by Mary Pope-Handy, Clair Handy | Oct 19, 2022 | Relocation, Homes for sale
Silicon Valley retirement can be challenging for those already living in the San Francisco Bay Area, but it’s even more challenging for those hoping to spend their Golden Years here if they are coming from a less expensive area. Today I want to give some info on:
- what does it cost to buy a home here (typical retirement size home)
- what are typical HOA dues
- what are typical property taxes
- what are some of the housing options that retirees or seniors have when relocating to Silicon Valley?
Silicon Valley retirement: what a modest home costs to buy here
The average sale price of a condominium in Santa Clara County is over $1 million (and it’s even more in San Mateo County), and that includes the range from most pricey to most affordable (and often most remote) locations. In most of the Unites States, a million dollars will get you a high end house on a comfortable lot. Houses are averaging around $2 million, so that is out of the question for the majority of retirees who move here from out of the area.
If a family member wants to come here to retire, most likely he or she will want to pay cash for a home so that there is no mortgage payment in retirement. If the budget is $1 million or less, that’s likely to mean purchasing a condo or perhaps a townhouse. In Santa Clara County, here’s where the money would go furthest:
A 2 bedroom, 2 bath unit…
Silicon Valley retirement costs will be vastly different between Palo Alto and Gilroy. San Jose will generally be more affordable than most of the rest of Santa Clara County except for the “South County” areas of Morgan Hill, San Martin, and Gilroy. San Jose is home to about a million people, and it has more and less expensive areas, of course.
The average sale price of a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condominium in San Jose in the last 30 days was $748,797. The average square footage was 1160 SF,
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by Mary Pope-Handy | Jul 16, 2018 | Cupertino, Homes for sale
Listed at $2,000,000 and sold with 4 offers for $2,300,000. Closed on August 14, 2018
Original post on this listing is below:
If you’ve been hunting for a move-in ready Cupertino home for sale with Monta Vista High School, this is your lucky week! Set in the beautiful Three Oaks neighborhood, close to Rainbow Drive and S Stelling Road, this sunny house was expanded in 2011 and more updates were done in 2018, including fully remodeling both bathrooms. The addition brought 600 SF of kitchen, family, and office space to the home – and they are exquisite!
The home at 1190 Crestline Drive, Cupertino CA 95014 features 3 bedrooms plus an office (which could be converted to a bedroom), 2 remodeled baths, a spacious living room, dining room, alcove off the dining room (originally the location of the “old” kitchen), a spacious kitchen – family room combination with a large, vaulted ceiling. There are recessed lights in the living, dining, kitchen, and family rooms. The kitchen-family room area offers 2 skylights with retractable shades. Both bathrooms and also the dining room provide sun tunnels. There’s loads of natural light!
Flexible floor plan and more options for another bed, bath, or?
The space which was the original kitchen is now an alcove, but it is possible to create another bedroom there – or use it as a study, music room, hobby room, or play area. It’s got a sewer line there, since it was previously a kitchen, so it may be possible to add a bathroom, too.
Quick facts:
- 3 bedrooms + office and alcove
- Office has closet adjacent – could possibly convert office to bedroom
- 2 newly remodeled baths in 2018
- 1715 SF (per county)
- Lot size 6007 SF (per county)
- Built in 1963, expanded in 2011
- No carpeting – mostly hardwood floors, some laminate, some Italian porcelain tile
- Flexible layout—sewer plumbed to possibly add 3rd bathroom and another in original kitchen area
- Schools: Regnart Elementary, Kennedy Middle & Monta Vista High
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MLS # ML81714661
OPEN HOUSE SCHEDULE:
Thurs., 7-19-2018 9:30am to 12:30pm (broker tour AND public open house)
Sat., 7-21-2018 2pm to 4pm
Sun., 7-22-2018 2pm to 4pm
You can learn more about this Cupertino home for sale and see all the photos on either of these two sites:
http://www.valleyofheartsdelight.com/property/1190-crestline-dr-cupertino-ca-95014/
http://sanjoserealestatelosgatoshomes.com/1190-crestline-dr-cupertino-ca-95014/
by Mary Pope-Handy | Aug 12, 2016 | Campbell, For Sale, Homes for sale, video
920 Hazelwood Ave Campbell – Home with in-law suite or guest quarters
Looking for a Silicon Valley home with in-law suite and a quarter acre lot? It can be challenging to find a house offering a separate wing of with guest quarters big enough for family, friends, or rental income and still have a nice sized back yard left over. Right now you can find a fantastic place in Campbell, one of the most popular cities within the region, that’s been remodeled and expanded, featuring a spacious guest suite and a large back yard. It is sure to please! Let me introduce you to 920 Hazelwood Avenue, Campbell, CA 95008.
From small bungalow to stunning, remodeled home with in-law suite
Originally built as a small ranch style home in 1945, the house was a modest but thoughtfully designed 3 bed, 1 bath home with a detached 1 car garage at its inception. Long before there was Silicon Valley, this was a quiet county pocket near Campbell with quarter acre lots (today it is incorporated and part of the city.) Previous home owners expanded the house, adding a family – dining area, an office, and a second bath off of the office. Hardwood floors are found throughout all of these areas except for in the bathrooms.
In around 2000 to 2001, current owners did a beautiful kitchen remodel, demolished the 1 car garage and built an over-sized 441 SF attached 2 car garage just off the kitchen, and added a 539 SF guest suite behind the garage. Today it is a 4 bedroom, 3 bath home with 2024 square feet – and it’s move-in ready!
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by Mary Pope-Handy | Jul 4, 2016 | Buying Tips, FAQs, For Sale, Homes for sale, Real Estate, Relocation, Silicon Valley geography
If you are searching for Silicon Valley real estate, or Silicon Valley homes for sale, you may discover that you get overwhelmed with choices and housing results.
The biggest problem is that the area is simply enormous. Most agree that Silicon Valley is an area covering Santa Clara County, San Mateo County, part of Santa Cruz County (Scotts Valley) and part of Alameda County (Fremont – and some also add Union City and Newark). It’s a lot of territory – 1,854 square miles. As of last year, this much territory was home to between just over 3 million people.
So if you are in house hunting mode, the very first thing you need to do is to understand your anchor point. The anchor point is the thing which you want to be near. For most people, that’s a work location (and in many cases, it may be 2 work locations). Sometimes it’s proximity to family members, a place of worship, a particular school or any number of things. Most of the time, the main anchor point is the place of employment and desired commute time, tempered by things like good schools, shopping, parks, things to do, and quality of life.
Narrowing the home search geographically
Moving here to work in Scotts Valley? Much of Santa Cruz County may work – but so could living in Los Gatos, Campbell or nearby, where you’d have a reverse commute.
Relocating for a job in Mountain View? Most likely, you’ll eliminate Santa Cruz County due to distance and commute challenges with Highway 17 going over the Santa Cruz Mountains.
If good public schools matter, that will help to refine your search, as not all parts of the southern San Francisco Bay Area have equally good education.
Below I’ll post sample listings from communities noted for better public schools in Santa Clara County up to 1.2 million, which seems to be a very hot price point that many relocating home buyers can afford. I do also serve San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties, but most of my clients are looking at Santa Clara Co., so limiting this search here. Unfortunately, Alameda County (Fremont, Union City, and Newark are there) has a totally different MLS so usually I don’t work there – but am happy to introduce you to a great Realtor who does (please just email me and I will connect you).
Current Santa Clara County homes for sale in areas with good schools
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