West San Jose
What is "West San Jose", and why should you care? Indulge yourself in fantasy for a moment. Imagine if South Palo Alto sold for about 40% less, or if Old Palo Alto was discounted to half price. What if Palo Alto's Community Center bungalows could be had for the price of an East Palo Alto rancher, or if South Palo Alto prices got you not Eisenhower-era starter housing but an upscale 2000 sq.ft. home built during the administration of a President you remember?
Trust me, it's all true and just a short drive away, at least during off-commute hours. And yes, there's a big catch, or real estate wouldn't be the efficient market it is. Much of West San Jose does give you the look and feel of South Palo Alto, and sometimes it's an improvement, especially if you don't like Eichlers. Most West San Jose neighborhoods offer well-regarded schools at steep discounts. Some of West San Jose does have the Norman Rockwell gentility of a pre-World War II Palo Alto neighborhood, yet sells for less than a South Palo Alto contemporary. And one neighborhood of West San Jose offers something unavailable in Palo Alto at any price: block after block of twenty-to-thirty year old homes, spacious and relatively upscale, set in appealing neighborhoods surrounded by beautiful foothills.
But that catch I mentioned: there's no free lunch in real estate. An area sells for less because it offers less, even though the decontenting may not be obvious. Go to South Palo Alto: an overview for the intangibles that make an apparently unremarkable neighborhood one of the most sought-after on the Peninsula. If that doesn't faze you, or if your focus is on the South Bay anyway, then by all means check out West San Jose. I think you'll be amazed at the bang you get for your buck.
Now that I've made a case for West San Jose, here's the what, where and why. It's west and southwest of old San Jose, what's now called Central San Jose and might be called Greater Downtown San Jose. West San Jose borders Santa Clara, Cupertino, Campbell, Saratoga and Los Gatos. With the exception of Willow Glen, which joined San Jose in 1936 after a brief stint as a city, West San Jose is a legacy of San Jose's post-war policy of aggressive annexation that sometimes swallowed areas with close ties to other cities. That's why you'll find Cupertino or Campbell schools in some parts of West San Jose, and why it's ambience is so often similar to neighboring cities. So if you've seen Campbell or mid-range Cupertino or even, for that matter, Mountain View west of El Camino, you've seen much of West San Jose. But if West San Jose is often generic Santa Clara County tract housing, it's a pleasantly mainstream generic with enduring appeal.
Old Willow Glen is the exception, its pre-World War II neighborhoods as charming and distinctive as any you'll find in Palo Alto. And many of Willow Glen's post-war tracts are extremely attractive. Almaden Valley is the other exception, newer than most of the West Bay, and that relative newness holds throughout most of its neighborhoods; it's not limited, as it is further north, to the occasional infill development.
Finally, one of the most compelling reasons to think about West San Jose is that most of the areas described below are as large as a small city. This is a huge market with a multitude of choices.
pros
and cons
pros
· Tremendous supply of single-family homes, many selling at Palo Alto condo prices.
· Most neighborhoods are reasonably attractive if modest; there are very few genuine bummers. If you're okay with Mountain View, you're okay with West San Jose.
· A surprising number of West San Jose neighborhoods have an ambience and quality at least a notch or three above South Palo Alto and Mountain View. That's particularly true of Willow Glen and of the areas with Cupertino schools.
· And then there's Almaden Valley's relatively new and upscale neighborhoods, available at a price and on a scale unavailable to mid-Peninsula buyers.
· Most post-war tracts were built when new-home buyers expected at least two baths. The one-bath homes often found in older communities are relatively rare here.
· Most areas are convenient to a revitalized big-city downtown that retains its period charm.
· Willow Glen offers another downtown, pre-war and suburban, with a relaxed, upscale feel.
· Most neighborhoods are convenient to 280 and/or 85.
· Many areas offer school districts with good-to-great test scores at a substantial discount to mid-Peninsula prices.
cons
· Most San Jose Unified schools have very low test scores.
· Much of post-war San Jose has a somewhat generic ambience, with lots of expressways and strip malls. This condition isn't unique to West San Jose but the huge scale may exaggerate the visual impact.
· Most neighborhoods built in the '50s and '60s are entry-level, with small homes on small lots.
· Not an area known for its distinctive architecture, with the exception of old Willow Glen and the occasional early-1900s farmhouse.
· Very few Eichlers or other contemporaries except for Willow Glen and one tract with Cupertino schools, although this shortage won't break everyone's heart.
· Other people have had the same "drive-a-little-save-a-lot" idea. During commute hours, 280 and 85 have heavy traffic in what would be your direction.
Interested in buying a home in West San Jose? Please contact me at jfyten@cbnorcal.com.
neighborhoods
San Jose with Cupertino schools: The Cupertino Union Elementary School District is the gold standard for the western side of the South Bay, and a good part of San Jose lies within this district. These neighborhoods stand out above the usual West San Jose fare, solid midrange ranchers often as good as or better than the adjacent neighborhoods of Cupertino itself. Quality improves as you move east from De Anza, the houses getting slightly newer and larger, but prices remain fairly consistent throughout the area. Not cheap by South Bay standards but prices tend to cluster around the low end of South Palo Alto and you get more house and neighborhood. East of Lawrence prices fall, although neighborhood quality remains good, and then drop dramatically for a small tract sandwiched between Lawrence, Stevens Creek and 280. Boundaries are roughly the cities of Cupertino and Saratoga, and Lawrence Expressway-Moorpark. Contact the district (link below) for exact boundaries.
San Jose with Moreland schools: This small over-achieving district offers maximum school for the buck—K-8 with test scores this solid just don’t get any cheaper, at least this close to Palo Alto. Moreland homes are small but serviceable, neighborhoods generally good and sometimes great. Because only orchards were here until the middle 1950s, this part of San Jose bypassed the minimalist homes of the early post-war era and went directly to the second, more affluent phase, so they invariably have a second bath to go with their three or four bedrooms. Neighborhood quality is a variable, ranging from quite pleasant to pleasant to decent. As a rule, the “quite pleasant” neighborhoods lie west of Saratoga Avenue, “pleasant” to the east of Saratoga and north of Hamilton, and “decent” south of Hamilton interspersed with pockets of “pleasant”. Mature street trees greatly enhance many of these neighborhoods. Moreland's jewel is the Happy Valley tract south of Doyle, with its beautiful tree-lined streets and highly-regarded neighborhood elementary school, Country Lane. It's a sought-after neighborhood and prices are high by area standards, yet it sells at a good 15% discount to South Palo Alto. Also definitely worth a look is nearby Strawberry Park, north of Williams and west of Saratoga. Even the best Moreland neighborhoods have that affordable tract look and there isn’t much architectural distinction here aside from the occasional turn-of-the-century farmhouse, but the ambience can usually hold its own with entry-level Palo Alto or Menlo Park and sometimes exceeds it. Some elementary schools are better than others, so verify which one you're getting before you buy. The approximate boundaries of the Moreland Elementary School District are 280, 85, San Tomas and Lawrence. Go to the district site (link below) for a map with exact boundaries.
San Jose with Campbell schools: While the city of Campbell is small, the Campbell elementary and high school districts are big and San Jose annexed huge chunks of them in the 1950s, enough to surround Campbell on three sides. Campbell schools have generally solid scores, although not on a par with the nearby Cupertino district. But neither are home prices, and the neighborhoods are usually at least pleasant and often more than that. Most are the typical late-'50s/early-'60s tracts that blend seamlessly, one into another, throughout the affordable parts of the South Bay. But that's better than it may sound, since these homes invariably have the third or fourth bedroom and second bath that buyers have been demanding since about 1953. And a few areas stand out. At the northern end of the districts, between Winchester and Bascom, tract homes on big lots sell for a good 25% less than a South Palo Alto rancher on an ordinary lot. The eastern end is a bit more expensive but gets you the comfortable midrange neighborhoods of West Willow Glen. More expensive yet is a section of the beautiful upscale Dry Creek area, but it's still well within entry-level South Palo Alto territory. At the other end of the price range is Sherman Oaks, with some of the least-expensive ranchers between San Jose and San Mateo, including a handful of early Eichlers.
Willow Glen: One of San Jose’s best neighborhoods, Willow Glen is known for its classic pre-war homes, but they’re only half the story. There wasn’t much to Willow Glen prior to World War II—just a few blocks on either side of Lincoln Avenue—and that’s where you’ll find its beautiful Old-Palo-Alto-on-a-budget neighborhoods. But some of Willow Glen’s best areas are its post-war tracts well to the west of Lincoln. The blocks on both sides of Dry Creek Road are the sort of appealing upscale rancher neighborhoods that are too new to be found in Palo Alto and Menlo Park, and would be priced in the stratosphere if they existed. Another, slightly older post-war neighborhood just west of downtown Willow Glen has relatively modest but handsome homes on tree-lined streets of exceptional charm. There’s also a sizeable and well-maintained Eichler development, quite unusual for west San Jose; contemporaries never caught on here, which will disappoint some buyers and relieve many. There’s a fairly substantial downtown, with a casual, faintly Carmel-esque and relatively upscale feel unusual for the area; there isn’t anything this interesting north of 280 until Mountain View’s fine downtown. A bonus is that two of the San Jose Unified elementary schools in east Willow Glen have good-to-great test scores, and a part of west Willow Glen lies within the well-regarded Cambrian Elementary district. A few neighborhoods are forgettable and not every house is a keeper, but the overall ambience is quite compelling. Old Willow Glen offers north Palo Alto ambience at south Palo Alto prices or less, while appealing post-war neighborhoods sell at a 25% discount to entry-level Palo Alto.
Cambrian: A large area with a number of micro-neighborhoods, Cambrian is nuanced enough to defy simple categorization. Like San Jose with Moreland schools, Cambrian is usually an entry-level market of modest neighborhoods and surprisingly high-scoring schools. The resemblance continues with variable neighborhood quality. Baseline Cambrian is the typical, presentable rancher tract found throughout the South Bay, a baseline exceeded by a number of genuinely appealing neighborhoods. So far this could be Sunnyvale or Santa Clara but then there's Cambrian Park, a large area that does its imitation of Los Altos with quarter-acre lots and new construction on winding, sidewalk-free streets. The most affordable Cambrian neighborhoods sell for about 10-15% less than Moreland homes (and about 40% less than the cheapest South Palo Alto homes), but prices vary among the many Cambrian neighborhoods and a number sell in the Moreland range. Both Moreland and Cambrian were first developed primarily in the late '50s and early '60s and the housing stock is similar, although the typical Cambrian home tends to be a bit smaller and more likely to have just one bath. On the other hand, Cambrian also has far more "newer" ('70s or later) homes. If you work on the mid-Peninsula, your enthusiasm for Cambrian may be tempered by its location east of 17, which makes a long commute even longer. 85 is accessible from most of Cambrian but traffic is heavy northbound in the morning and southbound in the evening. But if most of your activities are in the South Bay and you're having a hard time finding well-regarded schools in your price range, Cambrian is worth a look. The cheapest neighborhoods are ordinary but no more so than neighborhoods to the north costing half again as much, and a few—Hallmark and tree-lined Willowmont, for example, both just south of Hillsdale, and the Garcia-built tracts south of 85—are genuinely inviting and extremely affordable by mid-Peninsula standards. North of Hillsdale is one of Cambrian's few undeniably cheesy neighborhoods, Hacienda Gardens, but as compensation the prices are rock bottom, barely above those of East Palo Alto.
Almaden Valley: If your housing standards are high but your budget relatively modest, this is your place. It's not faint praise to describe Almaden Valley as the ultimate expression of post-war West San Jose. Expressways are pleasant, strip malls attractive, tracts prosperous and well-maintained, and the schools test well. In fact, Almaden Valley strikes me as what South Los Altos would look and feel like if it had been developed in the '70s instead of the '50s. The aura of relaxed affluence is similar, enhanced by a multitude of luxury sedans and SUVs. There's a section much like Los Altos Highlands with gently rolling hills, and there's even a private country club surrounded by luxurious homes. Entry-level is a tract of modest '60s ranchers, but the typical Almaden Valley home dates from the '70s and offers four or five bedrooms, 2.5 or three baths, and about 2000 sq.ft. Lots are generally ample—these are real houses on real lots, not PUDs—although they're usually under a quarter acre. Closer to Almaden Country Club, homes are bigger and lots a quarter-acre or larger. Almaden Valley is the one part of West San Jose that's not particularly convenient to either 85 or 280, and it's a long way from Palo Alto, but if your focus is on the South Bay this is a great choice. Most of Almaden just isn't that expensive, about what you'd pay for mid-range South Palo Alto, and even the better homes sell for what a tired Barron Park rancher on a quarter-acre would go for. The huge Palo Alto premium is justified, but even so, this kind of price discrepancy is mind-blowing.
Bascom Gardens (Cory neighborhood): Here's one for the bargain hunters. If you’re willing to go as far south as Santa Clara, something of a bargain itself, or at least extremely cheap, then why not go a few minutes further for a similar neighborhood that sells for even less? How about prices a good 40% less than entry-level South Palo Alto? Bascom Gardens is a huge tract of small homes, originally with 2 or 3 bedrooms and 1 bath (although some have been expanded) built by Kaiser between 1949 and 1952. The neighborhood has two things going for it besides the low low prices. Most important, Bascom Gardens has a whole lot more charm and better maintenance than the prices suggest. That makes it a great option for buyers on a condo budget who’d rather have a nice single-family home, and Bascom Gardens holds its own with the minimalist houses of entry-level Palo Alto or Menlo Park built during the same period. Second, Bascom Gardens is close to the 280/880 interchange, so it’s fairly convenient to Palo Alto and Menlo Park via 280.
price
performance
Here’s how west San Jose’s major sub-markets have performed since 1994. These charts are based on data from the Multiple Listing Service that's been corrected to eliminate the extremes at both ends of the price range that skew average price, and also adjusted for square footage. Q1 (first quarter) 1994, the baseline, is about when the market bottomed following the post-1989 bust. Q1 2000 is often considered the dot-com market’s peak, although the mid-range market peaked in late 2000 and the first two months of 2001. Q4 2001, well into the recession and immediately after 9/11, is when the mid-range bottomed. Entry-level markets, such as the more affordable parts of West San Jose, have been consistently strong.
useful
links
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