I picked this article up thanks to Google Alerts (for "Los Gatos"). Horses are at the wrong end of hardship with this poor economy, and several individuals and agencies are trying to keep these beautiful animals from ending up in the wrong hands. One of them is right here in Los Gatos.
Love horses? Got room and the ability to care for them? Have a look at the article in the Contra Costa Times: Free to a good home -- the horse of your choice. (Scroll to the bottom and find an equestrian do-gooder in Los Gatos.)
As for me, I wish I had room and the budget. I have fond memories of riding horses in south San Jose and at Garrod's in Saratoga as a kid here. My parents had a home next to a horse ranch, and as a teen I felt like I was in heaven just to see the horses graze each day. For today I'll have to settle for spreading the word, but I would love to hear more about this from folks involved.
Monte Sereno is a lovely, upscale residential community of about 4000 people. It's located adjacent to the town of Los Gatos and the city of Saratoga, California. There are no businesses in Monte Sereno - just homes, the post office, and the city office building along Highway 9.
Monte Sereno shares some services with Los Gatos, such as police and schools. While Los Gatos has two zip codes, 95030 and 95032, Monte Sereno shares the 95030 zip code with Los Gatos. Some folks mistakenly think that whatever is happening in Los Gatos with the housing market is also reflective of the Monte Sereno real estate market. They are sometimes quite different.
We'll now look at a few key indicators to see how the Monte Sereno real estate market is doing, and also how it's doing compared to the same zip code but in Los Gatos. Graphs and stats are from Altos Research, to which I have a subscription (and the right to republish this information), which uses current listing data (list prices, not sold prices, for instance). About once a month I also publish an update which uses information from the solds, and you may see that interactive report at any time by visiting http:www.popehandy.rereport.com.
I. Inventory of Houses for Sale in Monte Sereno
This first graph displays the trend of inventory among houses for sale in Monte Sereno, 95030. The four different lines are for the four quartiles, or price points. Sometimes they behave differently from one another, but here we can see that for much of the last year, inventory rose dramatically among all price ranges.
Next, a comparative look between Monte Sereno and Los Gatos inventory levels of homes for sale. While it makes sense that Los Gatos has more homes for sale (it has more households!) it is interesting to note that the rise of inventory has been more dramatic in Los Gatos than in Monte Sereno.
A retrospective: how is inventory in Monte Sereno now compared to two years ago? (The chart says only 95030 but this is just from Monte Sereno.)
II. Average Days on the Market of Homes for Sale in Monte Sereno
Below, please see the breakdown by price point, or quartile, of the days on market for Monte Sereno this year. The lowest priced homes did not experience the same degree of a "dip" in the first half of the year that the higher priced homes did. It is interesting to note that the most expensive homes had the greatest improvement for the DOM (Days on Market) early in 2008.
How does this compare to the same zip code in Los Gatos?
The patterns are pretty similar, but it would seem that for most of the year, it has been easier (faster) to sell a house in Monte Sereno than in Los Gatos.
Compared to two years ago, how do the DOM look in Monte Sereno?
As we had suspected, it was much easier to sell a home in 2006 than it has been in 2008. In fact, it looks from this indicator that it is approximately twice as hard to sell a home now, if not more, then in 2006. This has been especially grue in the last quarter of the year.
III. List Price of Homes for Sale in Monte Sereno
Now we'll turn to the number which home sellers care about the most: price. Below, please see a graph with the median list price by quartile of homes for sale in Monte Sereno this year.
Interestingly, the most exclusive homes have come down the most, while properties in lower price ranges seem to have adjusted downward the least.
How does this compare to what's happening in the town of Los Gatos?
It is commonly known that homes in Monte Sereno are a bit more expensive than those in Los Gatos, so the gap between the two is not surprising. That said, the way each has responded to the market is curious. While Los Gatos home prices (list prices) went down early in the year, they went up in Monte Sereno for the same time frame. In fact, these two graphs are almost completely inverse of each other!
Finally, how does the median list price of homes in Monte Sereno today compare to the list prices of two years ago?
This is another weird graph which almost looks like a symmetrical inverse from 2008 to 2006. List prices today are higher, on average, then they were two years ago.
In summary, compared to Los Gatos, Monte Sereno is faring better overall. The inventory is lower, days on market are shorter, and list prices remain higher than in Los Gatos. Compared to two years ago, it's tougher to sell a home (and easier to buy one) in Monte Sereno: inventory is up, days on the market are up - but list prices are up too, an odd twist! In fact it's an anomoly for most of Silicon Valley, but it does not mean that any one house will necessarily sell for more than it did 2 years ago. The median sales price is the point at which half the homes are selling for more, and half for less. So a higher median list price or sales price may simply indicate that more expensive homes are selling. That seems very likely because with the more expensive homes, buyers are less likely to be dependent on a loan.
For analysis of what's happening in your neighborhood, or where you'd like to buy a home, please contact me. I'm happy to meet with you and go over your situation in person and in confidence.
The San Jose Mercury News ran a nice piece about a Los Gatos resident who's doing some big sharing during these difficult times in Silicon Valley. Have a read about Jennifer Krach and how she's helping - and how you can, too:
The Los Gatos real estate market has had a difficult year in 2008. Are things improving now, levelling off, or worsening? What Los Gatos homeowners care about most is value: what's my home worth now? Today we will look at what list prices are doing among Los Gatos proerties for sale: both single family homes (houses) and condominums and townhomes in both the 95030 and 95032 zip codes.
The data, care of Altos Research, pretty much speaks for itself. The situation varies from one area to the next and one price point to the next. For more detailed information than is presented here, please contact me directly.
I. Broad Overview of Los Gatos homes for sale
First let's see an overview of list prices for single family homes in Los Gatos by zip code (all price quartiles combined).
Next, same type of data but for Los Gatos condominiums and townhomes for sale (both zip codes, median list price).
II. Closer look at houses for sale in Los Gatos
Next we'll look more closely at single family homes by zip code and by price point or quartile.
Los Gatos houses in the 95030 zip code area by quartile:
Los Gatos houses in the 95032 zip code area by quartile:
III. Condominiums and Townhomes for Sale in Los Gatos
Next the list pricing for condos in 95030 by quartile
And finally, list prices of condos and townhouses for sale in the 95032 area by quartile
In summary, it looks as though condo prices have done fairly well overall. In 95030, they are up year over year across the board, and in 95032 they two top quartiles are up. The entry level condos in 95032 appear to have lost value year over year. The reason may be that buyers in these price points are purchasing single family homes outside of Los Gatos instead.
Among houses, the slippage in pricing is fairly slight in both zip codes among the three lower quartiles, but the market difficulties are much more pronounced among the most expensive homes in both of the Los Gatos areas. The Los Gatos luxury market has taken more of a beating than more midrange homes this year? Why is that? There are a number of possibilities, but the bottom line is that if you are a luxury home buyer looking in the west side of Silicon Valley, this may be a great opportunity for you!
Please call or email me if you'd like more information on Los Gatos real estate market conditions.
It was a cold morning here in Belwood of Los Gatos. Our outside thermometer indicated that temps were just over freezing. Looking down the street when grabbing the newspaper, I saw many roofs with various degrees of frost covering them.
Did you know that in the case of frost on the roof, more is better? On my Valley of Hearts Delight blog today, I present a few photos and explain why you'll want to check your roof on icy mornings, whether you are buying a home, selling a home, or maintaining one.
Please enjoy the 90 second slideshow and additional photographs from yesterday's annual Los Gatos Holiday Parade. Many thanks to my husband, Jim Handy, for providing the many photos. He is a volunteer with the Los Gatos Parks Commission and a few of the images were from the float.
Would you like to see more pics and info? The Los Gatos Observer has a great article with lots of closeup shots and names: Los Gatos Holds 52nd Parade
Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year to Everyone!
December is here, and with it are all the holiday wonders in Los Gatos. Lots is happening in and around our quaint corner of Silicon Valley. Here's the rundown on carriage rides, the festival of lights, the tree lighting ceremony, the Los Gatos holiday parade, and more:
Fantasy of Lights at Vasona Lake County Park - This is the 10th anniversary of the immensely popular drive-through event . It runs 6pm to 10pm every night through Dec 31st. For information on costs, directions, and more, please visit the county parks website, ParkHere.org.
Fantasy Train of Lights - train rides begin December 4th. Not all lights are visible from the train. See the county's park page on this event for more info.
Carriage Rides in downtown Los Gatos - These begin Friday December 5th and happen on various days through December until the 23rd. Please see the Los Gatos Chamber's website for dates, times, prices and to make reservations.
Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season as you celebrate Advent, Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year's, and any other holiday this festive month!
A blog about Los Gatos real estate, homes, houses, condos, townhomes, housing market, neightborhoods, history, events, businesses, parks, schools, photos, issues, and lifestyle.
Mary Pope-Handy
Realtor, CRS, ABR, SRES, E-PRO
Luxor Real Estate Group
Mailing Address for Mary: PO Box 440 Los Gatos, CA 95031-0440
877 397-5391 (office/toll-free)
It was a cold morning here in Belwood of Los Gatos. Our outside thermometer indicated that temps were just over freezing. Looking down the street when grabbing the newspaper, I saw many roofs with various degrees of frost covering them.
December is here, and with it are all the holiday wonders in Los Gatos. Lots is happening in and around our quaint corner of Silicon Valley. Here's the rundown on carriage rides, the festival of lights, the tree lighting ceremony, the Los Gatos holiday parade, and more:
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