Steve Mun

San Francisco's price wars are out of hand. Homes selling $1M+ over asking went from 8 to 140+ in six months, and a Cherry Street house listed at $18.5M sold for $28.5M in 20 days. About 79% of SF homes over $7M closed with no mortgage. Steve Mun, San Jose Realtor

#SanJose is studying tiered rezoning, and one councilmember wants low-transit single-family neighborhoods exempt. 3 colleagues pushed back: those areas overlap with the wealthiest neighborhoods, so exempting them shifts building to lower-income districts. Should every neighborhood bear the burden?

San Jose ranks #1 among the 50 largest U.S. cities for household bills: a median $44,947 a year, 78% above the national median. Without housing we're still first at $16,329. Know your real monthly number before you buy in San Jose Metro. Steve Mun, San Jose Realtor

San Francisco's estimate to buy PG&E's grid to break away: $3.4 billion. PG&E's CEO: $20 billion. Nearly 6X apart. PG&E says the city skipped severance, about 2,000 easements and licenses, and startup costs. Which is closer to true value do you think?

Selling in San Jose Metro with rates above 7%? Price out a seller-paid rate buydown before you make a small price cut. The buyer gets a lower rate, their payment drops, and you keep your price. Almost 50% of Aug. sales involved this type of concession. Both sides like it. New Build did for 16 mon.

Compass CEO pushes for private listings. Private listings mean a home's details stay inside one brokerage. That's how it worked before the MLS. Sellers forget they become buyers too, with no data and no negotiation leverage. It's about dual agency, not fairness. All about money. Open Your Eyes.

South Bay adds jobs while California loses them California lost 9,300 jobs in September. The Bay Area lost 1,000. The South Bay added 1,100 and is up 1.8% over the year, double the Bay Area's 0.9%. Santa Clara County is holding the region up.

Tanforan Mall in San Bruno: 1,014 homes and about 724,000 sq ft of lab and office space next to BART. Flex zones could add much more of either. Construction starts 2028 or 2029, hearing is Oct 20. Learn the plan now rather than wait and complain later.

Santa Clara has 56 data centers. 2 more to build. 2 done but waiting for grid upgrades. They bring the city about $41M a year and use 26% of its recycled water. The council voted unanimously to prioritize new water and air standards. A rule without a number is a suggestion.

A 35-count felony complaint alleges a Sacramento tiny home company, Anchored Tiny Homes billed customers for work it never did. No one has been convicted. Building an ADU in San Jose or Santa Clara County? California caps up-front payments at $1,000. Check the license, keep receipts.

A firm paid $204.8M for The Grad, a student housing tower near San Jose State, paying $787,000 per unit compared to $385,000 for South Bay average. Many other Student Housing deals.Big money is betting on downtown San Jose. If you own or want to buy near the core, pay attention.

Towers up to 39 stories proposed near Menlo Park homes from the late 1940s. The developer cites AB 2011, which allows faster approval on commercially zoned land. Buying in the South Bay or Silicon Valley? Check the zoning law first, before falling in love with that house.

A dozen people at the Panera in Campbell, one table, and a full hour where nobody talks. They just read. It's called Silent Book Club, the introvert happy hour. The San Jose chapter meets almost every week. Does this appeal to youi? Would you go?

95% of Bay Area residents call housing costs a serious problem in the new Silicon Valley Poll. With the median Bay Area single-family home at $1.4M and 30-year rates at 7.03%, South Bay buyers should run the monthly payment first.

Enough. An American President said it was acceptable loss to lose 12 M people living in big California Cities to a foreign power. This is not just talk. No more making excuses for this demented man. Dementia in Family. We are led by a man who is not well. This must STOP NOW. #25thamendment

About 100 San Jose neighbors showed up to question two 99-megawatt data center projects planned for South San Jose. Power bills, diesel generators, and water were all on the table. Questions about diesel spill cleanup tabled. For nearby homeowners, unanswered questions are an equity risk. Your money

California just signed three e-bike laws: a 10 mph sidewalk limit, and starting January 1, 2027, anything faster than the legal limits can't be sold as an e-bike. Labels will show speed, wattage, and class. Shopping for one in the Bay Area? Read the label.

South Bay Gen X homeowners, would you go here? A developer near Fresno is betting $1B on Friant Ranch, a 55+ community with 2,500 homes. Vote's October 20th. Start the where-do-we-go talk before you list your home.

110 apartments in a seven-story building have been proposed at 2858 Stevens Creek Blvd, right by Valley Fair and Santana Row near West San Jose. Preliminary for now, but it shows where developers see demand. Santana Row parking lot being converted already. Good spot for housing?

Mortgage rates have spiked up in a single week. What to expect in the marketplace. check out the newsletter to understand what to do siliconvalleylifestyle.substack.com/p/silicon-va... #HousingMarket #newsletter #sanjoserealestate

Mortgage rates broke 7% last week and now they're almost at 7.3%. San Jose Metro sellers, unless your buyer pays cash, expect credit requests to buy the rate down. If your home isn't moving, adjust or buyers will move on to more accommodating sellers.

Miranda's Rescue in Humboldt County is taking dogs again while an investigation into cruelty and fraud allegations continues. The owner has stopped routine inspections. Rio Dell, Fortuna and Ferndale won't renew contracts. Reopening now is a mistake. How is this allowed?

Hashi Market opens in Cupertino Friday, Oct. 9 at 10 a.m., its first West Coast store, in the old Sprouts at Stevens Creek and De Anza. Tuna cutting demo and tasting at the grand opening. Going? Could be quite and event and first of several.

Bay Area families are losing average of $350K of their parents' equity to house flippers. Here's how the flip math works against you, and how to keep that money in your family instead. Zero upfront cost, full-service renovation management, you get paid what the flippers would normally take.

Bay Area families are losing average of $350K of their parents' equity to house flippers. Here's how the flip math works against you, and how to keep that money in your family instead. Zero upfront cost, full-service renovation assistance, you get paid what the flippers would normally take.

A 514,000 sq ft data center is proposed for North San Jose. 99 megawatts, onsite substation, generators running nonstop at outages. Other Bay Area cities have pushed back over noise and water use, which can weigh on home values nearby. Homeowners in the area, you need to be aware of your equity.

Mortgage rates crossed 7% this week, first time since January 2025. Applications have dropped three weeks straight as buyers pull back. For San Jose Metro sellers, that softer demand is worth watching, even with inventory still tight.

The first ADU in California to sell separately from the main house just closed in San Jose for $530K. Palo Alto is now debating the same policy. For South Bay homeowners, one lot can now hold two sellable homes.

CA declared a state of emergency ahead of a historic El Niño, NOAA says 90%+ odds it's the strongest on record by December. South Bay homeowners: clear gutters, check drainage, know your creek/hillside risk, sign up at ready.ca.gov.

A SF rental tied to a landlord's murder case is blocked from sale by a judge. Still renting for nearly double what the last tenant paid, $3,200 to $6,300. That's how tight Bay Area rentals are right now. These used to rent for deep discounts.

Nearly 3 out of 4 Californians don't want a data center near them. Newsom just signed 7 new laws regulating the industry statewide, covering utility costs, water disclosure, and environmental review. Watching how this plays out for growth in Santa Clara County, the #2 Data Center Location in U.S.

Would you buy a home next to a data center? South San Jose residents near Great Oaks Boulevard say constant noise and lights are hitting their backyards. Mayor Mahan met with them this week. New city rules could come by December.

House passed a bill 417-3 pushing AI data centers to pay for their own power upgrades instead of raising your utility bill. Matters for anyone living near or thinking of buying a home near a proposed site in San Jose Metro or Santa Clara County.

Menlo Park's SRI campus is swapping office space for housing. Commercial land drops from 37 to 14 acres. Homes rise from 800 to 1,082. A big shift for San Jose Metro housing supply.

Willow Glen's Hamilton Ave Safeway closed this week after inspectors found rodent droppings, then reopened within a day once fixed. My take: fast county action is a good sign for the neighborhood, not a bad one. The Health Dept. is keeping doing their jobs well. That's a good thing.

$67.7M for 3.9 acres in Palo Alto. That's over $17M an acre for land becoming 74 townhomes on the old Fry's Electronics site. A real signal on land values in Silicon Valley right now. This is how the builders see the value of Silicon Valley.

San Jose just voted to draft a policy banning officials from signing NDAs with developers, including data center companies. 20 data centers operating, 11 under review. If you own property in San Jose Metro or the South Bay, this transparency fight affects your neighborhood and your home value.

SJPD fired an officer for misusing a camera database to help his cousin track a domestic violence accuser. Neither was charged, a legal gap the chief now wants closed. San Jose is also facing two lawsuits over warrantless camera use. We will certianly see more of this type of abuse.

A Daly City restaurant closed in 2020. That same kitchen now serves 4,500 meals a day to seniors and families across San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. Daisy Li says giving food is giving love. Another local hero who has a servant's heart.

Big money just bet on Silicon Valley's future. A London investor bought 6 tech campuses in San Jose, Santa Clara, and Milpitas, next to Nvidia, Intel, Oracle, Google, and PayPal, calling it a high level of conviction in the Bay Area's resurgence. It's not all about layoff news.

Gilroy residents didn't know about a data center until it was already under construction. Now Bay Area cities from Pittsburg to San Jose are pushing back. If you own or want to buy in the South Bay, this pushback shapes what gets built near you. No one want to live next to one. It hurts home values

Update: after the wildfire bill died in Sacramento, PG&E is cutting $2B in 2027 spending, warning of delays to new home and business power connections in the South Bay. Consumer Watchdog calls it a "capital strike" to pressure the State. Who's right?

Wildfire survivors from the Eaton and Palisades fires just got a Sacramento bill killed, saying it favored utilities over victims. Not over yet, a special session may bring it back. Worth watching if you're near fire risk in the South Bay.

It costs $55K a year to retire in the San Jose metro, the highest in the US. Near Blossom Hill light rail, a developer just pivoted from market rate apartments to 165 senior housing units. Santa Clara County's senior population keeps growing and future housing development will be affected.

A revived federal rule could strip work permits from H-4 visa holders, spouses of H-1B workers. About 230,000 nationwide, many in Silicon Valley dual income households. Watching what this could mean for South Bay families and our local housing market. Going double to single income.

9,635 odor complaints since 2015 at the Newby Island landfill near Milpitas and $210,000 fines. New air district order requires real time monitoring and drone methane surveys, deadlines over 2 years. Local South Bay update. Steve Mun, San Jose Metro Realtor

Forget free lunch. A South Bay AI chip company gives employees a personal lawyer as a work perk, covering speeding tickets, contract negotiations, even divorce. This is Silicon Valley compensation right now. Heard something wilder? Tell me below. Steve Mun, San Jose Metro Realtor

Dolly Parton spent 40 years returning to the same booth at a small California hotel and chose quiet towns like Solvang and Idyllwild for her own homes. Even the biggest stars want to be known and not just recognized. Deep down inside, we call seek the same sense of belonging in our homes. RIP Dolly