House-hunting in Silicon Valley's an ordeal

Los Gatos, California

IT'S Sunday, which means house-hunting for Barry and Katie Templin. They have been on the prowl for months and saving for years, looking for a place with reasonable commutes to their technology jobs and good public schools for their two young children. They hope that is not too much to ask, even in Silicon Valley, the nation's most expensive housing market.

They pull their decade-old SUV up to a house that needs to be torn down, yet is offered at US$1.5 million. They walk up to find the house unlocked and empty. Black mould crawls over the walls. The ceiling is caving in. The wood floors groan as they pass through. "It's like going into a haunted house," Mr Templin says. "It's because it's Los Gatos," explains agent Laura DeFilippo of Alain Pinel Realtors.