It’s Day 5 of our “Bay Area versus New York: Which suburbs are more expensive?” smackdown. To be fair, we’ll only look at reasonable houses: $1-$1.5 million.

It is, of course, the last day, and it is back to the Bay Area. You might think it is unfair that New York won’t get a chance to respond, but I assure you… this listing is so awesome that there’s no way anyone can respond. Let’s take a look:

140 WOOD Rd, Los Gatos, CA 95030 | MLS# 80812909
$1,100,000
140 WOOD Rd Los Gatos, CA 95030
Beds: 2
Baths: 2
Sq. Ft.: 1,470

$/Sq. Ft.: $748
Lot Size: 0.26 Acres
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Style: Cottage/Bungalow
Stories: 2
View: Mountains, Canyon, Valley, City Lights
Year Built: 1917
Community: Los Gatos/Monte Sereno
County: Santa Clara
MLS#: 80812909
Source: MLSListings
Status: Active This listing is for sale and the sellers are accepting offers.
On Redfin: 542 days
PRICE REDUCED! 2 bdr, 2 bath guest house. This home is nestled on the edge of a majestic redwood grove, which is the gateway to several hiking paths around the main property. It is the original home on this los gatos estate, built circa 1917. Fireplace in living room is clinker brick. Beautiful valley view from deck.

And there you go folks. $1.1M for a guest house. I couldn’t find anything like this in New York.

Phew. It’s been a great week, but I think this report definitively concludes that the Bay Area suburbs are more expensive than New York.

Please, tell 25 people you know about this. The press needs to know. The public needs to know. Everyone needs to know!

It’s Day 4 of our “Bay Area versus New York: Which suburbs are more expensive?” smackdown. To be fair, we’ll only look at reasonable houses: $1-$1.5 million.

Yesterday we looked at a fine $1.335M 4br/2ba house on a 7659 sqft lot in Cupertino. It was sure a winner.  Today, let’s look at house from another tony suburb of New York.

165 Bacon Rd, Old Westbury, NY 11568 | MLS# 2181982
$1,349,000
165 Bacon Rd Old Westbury, NY 11568

Beds: 4
Baths: 4
Sq. Ft.: -
Lot Size: 1.47 Acres
Property Type: Residential, Detached
Style: Ranch
Year Built: 1952
Community: Old Westbury
County: Nassau
MLS#: 2181982
Source: MLSLI
Status: New This is a new listing for sale on the market less than a week.
On Redfin: 207 days
Introducing A Wonderful Choice In Prestigious Old Westbury, Wheatley Schools, For The Good Life, W/ Outdoor & Indoor Entertainment Facilities. This Is A Sprawling 4 Bedrm Ranch Home W/ 3.55 Baths, Located On Approximately 1.5 Exceptionally Attractive Park-Like Acres. A Great And Affordable Special Opportunity.

You can learn more about the Wheatly School here. Let’s just say that this is probably a pretty competitive school.

But again, there are some fatal flaws:

1. How the heck are you going to the mow the lawn of your 1.5 acre property? How will you enjoy your pride of ownership?
2. It claims to provide the Good Life. However, as we all know, San Carlos is the City of Good Living. So… this is blatant misrepresentation.
3. No one can afford it. How many people in New York do you think have huge numbers of AAPL stock options? Probably very few. They probably just have bozos from Goldman Sachs. How will those poor losers afford a place like this?

Again, it seemed competitive at first… but then the Bay Area once again, blew away New York. Woot!

It’s Day 3 of our “Bay Area versus New York: Which suburbs are more expensive?” smackdown. To be fair, we’ll only look at reasonable houses: $1-$1.5 million.

For our next set of companions, we’ll look at two ranch style houses that are a bit more suburban. Again, let’s start with the Bay Area:

22009 OAKDELL Pl, Cupertino, CA 95014 | MLS# 80938691
$1,335,000
22009 OAKDELL Pl Cupertino, CA 95014
Beds: 4
Baths: 2

Sq. Ft.: 1,952
$/Sq. Ft.: $684
Lot Size: 7,659 Sq. Ft.
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Style: Ranch
Stories: 1
View: Neighborhood
Year Built: 1964
Community: Cupertino
County: Santa Clara
MLS#: 80938691
Source: MLSListings
Status: Active This listing is for sale and the sellers are accepting offers.
On Redfin: 108 days
For the meticulous homeowner! This lovely house has been updated & it sparkles! Duc & Elliot built good houses & the remodeling & upgrades here will fit most anyone’s lifestyle. Spacious open kitchen with lots of deep cabinets & pantry, separate dining room, formal living room with beautiful fireplace mantle surround & built in bookcases cabinets, familyroom, nice bedrooms & hdwd floors!

Hey… Duc and Elliot built good houses. It says it in the listing. It must be true!

And, it’s in one of the Bay Area’s other top school districts! What a fantastic deal!

Alright… let’s see what NY can dish up in response!

It’s Day 2 of our “Bay Area versus New York: Which suburbs are more expensive?” smackdown. To be fair, we’ll only look at reasonable houses: $1-$1.5 million.

Yesterday we looked at a fine $1.295M 4br/2ba house on a 6930 sqft lot in Palo Alto. It was sure a winner.  Today, let’s look at house from the famed East Egg (Great Gatsby) of New York.

98 Cardinal Rd, Manhasset, NY 11030 | MLS# 2194071

$1,299,000
98 Cardinal Rd Manhasset, NY 11030
Beds: 7
Baths: 4

Sq. Ft.: -
Lot Size: 0.38 Acres
Property Type: Residential, Detached
Style: Colonial
Year Built: 1957
Community: Flower Hill
County: Nassau
MLS#: 2194071
Source: MLSLI
Status: Price Change This listing experienced a price change within the past 7 days. Scroll down this page to the Property History to see the last list price for the home.
On Redfin: 169 days
Not Your Normal Fh Colonial! Grand Expnded Mint Colonial W’2 Sep. Wings On 2nd Flr, Huge Fam Rm On 1st Opens To Outdoor Slate/Brk Patio & Heated Gunite Pool W Outdoor Sound Sys. On Lush Approx 1/2 Acre. Spacious Sunlit Liv Rm W Vaulted Ceil, Unique Frplc. Huge Eik Wolfe Range, Dacor Dble Oven, Sub-Zero Ref, Miele Dw. 3 Zn Heat Inc Split Unit-Heat Pump Much Much More!

Just as an FYI, .38 acres is 16,552 square feet.

Well… at face value this house might seem like it is better than the one in Palo Alto. But, let’s look at all the glaring flaws:

1. It’s not livable. How can any one live in a non-eichler house? I mean, if you can’t walk outside in 5 steps, or have good insulation in your house, what’s the point?
2. It’s in a terrible neighborhood. How do I know? Just look how far it is from University avenue in Palo Alto!
3. Did you notice that it has 3 zone heating? That’s because you’re going to need heating. In Palo Alto, you can simply bask in the warming glow of all the enormous stock fortunes around you.

Score 1 for Bay Area!

It’s Day 1 of our “Bay Area versus New York: Which suburbs are more expensive?” smackdown. To be fair, we’ll only look at reasonable houses: $1-$1.5 million.

For our first candidate, let’s look at tony Palo Alto:

3449 THOMAS Dr, Palo Alto, CA 94303 | MLS# 80952190
For Sale (MLS-listed)
$1,295,000
3449 THOMAS Dr Palo Alto, CA 94303
Beds: 4
Baths: 2
Sq. Ft.: 1,713

$/Sq. Ft.: $756
Lot Size: 6,930 Sq. Ft.
Property Type: Attached Single Family
Style: Contemporary
Stories: 1
View: Neighborhood
Year Built: 1957
Community: South Palo Alto
County: Santa Clara
MLS#: 80952190
Source: MLSListings
Status: Active This listing is for sale and the sellers are accepting offers.
On Redfin: 23 days
Excellent Eichler set on 6930 SF lot(buyer to verify SF). Boasts of open light-filled flrpln & high beamed ceilings w/ clean lines. Updated kitchen w/ Sub-Zero Refridgerator & LR w/ FP & walls of glass to backyard. Newly remodeled bathrooms with Corian countertops. New paint, new carpet & custom closets in 3 of the 4 BRs. Secluded master suite w/ direct access to yard. Beautiful deck for entertaining.

Not too shabby. A nice affordable price. New carpet in 3 of the 4 bedrooms. Square footage sort of unknown. Lots of privacy too! Look you can’t even see the house!

Overall, an A++++ house in a great school district. A sure winner. Tomorrow, we’ll look at a house in New York in comparison… stay tuned!

How much is your school’s suggested donation? | SF Bay Area Home Price and Mortgage Insanity Blog – Burbed.com
SiO2 Says:
November 12th, 2009 at 5:25 pm

Tenafly vs Palo Alto smackdown! I don’t know if Tenafly is a top school district in NJ but it comes up on this blog frequently.

Palo Alto average SAT scores:
http://pausd.org/community/board/downloads/item_011.pdf slide 11

For class of 2007
Critical Reading (formerly Verbal): 624
Math: 655
Essay/Writing: 615
Total: 1894

Tenafly:

http://education.state.nj.us/rc/rc07/dataselect.php?c=03;d=5160;s=050;lt=CD;st=CD&datasection=all

First of all, the most recent data is class of 07. What’s up?
Critical Reading (formerly Verbal): 572
Math: 619
Essay/Writing: 570
Total: 1761

Take that!
Obviously there’s more to a school than SAT scores but this is mildly interesting.

If you look at SAT point per $, PA really kicks butt.

Some other interesting things about Tenafly:
Hebrew is the 3rd most common language spoken at home, 5.3%.
Has 21 AP classes. That’s pretty cool. PA only has 16.
Tenafly’s per pupil spending is $14.8k vs $9.7k for PA.
Average class size is 18.8, vs 25 or so for PA.

Now, while I’d love to do some Tenafly (the 3rd best schools in New Jersey) vs Palo Alto (the best schools in the entire universe) comparisons – redfin doesn’t support Tenafly right now. So as a proxy, I’m going to have to use Long Island – which they do support. It’s going to be an interesting week!