DeLeon Insight- September 2025 Cover Page

The DeLeon Insight – September 2025



Attracting Palo Alto Buyers to Menlo Park Listings

by Michael Repka | CEO & General Counsel At first blush, some homeowners in Menlo Park may assume that they should limit their search to Menlo Park-based listing agents when selling their home. Their reasoning is that a local Menlo Park agent knows…

Why Buyers Love Palo Alto So Much

By Ken DeLeon | Founder While I appreciate all of Silicon Valley, Palo Alto is the city I love the most and which I call home. From the moment I interviewed at Wilson Sonsini twenty years ago, I immediately fell in love with our amazing city. Over…

A Shot Across California’s Bow

By Michael Repka, ESQ | CEO & General Counsel (LL.M.—Taxation, NYU School of Law) Since the earliest hints at the substance of President Trump’s new tax proposal, there has been one element that has remained consistent—the elimination…

Predicting the Next Hot City

by Ken DeLeon | Founder While a rising tide will lift all boats, in real estate these boats (or neighborhoods) will not all rise at the same velocity. Though there are some mega-trends driving the housing market in Silicon Valley, there are…

The Tale of Two Cities on One Avenue

By Ken DeLeon | Founder I have truly loved my last few months living in Atherton.  The streets are so lush and the beautifully landscaped homes now make my drive to work seem more like taking a relaxing stroll through a magical park.  Atherton…

Why Buyers Love ATHERTON So Much

By Ken DeLeon | Founder While Atherton is internationally famous for its natural beauty and affluence, wise residents know that it is the idyllic charm of this community coupled with its great schools and high quality of life that makes it so attractive…

Exclusive Arrangement with Da Lusso Designs

By Michael Repka The July issue of the DeLeon Insight newsletter includes an article discussing the challenges that limitations on staging inventories can pose for real estate agents during the busy time of the year. This article will address some…

Real Property Taxation Seminar (3/8/2018)

2017: Year in Review

By Ken DeLeon, ESQ. and Michael Repka, ESQ. It started off with the area—and the nation as a whole—adjusting to the notion of a Trump presidency. During the latter half of 2016, the market was quite lethargic as voters remained cautious due…

CBS News: More Peninsula Homes Selling For $1M Over Asking

PALO ALTO (KPIX 5) – Bay Area residents are used to hearing about how red hot the housing market is, but home sales on the Peninsula are taking that trend to a wild new level. In areas closer to Silicon Valley, homes frequently sell for well over…