The Los Gatos real estate market is soft - it remains a buyers market for most areas and price ranges. Agents and sellers will tell you that it's harder to sell a home now. Let's look at the market data, though.It can be analyzed by price point, school district, zip code, square footage, or any number of factors. Today's "mini update" will be a glance by zip code of condos and single family homes with focus on the days on market., amount of inventory and list prices of homes for sale. Data and graphs by Altos Research (to which I subscribe).
This first chart indicates the average days on market for Los Gatos in the 95030 zip code. The blank line represents the condo and townhouse listings and the orange line the single family homes. (This chart should automatically update itself thanks to a little html.) Both segments appear to be following a fairly similar trend here of lengthening days on the market after an easier spell from spring until about July. Houses here have been for sale at an average of 110 days, and townhouses and condos around 92 or so.
Now, the same data but for the 95032 zip code of Los Gatos. These two seem to be behaving quite differently from one another - the condo market is undergoing a worsening, or lengthening, of the DOM while the single family home market in Los Gatos appears to be flattening out. Houses here have been listed, on average, for 95 days, and condos even longer - just shy of 110.
In the Los Gatos Mountains, with the 95033 zip code, the market is tougher. (There are no condo listings to report.). The days on market have been climbing fairly steadily and the DOM is at around 155 - so the average home in the mountains has been on the market for 5 months!
Another key way to get a pulse on the Los Gatos real estate market is to check the inventory levels. Here we see the current inventory of listed single family homes in Los Gatos by zip code.
Next, inventory among condos and townhomes in Los Gatos (none in the mountains to report). Interestingly, available condos have declined noticeably in the 95030 area (closest to downtown Los Gatos) and appear to be starting to decline in the 95032 area. That may help bring balance back to the condo market here, which has been quite soft recently.
And lastly, a quick view of list prices in Los Gatos. This next chart represents single family homes.
Here is the same information, but for the condominium and townhouse market in Los Gatos:
These charts represent the overview of the Los Gatos real estate market. There can be a great deal of variation from one area or house to the next. The perfect, completely and recently remodeled house that is priced low may get a flurry of offers and sell way over list price. Most homes, though, don't fit that description. Most of the real estate for sale has "some updating" but needs more. In certain areas, though, buyers will overlook condition if the price is good and the home seems clean and at least well maintained.
For information on what your home may be worth, or how much home you can buy, please contact me today!
Los Gatos is well known in Silicon Valley for a charming, busy, interesting and unique downtown area that includes some beautiful historic buildings.
The residential neighborhoods of Los Gatos are quite diverse and offer those who'd love to live here a wide variety of choice in housing style.
Older neighborhoods close to the downtown area, such as Fairview Plaza or the Almond Grove, offer Victorians (of various types) and some Craftsman homes. Further out, house hunters can find Spanish or Mediterranean, Prairie type, Colonial, Cape Cod, Mid Century Modern homes (though there are no Eichlers in Los Gatos, there are some from that era and style), ranch houses of course and some modern or contemporary homes.
Today I posted a photo tour with a sampling of housing types that may be found in Los Gatos. Real estate here is diverse, and much of it quite beautiful! Please stop by my other blog, Valley Of Hearts Delight, to take a look at these images of Los Gatos homes.
The annual St. Mary's Country Fair, a popular Los Gatos event, is back for another fun weekend Oct 10th, 11th, and 12th! Located in downtown Los Gatos, on the edge of the Almond Grove District, the Country Fair appeals to people of all ages.
Here's a view from last year on Sunday morning:
What is the St. Mary's Country Fair all about? It's a fundraiser for the work of the parish and the school that draws the entire community. There are carnival rides, live music and dancing, arts & crafts, great food, activities for kids, and loads of fun for about 48 hours. There is NO ADMISSION CHARGE so drop by and see what looks good! The food is very reasonably priced and very tasty!
A few highlights for this year's fun Los Gatos carnival:
Friday Night - Live Music & Dancing - The Joe Sharino Band (no charge!)
Saturday 1pm - 3:30pm Talent Show
Saturday Night - Live Music - The Cheeseballs (7pm - 10pm and no entry fee or charge!)
Sunday 8:30am - 11am - Lions Club Pancake Breakfast
Sunday events usually include a petting zoo and a pony ride for the little tykes
Sunday 5pm - Car or Cash Raffle - only 550 ($100) tickets sold for a MB Cabriolet Smart Car or $18,000 cash
Extra tips:
Like a bargain? Visit the parish or school office prior to October 10, 2008 at 2pm and buy your Butler ride tickets at a substantial discount - and avoid the lines!
Much of the Almond Grove District of Los Gatos has permit parking only in the evenings. So don't park in the neighborhood! There are lots of public parking spaces between North Santa Cruz and University Avenues in Los Gatos, and they are no cost, so park there instead!
The San Jose Mercury News reports that a group home for developmentally disabled adults is coming to Los Gatos. Since Agnews Developmental Center in Santa Clara is closing, those residents must all be placed elsewhere. Five of them will be housed in Los Gatos in a home being built on Mulberry Drive (which is off Wedgewood Dr, between Lora Drive and La Rinconada Drive) near the golf course.
For neighbors, this is a concern due to lack of parking already; the five residents plus caregivers and visitors will make the area more congested still.
Today's Merc headlines were the most depressing economically that we've seen in years with the highlights being the crash on Wall Street, the rise of foreclosures in many San Jose zip codes, and the state of California's budget crisis.
The piece on foreclosed homes, written by Sue McAllister, focused on the zip codes in San Jose where foreclosures are between about 1% and 2.6% and on the issue of blight in vacant homes. Lenders can't keep up with their paperwork on these distressed properties, let alone worry about watering and mowing lawns and keeping homes from being vandalized. As might be expected, the areas hardest hit with these problems are those with the lowest income. Cambrian Park, Willow Glen, The Rosegarden, West San Jose and Almaden Valley did not rank among the areas with high levels of foreclosures. The Mercury News article did not cover just short sales, but homes in any stage of foreclosure.
Short sales are usually the first step in the foreclosure process, as many homeowners who've been served a Notice of Default and know or believe that they cannot save their home will try to get out from under the mortgage burden with as little credit damage as possible, and thus turn their efforts to the hope and opportunity that a short sale may provide.
[Some agents are trying to help homeowners to not just cut their losses when they lose their homes, but instead to cut their debt pressure and keep their homes. A friend of mine in Tuscon, Frances Flynn Thorsen, has a forum to help homeowners keep their homes. (You can read about it here.)]
Back to the issue of distressed Silicon Valley properties: I've been tracking short sales for about six months in selected areas of Silicon Valley. The parts I've been tracking are largely along the west and northwest part of Santa Clara County, where there is more wealth and stability generally in this market. There is not a shocking rise of short sales in these areas overall. Have a look at the snapshot of short sales among single family homes, condos and townhomes in Silicon Valley:
3/26/2008
5/18/2008
7/19/2008
9/18/2008
Los Gatos
5
8
7
9
Monte Sereno
1
0
0
1
Saratoga
0
1
4
3
Los Gatos Mtns
3
2
3
0
Cambrian Park
59
63
68
49
Santa Clara
56
63
69
75
Campbell
13
19
23
20
Cupertino
1
1
0
1
Los Altos
0
2
1
0
Sunnyvale
50
58
51
48
Blossom Valley
196
217
190
177
San Jose (all)
1534
1777
1708
1578
Blossom Valley, which made the Merc's list, has actually improved on short sales (but perhaps gotten worse with the number which are now bank owned?). Los Gatos is worse. Cambrian Park is better. The total number of San Jose short sales is lower than it was in July or May. (This may be a statistical blip as some homeowners may be getting an extra window of time before feeling pressured to sell.)
So what can be said from this for the Silicon Valley real estate market? We have had a bifurcated market for a couple of years already in which the wealthier areas have been fairly stable and the poorer areas have been badly impacted by the mortgage crisis and the general state of the economy. We are not yet seeing the end of the tunnel in terms of the foreclosures in Santa Clara County - more are to come as adjustable loans are reset and an oversupply of cheap, bank owned housing puts downward pressure on pricing in many districts.
At the same time, turnkey, fully remodeled homes in areas with excellent schools and aggressive pricing are still selling - and at times with multiple offers. Buyers are being picky, because they can be picky with so much selection available.
Buyers with large cash downpayments are calling the shots generally, but sellers with "like new", high quality homes in areas where the schools have API scores over 900 are running their own show too. How's the market? It completely depends on where you're looking.
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)
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