 |
|
|
|
San Jose Introduction
San Jose is an affluent and dynamic large city with a very strong economic base, above national average real estate values, strong transportation infrastructure, strong school system, and a vibrant arts and entertainment community. While new home owners in San Jose must take out large mortgages to get into the expensive housing market, high paying jobs are abundant to ease the pain.
San Jose has been recognized as one of America's "Most Livable" big cities by Partners for Livable Communities (award conferred in 2004). The organization cites San Jose for having "developed the most aggressive affordable housing program in California."
Housing Styles
San Jose offers many different quality neighborhoods and housing options, including historic districts, golf communities, garden suburbs, and urban living. San Jose is considered to be a very desirable place to live and this is reflected in new housing construction. According to the City of San Jose Office of Economic Development, more than 60% of the region's (Santa Clara County) new housing is being built in San Jose.
The business hub of San Jose, the downtown portion of the city, is notable for the lack of height of the buildings located there. Because downtown San Jose is on the flight path for the Mineta San Jose International Airport, there is a permanent height restriction for all buildings in downtown San Jose. The residential areas of downtown San Jose consist largely of smaller early 20th century Victorian-style housing. There are a few fairly large gingerbread or Italianate-style Victorians in some downtown areas.Notable San Jose Neighborhoods
Most housing in San Jose dates from after the San Francisco Earthquake (1906), with a significant portion of that dating from the 1950s to the present. Some notable neighborhoods in San Jose include:
Real Estate Prices
Slightly over two thirds of all housing units in San Jose are single family houses (either detached, the largest portion, or attached). The bulk of the rest of the housing is multi-family (almost 32%). Over two thirds of San Jose's housing is owner occupied.
The strength of San Jose's economy and the desirable nature of the city as a place to live is reflected in housing prices that are well above the national average (over three times the national average). In early 2006, the average price for a home in San Jose was just under $770,000 (the median price was $710,000). The average price for a condominium or townhouse was almost $500,000 (the median price was $485,000). These prices have declined slightly through the end of 2006 coinciding with the general slowdown in real estate values throughout the United States.
In San Jose, over 80% of the owner occupied housing units have a mortgage. Many home owners are leveraging rising property values as over 20% have a home equity loan or a second mortgage.
Over 85% of San Jose's rental market consists of one or two bedroom units. As of June, 2006, the average monthly rent for an apartment in San Jose was $1,328 with an occupancy rate of over 95%.
San Jose Quality of Life
San Jose is one of the safest large cities in the United States according to the Morgan Quitno Press who publish the Morgan Quitno Awards for "America's Safest (and Most Dangerous) Cities".
As one would expect of a large city the size of San Jose, San Jose is rich in cultural and recreational resources.
San Jose Diversity
San Jose's population and workforce has a cultural and ethnic diversity that adds a richness to community life that is celebrated in San Jose's many festivals and public activities, including: the Vietnamese Tet Festival, the Portuguese Heritage Fall Festival, the Cinco de Mayo Festival, the Chinese Summer Festival, the Filipino Heritage Festival, the Italian Family Festival, and more.
San Jose Schools
The San Jose Unified School district consists of 27 elementary schools (two of which have received Distinguished School Awards from the California School Recognition Program), 6 middle schools, and 8 high schools. The San Jose Unified School district has received ample recognition of academic excellence, including:
The San Jose Unified School District also gets high marks for their fiscal management. In July of 2006, Standard & Poor’s assigned its A+ rating to the San Jose Unified School District's certificates with a "stable" outlook.
There are also many colleges and universities located in San Jose, including: San Jose State University, Evergreen Valley College, Lincoln Law School of San Jose, National Hispanic University, San Jose City College, and St. Mary's College of California.
San Jose Economy
San Jose’s expensive real estate market is underpinned by a high-paying high technology economy. San Jose is considered to be the hub of California's Silicon Valley. San Jose has the largest concentration of technology companies in the world. Over 6,600 technology companies, employing over a quarter of a million people, are located in and around San Jose. Many Fortune 500 companies such as Cisco (10), Sanmina-SCI (22), Calpine (27), eBay (46), Bell Microproducts (62), KLA-Tencor (83), Adobe Systems (83), Atmel (98), and Xilinx (105) make their headquarters in San Jose. The area's largest employers are also technology companies, including companies such as Cisco, IBM, Hitachi, and more.
Three quarters of San Jose's working population is employed in service industries, the largest sector of which is trade, transportation and utilities, followed by professional and business services, education and health services, and leisure and hospitality. The other quarter of the working population of San Jose is employed in goods production, with the manufacture of durable goods representing the largest segment. As one would expect, most of the manufacturing of durable goods are technology related goods, such as computer and peripheral equipment, semiconductor and electrical components, and electronic instrument.
The strong economic base provided by the concentration of technology companies is reflected in the affluence of the area. While home prices are expensive in San Jose, its residents are generally paid well enabling many to cover the big monthly mortgage payments. The average household income in San Jose is over $86,000, with a median household income of over $70,000. Over two thirds of San Jose households have an income in excess of $50,000.
San Jose Leisure and Recreation
San Jose has a plethora of arts, entertainment, and recreation attractions, including: many museums; performing arts including ballet, opera, symphony and theater. San Jose also has many professional sports teams, including the San Jose Giants (Minor League Baseball), the San Jose SaberCats (Arena Football League), the San Jose Sharks (NHL), and the San Jose Stealth (National Lacrosse League).
San Jose enjoys 300 days of sunshine a year and an average annual temperature of 70 degrees. Because of this, outdoor recreation opportunities abound. San Jose residents also have easy access to all of the attractions of San Francisco and the San Francisco Bay area to the north via automobile or mass transit.
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Homes With No Mortgage | 17% |
| With A Mortgage | 83% |
| First Mortgage Only | 61% |
| Second Mortgage or Home Equity Loan | 22% |
| Second Mortgage Only | 12% |
| Home Equity Loan Only | 10% |
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Owner Costs as % of Income | 22.3% |
| Median Real Estate Taxes (2000) | $2,423 |
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Occupied | 276,417 |
| 1-Person Households | 18% |
| 2-Person Households | 28% |
| 3-Person Households | 17% |
| 4-Person Households | 17% |
| 5-Person Households | 9% |
| 6-Person Households | 5% |
| 7+-Person Households | 6% |
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Median Year Built | 1972 |
| Median Year Built (Owner Occupied) | 1972 |
| Median Year Built (Renter Occupied) | 1972 |
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Using Utility Co. Gas Heat | 80% |
| Using Bottled/Tank Gas Heat | 1% |
| Using Electric Heat | 18% |
| Using Oil Heat | 0% |
| Using Coal | 0% |
| Using Wood Heating | 0% |
| Using Solar Heat | 0% |
| Other Heating | 0% |
| No Heating | 0% |
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| No Bedrooms | 2% |
| 1 Bedroom | 5% |
| 2 Bedrooms | 20% |
| 3 Bedrooms | 37% |
| 4 Bedrooms | 30% |
| 5+ Bedrooms | 6% |
Rate quotes from multiple lenders for the San Jose area:
Webmasters & Bloggers: Please link to this page on San Jose. Just copy the HTML below and paste it into your web page or blog.
 | San Jose Careers San Jose career and employment information. |
 | San Jose Colleges San Jose colleges and trade schools. |
 | San Jose Hotels & Travel San Jose hotels, landmarks, tourism, transportation. |
Copyright © 2004-2009, Moving Traffic, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Moving Traffic, Inc., operator of CityTownInfo.com, is not a broker or a lender, and all offers for loans or mortgages found on this site are made solely by the advertiser.