Today’s featured property was sent in by Burbed reader Swan.  Thanks very much for this big, big, big listing with the small, small, small number of photos.

 

16450 AZTEC RIDGE Dr, Los Gatos, CA 95030
$19,995,000

BEDS: 6
BATHS: 8
SQ. FT.: 11,257
$/SQ. FT.: $1,776
LOT SIZE: 50 Acres
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Contemporary
STORIES: Tri-Level
VIEW: Bay, Mountains, Neighborhood, Valley, City Lights
YEAR BUILT: 1991
COMMUNITY: Los Gatos/Monte Sereno
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81137011
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 45 days

Spectacular one of a kind property situated on approx 50 acres in one of the most unique settings in the World! Birds-eye views encompassing the entire Silicon Valley from downtown San Jose all the way to San Francisco. Modern architecture of approx 20 years old with amazing ceiling heights and open floor plan with sep guest house of over 2000 sq ft. Private and gated at end of quiet cul-de-sac.

Here’s what Swan had to say about this listing:

Here’s a $20 million property with only one picture.  Today’s blog made me think of this house.  A contrast between $200K in Gilroy with nine of the exact same pictures and a $20 million property with only one picture.

A contrast all right, and don’t forget this place in San Francisco with 23 pictures at about 1/70th the price.

Clearly this listing is an intelligence test.  Most average tech workers could find an address on the MLS, or at least on a site like Redfin or Trulia.  But can you find this house’s Special Secret Private Website?  Hint: there are no hints on MLS.

Click on through to have a look at the pictures the agent doesn’t feel you deserve to see, but first, see if you can find the website yourself.

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Here’s an interesting picture sent in by Burbed reader nomadic.  It’s from the Los Gatos Library (motto: At least we don’t charge $90 for a library card like Saratoga!) and you might enjoy a look at life over a century ago.

Here’s what nomadic had to share about these pictures:

The lower level of the Los Gatos library is lined with historic pictures of the town.  I thought the one attached was pretty funny, as well as interesting because it had four parcels of land for sale for $1250.  The year was 1909 and the property owner was protesting a local prohibition law.  The second picture is a close up of the signs – be sure to read the top one.  The one on the right in the first shot says “Los Gatos” inside the graphic of the casket.

So, have a look!

Have a better look at the signs. 

Wait, what’s this about TAX RATE INCREASED 20%?  Can’t you read my lips?

And one more close-up.  Can you imagine what that land would be worth today?

Whoops, it would probably be on the Wrong Side of some street that hasn’t even been built yet.  And where’s the other house, anyway?  Note the early version of “Buy now or be priced out forever!”

This is a Weekend Open Thread.  Have at it.

This new listing appears courtesy of happy-piggy over on Redfin’s Bay Area forums.  It’s definitely a flip, because the house changed ownership all of five weeks ago (as I write this).  Your challenge, dear Burbed readers, is to find as many reasons not to line this flipper’s pockets as possible.

Yes, we’re going to play What’s Wrong With This House.  See how many problems you can find!

178 LAS ASTAS Dr, Los Gatos, CA 95032
$949,000

BEDS: 4
BATHS: 2
SQ. FT.: 1,354
$/SQ. FT.: $701
LOT SIZE: 7,208 Sq. Ft.
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Ranch
STORIES: 1
VIEW: Neighborhood
YEAR BUILT: 1958
COMMUNITY: Los Gatos/Monte Sereno
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81133706
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 1 day
NEW LISTING (24 HOURS)

GORGEOUS REMODEL * MAPLE CABINETS * CHERRY FINISH * SLAB GRANITE * S/S APPLIANCES * WOOD FLOORS THROUGHOUT * CUSTOM TILED BATHS WITH GLASS ACCENTS * SEAMLESS GLASS DOOR * HIGH END CARPET * NEW INTERIOR DOORS * HARDWARE * MOLDING * SEP LIVING WITH MARBLE FACED WOOD BURNING FIREPLACE * * SEP FAMILY ROOM * RECESSED LIGHTING * HUGE LOT * CENTRAL HEATING & A/C * NEW LANDSCAPING * DOUBLE PANE WINDOWS & SLIDERS * LOS GATOS SCHOOLS *

So, what is that in the first picture?  Looks like the agent made a real point of minimizing something.  See what I mean?

Harder to see in the second picture (#18 on the Redfin page), but there I see something strung up there, more than enough to equip a sitar.  Let’s go to our eye in the sky to check this out.

No, I wasn’t seeing things.

YOWZA.  And here’s what happens if you look at the house on Streetview and then look straight up:

I’ll leave the rest of the hunting to you guys, but be sure to check the neighborhood out to make sure there aren’t any other issues lurking nearby.  Have fun!

Here’s a short but sweet entry for your weekend pleasure.

15980 Short Rd, Los Gatos, CA 95032
Foreclosure, Not for Sale

BEDS: 6
BATHS: 4
SQ. FT.: 7,111
LOT SIZE: 1.48 Acres
AUCTION DATE: Friday, January 21, 2011
AUCTION PRICE: $2,214,000
STORIES: 1
# OF ROOMS: 12
YEAR BUILT: 1982
COMMUNITY: Los Gatos
COUNTY: Santa Clara
LISTING #: 302830461
SOURCE: Public Records
STATUS: Foreclosure
ON REDFIN: 127 days

Sorry, this is one short sale the bank won’t let you touch.  There’s no Streetview, either, but here’s the house:

And here’s the neighborhood.

This house is a 7,111 square foot behemoth, and none of them are for sale.  JP Morgan Chase needs to be told what “selling shortly” is all about.  That street name was somewhat prescient.

PropertyShark has this place owned by the same people for the last 30 years.  All they listed was a refinance in 1998 for $750,000.  How’d they manage to get it auctioned off to the bank?  There’s a story here.  And it’s okay if you don’t know it, because this is also a Weekend Open Thread, so tell us any other story you wish.

Another find from Burbed reader nomadic, with that can’t-miss combo of bad listing copy, high price, and busted project.

118 DOVER St, Los Gatos, CA 95032
$2,798,000

BEDS: 5
BATHS: 6
SQ. FT.: 6,000
$/SQ. FT.: $466
LOT SIZE: 0.29 Acres
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: Mediterranean
STORIES: 2
VIEW: Mountains, Neighborhood
YEAR BUILT: 2011
COMMUNITY: Los Gatos/Monte Sereno
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81104569
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 122 days

EXQUISITE TUSCAN LOS GATOS ESTATE WITH OVER 6,000 SQFT * NO EXPENSE HAS BEEN SPARRED ON THIS FIVE BEDROOM, FIVE BATHROOM & TWO HALF BATH ESTATE * ENORMOUS KITCHEN W/ EVERY DESIGNER FEATURE * BARREL & CATHEDRAL CEILINGS * HAND SCRAPED PLANK HARDWOOD FLOORS * ANDERSON WINDOWS * AMAZING KNOTTY ALDER DOORS * FOUR FIRE PLACES * GREAT ROOM * BILLARDS ROOM * HUGE COMPLETED BASEMENT W/ WET BAR * INDOOR/OUTDOOR ROOM W/ FIREPLACE

Here’s what nomadic had to say about this place:

No expense has been sparred!  (sic)  Except, that is, the cost of actually finishing this monstrosity.

$2.8M and not even in the LG-Saratoga school district.  Tsk, tsk.

But nomadic, lots of people want those excellent Union elementary schools, and as this house shows, they’ll pay top dollar to ensure it!  Campbell High Schools are just a “bunus”!  And what makes you so sure they didn’t finish the house?  Didn’t you read what it says in the “Location Information”?

Directions: YOU MUST SEE THIS BRAND NEW CUSTOM ESTATE IN LOS GATOS. THIS EXQUISITE HOME IS 6,000 SQFT AND WILL BE COMPLETED IN MARCH/APRIL 2011. FROM BLOSSOM HILL ROAD TURN ONTO CAMINO DEL CERRO, TURN RIGHT ON BLOSSOM GLEN, TURN RIGHT ONTO DOVER COURT

Now why would a Real Estate professional lie about that?  I’m sure if he says it’s finished, then it’s finished, unless, of course, he didn’t bother updating the listing since March 1st.

But I do think the term “ESTATE” is a bit generous.  When I hear “estate” I think of some historically important building with character, set in its own park with acres and acres of space to keep out the riff raff.  This house just looks like a tract tumor:

I’m going to include a few of the photos from the virtual tour, just so you can see how hard they’re working to finish this house by March or April!

The agent has done his job making sure his name appears nice and prominently in the second picture. We got lots more for you after the break.

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Here’s a find from Burbed reader nomadic, who keeps unearthing all sorts of delights in Los Gatos.  Thanks very much!

15681 KENNEDY Rd, Los Gatos, CA 95032
$7,495,000

BEDS: 7
BATHS: 12.5
SQ. FT.: 12,405
$/SQ. FT.: $604
LOT SIZE: 3.58 Acres
PROPERTY TYPE: Detached Single Family
STYLE: French
STORIES: 3
VIEW: Mountains
YEAR BUILT: 1991
COMMUNITY: Los Gatos/Monte Sereno
COUNTY: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81037550
SOURCE: MLSListings
STATUS: Active
ON REDFIN: 263 days

Everything you ever dreamed of is right here in this magnificent French Chateau Estate. Main house 9,000sf, 6 complete suites, gold leafed fireplace, music room, library, wine cellar. Guest house is 3,500sf with guest suite, caterer’s kitchen, ballroom, theater, game room, onyx bar. Infinity pool, impressive portico, band and dance area many more special features. Incredible estate.

Here’s what nomadic had to say about this house:

Do you suppose this house comes with the band, and requires you to board all of the guests seated around the table? I guess for $7.5M you should get live-in entertainment included.

We already had a house ready for a party back at the beginning of the year, but this may be the first time the photos featured a party actually in progress.  Do you think the guests will sue or are they Facebooking their friends to say “Did you see I made Redfin?”  Actually from the age of this crowd I should ask if they’re telexing their friends, that is if they can’t get the houseboy to run down to Western Union.

Another thing to ask is just what this agent was trying to accomplish with this particular selection of photos.  It’s not so much that they’re bad photo, they aren’t.  But there’s a sameness about them that seems curious in trying to sell a home of this type.

Also I refrained from breaking out the little red arrows, but we have some mawbul kawlums going on here, or at least kawnkrete.

Okay, I’ll say it.  Seven and a half megageorges for this house, and they can’t be bothered to photograph the inside?  Maybe they’re trying the exclusivity angle by restricting the view to qualified buyers only.  But I’ve seen enough people pretending they have money when the whole financial structure is cantilevered atop playing cards and toothpicks, or in the real estate world, Different Piles of Other Peoples’ Money.  The upside of leverage is the profit when home prices go up, and the downside, well, if you aren’t smart enough to work that out then you get what you deserve.

Maybe they didn’t show the inside because the FBs can’t afford to furnish the place.

Okay, that was a cheap shot, but Redfin didn’t have a link to any other pictures.  I did go over to Zillow, intending to get the missing listing prices, and they had inside pictures plus they link to the virtual tour.  In a way, I’m kind of sorry I found it.  Not only is this place overdecorated like a simulacrum of “rich people’s furnishings,” the audio track is pseudo-wealthy music, too: the goddamned Pachelbel’s Canon in D.

I hate Pachelbel’s Canon with a passion.  Maybe that’s why the house hasn’t sold in more than two years. (253 days on Redfin, my sackbutt.)

This house may not be on VH1’s I Love the 1680s, but it sure loves 2006.  I say it’s going to party like it’s 1999.

Here is a little news that will have some of you quaking in your boots: You could lose your prestigious 408 area code.  Oh noez!

Santa Clara County’s 408 will spin off a new area code: 669

By Bruce Newman, SJ Mercury News
Posted: 03/07/2011 06:18:25 AM PST ; Updated: 03/07/2011 01:51:36 PM PST

There are 8 million phone numbers in the naked city. And no matter who you were calling in San Jose — or large swaths of the South Bay — for the past half century, you’ve had to dial this: area code 408.

But with the explosive proliferation of cell phones, wireless IP addresses and 4G-enabled baby pacifiers, the area code that has served San Jose since neighbors could listen in on each other’s party line calls is officially "exhausted."

That conclusion — arrived at by the Orwellian-sounding North American Numbering Plan Administration, or NANPA, in December — means some South Bay phone customers will start being assigned area code 669 by the end of next year.

Deciding who gets to hang onto their 408, and who becomes a 669, is the job of the California Public Utilities Commission, which will convene hearings March 16-18 in San Jose, Los Gatos and Morgan Hill to explain the switch.

Brie is 415, Velveeta is 408.  Columnist Herb Caen played the Area Code Game in the SF Chronicle, back in the early 1980s.  That was before all those other area codes bloomed in the little family tree above.  Now I guess Brie is 650, Velveeta is 209, Kraft American is 925, Vegan Gourmet Cheese Alternative is 831, and ten pound blocks of government cheese is 510.  Oh, 415 and 408?  415 is Myzithra.  408 is whatever you put in front of them, it’s not like they’re tasting it while they’re writing iOS device drivers.

The new area code will be arriving by October 2012.  So, who’s going to go to the CPUC meetings to complain about losing their Silicon Valley area code?  There are a couple of proposals, one of them where everyone keeps their numbers and new ones are assigned the 669 code (the overlay), and the other where there is an area code split.

Next up for this kind of torture will be area code 510, forecast to run out of available phone number blocks by 2016.  415 should follow a year later.  And bet you didn’t know this: a new area code should have kicked in ten years ago, but by pooling phone number blocks everyone has been able to keep their area code and their seven digit dialing.

Below is the map of the proposed 408-669 split.  It comes from the CPUC, who obviously don’t care much about geographical features such as city borders, streets, freeways, or rivers.  So good luck figuring out whether this map actually affects you.  Also note how they don’t commit to who gets to keep the coveted 408 identity, but I’ll tell you who: it’s the B People.

But don’t get too upset, after meeting with the telephone providers,the CPUC is inclined to go with the overlay plan anyway. And that means instead of turning Los Gatos, Campbell, Saratoga, and San Jose West into 69ers, instead the newbies are going to have that 669 area code.  It also means that you’ll have to dial eleven digits when making phone calls, even to next door, or for that matter to the fax machine in the same room.  Have fun reprogramming just about anything you have that calls phone numbers, and hoping that your alarm company and your cable company and anything else doesn’t forget to switch over to 1-408+number dialing.

And what this means for Burbed readers is that Silicon Valley area code jokes are going to get a lot more raunchy.  Have fun figuring out what kind of cheese they are.

Yesterday we showcased the most expensive sale last year in San Mateo County, a $15M property in Woodside.  Can Santa Clara beat that?  Yes we can! But only if we count the sale of a mobile home park.  If we want to stick to single-family houses, the answer is NO WAY, SAN JOSE.

16331 Matilija Dr, Los Gatos, CA 95030

Sold on 06/15/2010: $10,000,000

<img missing due to burbed’s terrible admin skills. working on restoring>

BEDS: 6
BATHS: 7.5
FINISHED SQFT: 11,616
UNFINISHED SQFT: 3,075
TOTAL SQFT: 14,691
FLOORS: 2
LOT SIZE: 82,328
STYLE: Single Family Residential
YEAR BUILT: 2001
YEAR RENOVATED: 2001
COUNTY: Santa Clara County
APN: 51030027
LAST UPDATED: August 26, 2010

<img missing due to burbed’s terrible admin skills. working on restoring>

Alas, the original sales description and images are gone.  But check this out.  Looks like the asking price on this megamansion was once $14,900,000.  And it has the agent’s description (even if the pictures are gone), so let’s enjoy what they were so eager to hide:

MEDITERRANEAN INSPIRED VILLA BY MEHUS CONSTR-NEARLY 2 AC OF FORMAL HILLTOP LAWNS,TERRACES&COURTYARDS-BELOW REPLACEMENT COST-TRUE GRAND ESTATE VIEWS FROM SF TO SO. VALLEY-ARTESIAN WORKMANSHIP-NOTHING SPARRED-FINEST QUALITY-MUST SEE

Wow.  Artesian workmanship.  So there should be deep and narrow wells all over the property – or the construction crew came from France. And nothing was sparred.  Glad they weren’t fighting while installing all those tiles on the roof.  Although if the house was really “below replacement cost” at $14.9M, there was probably a lot of fighting when it sold for ten million with that 33% haircut.

Also I’m going to call shenanigans on “below replacement cost,” since tax records say additions are valued at $5.2 million. This house is ten years old, not a hundred. Maybe you can convert a garage into a couple of bedrooms without anyone noticing (until you try to sell the place), but there’s no way the FB put up a quarter acre worth of house and “forgot” to file construction permits.  That addition value shouldn’t be too far out of line with actual building costs.

If we ranked the homes on Sunday’s Zillow list by how much of a discount off original asking price they sold for, this Los Gatos hyperhouse that takes up more floor area than some strip malls would be tied for fifth place.  No question about it, Los Gatos has an insanely overpriced, oversized home smacked down by market forces.  Booyah!

When the banks say everything must go, they really mean everything, including this big, big, big deal.  Thanks to Burbed reader nomadic for today’s amazing offer.

18157 Wagner Rd, Los Gatos, CA 95032
$7,695,000

Beds: 5
Baths: 6
Sq. Ft.: 7,035
$/Sq. Ft.: $1,094
Lot Size: 25 Acres
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Style: Contemporary, Mediterranean
Stories: 2
View: Green Belt, Mountains, Canyon, Neighborhood, Valley, City Lights
Year Built: 1999
Community: Los Gatos/Monte Sereno
County: Santa Clara
MLS#: 81051721
Source: MLSListings
Status: Active
On Redfin: 62 days

COMPLETELY REMODELED TUSCAN ESTATE ON 25 SPECTACULAR VIEW ACRES * SEPARATE 10 ACRE PARCEL IS IDEAL TO BUILD A SECOND ESTATE OR VINEYARD * EXQUISITE DETAILS INCLUDE NEW EXTERIOR FINISHES, PLASTER WALLS, INFINITY EDGED POOL, NEW LUSH LANDSCAPING, NEW DESIGNER BATHROOMS, AND STUNNING HARDWOOD & TRAVERTINE FLOORING * MINUTES TO DOWNTOWN & HWY 85 * DISTINGUISHED LOS GATOS SCHOOLS * OVER 7,035 SQFT OF LUXURY & PRIVACY

Such a BIG deal the agent put everything in CAPITAL LETTERS so you can pick up his URGENCY.  HURRY, HURRY, HURRY, it’s only been listed 62 days.

Here’s what nomadic had to say about this listing:

Look at the confusing history on this house.  The old listings bounce between 15 and 25 acres.  There are two parcels apparently, but with the foreclosures I’m surprised they would have continued to be owned by the same entity.  The prices are all over the place too.

Wait, multiple foreclosures?  One at $3,367,000 and another at $4,155,534, within two weeks of each other?  Plus four sales within two months during the bubble, between an individual, a relative, a limited liability corporation, and a living trust (and that’s before the banks got involved)?  Is it a house or is it a hot potato?  Don’t know, but it’s (they’ve?) been listed on MLS no less than fourteen times since it was built eleven years ago.

 

The listing and sales record is so long it has 42 entries in it.  Head over to Redfin and take it all in there.

One great thing about buying this house: You will definitely get to decide what color you want your walls painted.  Is there anything sadder than a ginormous custom home full of abandoned equipment because the owner ran out of money?  There’s definitely a story here, but you don’t need to hear it.  You just need to take this property off the bank’s books cheap, and pick out some paint.

The Cheapest House In… series is so popular, what could be more appropriate than bringing back another one? That other perennial Burbed series, Most Expensive Zip Codes: RBA Edition!  Well, what indeed, other than some of the commenters saying they hated it?  But that’s okay.  That was just one or two hot-heads.  We know all the rest of you can’t wait to find out when San Jose makes an appearance on that list!

If you missed the previous entries in the ZIP code series, feel free to check them out.  The 500 most expensive zips were chosen by Forbes magazine, working with Altos Research’s data.  All the mistakes were entirely Forbes’, of course.  We just take credit for finding them.

• 25 Most Expensive Zips also in RBA, starring… Atherton!
• 26-50, you paid how much for Portola Valley?
• 51-100, go ahead and brag.  Losers.
• 100-150, into three digits and we’re supposed to be impressed?
• 151-200, where we start ignoring flyover zips

And now, Burbed proudly presents (okay, not so proudly, we did get some Debbie Downers who moaned about this) The Most Expensive Zip Codes in the RBA: The Six Digit Edition.

#201 – 94506 Danville

Median Home Price: $1,072,360

Median Price Change: NA

Average Days On Market: 96

Inventory: 84 properties

Median Household Income: $142,459

Ignored Because: In East Bay, plus Forbes can’t figure out where Danville actually is.  Remember that expensive Danville zip here at #59?  That was actually Pleasanton.

#202 – 93924 Carmel Valley

Median Home Price: $1,064,710

Median Price Change: 9%

Average Days On Market: 206

Inventory: 101 properties

Median Household Income: $71,053

Ignored Because: Another gazillion square mile zip full of nothing.

#211 – 95014 Cupertino

Median Home Price: $1,042,581

Median Price Change: -4%

Average Days On Market: 69

Inventory: 155 properties

Median Household Income: $100,020

 

Finally,, a place we can call home; home to Apple, home to Hewlett-Packard – oops, not any more! But it is home to the world-famous Cupertino Union School District, where parents raised two million dollars to keep teachers from losing their jobs another year.  So if you move in, you know you’ll be hit up for even more next year!

The median price is still over a million, but not for long!  At least it has an eight in it.

#212 – 94010 Burlingame

Median Home Price: $1,035,952

Median Price Change: -25%

Average Days On Market: 88

Inventory: 122 properties

Median Household Income: $82,188

Conveniently located at the nexus of US 101 and SFO, Burlingame has many advantages which I’ll leave to the imagination.  Just as Los Altos Hills has Los Altos pulling down the averages, Hillsborough will always have Burlingame.  And why not, when they share the same ZIP code?  And in an amazing coincidence, they also share the same median income.

Anyone who thinks the typical Hillsborough household income is $82K when the houses sell for $2.9 million, raise your polo mallet.

#220 – 94115 San Francisco

Median Home Price: $1,018,459

Median Price Change: -21%

Average Days On Market: 93

Inventory: 99 properties

Median Household Income: $54,879

You ever see that movie, Pacific Heights, where the psycho tenant tries to drive the yuppie landlords out of their house?  This is where it supposedly took place.  (It actually took place at Texas and 19th Street, in Potrero Hill, but then the house wouldn’t have sold for $750,000 in the late eighties.) 

Pacific Heights: median home price, a million.  Median income, fifty thou.  Why was anyone surprised when an angry renter happened?  Disclaimer: I have actually lived in this zip code.  As a renter.

#227 – 94939 Larkspur

Median Home Price: $1,004,396

Median Price Change: -26%

Average Days On Market: 95

Inventory: 36 properties

Median Household Income: $75,747

Ignored Because: Location, location, location! Right next to San Quentin.

#236 – 94402 San Mateo

Median Home Price: $982,903

Median Price Change: -10%

Average Days On Market: 103

Inventory: 103 properties

Median Household Income: $82,796

Whoa, look at that map!  This zip is cut into three different pieces!  Well seriously, if San Mateo gets to pick and choose separate parts that go to one zip, of course they can optimize it to get a couple of their zips onto the Top 500.  Place your bets which one we’ll see next, and when!

For this, 94402 is nominated for the Jerry Mander Prize for noncontiguousity.  But it’s still San Mateo so nobody is impressed.  Just the fact that we’re now under a million for the median home price tells us we’re not in Atherton anymore.

#238 – 94118 San Francisco

Median Home Price: $976,434

Median Price Change: -8%

Average Days On Market: 71

Inventory: 86 properties

Median Household Income: $61,609

This zip contains Inner Richmond and Laurel Village, along with the nice places along the Presidio near Lake Street.  What’s surprising is how close the numbers are to Pacific Heights’ zip code.  Then again, zip codes were designed for postal workers, not real estate agents.

Then again, it includes 19th Avenue, and any house near there could be described as A Thoroughfare Runs Through It.

#241 – 94127 San Francisco

Median Home Price: $969,776

Median Price Change: -8%

Average Days On Market: 103

Inventory: 50 properties

Median Household Income: $95,313

Remember what I was saying earlier about Portrero Hill?  Well, this isn’t it.  This is Mount Davidson, highest point in San Francisco (928 feet).  The neighborhood southwest of Mount Davidson is called Sherwood Forest.  Now all we need is a Robin Hood to steal from the people who live here (check out the median income).

This is also the site of the park scene with the cross in Dirty Harry, where Harry confronts serial killer Scorpio.

#245 – 95120 San Jose

Median Home Price: $965,271

Median Price Change: -2%

Average Days On Market: 86

Inventory: 176 properties

Median Household Income: $120,117

San Jose?  No way.

Way, even San Jose finally cracks the list of Most Expensive Zip Codes, although #245 doesn’t exactly serve up bragging rights.  This part of town is on a hill like San Francisco above, but if you can name a movie shot at Calero Reservoir as notable as Dirty Harry (heck, our Governator said that movie influenced his acting career), go for it in the comments.

#250 – 95033 Los Gatos

Median Home Price: $940,654

Median Price Change: 7%

Average Days On Market: 172

Inventory: 98 properties

Median Household Income: $106,675

Los Gatos’ third zip code squeaks under the wire at number 250, joining more chichi 95030 (#38) and 95032 (#199) in the list of Most Expensive Zip Codes in the United States.

This from the zip that provided the Cheapest House in Los Gatos earlier this week.  But it’s also got its tail cut off!  Did Mean old 95030 bite it when they were duking it out over Monte Sereno?

Next Installment: You’ll be on the edge of your seat wondering if Sunnyvale makes the next cut!  Only on Burbed!!!!