This little-known Silicon Valley 'micro-hood' is suddenly one of the hottest housing markets in America -- take a look

not totally sure about the first line in the slide hed..are you saying there is a more desirable neighbourhood than Serra? Based on my preliminary Google searches, Serra looked like a realtor's attempt to rebrand an existing neighbourhood with a pleasant-sounding moniker in order to lure prospective buyers -- like New York's made-up SoHa. None of my colleagues in San Francisco had ever heard of it.

Serra has seen a 1% dip in off-market home values since the beginning of the year, but local realtors are optimistic. Four of out five homes sold in July went for more than asking price.

'Competition has remained fierce,' Redfin Silicon Valley real-estate agent Kalena Masching told Redfin. 'We have been in bidding wars with all-cash offers, sold homes for $A64,155 over the list price, and waived contingencies to win in the area over the past six months.'

It's a good time to be in the watch repair business, according to Fred. The growing popularity of smartwatches like the Apple Watch -- which leapfrogged Rolex to become
the best-selling watch in the world in 2017 -- has prompted old-fashioned watches to come back into style.

Fred said he hasn't raised prices in 10 years, because sales have been strong. People working at nearby tech companies bring in Rolex and Paddock Felipe watches for repairs. Fred figures most customers are Bay Area transplants because they leave out-of-state phone numbers.

When asked why Sunnyvale has become so popular among prospective homebuyers, Fred replied, simply, 'It's obvious. Because of the tech companies.'

He had never heard of Serra or The Dalles as a neighbourhood. 'It's just Sunnyvale,' he said.

Source: Redfin

This was one of the larger properties I saw. It had a basketball court in lieu of a front yard.

Source: Redfin

Source: Redfin

Source: San Jose Mercury

Source: Zillow