Real Estate: What a half-million dollars will get you in Silicon Valley

SAN JOSE, Calif. (Maureen Naylor/KTVU) - If you have the traditional American dream of owning a home, in Silicon Valley your options in the $500,000 range are dwindling.
　
"It's pretty rare. And if you do find one, it's going to need a lot of work," said Keller Williams realtor Leland Lowe.
　
The South Bay realtor says home buyers used to be able to find a house for less than $500,000 in East San Jose but it's not 2015 anymore.
　
"In this particular area you'll find listings in the 600s," said Lowe. "So it's definitely gone up dramatically."
　
For example, there is a 1400-square-foot home near King and Story Roads just put on the market for $690,000 which is more than twice the amount it sold for back in 2000.
　
"In my 31 years of being a real estate broker, supply and demand more than any other single issue has affected the prices of property throughout the 30 plus years I've been doing this," said Rick Smith, the President of the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors.
　
According to the SCCAOR, this is how many current listings there are in the $500,000 range in some of the Bay Area counties:
San Mateo: 0
Santa Clara: 3
Alameda: 96
Contra Costa: 282
　
One of those in Contra Costa county is a 3-bedroom, 2-bath home in Martinez with 1200 square feet listed for $499,000.
　
In Santa Clara County, one of only 3 single-family homes in the $500,000 range is a 1-bedroom, 1-bath home on East Empire Street in Central San Jose that is 440-square feet and said to need "major repairs."

Newly released numbers show in Santa Clara County last month, the median price of a single-family home sold was $1,220,000 which is up 17% from last October.
　
"If you're going to be on this side of the Bay, in San Mateo or Santa Clara County, if you want to be under $500,000 you're looking for a condo or a townhouse," said Smith.