Silicon Valley features a number of upscale communities that enjoy beautiful estate properties. These luxury homes are not simply large houses, but rather they boast qualities generally not seen in regular residential real estate.

What makes a house a “luxury home”?

A luxury property in Santa Clara County often includes a number of elements that set it apart, such as:

• price tag: these homes usually sell for more than three or five million dollars (and may be $10 or $20 million or more)
• more than an acre or two of land
• house larger than 4000 or 5000 sf
• the inclusion of “out buildings” such as a guest cottage, gatehouse, etc.
• views (valley, hill, acreage) or special features of the land (waterfront, riverfront adjacent), a vineyard, or something else special and uniquely beautiful
• amenities such as a pool, tennis court, racquetball court, gym, sports court or facilities for enjoying other sports & exercise on site
• specialized hobby or relaxation rooms, as in a darkroom, library, workshop, conservatory
• entertainment centers not commonly found in private homes, like a ballroom, dedicated home theater room for movie viewing, pool or billiards and “game room”, and ice cream parlor
• safety tools such as a video survelliance system, electronic gates

The (main) house itself is qualitatively different too.

Kitchens tend to be the most important room for San Jose area home buyers of all price ranges, and this includes homes that cost upwards of ten million dollars. Usually, kitchens in these homes are designed with a very clear purpose in mind and are done beautifully, though recently in Los Gatos I saw a home listed for about ten million with a kitchen that needs to be completely remodeled. This is very unusual, though.

Most luxury homes features kitchens of one extreme or the other. On the one hand, it may be more industrial in nature if those cooking in it are primarily professional chefs, domestic employees or catering services rather than the homeowner. This is not the kitchen of glossy magazines, it’s not meant to impress anyone for all the maple cabinets, stainless steel appliances and granite countertops. This sort of kitchen is functional, not gorgeous, and it may have stainless steel countertops, for instance, alongside the giant gas range. Such a kitchen is usually separate from the living areas and the guests are not expected to visit this part of the home.

Far more commonly found in Silicon Valley is the other end of the spectrum, the kitchen where residents spend most of their time, and it’s meant to impress. Here we see high end materials and appliances in a room viewed as much as art as the meals created in it are. This type of kitchen is often the focal point of today’s upscale or luxury home. The home’s floorplan is “open” to the kitchen - often the kitchen and family room blend together as part of a Great Room. This is a kitchen designed for owners who cook, not those who have servants.
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Silicon Valley, a region known for high tech (semiconductors, computers, and biotech among them), mostly abides within Santa Clara County.  (It also extends a bit into San Mateo County, Santa Cruz County, and Alameda County.)  This is at the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area.  The weather is mild - it’s a subtropical climate and the palm and redwood trees will back that up. At one time, during the orchard heyday, it came to be known as The Valley of the Heart’s Delight.  Eventually the fruit and nut trees gave way to housing in the post World War II boom, and as high tech slowly took over as the regional industry, the moniker changed to Silicon Valley.

The people who live here love many things about the San Jose area and the Santa Clara Valley. The climate, of course, cannot be beat. The level of education is high, the population delightfully diverse, and crime is low.  Add to that a close proximity to San Francisco (an hour north by car or train), Berkeley and Oakland (ditto the time up the East Bay by car or BART), the beach at Santa Cruz (about a half hour), Monterey/Carmel (90 minutes), etc. You can drive to Napa or Sonoma for wine tasting - or you could do it within a couple of miles of the airport at the J Lohr Wine Tasting Room just off The Alameda. Of course, our hills have plenty of wineries too, and they are found closer in (Los Gatos and Cupertino and the east foothills of San Jose in the Evergreen area). In other words, there are a lot of reasons why “The Valley of Heart’s Delight” still applies.
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What makes a Silicon Valley house a luxury home? How is high end real estate different from the rest of the market? When is a property not just a home with land, but an estate?

In other parts of the U.S., spending $700,000 will fetch a 4000 square foot home, new construction, in an upscale gated community with country club amenities such as a golf course, tennis courts, and more. Here, that same $700,000 will procure an entry to mid-level single family home in many parts of Santa Clara County.

Luxury connotes a combination of qualities, features, and amenities. And it includes pricing (relative to the nearby market), condition, land, design.

Pricing Luxury Homes in Silicon Valley: What Do They Cost?

Expensive Silicon Valley homes are not necessarily luxury homes. Depending on the city or town, the price tag could be higher or lower. For instance, a fabulous house on a large lot in Gilroy’s Eagle Ridge might sell for 1/3 as much as the identical type of home, land and neighborhood found in Saratoga, Monte Sereno, or Los Gatos, if a similar home happened to be available. Generally, though, luxury homes could cost as little as $1,000,000 or so in some parts of Silicon Valley or in neighboring counties, but in most parts of Silicon Valley, a true estate type property will be valued at $2,000,000 or $3,000,000 or more.

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Sitting at the base of El Sereno, part of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Monte Sereno is an upscale residential community snuggled between Los Gatos and Saratoga, California. The population is very tiny with about 4000 folks living in Monte Sereno any given time. It is composed of about one and a half square miles. This small city shares many services with the town of Los Gatos (such as schools and police). There are no businesses in Monte Sereno, only homes, the citys offices and the post office.

Real estate prices are high in this low-crime city, and while there are some modest homes, there are also some palatial estates featuring extreme amenities.

The geography is mostly flat to gentle hills, with much of it wooded. Redwood trees, oak trees, madrone and many others cluster together in the nooks and crannies of Monte Sereno. There are open places too, of course, with grassy fields. Along Daves Avenue, there are several streets that tie in together with a common horse stable, and it has meandering equestrian trails. Most of those homes are on half acre, level lots, with generous ranch style homes that back to the trails. This is a great neighborhood for horse lovers!

If you have a chance to visit Austin Way behind La Hacienda Restaurant and Inn, youll be delighted to find an old brick road, part of the heritage of Monte Sereno. And on the other side of Highway 9 along Austin Way, youll see a historic building recounting the citys agricultural past in Austin Corners.

John Steinbeck once called this area home - but later decided the rural hamlet was too crowded, so moved into the Santa Cruz Mountains to regain his serenity! It is said that he wrote ˜Of Mice and Men while living here.

Saratoga is a highly desireable place in which to live, a great retreat from the hustle and bustle of Silicon Valley. Nestled into the Santa Cruz Mountains, it is just a few miles to the north of Los Gatos. Its an upscale town noted for great schools, low crime, scenic beauty, fabulous shops and restaurants, and stunning estates. Like most of the valley, this area was largely orchards and also some vineyards & wineries 50 or 70 years ago. In fact, the largest prune orchard in the world was once Hume Ranch, which had 680 acres of prune trees!

Exceptional entertainment is abundant in Saratoga. Take in concerts at The Mountain Winery (formerly called Paul Masson Mountain Winery) and at Villa Montalvo, two lovely outdoor venues for music, or go wine tasting or horseback riding at Cooper-Garrod off Pierce Road. The new Saratoga Library is a wonderful place to spend a rainy winter day too.

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Saratoga, CA, has a beautiful assortment of custom esates, many with views. Some are horse property, others include vineyards - or both!  Ranging from sprawling, comfortable ranch to Mediterranean, contemporary, and ecclectic (there is even one castle in Saratoga), there’s no shortage of choice in the Saratoga luxury market.

Below, please find a link to a list of currently available homes for sale in Saratoga, CA, listed over $2,000,000. This link will take you to a site hosted by me for searching available listings, so feel free to browse other areas while there. Enjoy!

Saratoga Homes $2,000,000 and up