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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Nov. 16, 2009
Are there bargain homes to be found in Los Gatos (and Monte Sereno), as in a lot of short sales or bank owned houses, condos & townhomes on the market? These types of properties have been in far shorter supply in the Los Gatos area than in most of Silicon Valley (San Jose, Santa Clara County). Yesterday I logged onto MLSListings.com and did the research on the "Area 16" or Los Gatos - Monte Sereno real estate market - tedious, but interesting. (Area 16 includes Monte Sereno, consists of the 95030 and 95032 zip codes and a sliver of Campbell and San Jose, Cambrian Park - but is about 95% Los Gatos). Results below:
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If you are a Los Gatos homebuyer, you'll find that there are not very many distressed properties on the market.
Los Gatos Houses for Sale
Of the 142 active listings in "area 16" (the Los Gatos area, including Monte Sereno and an exceedingly small sliver of Campbell and San Jose - Cambrian Park), only 10 are distressed homes for sale (short sales and REOs combined). That's just 7% of the available pool of Los Gatos houses for sale are distressed properties (4% short sale, 3% bank owned).
Los Gatos Condos and Townhomes for Sale
Among the condo market, about 10% is short sales and none is a bank owned property.
Pending & Closed Sales of Homes in Los Gatos
The pendings show a lot more activity among short sales - but will they close escrow? (Unfortunately a significant percentage of short sales never close. Buyers get tired of waiting, banks request things that sellers won't do, such as sign a promissory note, or foreclosure happens prior to the short sale being completed - just a few of the reasons why the success rate is lower than with either regular sales or REOs.) Although about half of all homes in escrow are short sales, a look at the closeds over the last month belies that most won't close - only about 3% of the combined closed sales in the last month are short sales. Fourteen percent are bank owned - still a small fraction of the combined market (12% are distressed properties).
Will the info (and percentages of sale type) be different if we view it "year to date"?
It's pretty similar in that the distressed homes in Los Gatos are a small pert of the market - among the single family homes sold in 2009 in Los Gatos, about 6% are short sales, 11% are bank owned homes (about 17% of the solds are "distressed" sales). Interestingly, the amount of recently closed houses that are distressed is a lot less than the year-to-date.
Among the condo and townhome market, year to date about 8% of the sales are short sales and about 5% are bank owned home sales (13% are distressed sales). For the current month, it's a similar 12%.
The distressed element of the Los Gatos real estate market is significant but a minor part of the available, pending, and sold properties in the Los Gatos area. The lower prices of short sales and bank owned homes will have a negative effect on home valuations, but not nearly so strong as is seen in most of the San Jose area. Depending on your price point and location, there may be more or less of an impact on your home's value (or the value of the home you wish to buy).
For more posts on short sales & bank owned homes in & near Los Gatos, please see:
http://www.realtown.com/LiveInLosGatos/blog/short-sales-and-bank-owned-homes
Nov. 12, 2009
Today on my Valley of Hearts Delight blog, I posted a long article on the Monte Sereno real estate market. In places I compared and contrasted it with the Los Gatos & Saratoga markets, so readers of this blog might find that piece interesting as well.
The Monte Sereno Real Estate Market Update, November 2009
Jul. 25, 2009
Every couple of weeks I get a phone call or an email from someone who wants to get a "cheap" home in Los Gatos by finding a bank owned house or condo, or a short sale, here in town. Real estate prices in Silicon Valley have fallen substantially due to foreclosed homes, but the areas primarily impacted are the least expensive neighborhoods, not the most expensive ones.
So let's have a look at the numbers. The chart below is data gleaned by me this morning from MLSListings.com, our mls provider.
| Currently for sale, available | Available | Avail Short Sales | Avail REOs | % Normal Sales | | Santa Clara County SFH | 2871 | 584 | 214 | 72.20% | | Santa Clara County Condos & TH | 915 | 252 | 71 | 64.70% | | Los Gatos & Monte Sereno SFH | 201 | 14 | 5 | 90.55% | | Los Gatos & MS Condos & TH | 51 | 4 | 0 | 92.16% | | Sold & Closed within last 30 days | Sold | Sold Short Sales | Sold REOs | % Normal Sales | | Santa Clara County SFH | 1707 | 229 | 522 | 56.00% | | Santa Clara County Condos & TH | 362 | 47 | 123 | 53.04% | | Los Gatos & Monte Sereno SFH | 33 | 2 | 0 | 93.94% | | Los Gatos & MS Condos & TH | 9 | 1 | 0 | 88.89% | The majority of homes selling & closing in Santa Clara County are "regular" or non-distressed sales and in Los Gatos (as in other high-end areas), the percentage of short sales and bank owned properties are very low.
Bottom line: while there are some very good deals to be found in Los Gatos &Monte Sereno (as well as in Almaden,and Sarato, there are not a lot of foreclosures to buy and prices have not dropped so dramatically in these areas as in other parts of Silicon Valley.
Jul. 1, 2009
Categorized in: LG Lifestyle
Today I stumbled upon an interesting demographics tool: a map (and list) showing political donations in the last presidential election by city, particular address, by the donor's occupation, employer or last name. It's on the Huffington Post and appears to search nationwide. It is not 100% complete, though. I actually made a donation in the last election but my name and info are not showing up - I believe that this may not have included donations in the last few weeks of the election for tha treason (that's when I sent my donation in). Anyway, have a look around - it's interesting!
The site states that for Los Gatos:
"$1,073,805 was given by people who identified their city as "Los Gatos, CA".
 $280,419 from 256 people to Republicans (av = $1095 each)
 $793,386 from 773 people to Democrats" (av = $1026 each)
In neighboring Saratoga:
$1,272,097 was given by people who identified their city as "Saratoga, CA".
$456,436 from 264 people to Republicans (av = $1729 each)
$815,661 from 579 people to Democrats (av = $1409 each)
And in Monte Sereno:
$39,448 from 36 people to Republicans (av = $1095 each)
$171,415 from 93 people to Democrats (av = $1843 each)
Interested in other areas? Start your search here on the San Jose page and then look for whatever criteria you want to use.
Jun. 26, 2009
In addition to doing a post comparing Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, and Saratoga today, I also did one on just the Monte Sereno real estate market in my other blog at ValleyOfHeartsDelight.com. If you are tracking the Monte Sereno housing market, please have a look at this article, which discusses the days on market, inventory level, percentage of homes relisting, and pricing trends. Find it on the ValleyOfHeartsDelight.com site or click directly on this link:
Monte Sereno: How’s the Market?
Jun. 26, 2009
The real estate market in the high-end communities of Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, and Saratoga has not been as hard-hit on pricing as in the entry level and more affordable areas like Blossom Valley and Cambrian Park, but not nearly as many homes are selling in these areas for that reason. Areas with huge (30-40%) price drops are seeing first time home buyers and investors swoop down, some paying "all cash" to get in on the fire sale pricing. That is just not happening in the tonier neighborhoods of Silicon Valley.
The west valley foothill communities aren't at these kinds of price drops, but if you're a home seller, you certainly aren't feeling like the real estate market is doing you any favors. Prices are down in varying degrees, but overall it is a "rollback" in sales prices of several years and the discount is perhaps 20-30% from the peak for most homes (worse for the luxury home market).
The charts below are from Altos Research (with whom I have a subscription) and prices are LIST prices, not sales prices. The black line represents Los Gatos, green is Saratoga, and orange Monte Sereno, and the timeframe for all charts below is the last 12 months. Properties are single family homes only (houses, not condos or townhomes).
Monte Sereno tends to have the most expensive homes generally of the three communities, and this small city has been hit the worst with price drops because higher priced homes generally have had the biggest damage done to pricing, and more affordable homes have been less hurt by the price cuts.
Again, Monte Sereno has the biggest struggle with the longest days on the market. Saratoga is experiencing a better market. This does not surprise me because I have some homebuyers for that city and we are having a hard time finding much that's within their budget and meets their needs. In Los Gatos, where I also have buyers (different from Saratoga), we are finding a lot of homes are still priced too high for the market, so the buyers continue to wait.
The relisted homes chart is a reflection of how many sellers were unsuccessful the first time around, but the owners really do want or need to sell, so they get the house back on the market. Sometimes it's with a new coat of paint and far better staging, sometimes a much better price, sometimes a new agent and brokerage - or maybe all three.
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Inventory levels are climbing in all three of these expensive Santa Clara County areas. Buyers are having a hard time in most cases because if they're moving up, it's difficult to sell the home they already own due to negative equity and it's also very difficult to get a loan for high end real estate. If sellers can offer financing, that could be very helpful to a lot of buyers (get professional assistance from your Realtor, CPA and attorney before attempting this, though).
Sellers:
Most often, when a home doesn't sell, it's the pricing that is incorrect for the market, though condition (and staging) can have a big impact too. While a few buyers may be willing to pay "top dollar" for a home in average or worse condition, the majority of home buyers will not. Pricing & condition need to be aimed at the bulk of likely purchasers of the property, not the unlikely, rare homebuyer. In this market, when most homes are not selling in Los Gatos, Monte Sereno and Saratoga, that means staging and pricing aggressively. If there's a "better deal" than your home, that's the one the buyer will choose. In this market, the lowest price and best condition "wins" with a sale.
There are things you can do to increase the odds your home will sell and even make your home sell for more:
- get the home cleaned, cleared of clutter, and nicely staged (get help and professional advice on this)
- make the front yard appealing with colorful annuals, nicely trimmed bushes, and a healthy green lawn - if the front yard looks bad, the buyers will not even get out of their car to see inside your home
- make the home easy to show, use a lockbox, do NOT make showings appointment only through the listing agent or yourself
- when the home is being viewed by potential buyers, do not be home - your presence will make the buyers uneasy and unable to speak frankly about the house
- price your home in the lowest 20% of available homes that are similar to yours - all the marketing in the world cannot sell an overpriced home
Buyers:
While the majority of homes are "sitting" and not selling, the best properties are actually selling quite fast. So if something comes on the market that interests you, don't wait. It may not be there on the weekend for the scheduled open house!
Today's post is general in nature for each of the towns discussed. The market will vary from one price point to the next, one school district to the next etc. Please contact me for assistance with your own particular situation.
Some homes have been on the market and sellers won't reduce the listing price but may entertain an offer significantly lower that the list price. So have your agent inquire or just "write it up" if you like a home.
Jun. 5, 2009
Countywide, prices are marching upward! It is a HOT seller's market in the lower price ranges of Silicon Valley, especially if a home is not a distressed sale. Rising prices bring a cooler market in most areas and price points, though.
Los Gatos is a mixed bag too. Lower priced homes "in the schools" are selling nicely. Although it's more challenging to sell higher priced homes, there are quite a few homes over $2,000,000 which are sale pending.
Below please find a snapshot of the statistics for closed sales of single family homes in Los Gatos for May 2009:
| Trends At a Glance |
May 2009 |
Previous Month |
Year-over Year |
| Median Price |
$1,012,000 |
$955,000 (+6.0%) |
$1,377,500 (-26.5%) |
| Average Price |
$1,111,280 |
$1,035,330 (+7.3%) |
$1,438,880 (-22.8%) |
| No. of Sales |
20 |
25 (-20.0%) |
36 (-44.4%) |
| Pending Properties |
37 |
26 (+42.3%) |
37 (0.0%) |
| Active |
160 |
170 (-5.9%) |
163 (-1.8%) |
| Sale vs. List Price |
95.6% |
95.0% (+0.5%) |
97.5% (-2.0%) |
| Days on Market |
55 |
54 (+0.7%) |
27 (+104.8%) |
To get the whole story on Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga, San Jose and all of Santa Clara County, both condos or townhomes and houses, please visit my online Real Estate Report:
Los Gatos real estate for May 2009
Monte Sereno real estate for May 2009
Saratoga, CA real estate for May 2009
Cambrian Park real estate for May 2009
Almaden Valley real estate for May 2009
Cupertino real estate for May 2009
As always, please remember that the market really is a collection of smaller markets. What's happening in one part of town or price range may not be happening in your home's area or price point. Please contact me for assistance in understanding the market you're most interested in.
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