home / san jose / valley view-reed
san jose neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Valley View–Reed, San Jose Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
Late-1950s and 1960s tract streets between Meridian Ave and the Guadalupe River, from Hillsdale Ave down to Hwy 85, laid over prune orchards along Cherry Ave, Jarvis Ave and Branham Ln.
Valley View-Reed by the numbers
valley view-reed by the numbers · live from the mls
- for sale now…
- median list price…
- homes sold, last 12 months…
- median sale price, 12 mo…
- median price per sq ft, sold…
- sale price vs. list…
Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Valley View-Reed: Hillsdale Ave to Hwy 85, Meridian Ave to Almaden Expwy (approximate). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in valley view-reed · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Valley View-Reed
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Valley View-Reed from the MLS, updated automatically, with a map of the neighborhood outline.
Loading listings…
Listings come from MLSListings and other MLSs through IDX and show their listing brokerage; confirm details with the listing agent. The map outline is the neighborhood boundary used by our listing search (Valley View-Reed: Hillsdale Ave to Hwy 85, Meridian Ave to Almaden Expwy (approximate)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Valley View-Reed came to be
Before the tracts, this was orchard country along the old Almaden Road, the stage route to the New Almaden mines. A San Jose Public Library history of the area says a one-room Valley View School stood on Almaden Road near Hillsdale from the mid-1890s until 1929, probably named for a Valley View Ranch shown on an 1880s county atlas. Nearby, the Valley View Packing Company ran a prune orchard and dehydrating plant near the old Hillsdale and Almaden roads until the land was sold for housing in the late 1990s. A second library post lists a stage stop at Almaden Road and Branham Lane called the Five Mile House, or Robertsville.
The houses arrived quickly. City annexation records show about two-thirds of today's parcels joining San Jose between 1956 and 1959, in pieces named Bryan, Jarvis, Hillsdale and Robertsville; Jarvis No. 1, in July 1957, alone covers more than a thousand of them. The same library history describes a tract built in 1956 on an old prune orchard beside the packing company. In 1959 a new Valley View Elementary opened a block west of the old schoolhouse site. In 1982 the science magnet program of the closed Hacienda Elementary moved in, and the school is now Hacienda Science/Environmental Magnet on Kimberly Dr.
Later annexations, from 1965 through 1984, picked up the last county parcels, including Waterville Dr, Cherryview Ln, Cedar Gables Dr, Robertsville Ct and Gelia Way. Almaden Expressway (County Route G8) was built over the old Almaden Road starting in 1959, and Hwy 85 along the south edge opened in October 1994. Listing records still use the area name Valley View / Reed, which keeps the old school name in circulation.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
Four through streets organize everything: Cherry Ave and Jarvis Ave run north-south, Hillsdale Ave and Branham Ln run east-west. North of Branham Ln, the Willow streets (Willowmont Ave, Willowgate Dr, Willowdale Dr, Willowbrook Dr) run east from Meridian Ave, Bryan Ave and Glacier Dr cross between Jarvis Ave and Cherry Ave, and Kimberly Dr and Montmorency Dr run east from Cherry. Farther east, Vistamont Dr, Picadilly Dr, Gardendale Dr and Cheshire Dr run south from Hillsdale Ave. South of Branham Ln, Bouret Dr, Scossa Ave, Luning Dr, Shawn Dr and Joplin Dr fill the middle, and a cluster of Spanish-named streets near Meridian Ave and Hwy 85 (Portobelo Dr, Rio Verde Dr, Tampico Way, Yucatan Way, Las Cruces Ct, El Roble Ct) sits in a different school district from its neighbors.
Most blocks are zoned R-1-8 for single-family houses. Census estimates for the block groups covering the area count about 63% of housing units as detached houses. City address records put the multi-unit buildings mainly along Cherry Ave, Almaden Expwy, Branham Ln, Russo Dr and Luchessi Dr, plus parts of Shawn Dr, Joplin Dr, Bouret Dr and Scossa Ave, which carry the City's urban-residential zoning. About 58% of units date from the 1950s and 1960s and roughly a fifth from the 1970s. On the county parcel map, most house lots measure about 6,000 to 7,000 sq ft, with a median near 6,300.
The City's subdivision map shows about 60 recorded tracts inside these lines, from a few lots to nearly 200, so floor plans change from tract to tract. The newest houses sit in a small infill tract near Jarvis Ave and Bryan Ave (Quinlan Ln, Electra Way, Hugo Ln, Quartz Way), where City sewer records date the mains to 2014.
streets in valley view-reed
- Hillsdale Ave
- Cherry Ave
- Jarvis Ave
- Branham Ln
- Meridian Ave
- Almaden Expwy
- Willowmont Ave
- Willowgate Dr
- Willowdale Dr
- Willowbrook Dr
- Bryan Ave
- Glacier Dr
- Kimberly Dr
- Montmorency Dr
- Vistamont Dr
- Gardendale Dr
- Picadilly Dr
- Cheshire Dr
- Bouret Dr
- Scossa Ave
- Luning Dr
- Santa Fe Dr
- Boysea Dr
- Shawn Dr
- Joplin Dr
- Lansing Ave
- Russo Dr
- Speak Ln
- Waterville Dr
- Portobelo Dr
- Rio Verde Dr
- Tampico Way
- Yucatan Way
- Las Cruces Ct
- El Roble Ct
- Cedar Gables Dr
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Valley View-Reed
- park
Paul Moore Park
About 8.7 acres at 1426 Hillsdale Ave (City park records) with two tennis courts, six pickleball courts, two basketball courts, a soccer field, a softball field, playgrounds and picnic areas. The Paul Moore Neighborhood Center is at Myrtle Ave and Zisch Dr.
- park
Russo Park and the Hwy 85 overcrossing
A 0.36-acre pocket park on Russo Dr at Hwy 85 with two horseshoe pits. The Russo Dr pedestrian overcrossing next to it crosses the freeway to the Dentwood Dr side.
- shopping
Branham Ln and Almaden Expwy centers
City zoning maps neighborhood commercial centers at Branham Ln and Almaden Expwy and at Branham Ln and Meridian Ave, with larger stores on Almaden Expwy near Cherry Ave and Hwy 85. More shopping is at Almaden Expwy and Blossom Hill Rd, about 0.8 mile straight-line south of the center, across Hwy 85.
- landmark
Old Almaden Road
Disconnected pieces of the 19th-century road to the New Almaden mines survive beside Almaden Expwy and still carry addresses. A schoolhouse that gave the area its Valley View name stood on this road near Hillsdale until 1929.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Most of the area is in San Jose Unified School District from kindergarten through 12th grade. The streets south of Branham Ln on the Meridian Ave side (Portobelo Dr, Rio Verde Dr, Tampico Way, Yucatan Way, Via De Caballe, Las Cruces Ct, El Roble Ct, Durango Ct and nearby courts, plus parts of Luning Dr, Sutcliff Ave and Branham Ln) are in Union School District and Campbell Union High School District instead. Public schools inside the outline are Hacienda Science/Environmental Magnet (SJUSD, 1290 Kimberly Dr), John Muir Middle (SJUSD, 1260 Branham Ln) and Broadway High, an alternative school (SJUSD, 4825 Speak Ln). Reed Elementary (SJUSD, 1524 Jacob Ave) and Branham High (Campbell Union High, 1570 Branham Ln) are just west across Jarvis Ave and Meridian Ave. Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with the district.
Union School District guide · Campbell Union High guide · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- VTA Blue Line light rail: Branham, Ohlone/Chynoweth and Capitol stations are each about 1.5 to 1.6 miles straight-line east of the center of the area.
- VTA buses: Route 64A runs on Almaden Expwy, Route 64B on Meridian Ave and Route 37 on Hillsdale Ave and Capitol Expwy. Check VTA for current schedules.
- Hwy 85 runs along the south edge, with the nearest interchange at Almaden Expwy. Almaden Expwy and Capitol Expwy lead north toward Hwy 87 and downtown, about 5 miles straight-line.
- City bikeway maps show buffered bike lanes on Hillsdale Ave, Cherry Ave and Branham Ln (with a separated stretch on Branham) and shared-lane markings on Bryan Ave and Jarvis Ave.
- The Guadalupe River Trail runs on the far side of the river south of Branham Ln, about a mile straight-line from the center. The City lists the reach from Capitol Expwy to Branham Ln, along this area's east edge, as a future trail.
- Caltrain's Capitol station on Monterey Rd is about 2.9 miles straight-line; check Caltrain's timetable for which trains stop there.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Valley View-Reed: what we check
Buying here
- Check the FEMA flood map for the exact parcel. About 380 parcels in the northeast blocks (around Montmorency Dr, Courtyard Dr, Lynhurst Way, Gardendale Dr, Briarglen Dr, Bryan Ave, Vistamont Dr and Kimberly Dr) are mapped in Zone AO, shallow flooding of about 1 to 2 feet, which is a special flood hazard area. Ask your lender about flood insurance and look for any Letter of Map Amendment on the property.
- Confirm the school district by address. The Spanish-named streets south of Branham Ln near Meridian Ave are Union SD and Campbell Union High, while the rest of the area is San Jose Unified.
- For a 1950s or 1960s house, have the electrical panel, supply plumbing and sewer lateral inspected, and pull the City permit history for any addition, garage conversion or added bathroom.
- The General Plan maps two small urban villages on the edges, Almaden Expwy/Hillsdale Ave and Branham Ln/Meridian Ave, where denser mixed-use projects may be proposed later. Neither had an approved village plan in the City's growth-area data.
- Most lots are R-1-8 single-family zoning. Check the City's current ADU and SB 9 rules against your lot size and setbacks before you count on a second unit.
Selling here
- Pull the City permit record before listing so additions and conversions are documented and buyers aren't left guessing.
- If the house is in Zone AO, have the flood zone determination and any elevation certificate or map amendment ready; buyers and lenders will ask early.
- Give buyers the school district from the district's own lookup, especially near Branham Ln and Meridian Ave, where it changes street by street.
- Listing records file these streets under Valley View / Reed, Branham / Jarvis or Cherry Plaza. Lead with the street and cross streets so buyers searching any of those names find the house.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Valley View-Reed questions, answered
Where does the name Valley View come from?
From a one-room Valley View School that stood on Almaden Road near Hillsdale from the mid-1890s until 1929, according to a San Jose Public Library history. A 1959 Valley View Elementary took the name and is now Hacienda Science/Environmental Magnet on Kimberly Dr.
Is all of Valley View–Reed inside San Jose city limits?
Yes. County tax-rate areas and Census place boundaries put every parcel inside the outline in the City of San Jose. Most of it was annexed between 1956 and 1959, and the last pieces by 1984.
Which school districts serve it?
San Jose Unified for most streets. The streets south of Branham Ln on the Meridian Ave side are Union School District and Campbell Union High School District. Check the exact address with the district.
Is any of it in a flood zone?
Part of it. FEMA maps about 380 parcels in the northeast blocks in Zone AO (shallow flooding of about 1 to 2 feet). Most of the rest is Zone D, where flood risk is possible but undetermined. Check the map for the specific parcel.
What ZIP code is it?
95118 for nearly every address. A few addresses on Meridian Ave and Jacob Ave near the west edge use 95124, and 1095 Branham Ln, near the river, uses 95136.
next door
More San Jose neighborhood guides
talk to a property nerd
Thinking about Valley View-Reed? Let's run your numbers.
Eric, Janelle and the Boyenga Team have sold more than 2,520 Silicon Valley homes, $2.6+ billion in all, since 1996. Get a value, a plan, or a straight answer about a street.
Questions about Valley View-Reed? Send us a note.
