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About the Valley of Heart’s Delight
“The Valley of Heart’s Delight” was the way in which Santa Clara County, home to San Jose and now Silicon Valley, was once described. For those of us who grew up climbing trees in the orchards, and who grow a few fruit trees in their own yards, it still is the Valley of Heart’s Delight. This valley was once famous for wheat, later for grapevines, citrus, nuts, cherry trees, and fruits of all kinds. Hints of the valley’s past are everywhere to be found.
On this website, we will focus on Los Gatos and nearby areas such as Saratoga, Campbell, Monte Sereno, Cupertino, the San Jose areas of Almaden, Cambrian, and Willow Glen, and adjacent communities throughout Santa Clara County.
Please also visit The Valley of Hearts Delight Blog for the latest market reports, area information, photos, tips, bits of history and more for Silicon Valley, San Jose, Los Gatos, Cambrian Park, Almaden Valley, Monte Sereno and Saratoga real estate and homes for sale!
Where is Silicon Valley?
It’s not a highly defined area and is not really a “valley” per se. It mostly resides in Santa Clara County, which is found at the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, and inland from Santa Cruz and the Pacific Ocean in California – separated by the Santa Cruz Mountains (referred to locally as “the hill”). Other areas include the San Francisco Peninsula (the bay side of San Mateo County), the east bay communities of Fremont, Hayward, and Union City, and also the Santa Cruz County city of Scotts Valley.
The coastal range keeps the fog mostly at bay, but our Silicon Valley climate is still primarily dominated by the Pacific. In addition to the Santa Clara Valley or County area, Silicon Valley creeps over the hill into Scotts Valley, up the San Francisco Peninsula to include Menlo Park, a bit up the East Bay into Fremont and Hayward, and generally pretty much anywhere within 45 minutes of San Jose.
The biggest city in Silicon Valley is San Jose. It is a sprawling city inching from the east foothills to the Santa Cruz Mountains and it includes many distinct districts, and it includes about 1 million residents. San Jose is the 10th largest city in the U.S.
On the north and east there are Berryessa, North Valley, Alum Rock, Silver Creek and Evergreen.
In the downtown area or “central San Jose” we find many more neighborhoods, including the historic and vibrant Japantown, the residential old Vendome neighborhood, Naglee Park, the Rosegarden and Willow Glen areas, to name just a few!
Along the south and west sides of San Jose, we find South San Jose, Blossom Valley (also sometimes called Blossom Hill), the Santa Teresa district (running along the Santa Teresa foothills, Cambrian Park (sometimes also called Cambrian Village), Almaden Valley, and West San Jose.
Additionally, the valley has smaller cities and towns too: Los Gatos, Monte Sereno (the smallest city in the county), Saratoga, Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountian View, Palo Alto, Santa Clara, Milpitas, Campbell, Morgan Hill and Gilroy. Each one has its own history and personality. Almaden, for instance, was once the largest Mercury or Quicksilver mine in the world. Hence the San Jose paper is “Mercury News“.
While there’s plenty of information online about larger areas (districts of San Jose, or the cities and towns of Silicon Valley), these neighborhoods within the districts are not written about as much on the web. So please contact me by phone or email if you are looking for specific information on these areas.
This Silicon Valley Real Estate Website is provided to you by me, Mary Pope-Handy, a veteran Realtor, with Sereno Group in Los Gatos. No website, though, can give you precise advice or an expert opinion (not even this one!), so there are plenty of ways to contact me. I dislike pushy sales people as much as you do and always put my client’s best interests first.
The Valley of Heart’s Delight Blog – latest posts
- City of Santa Clara real estate market - Santa Clara real estate market - cooler than last spring, but still a hot seller's market.
- Milpitas real estate market - The Milpitas real estate market is red hot, one of the hottest in Santa Clara County. The city offers strong schools, a fairly “close in” location, and a lot of home for the money, so it is always popular. Milpitas Real Estate Market Trends at a Glance You can always view the most current info […]
- Santa Teresa real estate market - How's the market in the scenic Santa Teresa area of San Jose ? The part of Silicon Valley is usually a bit "softer" as it's farther from most work places and the school scores are generally not super strong, either. Right now it's showing clear sellers market with the most recent numbers slightly higher both month over month and also year over year. The average Days on Market are a blazing 8 days total - barely over a week on average! However, compared to much of Santa Clara County, the sales to list price ratio of about 104% is lower than some in the current market.
- Homes in San Jose are taking a little longer to sell - Is this "seasonally normal" or is something else going on?
- Mountain View CA real estate market trends and statistics - How's the Mountain View real estate market? This is one of the very hottest areas within Silicon Valley and is home to a myriad of high tech companies and in a stone's throw of others. With a charming and walkable downtown, easy access to CalTrain and a vibrant atmosphere conducive to both work and play, it is no wonder that people relocating to the San Francisco Bay Area or Silicon Valley place Mountain View squarely in their target.
- Almaden Valley Real Estate Market Conditions & Homes for Sale - The Almaden Valley real estate market is still in a stable sellers market. Winter brought about a steep drop in inventory of Almaden Valley homes for sale. There must be either a lot more inventory, or significantly less demand, before we see anything close to a balanced market. With summer nearing, the Almaden Valley market is noticing very minor seasonal softening as more properties come on the market. Despite this, homes are selling very quickly and at a higher sales to list price ratio than they did a month ago.
- Morgan Hill real estate market - How's the housing market in Morgan Hill? For the single family home segment in this "south county" town, prices are rising year over year and heating up with the season since last month. The sale price to list price ratio has been hovering between 98% and 100% for months. The cities of Morgan Hill and Gilroy are usually a bit less in demand than parts of Santa Clara County which are either tech magnets or closer to these big businesses. So while most of the Silicon Valley has a sale price to list price ratio of anywhere from 100% to 110%, it's generally lower here, making the home buying conditions calmer for weary buyers, though still a sellers market.
Mary Pope-Handy
Realtor, CRS, CIPS, ABR, SRES
CA DRE # 01153805
Sereno Group
Los Gatos Office
214 Los Gatos Saratoga Rd
Los Gatos, CA 95030
408 335-1400 office
408 204-7673 cell