Silicon Valley Real Estate Blog – 1SiliconValley.com

The Imperial Avenue townhome complex is a 56-unit development in the Monta Vista district of Cupertino.  Originally built to be relatively inexpensive, with square footage to fit a growing family, these townhomes are still some of the least expensive homes in high-end Monta Vista.

[ Strengths | Weaknesses | Opportunities | Threats ]
[ Recent Transactions | Neighborhood Transactions | Schools | Map ]
[ What's Available on Imperial Ave. in Cupertino | Other Notes ]

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Aug.31.2007 [ Filed under: Cupertino ] Comment Here »

The Montebello Cupertino, located at the intersection of Stevens Creek Blvd. and De Anza Blvd., is home to over 200 homes ranging from one-bedroom condominium flats to 1700 square foot, 3 bedroom townhomes.

This is a popular complex in Cupertino and, during a traditionally busy summer, seven units (one currently pending) at the Montebello have been sold over the last three months.

Have a look at my complete notes on the Montebello Cupertino, or jump right to its:

[ Strengths | Weaknesses | Threats | Opportunities ]
[ Recent Transactions | Neighborhood Transactions | Schools | Location and Commute ]
[ Available Condominiums in the Montebello Cupertino ] 

Aug.21.2007 [ Filed under: Cupertino ] Comment Here »

20830 to 20955.  Whole Foods in Cupertino moves across the street tomorrow to its new, larger location.  Whole Foods corporate calls it "Northern California's flagship store" and the Merc is calling it "California's largest".

People who have been going to the old location at 20830 Stevens Creek Blvd. may have also been greeted by a friendly local student who was handing out flyers redirecting people to Whole Foods in Campbell and Los Altos. 

The new location at 20955 Stevens Creek Blvd. has their "bread breaking" ceremony on August 22 at 8:45am.  Daily hours are normally 8am to 10pm.

Aug.21.2007 [ Filed under: Cupertino, Silicon Valley News ] Comment Here »

It's not world famous for it's homes or real estate.  Folks outside Silicon Valley know it as the birthplace of the iPhone.  Apple, Symantec, and a very large portion of HP — to name a few — call it home.  To locals, Cupertino is synonymous with the school system.  The Cupertino Union School District has 24 elementary and middle schools, 19 of which are ranked by the California Department of Education as 10 out of 10 statewide. 

And that doesn't account for the elite Monta Vista High School, as well as Lynbrook High School or Homestead High School (as part of the Fremont Union High School District shared with Sunnyvale and other cities) which all rate 10 out of 10 statewide as well.

The real estate in the Cupertino part of Silicon Valley commands a premium over other cities in the area.  The darker lines on the chart show what the median price of condos and townhomes, and single-family homes in Cupertino.  The faded lines show what the median home prices are in Santa Clara County as a whole. 

The difference between the two types of lines is the premium you pay in housing prices to live in Cupertino.  How much is that premium and how has it changed over the last decade?

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Jul.26.2007 [ Filed under: Cupertino, Market Updates ] Comment Here »

The AMC movie theater at Cupertino Square opened today with a noon ribbon-cutting ceremony led by Cupertino Mayor Kris Wang. 

Automated movie ticket pods are available in the lobby next to the escalator and you can also purchase tickets at the traditional AMC ticket booth or online.  (This is just a convenience link, I have no association with MovieTickets.com.)

The redesign of the former Vallco Mall is progressing steadily with the new facade built out for the theater along Wolfe Road and updated branding throughout the mall.

Apr.27.2007 [ Filed under: Cupertino Square ] 2 Comments »

[You can find more recent information in the article Cupertino Housing Market Update - July 2007.] 

Flat and down.  Those are words you might not expect in the real estate market of a city with some of Silicon Valley's most renowned schools.  And it's a reputation Cupertino added to with three of its high schools, as part of the Fremont Union School District, earning the coveted California Distinguished School Award in 2007.  With good schools, come good real estate prices — so the saying goes.

It was definitely a red hot market in Cupertino for the past couple years.  In 2005, the average townhome/condominium stayed on the market for a "blink and you'll miss it" time of 9 days.  In 2006, the days-on-market (DOM) number "doubled" to 17.  This March, it was a relatively high 41.  (There are a lot of real estate agents around the country who would still envy that number.)

Looking at the chart, it's a fact that, relative to the Santa Clara County average, Cupertino townhome and condominium prices got ahead of themselves in 2006, right?  After all, that number was ahead of the average by 43%. 

Not exactly. 

What if I said that last year's market number isn't nearly as bad as it's been and the March 2007 number is a steal?

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Apr.23.2007 [ Filed under: Cupertino, Market Updates ] Comment Here »

The California Department of Education (CDE) just released the recipients of its California Distinguished Schools award, which honors the "exemplary and inspiring" schools across the state. 

Typically only 5% of schools are awarded with the California Distinguished School title, which schools are allowed to use for four years — and in 2007, there were 21 Silicon Valley schools (11 from San Mateo County and 10 from Santa Clara County) that received the honor. 

Elementary and secondary schools are evaluated in alternating years and, this year, it was time for the middle and high schools to go under the microscope.

As frequent readers here know, I'm a big advocate of not only looking at real estate in established educational powerhouses, but also finding up-and-coming schools.  After all, schools power real estate demand — even if you don't have kids — and people looking for the "next big thing" in terms of appreciation need to look beyond what's already been priced into the market.

There were some big winners this year in Silicon Valley and this article kicks off a week of market analysis homing in on key cities in these school districts.  Here's a whirlwind tour.

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Apr.22.2007 [ Filed under: Cupertino, San Mateo, Schools, Sunnyvale ] Comment Here »

I confirmed that, beginning Monday next week, Cupertino Square will be holding several charity events (not open to the public) leading up to the ribbon cutting at the AMC Cupertino Square 16 movie theater on Friday, April 27.

The Cupertino Chamber of Commerce is offering previews on Wednesday during its mixer from 5:30-7:00pm, with movies at 7:10.  Tickets are $5 and they're advertising free popcorn.

Apr.20.2007 [ Filed under: Cupertino Square, Silicon Valley News ] 1 Comment »

On cue, our feathered friend hopped up onto the wine barrel and struck a pose.  He was the photogenic one.  A friend of his was laying in the shade preening himself and another went roaming the grounds for bugs, but that wasn't him.

No, he'd been following some of the other visitors around the winery but he put on his full strut when he saw the gleam of my camera lens.  

Here he was: the side of Cupertino not many people get to see.  Hidden off the rugged Santa Cruz Mountains with Montebello Road carving its winding path, Cupertino is Silicon Valley wine country.  

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Apr.06.2007 [ Filed under: Activities, Cupertino ] Comment Here »

[The AMC Cupertino Square 16 movie theater is now open.]

Going up?  Cupertino Square pulled the wraps off the construction they’re doing on the AMC theater set to open in April. 

Stairway to heaven?  Normally an escalator wouldn’t be that interesting, but in this case it’s the visual centerpiece of the Vallco revitalization.

The entire area had previously been cloistered away behind thick plastic wraps to keep the construction hidden and the corridor free from dust. 

While the Strike bowling alley is still several months away, the automated ticketing kiosks and the ticket booths are already up and new tiles leading to the theater are being installed.

People who usually find themselves going to other theaters near Cupertino like the Century San Jose 25 at Westgate Mall, AMC Saratoga 14, or the Century San Jose triplets will find these newer facilities more convenient.

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Apr.05.2007 [ Filed under: Activities, Cupertino Square ] Comment Here »