Hillstone development questions (San Jose, Santa Clara, Palo Alto: real estate market, 2015, condo)

[Andy1369]

I've got questions about the Hillstone development/neighborhood - looks like a very ritzy and rich area! (Bentley Ridge Dr, Shadow Ridge Way, Hillstone Dr., etc.)

a) Are the houses in this development/neighborhood considered McMansions or are they custom-built?

I ask this because the houses are all similar/reversed design, but all look very nice. (The houses in this area sell for millions.) By "McMansion", I mean shoddily built/using cheap materials, etc. Also, all houses look like they're built by the same builder, as they look alike, with every 3 or 4 houses being the same layout with the same exterior, but with slight variations and modifications. All houses seem to have been built in and after 1996, according to zillow.com.

b) What are people like in this area? Friendly or snobby?

Thanks!

[Chipworker]

[quote]

Originally Posted by Andy1369

I've got questions about the Hillstone development/neighborhood - looks like a very ritzy and rich area! (Bentley Ridge Dr, Shadow Ridge Way, Hillstone Dr., etc.)

The streets you mentioned belongs to an upper income development in the South East corner of San Jose, commonly known as the Silver Creek country club area, in Evergreen.

I would not considered them mac mansions in the negative sense. The Hillstone homes are fancy/luxurious track homes built in the 90s. They were semi-custom built homes in the sense that you can select many upgrades options. Most are on fairly good size lots, 9000 sq feet to 1/4 acre lot (large lots for today's bay area standard). The area is quiet, well planned and beautifully landscaped in the country estate style.

The folks who live there are mainly professionals (doctors, dentist,lawyers) and business owners. I have engineer friends who live there thanks to stock options and early purchases before the dot com recession.

[MediocreButArrogant]

Median home price in Silicon Valley is right around $1M right now. So someone who can afford a $2M home shouldn't consider themselves anything special. Wealthy people live in Atherton, Palo Alto, and Portola Valley (of those only Palo Alto is in Santa Clara County).

Not sure how familiar you are with the area, but I was looking out there around three years ago, and I found it too far away from everything I wanted to be near, and too isolated, even though I could deal with the commute (since I only go into the office a couple days a week).

[Andy1369]

So what are the conditions like at the homes built in the 90s? You said they were semi-custom, luxurious tract homes. What's the quality like? Shoddy workmanship or great local builders? Are the homes still intact without structural or appearance problems? Many houses built in the 90s weren't built well, or built to last, so I wonder about those homes. Looking at them from Street View, they look fine (great, even) but I do wonder about the insides and the structure. It's almost 20 years since 1996, so by now, problems would probably surface.

So are you saying, MediocoreButArrogant, that $1M is actually middle class in San Jose? I thought people who can afford to buy a $1 million home are rich? Many comparative houses in the surrounding areas retail as $400-800K.

[MediocreButArrogant]

Originally Posted by Andy1369

So are you saying, MediocoreButArrogant, that $1M is actually middle class in San Jose? I thought people who can afford to buy a $1 million home are rich? Many comparative houses in the surrounding areas retail as $400-800K.

Median home price in April 2015 was $975,000 in Silicon Valley. The average home price was $1.28M.

The Silicon Valley Real Estate Market Trends Report

I don't know what you call people who can afford a median priced home here. A person who can afford that without straining their budget I would call upper-middle class, reasonably well off, but not rich. But that's entirely subjective.

You are completely mistaken about pricing. $400k gets you a 700 sq ft 1br condo in a not so great part of Santa Clara, or maybe a 1000 sq ft teardown shack in the worst neighborhood.

[Andy1369]

Also, can anyone who has been to Hillstone/Silver Creek CC area say that they can imagine the area becoming a slum/ghetto/sketchy area?

I hope someone can get back to me re: shoddy or not in terms of building quality.

[aramax666]

I have driven by this area. I don't know anything specific to the houses, but the general area "looks" awesome. At least to me. The area is in the hills, the communities have these palm trees or something like that, gives the area a very relaxed upscale neighborhood. I STRONGLY doubt the area becoming sketchy if it hasn't already. Why don't you drive by? It is leagues better than anything else in that part of the city.

[aramax666]

People who can buy 2M home should certainly consider themselves special, IMO. Especially the kind I have seen are in their late 30's. Thats quite an accomplishment by my standards. The median prices may be around the 1M mark, but 2M may very well be at the 90th percentile. I don't have the data, but I feel houses less than 2-3M will be a bulk of the market. Above that price point, you are VERY well off. Not to mention, market participants in this housing market are already in pretty rarified altitude.

[MediocreButArrogant]

Hope the OP isn't planning to do something crazy like buy sight unseen.

Even if you were lucky and some C-Der were a resident there, they most likely wouldn't be knowledgeable enough to give you the kind of information that a good home inspector could give you. Are you worried about having to make an offer with no contingencies, so you can't inspect it and get out of contract if things look bad?

[Andy1369]

Does anyone on this forum live in the Hillstone area? Can anyone report on the quality of those houses inside and if they hold up well?