How Did the Los Gatos Real Estate Market Do in August?

We'll get the exact, hard data for the Los Gatos real estate market in a week or so from MLSListings.com, our MLS provider (formerly known as REInfolink). Meanwhile, though, we can have a look at the closings reported to date and get a feel for how the market is doing.

This month, there were 29 closings, or completed sales, in the town of Los Gatos (zip codes 95030 and 95032) among single family homes and condos/townhomes. Of the 29 Los Gatos homes which sold, 24 were single family homes and 5 were condominiums or townhouses. I was involved in two of those sales - one as the listing agent and one as the selling agent (working with the buyers), both single family homes that were in the $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 price range, and both are in the Los Gatos School District.

How did they homes in Los Gatos do in August?

First, let's look at single family homes. One sold "off" the MLS, so it's hard to know how it might have done on the open market. It was extreme in another way - it sold at $5,400,000 - the most expensive closing of the month. Not your typical Los Gatos price, though not unheard of either.

For single family homes in Los Gatos,  the multiple listing service, the average "days on market" was 50 and average "collective" or "cumulative days on market" was 71. So typically, it's taking 71 days for houses to sell in Los Gatos. (My listing, which was on Magneson Terrace, took 66 days to sell - felt much longer for everyone involved, though!) Some homes sold fast (1-10 days) and a few a very long time (longest was 238 days), but most are in the 2-3 month range.

The average list price was $1,915,500 and the average sales price was $1,847,989 among Los Gatos houses. The lowest home sold for $870,000 and the highest for $5,400,000, as mentioned above. Fifteen sold between $1 million and $2 million, 3 below that range and 6 above it

Only 3 of the 24 sold higher than list price. Just 4 sold "at" list price (but of those, 2 were reduced before they sold at list price, so only 2 sold at the original list price) and the vast majority had one or more price reductions prior to selling.

What about townhouses and condos in Los Gatos? There were only five spread between two zip codes which are so far reported as closed in August. Of those, the average Days on Market is 41 (same number for Collective DOM), the average list price is $687,789 and average sales price $676,000.

So it looks like the condo market is faring better than the single family home market in Los Gatos right now, according to closed sales prices.

While pricing appears to be flat by some indicators in July, we have seen many price reductions in homes that appeared aggressively positioned in the market before offers are procured. Buyers are waiting, generally, and prices do seem to be falling somewhat in the under $2 million price range.

The soft real estate market that has been plaguing much of San Jose and Silicon Valley now appears to be impacting the entry level and mid-level homes in Los Gatos.

What can we expect? With an election year, things are always uncertain. Likewise, the interest rate has threatened to rise a bit and if that happens, it will adversely affect home prices for sellers. Think of it like the scales of justice: one side goes down, the other goes up.

Waiting may or may not be a good idea. Prices may go down and interest rates may go up. Or perhaps not - no one knows. As one of my buyer clients said, recently, "prices may go down, but if I wait, it's like I put my life on hold". (That buyer is now a homeowner.)

The real estate market in Silicon Valley, including Los Gatos, is comrised of many micro-markets. Please call me for specific assistance in the area where you live or would like to live.

 

Los Gatos Is Well Known For Great Public Schools, But 1/3 of Kids In Town Attend Private Schools!

Amazingly, fully 1/3 of the children in the town of Los Gatos are attending private schools, according to Money Magazine. That is an incredibly high statistic! (In Saratoga, it's 11.2% who attend private schools.)

The article appeared in the "Best Places to Live" series (Los Gatos didn't make the top 100 and neither did Saratoga) and it states that 65.9% of the children in the town of Los Gatos attend public schools (which would include the Los Gatos, Moreland, and Union elementary districts) and 33.9% attend private schools. The average for the "top 100" for money magazine is 10.5% private and the rest public.

What's going on here? It would be interesting to delve deeper into this issue and I would welcome feedback on this from readers. Why go to all the effort, when the public schools range from good to great?

Part of it, I believe, is that for some people, a school affiliated with a religion will be highly important no matter how good the public schools are. That would be the case in my family.  Our kids attended the now defunct Casa Maria Montessori School (which was run by the Holy Names Sisters), St Mary's, then Bellarmine Prep and Notre Dame High School, both in San Jose.  For families like mine, the ethics and religous upbringing are central to the development of the whole person - so school is more than academics and sports, and for us, it's worth it to pay tuition and make other sacrifices to get the kids into these schools, even when the public schools are good or even excellent.

Here in town there are several religously affiliated elementary schools: St Mary of the Immaculate Conception (Catholic), Yavneh Day School (Jewish, Conservative), Los Gatos Christian School (Protestant). I've known locals to send their kids to Valley Christian, to Yavneh, and to other schools that offered a strong religious background and support for the family's values. But there are other excellent private schools that are not religiously affiliated, too, such as Hillbrook Elementary and Mulberry School, and they also draw from the town's populace.

At the high school level, kids drive much farther to get to private schools. Again, many are religious (Mitty, Bellarmine, Valley Christian, and more)  but some are secular, such as Harker and Castilleja (all girls).

It's not all about who's "in the schools" either. It would be an easy answer to say that those not in the Los Gatos School District (which has the highest scores in the town) are those who are paying tuition, but it just isn't so. Plenty of families who could send their kids to Los Gatos High don't. And it's a very high percentage. It would be interesting to see the numbers on this.

Perhaps it's the money, and the fact that folks here can afford to pay tuition and make that choice.

But whatever the cause, I'm glad to see this statistic, especially in an election year here in town. So many of the townsfolk equate the Los Gatos public schools (often neglecting Union and Moreland areas) with townlife but they forget that many of us who love living in Los Gatos are not affiliated with the local public schools directly. We want the public schools in all districts to succeed, of course, but our kids may be elsewhere, by choice and with some sacrifice. Los Gatos schools are a great part of why people love calling Los Gatos home, but clearly, for many, it's not "the" reason. 

Rent Control in Los Gatos: How Does it Work?

Did you know that Los Gatos has (some) rent control?  According to the town's website, It does not apply to every rental property in town. "Rent control limits only apply to properties with three or more rental units."  So people renting single family homes, a single condo, a manufactured home or a duplex in Los Gatos would not have rent control, but those in triplexes or apartment complexes would have rent control. 

How much can rents rise under the rent control restrictions? Generally, about 5% a year maximum, or 70% of the consumer price index. There are exceptions, though, if the costs to run the complex rise significantly (due to the costs on the financing of the property or improvements to the property) OR if the owner has not raised the rent for two years. In the latter case, rents may then jump by 10%.

For more information on rent control in Los Gatos, please see the town's page on rental disputes or phone 408-402-0307 x10 then *8 and extension 17. 

The "Smallest House of Los Gatos" is For Sale

The county's smallest home on the smallest lot sits in the historic Almond Grove District of Los Gatos. It's a darling cottage, totally rebuilt about a dozen years ago, in a fantastic location just steps to all that downtown Los Gatos has to offer.  Because the home is unique and architecturally interesting, I blogged about it here on Live in Los Gatos a few months ago (see first link, above).

What are the specifics? The 541 square foot house sits on an 817 square foot lot.  Originally built in 1922, the home was essentially rebuilt 11-12 years ago with design by Gary Schloh, a well known and highly esteemed local architecht. He did a tasteful job of blending historic charm and modern, upscale amenities in a compact package. With high ceilings, loads of windows, air conditioning, and inside laundry, it is an exceptionally comfortable little home. It is offered for sale at $799,000 and is located at 304 Nicholson Avenue. (Appointment only!)

This listing is presented by Helen Cockrum of Alain Pinel Realtors in Los Gatos, who graciously gave permission for me to blog about (or advertise) her listing here. More information and photos of this amazing downtown cottage can be seen on MLSListings.com. 

Landscaping Tips to Avoid Attracting Rats in Silicon Valley

Got rats?

Roof rats abound in Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, and Saratoga. Our lush vegetation, the mild weather and the abundant food sources must be too irresistable. They are not as uncommon as we'd like them to be!

Recently I learned quite a bit more about landscaping and how it can attract (or deter) rats. If you're interested in some practical landscaping tips - mostly a list of what NOT to plant or keep - please visit my Valley Of Hearts Delight Blog, where I posted on this subject earlier tonight.

Los Gatos Real Estate Market Numbers - In for July 2008

The numbers are out for July's sales activity in Los Gatos!

To the left, please see a graph for prices and sales of single family homes in the Town of Los Gatos. Note that sales prices, both median and average, are slipping, while the number of homes sold has been rising. This is welcome news for sellers.

With the Los Gatos condominium or townhouse market, things are less positive for sellers, but a great opportunity for buyers. (This is very much the situation in the Saratoga and Almaden Valley markets too - the luxury condo market is having a far harder time than the single family home market.) Prices are down and the number of homes selling is down also. Please see graph below.

Please visit my online Silicon Valley Real Estate Report to see much more data for the Town of Los Gatos or any other part of Silicon Valley's real estate market. Visitors to the site can navigate to view statistics and graphs for condominiums and townhomes or single family homes by region.

As always, the real estate market is comprised of many "micro markets", so please contact me for specific information on your particular home or neighborhood.

Mary Pope-Handy

Happy 121st Birthday, Los Gatos! Celebrate Downtown!

                      Art Exhibit and Reception August 10, 2008 
               Meet Barbara Cassin, an artist and Los Gatos native

Los Gatos became incorportated 121 years ago tomorrow, August 10th, 1887. To celebrate this anniversary, the Los Gatos Public Library is sponsoring an exhibition of the beautiful artwork of a local Los Gatos High School graduate, Barbara Jones Cassin, tomorrow from 2-4pm in the Los Gatos Council lobby.  There will be light refreshments served, and a chance to meet the artist too. (An example of her work may be seen online at the town's website.)