DeLeon Insight- September 2025 Cover Page

The DeLeon Insight – September 2025



Transfer Taxes

  There are many so-called “hidden” taxes paid by Californians. You may not even know that you pay some of them. For instance, did you know that you pay a tax of $.036 per gallon on gasoline? A tax of $3.30 per gallon on liquor? A transfer…

Apple’s New Campus and its Anticipated Effect on Home Prices

  The new Apple “Spaceship” campus in Cupertino, now officially known as Apple Park, is nearing completion and warrants some well-deserved recognition. The concept of this campus was first presented to the Cupertino City Council by Steve…

Hidden Dangers

By Michael Repka, ESQ. | CEO & General Counsel Whenever homeowners mention the possibility of selling their home without using a professional real estate agent, various agents are quick to counter with the argument that a lot of legal pitfalls…

Determine Your List Price

By Ken DeLeon | Founder A famous empirical study by Steven Levitt, one of the authors of the famed Freakonomics, discovered a fundamental difference between listing prices that real estate agents choose for the homes of their clients and their own…

Palo Alto Weekly: Within Walking Distance

Tesla’s New Solar Roof

  Tesla, Inc. started taking $1,000 deposits for its new solar roof tiles back in May and will begin installing roofs in California any day now. So, what do you need to know about their new technology, and what does it mean for us here on…

Silicon Beat: In the heart of Silicon Valley, summer home sales keep going up despite sharp drop in listings

SOURCE Real estate markets traditionally suffer from the summertime blahs. But the Silicon Valley market is not a normal market, particularly in Santa Clara County. Yesterday’s monthly report from the CoreLogic real estate information service…

Consider Cashing Out Now

  “If only we had a crystal ball” or some similar expression often makes its way into conversations with homeowners who are considering selling their properties. In the hot seller’s market that is Silicon Valley, homeowners have seen…

Reinventing a Traditional Home

By Leah Li | Interior Designer The process of reinventing a traditional home always excites me. Compared to new homes that are built to look like a Colonial or a Victorian, true Traditional homes with history, character, and a story to tell are…

Seminar: Home-Selling in Silicon Valley