DeLeon Insight- September 2025 Cover Page

The DeLeon Insight – September 2025



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…

How the Real Estate Industry Works

As the real estate market heats up and commission checks continue to grow, people often wonder how the real estate industry works. This curiosity may stem from interest in a career move or surprise over the size of the commission checks in Silicon Valley—either…

Chinese Stock Market Woes and the RMB Devaluations Impact on Silicon Valley Real Estate

The recent turmoil in the Asian stock markets, most notably in China, and the devaluation of the Chinese currency have evoked many questions about the likelihood of continued investment in Bay Area real estate by Chinese buyers. Coincidentally, we were…

The Magic of the DeLeon Business Model—the Buyer’s Side

Silicon Valley thrives by disrupting and improving inefficient industries, and it has created many game-changing business models along the way. Yet in the epicenter of the world’s innovation, the practice of purchasing real estate had remained relatively…

Housing vs Stocks: Why Silicon Valley Housing has been a More Profitable Investment

Having traveled the world as a real estate nerd, I always study the real estate market and tax structure of any country I visit. I have found that no government subsidizes homeownership as much as the United States. Two of the great benefits enjoyed by…

In San Francisco’s Bidding Wars, Home Prices Go Ballistic

WSJ: In San Francisco’s Bidding Wars, Home Prices Go Ballistic -  August 27, 2015 In San Francisco’s Bidding Wars, Home Prices Go Ballistic In the San Francisco Bay Area’s hot real-estate market, the question for many sellers isn’t whether…