DeLeon Insight- September 2025 Cover Page

The DeLeon Insight – September 2025



An Assessment of Zillow’s Automated Valuation Algorithm

By Ken DeLeon, Esq., DeLeon Founder Within real estate, there are few things more revered or more reviled than Zillow’s Zestimate, which instantly values homes across America. The Zestimate can be revered by those who love the ease of getting an instant…

Millennials, This is Your Time to Buy a Home

HUY VU - January 19, 2017 The DeLeon Insight January 2017 Issue Millennials were just graduating high school or college when the housing market collapsed and the economy entered the worst downturn since the Great Depression. Frustration over lack…

2017 Predictions for Silicon Valley’s Housing Market

The DeLeon Insight January 2017 Issue by Ken DeLeon, Esq., DeLeon Founder “Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future.” - Niels Bohr, Nobel laureate in physics While prognosticating always has risks, doing so now…

Year in Review

The DeLeon Insight January 2017 Issue by Michael Repka, ESQ. There is no doubt that 2016 was a turbu­lent year for real estate in many prime parts of the Peninsula. The softening of the overheated market that we have experienced over the past few…

Investing in a REIT

In the early 2000s, many investors jumped onto the rollercoaster of excitement known as the stock market. However, once the stock market proved too volatile and inconsistent with forecasts, investors became less confident and looked elsewhere to invest…

The Ripe Buyer’s Market of Los Altos Hills

Offering award-winning schools, large estates, and beautiful views, Los Altos Hills is widely considered one of the best places to live in Silicon Valley. This sought-after community is even approaching celebrity status: Beyoncé rented a home in Los…

The Hidden Costs – and Opportunities – of Commuting

Commuting. Everyone detests it; in fact, people hate commuting so much that it ranks in studies as the most unpleasant common activity. Nevertheless, people remain stuck on the traffic issue, figuratively and literally, with the average American’s commute…

Supply-Side Economics in Action: How the lack of housing supply will prevent price declines in Bay Area housing

After seeing recent volatility and declines in the stock market, some are questioning whether a seven-year cycle of appreciation in Silicon Valley housing is ending and whether we are headed into a period of depreciation. These arguments have focused…

How a Single-Story Overlay Zone May Affect Your Neighborhood

Joseph Eichler built 2,700 homes in Palo Alto, more than in any other city in America. These beloved architectural gems have found themselves in the spotlight of a controversy in Palo Alto and surrounding cities. The debate is about whether homeowners…

A New Option for Real Estate Commissions that Further Aligns Incentives

Real estate commissions have traditionally been based on a transaction-based model as opposed to a performance-based model. When the time comes to resell, regardless of whether the home doubles in value or declines by half, the real estate agent who helped…