The Saratoga CA real estate market in September stayed a strong seller’s market for single family homes, and a mild seller’s market for townhouses and condominiums.
Monthly trends at a glance for the Saratoga CA Real Estate Market
DATA REMINDER:Please note that the RE Report data is often a LITTLE different from the numbers when I pull them directly from the MLS. This is because the RE Report has a feed only of listings that were input by the listing agents directly into MLS Listings. That feed does not include anything from Bay East, CRMLS, or other MLS companies.
The market is generally improved compared to a year ago, though the median sale price is lower and the sale to list price range is lower as well. Pending sales have dropped, though, pointing to a cooler climate ahead.
The Santa Clara County real estate market for single family homes was mixed in September, with some data points strengthening and others weakening. This is similar to what we saw in August.
For condo buyers, almost every statistic points to a cooler market.
The Santa Clara County real estate market brief points for single family homes
Here’s a quick summary based on the numbers that I pulled from the MLS directly today. These are a little different from the RE Report numbers.
Home sales are up, but inventory is up MORE, with the result being slightly longer days on market and a longer months of inventory.
Home prices, both average and median, were DOWN year over year, but up month over month. (Usually we care more about the annual figure because seasonal patterns can cause the monthly changes.)
Santa Clara County real estate statistics for September 2026 from the RE Report
Here’s the Trends at a Glance table for the Santa Clara County real estate market by home type from our RE Report subscription.
Please keep in mind that these numbers ONLY reflect listings that were entered into the MLS Listings system, and they do not include Bay East, CRMLS, SFAR, or other MLS companies around the state. If it’s not listed in an MLS with a data sharing program, it will not be represented here. The data is off, so some of the stats don’t align with those that I pull from the MLS, but the trends are on target, generally.
Please note: for all of the multi year images below, you can see a larger version by clicking on them and a popup with the largest version will be displayed.
Santa Clara County real estate market statistics for SFH
Below please find multi year data charts for Santa Clara County real estate market (single family homes) were pulled by me directly from the MLS. These numbers are a little more accurate than the RE Report ones as they include all listings on the MLS, even if they were entered from a different MLS organization.
Inventory
The Santa Clara County real estate market’s inventory rose in September and is far higher than what we normally see then, hence the red star.
Home buyers looking for exceptionally good public schools often list Saratoga with Cupertino Schools as an area of interest. We’ve written about some of the neighborhoods there previously, but today we want to talk about this area of the city more broadly.
Where is the part of Saratoga with Cupertino Schools?
Saratoga with Cupertino Schools is found in the northwestern part of the city along the borders of Cupertino and West San Jose. Broadly, the south follows Cox Avenue and the north Prospect Road, but there are plenty of zigs and zags. Adjacent school districts include Saratoga and Moreland (Saratoga has a section in Moreland Schools also).
The areas east of Saratoga Sunnyvale Road are either flat or nearly flat, but to the west of it the terrain becomes hilly. Some homes enjoy amazing views.
Home prices are often very similar to Saratoga with Saratoga Union School District. Buyers may be considering both areas, or any areas with Cupertino schools
Neighborhoods that include this area
Neighborhoods in Saratoga with Cupertino Schools include these which we’ve written about previously:
Blue Hills This area includes a number of subdivsions, including Kirkmont, Sea Gull, Azule Homesites, Meadowbrook (townhomes), Blossom View, Park Saratoga, and more)
Greenbrier (within the larger Blue Hills neighborhood)
The Blue Hills neighborhood in Saratoga is highly regarded for its natural beauty, well designed homes, excellent public schools, parks, and good commute location. From this community it’s a quick jaunt to coffee shops, restaurants, parks, trails, and shopping.
Interested in Blue Hills neighborhood real estate? Scroll to the bottom of this article and you’ll see a list of homes for sale or recently sold in and nearby this corner of Saratoga
Where is the Blue Hills neighborhood?
Click to view larger map on Google My Maps
The Blue Hills neighborhood is found in the northeastern part of Saratoga, close to Cupertino.
Most sources consider the Blue Hills neighborhood to be bordered by Saratoga-Sunnyvale to the west, Prospect Road to the north, Highway 85 to the east, and Cox Avenue and the railroad tracks to the south. Blue Hills Elementary School is found within this area as well. It includes the Greenbrier subdivision and part of the Summerplace subdivision (the other section is north of Hwy 85).
But the boundaries are a little squishy! The Blue Hills School attendance area is much broader, stretching well past Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road and encompassing this whole area of Saratoga with Cupertino schools (part has this school as the default, and Lincoln as an option).
Additionally, there is a subdivision named Blue Hills of Saratoga off of Prospect Road with 69 houses. It’s now artificially separated from the rest of the Blue Hills neighborhood by the freeway, which cut through this area in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
A large portion of the neighborhood includes the Greenbrier subdivision and homeowner’s association. Adjacent residential areas include Prides Crossing (mostly with the same Cupertino schools, but some of it is in the Saratoga Union School District) and the Golden Triangle, among others.
The cost to buy a home in Saratoga varies by home type, school district (Saratoga has 4 of them!), size, and much more.
Quick answer to the question of the cost to buy a home in Saratoga today:
It may be possible to purchase a condominium in Saratoga for under a million dollars.
Townhomes in the Vineyards or Saratoga Parkside (both Moreland schools) will be the most affordable, possibly under $1 million in some cases, but more likely over that for some homes. Townhouses with Saratoga or Cupertino schools will run more, sometimes well over $2 million. The brand new townhomes off of Cox will be closer to $2 million or more (range was about $1.85 to about $2.7 million over the last year, as of this writing).
The median sale price of houses selling in this city over the last 120 days is about $4 million, and the average is about $4.4 million. The range is huge, though, as one home sold for $1,500,000 and another sold for $20,000,000.
But does the fact that the normal price is so high, or that there are luxury homes, view homes & estates in Saratoga make it out of reach for everyone?
Not entirely.
Although best known for its tony neighborhoods, there are opportunities to purchase in this highly sought after and well regarded city without spending a million dollars or more. Nothing in Silicon Valley is inexpensive, of course, and Saratoga is no exception, so the cost of housing here must be viewed in relation to the region as a whole. It is certainly possible to buy a home in Saratoga for under $1,000,000. Today we’ll look at the strategies for getting in at the smallest price possible.
Opportunity knocks! Right now Clair and I have a gorgeous condo listing at the Gatehouse about a block off of Big Basin Way and Saratoga Village. It’s a 2 bed, 2 bath upstairs unit with 1158 SF and an incredibly nice view of Saratoga Creek and the greenbelt. It’s offered at $950,000.
Where else can you get a lovely, spacious home with Saratoga schools for under $1 million?
Check out the virtual tour at GatehouseCondo.com, and please stop by our open house this Saturday, Feb 7, 2026, from 1 – 3 pm.
More and less expensive: school districts and location in Saratoga
Saratoga, like much of Santa Clara County’s cities and towns, has a fewl school districts. Several things drive home values, but a key driver is the school district. Areas where the local public schools have high API scores (all level of schools over 900 API) will command a premium – namely the area with the Saratoga or Cupertino schools. Looking for a more affordable part of this lovely city? Consider the section which is served by Campbell schools or the Campbell Union High School District (the northeastern part of town).
Even within the Saratoga or Cupertino school areas, there are tiers of pricing. Homes will be very highly valued if they are in close proximity of Saratoga Village (what some would call “walk to town”). Also well regarded are neighborhoods which are very close to schools, shops, parks, or anything attractive. The areas west of Highway 9 or Saratoga – Sunnyvale often sell for a bit more than those further from the hills too.
Something else to consider, especially in a market as tough as the current one, is choosing a home with a “location issue” such as being next to (or backing to) a busy road, too close to a shopping center or freeway, etc. There are often very good discounts to be enjoyed when buying a house adjacent to something not ideal. If you are not someone who spends a lot of time outside, this may be a great compromise for the budget minded home buyer, since often with double pane windows, it’s nearly impossible to tell indoors when the windows are closed.
Property type, size and condition in Saratoga
Condominiums and townhouses are often a great alternative for Silicon Valley home buyers who’d like to own, rather than rent, and enjoy the benefits of living in a wonderful community like Saratoga without either the maintenance or the cost of purchasing a house with a yard to look after.
Sometimes there are very tiny houses, or cottages, too. In 1996 I sold a 1-bedroom house that was all of about 800 square feet on 4th Street in Saratoga. Not surprisingly, it was later torn down and a brand new house was built in its place. (more…)
The exquisite Saratoga Oaks neighborhood is nestled between downtown Saratoga and the beautiful coastal foothills, close to the famed Hakone Gardens. With both pools and tennis courts and a location just a block or so from tony Saratoga Village (click to see slide show), it is resort living in Silicon Valley at its finest. But this is not just a place for retirees who want to downsize, though they are also drawn here – families with kids also move to Saratoga Oaks to make use of the top rated schools.
Which public schools serve this neighborhood?
Saratoga Oaks is within the very highly regarded Saratoga Union School District. Although many other school districts in Santa Clara County assign children in homes to particular schools, Saratoga does not – it is an “open” school district. If there’s space and if the home is within the district, you may be able to chose which of the excellent Saratoga schools you wish for your student to attend. The nearest public school is Saratoga Elementary on Oak Street, but you may find enrollment instead at Foothill Elementary or Argonaut. The higher level schools are Redwood Middle School and Saratoga High School. California has transitioned to new school assessment, away from the old 2010 API scores, but you can check the new Saratoga Union School District “Report Cards” here. Additionally, there are two excellent private elementary schools nearby: Sacred Heart (Catholic) and St. Andrew’s (Episcopalian).
Where is Saratoga Oaks?
The Saratoga Oaks community is within the city of Saratoga, California, and is a part of Silicon Valley and what’s locally referred to as “the south bay” area. It can be reached either via Springer Avenue, off of 4th Street in Saratoga or from Springer off of Big Basin Way (aka Hwy 9 or Congress Springs Road). This townhouse complex is literally where the town meets the hills – so it is not at all uncommon to find deer in the open spaces! Click on the map image to go to the live, interactive Google map. (more…)
Why are some HOA dues so high in certain Silicon Valley townhouse or condo communities?
If you are shopping for a Silicon Valley condominium, townhouse, loft or other property that’s part of a home owners association or “HOA”, you may find yourself flabbergasted at some of the dues being charged in San Jose, Los Gatos, Saratoga, and all over Santa Clara Valley. Today we’ll go over what may be happening in them to cause this problem.
What HOA dues cover
HOA dues may cover a number of things, and if it’s a luxury complex with luxury amenities, those dues will be high:
common areas, such as driveways, parking, pool, fitness center, rec room, elevators, landscaping, golf course membership, etc.
insurance: regular homeowners or blanket insurance but perhaps also earthquake or flood insurance
reserve account funds for planned improvements may have run too low and need bolstering (repainting, termite work, reroofing, repaving, pool plastering etc.)
covering the defaults from units where the owners are in or about to be in foreclosure
some dues cover water, garbage, and possibly other utilities
special assessments for balcony or elevated wooden elements repairs
special assessments from unforseen insurance demands
Today most HOAs in California have underfunded reserve accounts. Ideally they’d have 70-100% of of the target number allotted to date, but 75% of all HOAs in the Golden State aren’t keeping up. To those boards, it seems silly to tie up today money that may not be needed for 20 years.
In the last few years, insurance has become an increasing problem for HOAs. Many insurance companies no longer want to write policies in California due to the fire risks, so we are hearing of condo and townhome communities loosing their insurance over the types of roofs or the t ypes of electical panels installed. If the insurance policy is canceled due to concerns over one of these issues, or over the fire zones, it may cost several times more in the new policy. Often that means going to the California Fair Plan and then adding a wrap around policy.
HOAs that are forward looking will try to get ahead of insurance cancelations by refoofing or addressing the electrical panels or whatever issue is in their control that may be an obstacle to regular insurance. Fixing these things is expensive – expect a large special assessment – but in the long run it’s cheaper than paying the high risk pool insurance costs.
Depending on the age of the property and the amenities, the dues may run between $400 and $500 on the low end (newer, no amenities) to close to a thousand on the high end (The Villages retirement community has extraordinarily high dues but they may include membership in the golf course too). I’ve seen some in Menlo Park closer to $2,000 per month!
“Normal”HOA dues woud be anywhere from $500 to $600 per month for a typical condo or townhome community.
Dues over $700 per month will deter investment buyers. Dues over $800 per month may deter most buyers
There are several things to beware of when buying a condo or townhouse.
First, and perhaps most importantly, you’ll want to learn about the finances:
how well funded are the reserve and operating accounts?
are special assessments planned?
how many of the members are in default, because this may ultimately cost you with special assessments. Right now that’s not a big problem, but between 2008 and 2010 and a little later, it was an issue.
Second, you’ll want to check out the grounds and common area items to see if it looks like the community is being well maintained. Do the buildings have peeling paint, patches of grass without lawn, and overgrown shrubs? If so, those are “red flags”. If there are elevated wooden elements (balconies, stairs, walkways), do they look well maintained? There should be an inspection of a representative sample from each community and that should be a part of the HOA paperwork. Check it out – repairs can be costly.
Finally, if you’re serious about purchasing a home in that community, read the minutes, newsletters, the reserve account, budget, and the rest of the Home Owner Association paperwork. Yes, it’s tiresome and probably 2-3″ thick but it’s important. (Imagine buying the home and not reading these but later discovering they don’t allow dogs – and you have a large lab! Bad all around. ) The HOA docs will give you insight on the budget and whether any special assessments may be needed down the road.
It’s also wise to hire an expert to analyze these things for you. Most Realtors don’t have the training or skills to interpret them, but a specialist does. CA Datasource is one such company and we’ve had goood experiences with them.
Looking for a great area in Saratoga to call home? Consider the Argonaut neighborhood, part of the larger Golden Triangle area in Saratoga, which enjoys highly regarded schools, plenty of convenience, and a pretty setting to boot.
Where is the Argonaut neighborhood?
While there are no firm boundaries for this pocket of the city, there are a number of landmarks that make it easy to identify. Argonaut Elementary School is at the heart of the Argonaut neighborhood. Another landmark that locals will remember is the Argonaut Shopping Center. And there are two subdivisions also bearing the name: Argonaut Place (home of Argonaut Drive) and Argonaut Glen.
You can see in the image below that there are also a number of unnamed tracts in the area as well, and those often get included when defining the Argonaut neighborhood.
So generally speaking, the Argonaut neighborhood includes the shopping center, subdivisions, and homes within just a few blocks of Argonaut Elementary School.
The Greenbrier neighborhood in Saratoga is prized for many reasons, including pretty streets with well maintained homes and highly regarded Cupertino schools.
In this post we’re review the location, home types, neighborhood amenities, pros and cons of the area, and also what homes are for sale, under contract, or recently sold there to provide a general sense of the Greenbrier real estate prices.
Where is the Greenbrier neighborhood?
This community is part of the broader Blue Hills neighborhood in Saratoga (Additionally, there is a Blue Hills subdivision which used to be contiguous but now is separated by Highway 85. The boundaries are Prospect Road on the north, Highway 85 on the east, Cox Avenue and the train tracks to the south, and Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road to the west. It’s located just north of the Golden Triangle and is adjacent to Prides Crossing.
Map data: Google, boundaries and overlay by Mary Pope-Handy using Google My Maps
The Bellgrove neighborhood in Saratoga, California, is an attractive, newer subdivision in a convenient location with Saratoga schools. It is highly sought after for all of those reasons.
Bellgrove neighborhood houses
Most homes and yards are very well tended, even pristine. Only a couple looked like they could use a little paint or get their front yards tidied up a little. This community is really quite beautiful. Often when communities look this good it’s because of the HOA’s enforcement and the HOA dues. There’s no Homeowner’s Association (HOA) enforcing aesthetics, it’s just the pride of ownership at work.
What will you find at Bellgrove? Here are some key features in this luxury neighborhood.
Quick facts:
There are 94 homes in this subdivision
The homes were built by Greenbrier in 1996 (date per county records)
All of the houses provide 5 bedrooms
All of them have 3 full bathrooms
All enjoy 3 car garages
All are 2 stories – no single story homes available
There are 3 floorplans, with the smallest offering 2900 SF and the largest 3139 SF
Lots run from 5803 SF to 11,154 SF (the older house, not part of the tract, has just over 18,000 SF)
The neighborhood includes a large greenbelt area, a playground, and a par course up against the freeway
The Bellgrove neighborhood is within the boundaries of highly desired school districts: the Saratoga Union School District (K-8) and the Los Gatos Saratoga Union High School District
Most homes do not have pools – just 11 of the 94 do.
Most homes are owner occupied – only 7 are rented out.
Helping nice folks to buy and sell homes in Silicon Valley
Mary Pope-Handy, Realtor ABR, CIPS, CRS, SRES
Christie's International Real Estate Sereno, Los Gatos, CA 95030 408 204-7673 Mary@PopeHandy.com License# 01153805
Clair Handy, Realtor
GREEN
Christie's International Real Estate Sereno 214 Los Gatos-Saratoga Rd Los Gatos, CA 95030 ClairHandy@sereno.com License# 02153633
Mary & Clair sell homes throughout Silicon Valley: Santa Clara County, San Mateo County, and Santa Cruz County. with a special focus on: San Jose, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Campbell, Almaden Valley, Cambrian Park.
The real estate search
Use this link to browse properties which are for sale, under contract (pending) or sold. Want to view only homes which are available now?
Mary Pope-Handy, Realtor ABR, AHWD, CIPS, CRS, SRES Christie's International Real Estate Sereno DRE License #01153805 408-204-7673 mary@popehandy.com “Helping nice folks to buy and sell homes in Silicon Valley since 1993”
Clair Handy, Realtor, GREEN Christie's International Real Estate Sereno DRE License #02153633 408-721-6160 clairhandy@sereno.com “Helping nice folks to buy and sell homes in Silicon Valley”
This is the Valley of Heart's Delight blog , covering Silicon Valley real estate - Santa Clara County, San Jose, Los Gatos, Cupertino, and nearby communities in the South Bay Area and lower Peninsula. Find info on neighborhoods, disclosure issues, buyer and seller tips, and housing market conditions in the west valley and most of the county.Please also see my other websites and real estate market statistics site, which are listed in the sidebar, above.
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Mary Pope-Handy, Realtor ABR, CIPS, CRS, SRES Sereno DRE License #01153805 408-204-7673 mary@popehandy.com
“Helping nice folks to buy and sell homes in Silicon Valley since 1993”
The Greenbrier neighborhood in Saratoga is prized for many reasons, including pretty streets with well maintained homes and highly regarded Cupertino schools.
