1403 Shore Drive San Jose, CA 95133

For those living or working around Milpitas and North San Jose, the construction of the BART extension to Silicon Valley is making significant progress.  Still, BART service to Silicon Valley, with the Milpitas and Berryessa stations, is 5 years away, scheduled for 2018.  Meanwhile, KB Home has begun building a new home community called Berryessa Crossing, at the northern parking lot of the current San Jose Flea Market, just across the street from the future BART station.

In previous blog postings, I have discussed the appeal of living near public transportation.  For the past few years, I have been seeing many first-time homebuyers and investors snatching up condos and townhomes close to BART and Caltrain in Mountain View, Fremont and Dublin.  With the current urbanization trend, this preference should continue for the next 3-5 years.  KB Home, one of the biggest homebuilders, agrees and has been trying to capitalize on this trend.

For years, the City of San Jose has been planning a community of up to 3000 homes across from the future Berryessa BART station, together with in-place services like shopping centers, schools and parks.  KB Home is the first to strike a deal with the city for its 10 acre site.  Berryessa Crossing consists of 242 homes of townhomes and single family residences.  It is divided into three communities: The Town, 2-3 bedrooms townhomes starting in $500Ks, the Residences, 3-4 bedrooms 3 story single family homes starting at $600Ks and the North Village, 3-5 bedroom 2-story single family homes in the $800Ks.

The model homes are still under construction, but KB Home is planning its first release before Thanksgiving.  Generally, the first release is priced the lowest for a new home community.  Coupled with the seasonal effects on housing market, buyers will likely get a very good deal.  Of course, this also means that competition for the first release will be intense.