# House Hacking in San José (95116): A BART station in-ZIP and a 4x upzone at the cheapest entry · The Rent Hacker > San José 95116 for house hackers: The county's cheapest multifamily corridor is getting a walk-up BART station physically in-ZIP plus a roughly 4x urban-villa Canonical: https://therenthacker.com/house-hacking/san-jose-little-portugal-95116/ Source: The Rent Hacker (https://therenthacker.com/). License: RSL, attribution required — https://therenthacker.com/license.xml --- [South Bay guide](/house-hacking/south-bay/) · Tier S · Rank #1 of 60 # House hacking in San José (East SJ / Little Portugal / Mayfair). The county's cheapest multifamily corridor is getting a walk-up BART station physically in-ZIP plus a roughly 4x urban-village upzone: the strongest price-to-catalyst ratio in the South Bay. **Status check:** Verified 2026-07-17: VTA entered 2026 with momentum. It secured $100M in new state funding, reaffirmed the single-bore tunnel, procured the TBM, and passed 70% completion on the tunnel launch structure walls at Newhall Yard; FFGA readiness is targeted Q3 2026, execution Q2 2027. The long-hold thesis (revenue 2035–37) is intact and de-risked; tier held. ## What's actually happening in 95116 - Under construction BART Phase II: the 28th St/Little Portugal station lands in-ZIP at 28th St and Five Wounds Ln, with 6,700 weekday riders projected by 2040 on a ~$12.7B program (over $5B in FTA New Starts funds committed Aug 2024). First-of-its-kind US single-bore tunnel; station completion ~2037, revenue service 2035–2037. [VTA BART Phase II, 28th St/Little Portugal station](https://www.vta.org/projects/bart-sv/phase-ii/28th-st-station) - Plan update in progress Five Wounds Urban Village Plan Update: consolidates four villages across 195 acres, with planned housing capacity raised from 2,022 to 8,022 units (~4x) to reflect BART. Plan update in progress (CEQA 2024030360). The city page was summarized via search (it 403'd to a direct fetch), so treat exact unit counts as approximate. [City of San José](https://www.sanjoseca.gov/your-government/departments-offices/planning-building-code-enforcement/planning-division/citywide-planning/urban-villages/five-wounds-urban-village-plan-update) - Pre-entitlement 28th St/Little Portugal VTA TOD: a 12-acre VTA parcel adjacent to the station, mixed-use; Design Development Framework public comment closed 9/18/2025. [VTA](https://www.vta.org/projects/28th-streetlittle-portugal-transit-oriented-development) - Approved An approved six-story Little Portugal/Five Wounds apartment complex: evidence the upzone is producing real entitlements rather than paper capacity. VTA TOD project page - Operational Rapid 522 BRT on Santa Clara St and Alum Rock Ave gives a ~15–20 minute ride to the Downtown SJ jobs core (~2 mi west) today, before BART opens. [VTA BART Phase II](https://www.vta.org/projects/bart-sv/phase-ii) ## The numbers Median price ~$884,822 (Zillow ZHVI, 2026; the most affordable in-scope ZIP) Market rent 3bd ~$3,700–4,000/mo (metro by-bed read, confirm per parcel) Property tax (Santa Clara County) 1.64% median effective (per-ZIP read, 2026-07-10; parcels span 1.34% to 2.63%, verify the exact TRA) Per-bed rent band $1,050–1,400/mo per bed ADU rent band studio $1,900–2,200, 1bd $2,100–2,500, 2bd detached $2,500–2,900/mo Whole-home rent band $3,700–4,000/mo whole-home (3bd) Underwriting vacancy 4% underwriting vacancy Appreciation scenarios 2.5 / 4.0 / 6.5 %/yr (conservative / base / upside) County prices are down ~3.5% YoY while metro rents run +9% YoY; vacancy ~4.5% with near-zero concessions. Appreciation basis: Five Wounds entitling now with BART under construction; near-term is organic plus upzone optionality, and BART delivery compounds in the 2030s. Rent bands are city-level medians; confirm the specific parcel before trusting any of them. [Run your own scenario in the calculator](/calculator/). ## Buildings we underwrote in 95116 14 buildings in 95116 carry a record. 0 beat renting and index funds; the rest did not. Every row links to its own page, with the numbers it was scored on. Property At our defaults Status [757 759 Bonita Ave](/property/rh-25dagm/757-759-bonita-ave/) 2 units · $900,000 −$410,061 S&P 500 Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults [1105 Appian Ln](/property/rh-ddsxrb/1105-appian-ln/) 4 units · $1,488,000 −$400,590 S&P 500 Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults [E William Ct](/property/rh-ds2epg/e-william-ct/) 3 units · $1,250,000 −$391,605 S&P 500 Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults [William Ct](/property/rh-tjz6ln/william-ct/) 3 units · $1,250,000 −$391,605 S&P 500 Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults [388 S 19th St](/property/rh-k9qjvm/388-s-19th-st/) 3 units · $1,188,000 −$461,119 S&P 500 Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults [723 Forestdale Ave](/property/rh-pvnklf/723-forestdale-ave/) 4 units · $1,395,000 −$490,108 S&P 500 Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults [2442 Clyda Dr](/property/rh-gwz9h1/2442-clyda-dr/) 2 units · $998,000 −$551,808 S&P 500 Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults [2439 Clyda Dr](/property/rh-vdvuf7/2439-clyda-dr/) 2 units · $948,000 −$558,295 S&P 500 Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults [2151 Lausett Ave](/property/rh-e6s9vs/2151-lausett-ave/) 2 units · $998,000 −$629,675 S&P 500 Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults [732 Banff St](/property/rh-koruuj/732-banff-st/) 2 units · $1,050,000 −$683,604 S&P 500 Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults [1011 E San Antonio St](/property/rh-aoondp/1011-e-san-antonio-st/) 2 units · $1,150,000 −$804,643 S&P 500 Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults [632 Gittle Ct](/property/rh-3gmu4a/632-gittle-ct/) 2 units · $1,199,888 −$913,273 S&P 500 Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults [345 S 21st St](/property/rh-ck5pqb/345-s-21st-st/) 2 units · $1,799,000 −$1,691,926 S&P 500 Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults [45 S 22nd St](/property/rh-wkcikb/45-s-22nd-st/) 2 units · $1,750,000 −$1,787,414 S&P 500 Underwritten — the index wins at our defaults The full [board](/board/) shows every region's current week; this table is every record we hold for 95116, newest basis first. ## The house-hack angle Cheap-land East SJ where SB-9 lot splits and detached ADUs pencil. Best fits: an older SFH with a detached or garage-conversion ADU, or a 2–4 unit small multifamily, run room-by-room or by unit. The tenant pool is local service and trades workforce households plus Downtown-commuting service and civic workers. No blanket historic downzone applies (Little Portugal is a Business/Cultural district). ## What breaks it - BART revenue service is a decade out (2035–37): appreciation from the station is a long-hold thesis, don't credit it near-term - Older 1950s–60s stock carries higher capex (~1.25–1.5% of value a year); budget roof, electrical, and sewer lateral - Some parcels near US-101 and the rail line carry noise and traffic drag This page is the standing analysis. The weekly part, actual San José-area listings that pass the math, lands on the South Bay board every Friday. [This week's South Bay board](/board/sf-south-bay/) [This week's South Bay board](/board/sf-south-bay/) · [Read past South Bay issues](/issues/sf-south-bay/) · [Every pick, on the record](/track-record/) · [How a deal becomes a pick](/methodology/) Data synthesized 2026-07-05, catalysts re-verified 2026-07-17. Mortgage-rate basis: 6.43% (Freddie Mac PMMS, week of 2026-07-02). Sources are the public planning documents and market listings named above, fetched on the synthesis date. Nothing here is investment advice; every deal needs a bindable insurance quote and parcel-level verification.