T
he real estate market in Silicon Valley is booming, with both residential and commercial brokerages expanding their presence in the area. Corcoran Icon has recently opened a new location in Palo Alto, which will serve around 35 residential agents. The new office is located in Town & Country Village, right across the street from Stanford University. Managing Broker Benyam Mulugeta and Icon Sales Manager Susan LaRagione will oversee the new location.
Home prices in the "Stanford Circle" - which includes Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Atherton, Woodside, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park - are among the highest in the Bay Area and continue to rise. Median sales prices have increased by 32% since 2019 and are up 6% in the last year alone. Luxury home sales in this area, defined as those above $5 million, have increased by 38% from January to July 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
On the commercial side, JLL has opened a new office in San Jose's Santana Row development. The lease for the 5,400-square-foot space is for three years and is expected to serve around 20 brokers, as well as support services in research, project management, and property management. Kirsten Grado, managing director at JLL, will oversee the new office.
JLL has a long history of doing business in the South Bay and is looking to expand its market share further. The new office is expected to help achieve this goal by better supporting existing clients and brokers and recruiting more. JLL has also announced four new agents who will help fill the space: Alex Lagemann, Sean Toomey, Bryte Bellotti, and Maryjane Archuleta.
Lagemann left an executive director role at Cushman & Wakefield's San Jose office to take a senior managing director title at JLL. Prior to his career in real estate, he was a musician who toured internationally with the alternative band Radical Something. Toomey has been in real estate for 18 years, most recently at Colliers before joining JLL as a managing director. Bellotti specializes in life science and R&D leases and has previously worked in business development for tech companies like Box.com. Archuleta joined JLL as an associate after less than two years at Colliers and has a leadership role in the Silicon Valley branch of the Commercial Real Estate Women business network.
Grado mentioned that there are "pending recruits" JLL hopes to announce after the new office formally launches next month. She described the space as a "tremendous boost to recruiting as well as retention" and noted that Santana Row is convenient for commutes and a beautiful, walkable community with many amenities.
