Silicon Valley Real Estate Blog – 1SiliconValley.com

September is the time of the year when the California Department of Education releases its yearly Academic Performance Index (API) scores. Here are the 2009 Growth API Scores for Santa Clara County and San Mateo County. 

We see an overall steady increase in scores compared to last year’s growth API scores.

A few notables in the following Silicon Valley Santa Clara County school districts:

Berryessa Union Elementary School District: Ruskin Elementary School continues to lead the pack and breaks the 900 barrier with a general improvement in most of the schools in the district

Cupertino Union School District: Continues to have a plethora of high achieving schools (Murdock-Portal and William Faria Elementary School and Joaquin Miller Middle School)

Fremont Union High School District: Monta Vista High increase it’s lead over Lynbrook High School from four to nine points.

Los Gatos Union Elementary: Significant increase across the board for most elementary schools

Moreland Elementary School: Leroy Anderson Elementary takes one of the largest increases in scores by an increase of 136 points to 810

Palo Alto Unified: Herbert Hoover and Duveneck Elementary Schools continue to lead the way

Santa Clara Unified: Overall Santa Clara schools had good improvement with notable Rivermark’s Don Callejon as well as Westwood and Briarwood Elementary jumping nearly 40 points.

Sunnyvale School District: Cherry Chase increases 28 points to an impressive while Cumberland drops 26 points to 905

Check out our previous post to find out what’s the difference between Growth and Base API scores and how they are calculated.

Sep.29.2009 [ Filed under: Schools, Silicon Valley News ] Comment Here »

US News and World Report published its list of best high schools and according to the report, the looked at "more than 21,000 public high schools in 48 states" to come up with a list of the top 100.  Three Silicon Valley high schools made the list:

73.  Monta Vista High, Cupertino
74.  Henry M. Gunn High, Palo Alto
80.  Saratoga High, Saratoga

These awards were based on how well-prepared students are for college as measured by Advanced Placement (AP) tests. 

California, as a state, did very well in the rankings, placing #4 out of all rated states — this means that out of all the high schools rated by US News and World Report, California has a higher percentage of silver and gold medal recipients than all but three states, based on the same criteria above. 

Of California’s 1,999 high schools rated, 126 (6.3%) received silver or gold.  The number one state, Massachusetts had 338 high schools rated and 29 (8.6%) silver and gold medalists.

US News’ rating by AP score is different from California’s standardized testing and Academic Performance Index (API), which focuses on California’s own standardized tests.  It’s no surprise that Bay Area high schools Monta Vista, Gunn and Saratoga each have API scores that are some of the best in California, exceeding 900 (out of 1000).

Dec.06.2008 [ Filed under: Schools, Silicon Valley News ] Comment Here »

Recently, reporter Kate Thompson of KRON 4 contacted me to get our on-the-ground experience with how home values and school qualities in Silicon Valley relate to one another.  We’ve put together a number of articles on real-life stories as well as an entire section for schools, dedicated to statistics and tips for understanding what those school rankings really mean.

We sent agent and Silicon Valley Real Estate Blog writer Alex Wang to talk about the details of a recent transaction he was a part of and he recounts how the demand for good schools pushed that sale to go faster and for a higher sales price.  And you can see what he had to say starting at 01:30 of the KRON 4 report below:

You can also see the report through its direct link.

Aug.22.2008 [ Filed under: Silicon Valley News ] 1 Comment »

The July issue of The Registry, the popular Bay Area real estate magazine, features the Silicon Valley Real Estate Blog, 1SiliconValley.com saying:

"…the site offers many well-written articles on a variety of relevant subjects, from school API scores to new developments built or approved in a particular neighborhood."

"…a great source of information for South Bay first-time buyers."

Our own Alex Wang is featured in their Residential Market Report on page 40, "Boom and Bust Still Exist Side by Side".  In an interesting anecdote about the lending crisis, he offers a story of a self-employed client with a $200,000 annual income who had to endure a complete third-party audit before his loan could close.

Jul.19.2008 [ Filed under: Silicon Valley News ] Comment Here »

Rep. Honda’s office contacted us about the workshop the Congressman is hosting on protecting your home from foreclosure.  This is a mainstream topic even for folks in Silicon Valley where we have a high average income and many people who are generally financially savvy. 

Here are some details of the event they’d like to publicize:

5:00 p.m. “? 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Berryessa Branch Library
Community Room
3355 Noble Avenue
San José, CA 95132

Attendance is free and open to the public.

Please RSVP by email at Honda.RSVP (at) mail.house.gov

For more information please contact Christine Pham or Chris Schwarz in the Campbell office at 408-558-8085.

Jun.30.2008 [ Filed under: Silicon Valley News ] Comment Here »

A contingency in a real estate purchase contract is a way in which a buyer (or seller) could get out of the contract within a set period of time for a particular reason. For example, if there is a buyer contingency that the home must appraise to purchase price, but the appraisal comes in low, the buyer can get out of the agreement because of this – as long as the buyer has not already signed for the removal of that contingency. A seller might have a contingency that the sale of the home is contingent upon the seller finding a replacement property.

Most home buyers and sellers in Silicon Valley understand that ordinarily, home purchases are contingent upon or "subject to" their approval of the property’s condition and upon getting the desired loan. Under the broad umbrella of property condition and financing, though, there are other relevant or supporting issues, and consumers may not be aware of them.

For instance, with a loan or finance contingency, there are several key steps to go through in order to be assured that the lending institution will extend the loan as planned.

A pre-approval means that the buyer has turned in bank statements, pay stubs, copies of recent income tax forms, debt information, and so on – and all of it has been submitted to a lender (not just the person taking the loan application, who has conditionally approved it). With that approval, the lender then should require only a ratified purchase agreement, a preliminary title report, and a satisfactory appraisal.  Actually, though, there’s a little more to it than that. What other issues could there be?

• if loan rates change substantially and the buyer has not "locked" the loan, it may not be guaranteed
• if there’s a delay in the close of escrow (rain forcing a delay in fumigating the property, for instance) and the buyer’s loan lock rate expires, the lender may not grant the loan
• many lenders require an "outside appraisal review" and if it doesn’t get through that step unscathed, the buyer may not get the loan
• natural disasters such as fire or earthquake can cause lenders to pull the loan until the property is reinspected and/or reappraised

So buyers and sellers will want a little more information than simply "the buyer is preapproved". Here’s what they need to know.

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Jun.27.2008 [ Filed under: Silicon Valley News ] 2 Comments »

California’s 2007 Base API scores have been released and, looking at the complete list of Santa Clara 2007 Base API scores, congratulations need to go to Los Altos, Saratoga, Cupertino, and Palo Alto elementary school districts for maintaining district API averages above 900.  While this is par for the course in these districts, to put this achievement in perspective, the overall state API for all grades is 728.

There are two other metrics in the report, statewide rank and similar schools rank, both ratings from 1 to 10.  Each number represents a decile, with 10 being the top 10% of all schools in that category.

This metric compares schools that have similar characteristics, based on ethnicity, socioeconomic status, teacher credentials, and (about a dozen) other factors.  So which number matters more: the state or similar schools rank?

By far, the state number.  Let’s look at some of the Cupertino Union figures for examples. 

The third column is the state ranking and the fourth is for similar schools: Blue Hills is 10/8, Collins is 10/7, and DeVargas is 8/2.  Eisenhower and Muir (not shown) are both 10/2 with API scores of 906 and 894 respectively.

The difference in API between 10/8 and 10/7 is only 10 points, but the difference between a 10/2 and 8/2 is about 60 points.  The reason is because schools that are alike tend to have similar performance.  When you group those schools together and rank them, some turn out to be the best of the group and others the lowest-rated of the group.  

So if a 10/10 school is the best of the best, should parents be worried about a 10/2 school like Eisenhower or Muir elementary?  There is room for improvement, but a 10 means the school is in the top 10% of all schools in California.  At that level, I’d be more focused on what programs, classes and activities a school has to offer than beating other quality schools in standardized tests.

May.23.2008 [ Filed under: Schools, Silicon Valley News ] 2 Comments »

There is a new luxury development that has been getting a lot of attention lately because of its location and close proximity to downtown Mountain View.  Not only is it close to the downtown area, but it is also within walking distance to the Mt. View Caltrain station, has freeway access close-by, and is surrounded by single family homes, parks, the Center for the Performing Arts and City Hall offices.  The Wild Orchid development is located on the corner of Dana Street and Calderon Avenue.

The exclusiveness to this area is because of the very convenient location to downtown.  It is only a ½ mile walk to the heart of where all the action is; downtown restaurants, unique shops, night clubs, coffee shops, and independent book stores are just a few of the niceties.  And if you get in now to one of these homes you won’t have to fight the parking situation of the ever-so-popular Mountain View Art and Wines Festival, coming September 7-8, 2008.

The builder of Wild Orchid development is Castle Companies, which is a family owned and operated builder in Northern California .  They have been around since 1966 and are recently building communities as far north as Yolo County , Napa Valley , down the East Bay and now into the Peninsula , which brings us to the Wild Orchid community.  The naming of these communities is as unique as each setting where these new developments are being built. 

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May.16.2008 [ Filed under: Mountain View, Silicon Valley News ] Comment Here »

Whether you’re preparing to sell a home or are in contract to purchase a home in Silicon Valley, you likely will be faced with the prospect of hiring professionals to inspect your home. This can run hundreds of dollars, a thousand dollars or more. The potential liability, though, could be much higher than the cost of paying the professionals to inspect your home, so you’ll want to hire very carefully.

What do you need to know when hiring inspectors in Silicon Valley?

There are specialized inspectors for particular elements of residential real estate, such as termite or pest inspectors, chimney inspectors, and others. Most of these are licensed by the state of California, and they are allowed to do repairs on the work they find needing.

But not home (or property) inspectors. There’s no license for doing home inspections in California. Is that good or bad? Part of that package is that they cannot do any repairs on defects they may detect. You can see why it’s good to separate finding problems from being paid to fix them. That’s the plus.  There is another side, though.

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Apr.22.2008 [ Filed under: Silicon Valley News ] Comment Here »

I’m proud and honored to announce that several bloggers are joining the Silicon Valley Real Estate Blog here at 1SiliconValley.com.  You might have noticed that my friend Alex Wang, broker and owner of Rainmaker Properties has been contributing over the past several weeks.  His on-the-ground experience, integrity and dedication to his craft have led him through a successful Silicon Valley real estate career which started in 1999.  His clients speak highly of his service and knowledge.

Sara Greenwood, who works with Alex at Rainmaker Properties, is our new homes specialist.  As a lifelong resident of the Bay Area, she brings perspective to how our beloved area has evolved over the years.  Her intelligence, charm and capability are obvious to anyone who’s had the distinct pleasure of getting to know her.  

Finally, I’d like to welcome my friend Mary Pope-Handy, winner of the prestigious Project Blogger contest, veteran real estate agent (since 1993 — second generation, no less) for Keller Williams, and the co-author of the book "Get the Best Deal When Selling Your Home in Silicon Valley".  She’s not only lifelong resident and an oracle of real estate knowledge, she’s also a fervent and passionate consumer advocate.

Please join me in welcoming this family of real estate experts to my blog.  We welcome your participation, news (non-spam, non-commercial), and inquiries into how we can help you achieve your goals and hope that you will strongly refer and continue to link to this blog as we continue to provide consumer-focused real estate expertise.  Thank you much, and welcome again!

Apr.02.2008 [ Filed under: Silicon Valley News ] Comment Here »