DeLeon Insight- September 2025 Cover Page

The DeLeon Insight – September 2025



Tax Topics—Deductions for Pass-Through Entities

By Michael Repka, Esq. (LL.M.—Taxation, NYU School of Law ‘01) On December 22, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”) into law. This sweeping legislation dramatically lowered corporate tax rates, encouraged multi-national…

Lakewood Village may be the next Birdland

  It was an exciting day in April 2017 when Apple employees began moving into Apple Park, commonly known as the “Spaceship”. But it had already been an exciting past five years for homeowners in the Birdland neighborhood of Sunnyvale,…

Real Estate and the Millennial Home Buyer

  The American Dream has not changed for Millennials. It is very much the same dream our parents might have had: a career, a family, and a home. It’s just taken us more time to get there because we grew up in a world where unpaid internships…

The Peril of Pocket Listings

by Michael Repka, ESQ As the most active listing agent in Silicon Valley, I receive many phone calls from people interested in selling their property. The majority are interested in taking all steps necessary to achieve the highest possible sale…

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…

The Allure of Double-Ending

By Michael Repka, ESQ | CEO & General Counsel On a financial level, it is understandable why real estate agents want to represent both the buyer and seller on the same transaction: it means double commission. Naturally, agents want to justify…

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…

Appreciation Rate Comparisons Show Surprising Results

  A common and understandable perception regarding appreciation rates is that single-family residences appreciate at a higher rate than condos and townhomes. Based on the appreciation rates for the past 17 years (2000-2017), this has been the…