Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Cupertino vs. Santa Clara vs. Berryessa property tax comparison

For buyers who are numbers driven, I did a detailed comparison of the property tax charges between sample houses in the 3 neighborhoods below:
1. Cupertino address with Cupertino schools
2. Santa Clara address with Cupertino schools
3. San Jose address with Berryessa schools

The overall property tax rates are very similar for all properties in Santa Clara County because for all properties, you start with the same 1% maximum levy on the assessed value and that 1% is the bulk of every property tax bill. The variations are due to the minor elements added on to that.

Three of the add-ons are based on the school district:
1. Community College Bonds is .000326 for CUSD/FUHSD and just .000170 for Berryessa School District.

2. Elementary or Unif School Bonds is .000308 for Cupertino Union School District (CUSD) but higher at .000507 for Berryessa School District.

3. High School Bonds is .000365 for FUHSD but higher at .000712 for East Side Union High School District.

Special assessments are also different for each community:

Some assessments are based on address (not school district).

The house with Cupertino address (based on address not school district) is charged special assessments for the following:

1. Sewer Service - Cupertino $288
2. County Library $33.66
3. Cupertino/Environment/Storm $12

In comparison, the house with San Jose address pays a San Jose Library Assessment of $27.80 and the house with Santa Clara address pays a SCCOSA Assessment of $12.

Other special assessments are based on school district (not address).

For instance, regardless of address, homes in the Cupertino Union School District (CUSD) and Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD) pay CUSD Parcel Tax $125 and FUHSD Parcel Tax $98. In comparison, the Berryessa School District Parcel Tax is just $79.

In summary:
1. Cupertino address with Cupertino schools = Assessed Value*(Tax Rate = 0.011506 + 0.000072)+ $638.46
2. Santa Clara address with Cupertino schools = Assessed Value*(Tax Rate = 0.011482 + 0.000072)+ $316.80
3. San Jose address with Berryessa schools = Assessed Value*(Tax Rate = 0.012222 + 0.000072)+ $694.46

The final conclusion is that the property tax rates are only slightly different between different neighborhoods within Santa Clara County. If you are evaluating a potential purchase of investment property and need a rough property tax figure to enable you to compute cash flow then use a rough number of 0.0125 * Assessed Property Value (i.e. 1.25% * purchase price for year1)

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Sunnyvale Somerset of Sunnyvale by Summerhill Homes in Cumberland, Sunnyvale Middle, Homestead High School District

Somerset of Sunnyvale


"Somerset of Sunnyvale" is a cluster of Single-Family Homes built by Summerhill Homes in Cumberland Elementary, Sunnyvale Middle, and Homestead High School district in the mid 1990s. These homes are a good combination of being relatively new, yet built early enough that they have decent-sized lots and are located in a good neighborhood just south of Washington Park. To get to this community from Washington Park, walk south on Pescadero Terrace or Sunset Ave. The other streets in this community are Markham Terrace, Kearney Terrace, Redondo Terrace, and Pismo Terrace.

Schools


The schools for this community are all highly rated:
Cumberland Elementary
Sunnyvale Middle
Homestead High

Price Trend


The most common models and their price trend are as follows:

Large: 1644 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms
4/16/11 $1,007,900 <-- The recent price this spring was nearly back up to spring 2008 value
9/1/08 $1,000,000
6/28/08 $998,888
5/7/08 $1,009,161

Medium: 1568 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms
5/4/11 $952,000 <-- In less than a year, the price has gone up $30,000
7/30/10 $922,000

Small: 1354 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms
4/15/09 $815,000 <-- April 2009 was the BOTTOM of the recent downturn
5/2/08 $948,000

Sometimes statistics that are too general, such lumping the entire city of Sunnyvale, don't tell the price trend accurately because the median and average price for an entire city might simply describe a change in the mixture of sales between northern and souther Sunnyvale. However, since I am comparing EXACT same model homes in the same complex, my data above gives an accurate picture of the price trend. The bottom of this downturn was in April 2009 and ever since then the price trend has been gradually upward in the Cumberland Elementary/Sunnyvale Middle/Homstead High neighborhoods. Talk to me if you'd like me to analyze your particular neighborhood.

To see other posts is this blog:

Go to SiliconValleyHouses blogspot


94086 Education Level:

Friday, August 12, 2011

"Somerset of Sunnyvale" by Summerhill Homes in Cumberland Elementary, Sunnyvale Middle, and Homestead High School District

"Somerset of Sunnyvale" is a cluster of Single-Family Homes built by Summerhill Homes in Cumberland Elementary, Sunnyvale Middle, and Homestead High School district in the mid 1990s. These homes are a good combination of being relatively new, yet built early enough that they have decent-sized lots and are located in a good neighborhood just south of Washington Park. To get to this community from Washington Park, walk south on Pescadero Terrace or Sunset Ave. The other streets in this community are Markham Terrace, Kearney Terrace, Redondo Terrace, and Pismo Terrace.

The schools for this community are all highly rated:
Cumberland Elementary
Sunnyvale Middle
Homestead High

The most common models and their price trend are as follows:

Large: 1644 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms
4/16/11 $1,007,900 <-- The recent price this spring was nearly back up to spring 2008 value
9/1/08 $1,000,000
6/28/08 $998,888
5/7/08 $1,009,161

Medium: 1568 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms
5/4/11 $952,000 <-- In less than a year, the price has gone up $30,000
7/30/10 $922,000

Small: 1354 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms
4/15/09 $815,000 <-- April 2009 was the BOTTOM of the recent downturn
5/2/08 $948,000

Sometimes statistics that are too general, such lumping the entire city of Sunnyvale, don't tell the price trend accurately because the median and average price for an entire city might simply describe a change in the mixture of sales between northern and souther Sunnyvale. However, since I am comparing EXACT same model homes in the same complex, my data above gives an accurate picture of the price trend. The bottom of this downturn was in April 2009 and ever since then the price trend has been gradually upward in the Cumberland Elementary/Sunnyvale Middle/Homstead High neighborhoods. Talk to me if you'd like me to analyze your particular neighborhood.