Los Gatos, California
Los Gatos real estate, neighborhoods, condos, houses, homes, market trends, history, events, lifestyle, parks, events, businesses, home, Mary Pope-Handy
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Jun. 13, 2008
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Tonight another fire, this one smaller but more local, darkened the skies over the western part of the Santa Clara Valley with smoke. At about 3pm, a grass fire broke out close to the onramp from San Tomas Expressway in Campbell onto Highway 17 southbound toward Los Gatos and Santa Cruz. By 4:30 or so, when I drove through, the plume of smoke rising was quite substantial. And by evening, the air was positively eerie in Los Gatos with strange tints coloring the sky and the landscape.
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The late afternoon and early evening sky was a taupe color in places. Light coming in through the windows of our home was tinted a tungsten type of hue. This photo taken by Clair Handy from Bacigalupi Drive in Los Gatos (in Belwood of Los Gatos).
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Another neighborhood view in Belwood.
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View from the Handy Family backyard in Los Gatos - the wind made the smoke-filled areas very distinct from the cleaner sections of sky.
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A (non-enhanced) view of nearby palm trees. The whole sky was just creepy looking.All of these pictures are unedited except for cropping, of course.
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My sister, Barb, is visiting for a few days and she commented that the sky reminded of of when Mt St. Helen's blew in 1980. I was not around for that, but heard plenty about it from my many friends in Washington and Oregon. I don't think it was quite so dark, but it was certainly odd looking tonight.
Mary Pope-Handy
Jan. 12, 2008
.jpg) On the eastern edge of the town of Los Gatos, there sits a neighborhood of about 500 homes that most people refer to as simply "Belwood" but in fact is comprised of three different neighborhoods: Belwood of Los Gatos, the Belgatos area and the Surmont subdivision. Collectively, they enjoy close access to fabulous Belgatos Park and the use of a great neighborhood pool and cabaña.
Being partial to this region of town since my family and I reside there, I provide a small website, BelwoodOfLosGatos.com (also Belwood-Belgatos.com points to it), which includes hyper local information about that neighborhood's homes and real estate, Belgatos Park, the cabaña and also an area-specific blog to which I occassionally post. Today I blogged about the three parts of the area and homes for sale there - what is currently on the market and a hint about an upcoming listing (not mine, but one I'm aware of). Additionally, there's a link to the "home info" section, which includes sales prices of homes in Belwood, Belgatos and Surmont in recent years.
Interested in the Los Gatos real estate market? It's not "one market", but many micro-markets. What applies in one region or price point (or even school district, at times) may not be true in another. The Belwood area homes in east Los Gatos is one of those many markets. Pop by my blog and site there and get to know the neighborhood! A photo slideshow is available too.
Sep. 24, 2007
 Today the typically pleasant,
normal September weather returned to Los Gatos after several gloomy and unseasonably cold days took hold of us. It was too
nice to stay indoors so in the late afternoon, I grabbed the leash and asked our aging black lab, Bella, if she wanted to
go for a walk.
She limps now, but moves fast at the sound of food or the promise of a walk. We were out the door quickly.
After a stroll down Bacigalupi Drive, greeting neighbors and other dog walkers and pedestrians, we returned home to a
really beautiful site. The moon was just about full and it was almost exactly between two palm trees straight ahead of
me.
Getting Bella inside, I grabbed my Canon Power Shot out of my car and brought it outside, only to find the rechargeable
batteries had died.
Got new ones off the charger and snapped a few shots. They didn't look good in the tiny little window of the camera and I
was afraid that the impact would be lost. I took about a half dozen shots and then the batteries died again. Grrr. But I
got what I needed.
 It wasn't until I
uploaded the pics to my computer that I could see if this would work or not. I think it does come across - though still
not as breathtaking as when I saw it "live" today.
Here I think the moon looks so much like a ping pong ball suspended between two palmy paddles.
Another beautiful evening here in Los Gatos.
Jun. 22, 2007
Los Gatos is a great place to live, but the early explorers must have been truly thrilled when oil was discovered at Moody Gulch and later in areas that are now part of the Town of Los Gatos. A few weeks ago, this blog covered the topic of the old oil pump that can be seen in a parking lot on Los Gatos Boulevard. My husband, Jim Handy, became intrigued by this topic and once again is providing a guest blog here, this time on the Belwood connection to oil. (Jim's previous contribution was April 22nd, when he posted on Harwood Road being a meridian.)
Oil in Belwood? Guest post by Jim Handy
It may come as a surprise to most of us that there was oil drilling as far north as Los Gatos. After all, that's a southern California phenomenon, isn't it?
Well, the truth is that there were ten oil wells in the Los Gatos area around the turn of the last century, and one of them was right here in the Belwood neighborhod.
 A USGS map found in 2000 shows that there was an "old oil well" near the intersection of Harwood and Belridge*. This map was drawn about 100 years ago, and there was oil exploration here as early as the 1860s, so there's no telling when it was drilled. In those days citizens weren't as circumspect about telling the state what they were up to as they are today.
I've looked around that intersection, and have found no trace of the well, but by the time these homes were built it may have been long gone, along with any traces of its existence.
Los Gatos was not much of an oil producer. There is no evidence of any commercial activity except in the Moody Gulch area on the other side of the summit. The USGS says that most wells on this side of the hill were used privately. Still it's interesting to think that a little part of this history happened right here in Belwood!
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* Note on the map: This map shows railroad lines and trolly car lines that don't now exist, roads with different names then the ones we know today and major thorofares like Blossom Hill Road entirely missing. I have taken the liberty to add a few notes to clarify the spot. Many of the numbers on the map (13, 14, 18) indicate townships and some of the straight black lines are the limits of the township and not streets. Also, the squiggly line running through most of the image is the base of Blossom Hill - the hill for which the major road was named.
Feb. 20, 2007
View From Los Gatos
To the left is a photo I took a few weeks back from the far edge of Los Gatos - up on Harwood Road (where you aren't allowed to park your car so this shot was taken from the window of my automobile). That's downtown San Jose in the distance. Behind me are the Santa Cruz Mountains, aka the Coastal Range. Across from me, beyond downtown San Jose, you see the eastern foothills. Beyond them, at some distance, is the Central Valley. This valley was once known as "The Valley of the Heart's Delight". Los Gatos lies at the base of the Santa Cruz Mountains and is a town you'd need to pass through to get to Santa Cruz and the beach. It s a vibrant part of life in SIlicon Valley, though it has only a little industry (Netflix being the biggest company here). Most homes don't have a great view like this - my home is at the bottom of this hill, in the flatlands. From one bedroom, we have a view of the hill. And that's pretty too.
So how's the market in this very scenic corner of the valley? Well, it depends on your price point. For Los Gatos, the most affordable (i.e., really middle class) housing is going fast. Inventory is low. In fact, in January there were 100 homes for sale (not a lot) and as of this moment, there are just 89. We have 36 homes "pending". Most of these are not at the high end of the spectrum. Prices in our fair town (not a city, but a town - just to be clear) range from a low of $799,000 to over $15 million for single family homes. By and large, the homes under $1.5 million are flying off the market. But there just aren't that many buyers for homes over $10 million.
In my own neighborhood, Belwood of Los Gatos, there are about 500 homes and last year about 10 of them sold. This is an exceptionally low-turnover neighborhood. Prices in 2006 averaged about $1,230,000 for a home with about 2400 square feet. Right now there's exactly one home for sale, it's not far from the average size but it's listed at $1,380,000. Will it sell for that much? I have no idea. If it does sell close to that price, we will know that prices are rising again. I cannot wait to see this home myself - naturally I want my home to appreciate in value (that is, until I think about my kids hopefully being in the housing market themselves in 10 years...then I hope it just climbs very, very slowly). You can check out the housing situation in Belwood by visiting my site, www.BelwoodOfLosGatos.com and clicking on the "Homes Info" button, or navigate there directly by using this link: http://www.belwoodoflosgatos.com/more/index.cfm?Fuseaction=more_11917
Historical information for recent years is on the following page, which you can reach at the top of the Homes Info page.
So how's the market? If you are the owner of a high end home and you need to sell, you will say it's awful. If you own a nicely updated, well priced middle class home, you would say it's a market that is great for sellers and a little rough on buyers. If your home is not in great shape or is not priced in the bottom third of its competition, you might be convinced it's a terribly strong buyer's market. Truth is, it is close to balanced for most homes. It can be a win-win market, but everyone has to be realistic and be prepared to do a little work. But that would be true for most worthwhile things in life: they tend to need a dose of realism and some effort.
Nov. 21, 2006
Belwood of Los Gatos
On the far eastern end of Los Gatos lies a friendly and active neighborhood of about 500 homes: Belwood of Los Gatos, and also the Belgatos and Surmont neighborhoods - all of whom now share a cabaña and the town's huge neighborhood park. At the heart of the community is Belgatos Park, an expanse of open space with places for barbequing, swinging, tossing a frisbee, hiking, walking, running, and riding horses. A second anchor for Belwood is the cabaña, with a pool, basketball courts, lawn area and indoor party space.
The homes in the Belwood, Belgatos and Surmont neighborhoods are generally unpretentious. Mostly ranch style homes, some two-story, they vary from 1800 - 3000 sf (mostly - some are larger), they sit on 8000 - 10,000 sf lots and range from about 25 - 40 years old. They are not
McMansions and they don't scream "I am made of money", though they cost about $1.2 million in an interior location - so they aren't cheap. Most of the streets meander and are tree-lined. People of all ages are seen walking, pushing strollers, running - anything just to be out and about in the neighborhood.
This is where my family and I live and make our home and we love it. Turnover here is low, because people who move here decide to stay here.
If you would like more information on the Belgatos and Belwood and Surmont neighborhoods of east Los Gatos, please see my website dedicated to this very pretty corner of town:
www.BelwoodOfLosGatos.com
or
www.Belwood-Belgatos.com
If you want to live in Los Gatos, this is a great place to make your home!
Happy Trails!
Mary Pope-Handy, Realtor, CRS, ABR, e-PRO, SRES, ASP, RECS, CNHS
Helping Nice Folks to Buy & Sell Homes Since 1993
Co-Author: "Get The Best Deal When Selling Your Home In Silicon Valley"
408 204-7673 (Cell)
www.PopeHandy.com www.ValleyOfHeartsDelight.com
www.BelwoodOfLosGatos.com
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