Current Real Estate Market Trends:

Average price per square foot for San Jose CA was $297, an increase of 8.4% compared to the same period last year. The median sales price for homes in San Jose CA for Feb 10 to Apr 10 was $418,000 based on 2,686 home sales. Compared to the same period one year ago, the median home sales price increased 18.1%, or $64,000, and the number of home sales decreased 11%.

The average listing price for homes for sale in San Jose CA was $612,445 for the week ending May 12, which represents an increase of 0.7%, or $4,287, compared to the prior week. Popular neighborhoods in San Jose include Willow Glen and Evergreen, with average listing prices of $814,550 and $801,864.

History of San Jose:

The third-largest city in California and seat of Santa Clara County, is located in the northern part of the state in the Santa Clara Valley, 50 mi south of downtown San Francisco.

San Jose was founded on Nov. 29, 1777, by Spanish colonizers who named the settlement Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe in honor of Saint Joseph and after the Guadalupe River on which the pueblo (town) was situated. San Jose was the first city to be established in California.

After California became a U.S. territory in 1847, San Jose was the state capital from 1849 to 1852 and was incorporated as a city in 1850. It developed commercially as a supply base for gold prospectors and, when the railroad connected it with San Francisco in 1864, it became the distribution point for agricultural products from the Santa Clara Valley.

Today, the city continues to be the distribution and food-processing center for the surrounding rich agricultural region, which produces seasonal fruits and grapes. More than 50 wineries grace the valley.

San Jose is the capital of Silicon (Santa Clara) Valley, where many high-tech companies are located. The area is also one of the world’s leading centers for medical treatment and research. Heart transplants, gene splicing, and transportable baby incubators were developed there.

San Jose has healthy retail, transportation, and tourism industries and is the primary center for real estate and industrial development in the area. In 2001, it ranked second in the U.S. based on the median household income of $71,000.

San Jose Chamber of Commerce