GILROY
– Home for sale: 3 bedroom, 2 bath, in Luigi Aprea attendance
area.
In the world of real estate, which already is experiencing a
robust seller’s market, that last feature may be icing on the cake.
Home listings note addresses within the Luigi Aprea Elementary
School neighborhood much as they would a swimming pool or any other
amenity.
GILROY – Home for sale: 3 bedroom, 2 bath, in Luigi Aprea attendance area.
In the world of real estate, which already is experiencing a robust seller’s market, that last feature may be icing on the cake. Home listings note addresses within the Luigi Aprea Elementary School neighborhood much as they would a swimming pool or any other amenity.
Since the Gilroy Unified School District switched from magnet to “neighborhood schools” two years ago, students generally attend the school nearest their homes. So, houses in the neighborhood of Gilroy’s highest-performing elementary school have suddenly become more attractive to potential buyers and more valuable to their owners.
“There’s no question it’s adding value to homes in that school (area),” said Patty Filice, a real estate agent with Intero Real Estate Services in Morgan Hill, which does a lot of business in Gilroy.
Proximity to Luigi Aprea is one of several factors making homes in the northwest quadrant some of the most sought-after in Gilroy. While a Luigi address does not necessarily translate into added dollar value, Filice said, it adds to the overall appeal of a house.
“That area has a double benefit of being predominantly newer homes, which is a desirable part of the market, and then when you add to that a school with the highest test scores in the school district, that is a highly desirable home for buyers,” Filice said.
When local real estate agents meet weekly for home tours, Luigi-area properties are often singled out, she said.
“It’s very common right now for someone to stand up and say, ‘I have someone looking in the Luigi Aprea district,’ ” she said.
The Luigi neighborhood encompasses the area west of Santa Teresa Boulevard between roughly Hecker Pass Highway to the south and Sunrise Drive on the north. There are many recent developments in the area, with some still under construction. Easy access to a San Jose commute is another bonus of a northwest quad house, Filice said.
“It’s just another plus, and it seems to be a big plus,” Filice said.
Luigi’s state ranking, based on standardized test scores, 837 on a 1,000-point scale, is more than 100 points higher than any other GUSD elementary school. Compared to schools across the state with similar demographics, Luigi ranks 9 on a 10-point scale.
Filice said a desire for Luigi-area homes is not limited to buyers with elementary-age children.
“It’s something to think about for resale,” she said.
Residents in the Luigi neighborhood say agents have done a good job of responding to buyers’ interests, often cold-calling homeowners or circulating fliers enticing them to sell. One flier from a Coldwell Banker Realtor left on Del Oro Way tells the homeowner a family is looking for a home in the neighborhood. “They have chosen your neighborhood as a place they would like to live. … I know we can make this happen to be a benefit to you.”
Anthony Kachakji, who recently sold his home on the 1200 block of Longmeadow Drive, said its Luigi neighborhood locale was not factored into its selling price, but was likely a factor in how quickly a buyer snatched it up.
The house sold within a day of being put on the market.
“I think it might have been a selling point, but it is not the only point,” he said.
Simply being located close to a school – any school – would make a house attractive to parents of school-age children, Kachakji said, although being near a high-performer certainly doesn’t hurt.
“One of the advantages is that it is Luigi, but it’s also just a two-minute walk,” he said.
While some people are certainly in the market for a Luigi-area home, Chris Ordaz, Coldwell Banker office branch manager advises his agents not to limit the areas of their search. Plus, he noted, all GUSD schools are improving their scores.
“If you limit yourself to one area, you might not get a home,” Ordaz tells his agents. “And then by the time you realize you may need to go to another area, the price might have risen 3 to 5 percent.
“They might not be able to get a home there because of the demand, so they need to keep their options open for all areas they’re qualified for.”
Joe Zertuche, a Realtor with Century 21 Premier, said he is reluctant to advertise widely that a home is within Luigi’s boundaries.
“You can’t guarantee that someone is going to get into that school,” Zertuche said.
Filice did say most agents will tell buyers to confirm that the school has room for their children.
School secretary Judy Rowley said she does receive calls from parents who are planning to move to the area, but she offers no guarantee that their child may attend the school.
“I tell them, ‘It can change tomorrow,’ ” she said.
The neighborhood schools phenomenon may be new to Gilroy, but not to more-impacted areas.
“In San Jose, people look at the boundary lines very closely,” Ordaz said. “For example, Cupertino (Union) School District is in very high demand.”
It’s not to say other schools in Gilroy are bad, Filice said, but people are taking special notice of Luigi Aprea.
In fact, just about any home that goes on the market in Gilroy is in-demand at the moment, with less than half the usual amount of homes for sale and interest rates tantalizingly low.
“Everybody’s getting calls because there’s a shortage in every price range in every area,” Ordaz said.
Home values also are increasing throughout Gilroy: The median home price has been rising 10 and 20 percent a month and now stands at $556,000.
“When you get this supply and demand, when you get people wanting to move into homes, it naturally drives up prices,” Ordaz said.
