How’s the Los Gatos real estate market? Generally speaking, it is a seller’s market overall in the 95030 and 95032 zip code areas (in town). That said, remember that it can vary a lot between price points and school districts, let alone neighborhood, sale type (regular vs distressed). Real estate is always local!
Today we’ll look at the LG market both with a view to the sold data we have as well as the current listings activity. We’ll view the “in town” areas and also the mountain areas. First addressed will be the market as seen by the “sold data” – houses, then condominiums & townhouse. (Long post but loads of info!)
Los Gatos & Los Gatos Mountain Housing Market Trends
I. Sold listings data for Los Gatos houses
Houses in Los Gatos & Los Gatos Mountains – housing trends using sold data
(1) In town
First, housing trends “in town”, utilizing my Real Estate Report, which comes out monthly (and includes all of Santa Clara County):
Below is the summary of market trends in Los Gatos for the most current month, January 2011 (using sold data):
| Trends At a Glance | Jan 2011 | Previous Month | Year-over Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Price | $1,072,500 | $1,000,000 (+7.2%) | $985,000 (+8.9%) |
| Average Price | $1,173,770 | $1,203,520 (-2.5%) | $1,264,620 (-7.2%) |
| No. of Sales | 30 | 31 (-3.2%) | 13 (+130.8%) |
| Pending Properties | 35 | 39 (-10.3%) | 30 (+16.7%) |
| Active | 107 | 87 (+23.0%) | 101 (+5.9%) |
| Sale vs. List Price | 96.7% | 96.5% (+0.1%) | 98.2% (-1.6%) |
| Days on Market | 59 | 69 (-15.0%) | 41 (+43.3%) |
(2) Los Gatos Mountains
The Los Gatos Mountain communities (zip code 95033) usually have a slower market (harder to sell homes, even in “hot” years -compare 2007 for in town and in the mountains). December was improved, though, interestingly.
January’s sales/solds data:
| Trends At a Glance | Jan 2011 | Previous Month | Year-over Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Price | $565,000 | $725,000 (-22.1%) | $632,500 (-10.7%) |
| Average Price | $561,000 | $738,250 (-24.0%) | $612,725 (-8.4%) |
| No. of Sales | 3 | 8 (-62.5%) | 4 (-25.0%) |
| Pending Properties | 15 | 12 (+25.0%) | 5 (+200.0%) |
| Active | 28 | 26 (+7.7%) | 33 (-15.2%) |
| Sale vs. List Price | 98.3% | 93.5% (+5.1%) | 103.6% (-5.1%) |
| Days on Market | 89 | 80 (+11.2%) | 13 (+587.4%) |
II. Active Listings Data for Los Gatos houses for sale
Next, we’ll see how the market is faring as we make use of the Altos Research tools, which use list prices (not solds).
Houses and Duet Homes – median list price by Los Gatos zip code (including the mountains):
Right now, prices are softest in the Los Gatos Mountains (95033) and strongest in 95032, which is part “Los Gatos Schools” and part Moreland and Union Schools.
Los Gatos, 95030 list prices by quartile over last year for houses (and duet homes) – houses for sale grouped by price point:
Los Gatos, 95032 list prices by quartile for houses on the market.
It is interesting that the “high end” in 95032 seems to be recovering so well. (Some of it’s in the Los Gatos School District and some not.)
And 95033 list prices by quartile for houses:
Pricing of homes for sale dating back to 2005 – an historical perspective of list prices (single family homes/houses):
Los Gatos Condo & Townhouse Market in Los Gatos
As you can see, the Los Gatos condo market has generally had it tough since late 2007, but prior to that it was “much hotter” of a market than houses in the same areas.
| Trends At a Glance | Jan 2011 | Previous Month | Year-over Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Price | $515,000 | $520,000 (-1.0%) | $675,000 (-23.7%) |
| Average Price | $587,500 | $493,267 (+19.1%) | $679,251 (-13.5%) |
| No. of Sales | 3 | 9 (-66.7%) | 5 (-40.0%) |
| Pending Properties | 11 | 5 (+120.0%) | 9 (+22.2%) |
| Active | 35 | 34 (+2.9%) | 50 (-30.0%) |
| Sale vs. List Price | 100.1% | 95.2% (+5.2%) | 96.9% (+3.3%) |
| Days on Market | 16 | 107 (-85.3%) | 140 (-88.8%) |
Los Gatos list price by Los Gatos zip code (no condos in the mountain area of 95033):
Inventory of houses for sale in Los Gatos – sliding in all areas:
Condo inventory in Los Gatos – also decreasing, which is somewhat “annual”:
Let’s compare the Los Gatos condo/townhome market to the market for houses for sale – first the average Days on Market (DOM) of houses for sale in Los Gatos, then below that the same info but for condos.
And average DOM of condos and townhomes for sale in Los Gatos:
Much higher in 95030, the more expensive of the two areas!
What about distressed sales in Los Gatos? Are there many short sales or bank owned homes, and if so, are they hurting the realty market?
There really aren’t a lot of short sales or REOs on the market at the moment: for houses in town, 95% are “regular sales”. For condos in town, the percentage is 63%. In the Los Gatos Mountains 81% are regular sales.
Last year there was a cluster of short sales in the Loma Vista/El Gato area and that did disrupt market values in that area/school district/price point quite substantially. Overall, though, it is not a major player in market value right now.
