While high-paying and plentiful tech jobs are fueling buyer demand for Silicon Valley homes, the fact that the region’s public schools consistently rank among the best in the state is also a big draw for families.

That’s according to Niche.com’s annual rankings of the best public-school districts in California. The company gauges school quality using 10 criteria — including academics, teachers, extracurricular activities, and sports  — then assigns each school district a grade. Niche.com also factors in parent and student reviews on its website when ranking school districts.

As in last year’s rankings, three Silicon Valley school districts are at the head of the class, all receiving overall A-plus grades. 

In what will come as little surprise to anyone who regularly follows Bay Area real estate, four local communities rank among the most expensive real estate markets in the country this year.

That’s according to Forbes’ annual list of America’s most expensive ZIP codes, which uses a 90-day rolling average for the period ended Oct. 27 and includes both single-family homes and condominiums. Atherton‘s 94027 is once again the nation’s most expensive place in the U.S. to buy a home, with a median sales price of $9,686,154. The San Mateo County city had held that title for several years running before losing it to Manalapan, Florida last year, which took the No. 2 spot on this year’s list.

Pacific Union held its fourth annual Real Estate and Economic Forecast in partnership with John Burns Real Estate Consulting to project Bay Area activity through 2020. Below are some key, high-level takeaways from the live event. To watch the full one-hour presentation, click here.

The first half of the year ended on a strong note for Bay Area housing markets, with 2 percent more sales in the first six months of the year when compared with last year. The East Bay saw the largest increase in sales activity, up 4 percent, while San Francisco followed with a 3 percent increase. San Francisco’s improving housing market conditions are particularly encouraging given the lull that the city faced last year.

Pacific Union’s recent second-quarter real estate reports showed that Bay Area housing markets are sizzling again, and buyers are facing tough competition. Overall in the Bay Area, 6 in 10 homes sold over the asking price in the second quarter, while in Alameda and San Mateo counties, almost 8 in 10 homes sold over the asking price. Naturally, some price ranges were in greater demand than others. For example, in the East Bay, competition increased for homes priced up to $2 million but cooled off for higher-priced homes.