The Los Gatos real estate market shows a clear seller’s market with summer cooling after ramping up to extremes in spring. Once again the “in-town” (95030) zip code is less active for single family home sales than the 95032 zip code which continues to be in high demand. Here are a few quick points from the Los Gatos single family home market detailed below:
- Closed sales continue to shrink, but pending sales remain well above last year’s market.
- Most properties are taking less than a month to sell, averaging 20 days on market.
- The sale to list price ratio cooled back to a still hot 105.4% of asking.
However a lot has changed since March 2020. We can see some of the result of the pandemic on local real estate markets in these monthly analyses, but it will take a while before we can get the full picture. For more on how Covid-19 was impacting our local real estate market, please check my post titled Coronavirus Impact on Real Estate Sales.
During the shutdown so far, the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) stopped the timer on all Days on Market (DOM). Therefore these numbers will be off beginning from March 17th through around May 17th. In the data below, this will affect any numbers related to the days on market, the absorption rate, and the days of inventory from those months indicated. Current numbers are accurate.
This post will include info from both Altos Research, which uses LIST prices, and the RE Report, which uses listing and closed sale data, for the “in town” areas of Los Gatos (95030 and 95032).
From ALTOS – a view of LG 95030 (these are updated automatically a few times a month):
And 95032:
As of September 20th, both 95030 and 95032 are in a strong seller’s market with a recent dip in activity over the last two months finally leveling off. Inventory remains severely low across the board and homes are flying off the market with low days on market. Things are cooling into late summer, but it is by no means a cool market. With a backlog of demand buyers are still facing fierce competition for homes.
Now for the current numbers, per my Los Gatos real estate report (click on the link for full information).
The Los Gatos Mountains are a distinctly different market and as such are covered in a separate market update, updated less frequently than here, but with live Altos charts for that area.
Los Gatos Trends at a Glance
Closed and pending sales dipped while active inventory rose in August. Compared to last year, active inventory remains low, pending sales continue to be elevated, and closed sales are falling behind. The sales vs list price ratio heated to a roasting hot 105.4%, dropping a good 3% below last month and rising over 4.4% above this time last year. It’s a hot market for Los Gatos single family homes despite summer cooling.
| Trends At a Glance | Aug 2021 | Previous Month | Year-over-Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Price | $2,950,000 (+3.5%) | $2,850,000 | $2,475,000 (+19.2%) |
| Average Price | $3,253,780 (+0.9%) | $3,224,100 | $2,944,000 (+10.5%) |
| No. of Sales | 40 (-7.0%) | 43 | 44 (-9.1%) |
| Pending | 55 (-6.8%) | 59 | 41 (+34.1%) |
| Active | 50 (+8.7%) | 46 | 55 (-9.1%) |
| Sale vs. List Price | 105.4% (-3.0%) | 108.6% | 100.9% (+4.4%) |
| Days on Market | 20 (+66.8%) | 12 | 31 (-35.2%) |
| Days of Inventory | 38 (+16.8%) | 32 | 38 (0.0%) |
Los Gatos Condominium and Townhouse Market
Moving on to condos, here are the live Altos Research charts with listings data.
95030:
95032:
The condo markets have been showing some extremes with severely low inventory causing drastic swings in market data. The market in 95030 currently has no available listings for the 2nd month in a row, and therefore no data to fill the chart. When we checked in July, there was only 1 active property and the chart had shown a slight seller’s advantage for a few months.
The 95032 market is better with 12 active listings (a big drop from last month when we saw 24), and it’s in a strong seller’s market that’s taking off again after a recent decline in market action. Both areas are currently below the height of spring activity. The average days on market show that Los Gatos 95032 condos are moving faster on average than either single family home market.
So condos in Los Gatos are active markets in the seller’s favor with low available inventory, and possibly some overlap with the single family home market in 95032.
The Los Gatos condo and townhouse market is softening slightly, with prices down year over year.
Trends at a Glance: condos and townhomes in Los Gatos
Pricing and percentages in the condo sector of Los Gatos can swing wildly month to month due to the limited and varied inventory. Sales shot up since last month, approaching 3 times last year’s sales. Pending sales dipped a hair month-over-month and have doubled since last year. Active inventory barely budged month-over-month or year-over-year. The sales vs list price ratio calmed to 101.7%, and days on market slowed to a little over 3 weeks on average.
With small pools of data, the condo market can show much more dramatic swings than the housing market. Still, it remains a stable mild seller’s market.
| Trends At a Glance | Aug 2021 | Previous Month | Year-over-Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Price | $1,315,000 (-0.5%) | $1,322,000 | $1,350,000 (-2.6%) |
| Average Price | $1,191,540 (-8.5%) | $1,301,830 | $1,346,790 (-11.5%) |
| No. of Sales | 20 (+66.7%) | 12 | 7 (+185.7%) |
| Pending | 17 (-10.5%) | 19 | 8 (+112.5%) |
| Active | 18 (-5.3%) | 19 | 19 (-5.3%) |
| Sale vs. List Price | 101.7% (-1.1%) | 102.8% | 97.3% (+4.5%) |
| Days on Market | 22 (-2.8%) | 23 | 26 (-14.0%) |
| Days of Inventory | 27 (-43.2%) | 48 | 81 (-66.8%) |
Monte Sereno
Monte Sereno (houses only, at least for now) – this is a small area, surrounded on most sides by the Town of Los Gatos, but also bordering County and Saratoga land. Monte Sereno’s home values are higher, and the luxury tier generally does not sell as fast or as strong as more moderately priced areas in Silicon Valley. With few sales each month, prices and trends for this city can appear to jump around wildly. Often it’s best to also see how Los Gatos and Saratoga are doing and extrapolate from there, plus study the homes that are and are not selling in Monte Sereno.
Take a closer look in my latest monthly market updates on the Monte Sereno market over at the Live In Los Gatos blog (usually updated before this page), or here at the Valley of Heart’s Delight blog at The Monte Sereno Real Estate Market (usually updated a little after this page).
Next we’ll have a quick look at the town by zip code and will use Altos Research charts and graphs (using list prices, not sold ones) to get a pulse on the market. Disclaimers aside, here’s the broad overview by zip code – hope you find this helpful! I will be using “live charts” here so they will always be current.
95030 Median Price Graph:
Pricing in 95030 usually follows clear seasonal trends, with prices undulating higher in spring and summer and dropping to their lowest around mid-autumn. In 2019 there was an upward trend through winter up until around February when the price began to drop. Mid-April of 2020 saw the deepest low that year, turning around late for the spring market. Late June saw the highest peak in 2020, bouncing back and forth from there before plunging again in late January 2021. In 2021 the April-May peak already topped the July peak of 2020, and it’s continued to climb into summer!
Generally this area has a lower price range than in 95030, but it follows distinctly different trends. Prices in 2020 shot up above $3 mil for most of the first quarter, but dropped in March, plunging below any median price in the visible part of 2019. That said, prices rose again through June and then fell until September where it hit rock bottom for the year before rising again into winter. The start of 2021 began high with only a slight dip in late winter, and for the most part has held above the $3 million marker.
Los Gatos is a very complex real estate market because there are so many variables, including:
- proximity to downtown (“walk to town” always a huge plus)
- school district (“Los Gatos Schools” usually strongly preferred)
- historic nature of homes & neighborhoods
- slope and usability of the land
- views
- neighborhood amenities (cabana, nearby park, walkability)
- access to popular venues and locations (parks, shopping, schools)
- negative features such as busy roads, high voltage lines, being too close to freeways/trains, natural hazards such as earthquake faults etc.
- type of sale (distressed or regular sale)
Often homes in Los Gatos will have some positive and some negative features, and the same goes for the location.
If Los Gatos & Monte Sereno are too expensive…
Cambrian Park area of San Jose – Looking for more affordable area close to Monte Sereno and Los Gatos? Check out the Cambrian Park area of San Jose, especially the 95124 zip code (with Union Schools).Cambrian area of San Jose – condos and townhomes. I also update a market post on this blog monthly for this San Jose neighborhood, titled The Cambrian Park Real Estate Market Update which can be found through the link.
Houses for sale in Los Gatos & Monte Sereno 95030:
https://idx.diversesolutions.com/link/472470
Houses for sale in Los Gatos & Monte Sereno 95032:
https://idx.diversesolutions.com/link/472471
Right now, Monte Sereno has no condos or townhomes within its boundaries, but may in the future.
Condos and townhomes for sale in Los Gatos:
https://idx.diversesolutions.com/link/472472
More info on Los Gatos Homes for Sale, too.
Read more about Los Gatos real estate on my other sites and blogs, too, including popehandy.com:
Los Gatos real estate market trends
Do you love Los Gatos, live there now or want to live there? Please also visit the Live in Los Gatos Blog!
A good place to begin is this article on that site: Where is Los Gatos California?
Learn about Los Gatos neighborhoods, see photos, videos, pricing information, age of homes and much more! Get frequent Los Gatos real estate market updates, find out about local events, business, see images of the parks, historic buildings, and get to know Los Gatos even better. “Live in Los Gatos” is an award winning blog, also written by local Los Gatos Realtor and resident Mary Pope-Handy – check it out today!
