Cash is Still King

  Many times over the past year, I have learned that the winning offer for a home was an all-cash offer. Fortunately, some of those winning offers were made by buyers I had the good fortune to represent. After another one of my buyers’ all-cash…

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…

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…

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…

Neighborhood Spotlight: Crescent Park of Palo Alto

Crescent Park is one of Palo Alto’s most prestigious neighborhoods. It is bordered by Channing Avenue, Middlefield Road, Newell Road, and San Francisquito Creek. This enclave is one of the first glimpses of Palo Alto that visitors can see as they…