
Neighborhood:    High School Acres
County:     San Mateo
MLS#:     80821896
Source:     MLSListings
Status:     Pending Without Release
On Redfin:     130 days
Unsold in 90+ days
GREAT PRICE FOR A GREAT AREA!!! THIS BEAUTIFUL SPANISH STYLE SINGLE FAMILY HOME IS LOCATED IN THE LOVELY REDWOOD HIGHLAND NEIGHBORHOOD. THIS CHARMING HOME OFFERS THREE BEDROOMS, TWO BATHS, AN UPDATED KITCHEN WITH MAPLE CABINETS, AND A SEPARATE BREAKFAST ROOM!!!!!! DON’T MISS OUT ON THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY!

Burbed reader Trena writes:

What’s the story with this house?
Pending for more than 8 months?
Now offered at 400K less than the intial sale price?
Possibly in foreclosure?

Who, that’s a lot of questions – and not a whole lot of answers.

Anyone know what the skinny on this house is? It’s certainly respectable at $569 per square foot!