The Los Gatos Rural Supply Hardware (part of the ACE chain of stores) is now displaying, and selling, adorably fuzzy little baby chicks. This is an annual tradition in late winter, early spring, perhaps to coincide with Easter. Even if you don't want to take one home with you, it is worth the time to pop in when you are near Lyndon Plazaand the main Los Gatos Post Office to have a view. Could anything be cuter? Warning: if you bring small kids with you, have the talk about buying or not buying these fuzzy babies before you step over the threshold. (Photo credits: Jim Handy.)
A clump of fuzzy young chicks!
Chicks feeding while others enjoy the heat lamps. (See, hot chicks!)
Chicks feeding neatly.
Chicks up close.
Two chicks.
Chicks napping and drinking water.
If you are interested in checking out some hot chicks in Los Gatos, be sure to visit the Ace Rural Supply Hardware Store at 110 South Santa Cruz Avenue Los Gatos, CA 95030 (408) 354-3910. You can find them and their store hours (but not these little birds) online too.
Los Gatos home buyers often ask the question of what the ratio is for prices of houses with "Los Gatos Schools" as opposed to those with Union or Campbell Schools. In other words, how much more costly is real estate if the property feeds to Los Gatos High School? Although there's no tidy, easy rule of thumb that will uniformly apply, often the answer is in the 10-20% range. It can be more or less, though.
Part of the trickiness of coming up with an easy answer about the impact of the school district on home values is that there are other significant variables too. Here are a few:
Proximity to the downtown area or other highly desireable places, such as schools, parks, shopping, restaurants or coffee shops
Pricing tier: the easiest to compare are smaller houses on smaller lots which are about the same distance to schools, parks etc. - much harder are luxury homes because often there is a wide range of lot size, view, useability, amenities, etc.
Home type: almost impossible to compare tract housing in the newer parts of town with the older, historic and architecturally distinctive construction in the older areas of town
Sample comparison of fairly similar home types and lot sizes in Los Gatos
All that said, today I compared sales of houses in just 95032 (since much of 95030 is close to downtown and most of 95032 is not) to remove the "walk to town" variable. I pulled up properties that hae sold in the last 120 days that were between 1200 and 2200 square feet, on lot sizes close to 8,000 SF. All were in east Los Gatos and pretty close to within a mile's range, straddling the border of the school district boundary - so pretty equal in distance to shops, Vasona Park etc. though those "in the schools" were a little closer. Here's what I found for this sampling of Los Gatos properties:
The houses in the Union School District which feed to Leigh High School:
3 sales
Average house size = 1936 SF
Average lot size = 7970 SF
Average sales price = $903,367
Median sales price = $870,000
Average price per square foot = $474
The properties in the Los Gatos Union School District which feed to Los Gatos High School:
5 sales
Average house size = 1724 SF
Average lot size = 8392 SF
Average sales price = $1,028,000
Median sales price = $1,000,000
Average price per square foot = $592
On a price per square foot basic, buying "in the schools" is about 20% more. The difference is less when comparing the median and average sales price (10% and 13%), but it needs to be understood that the home sizes are smaller by about 11% too - so it's not just 10-13% more expensive for this sampling of properties.
How much better are the schools in one district over the other? If considering API scores, which I would not suggest using exclusively (but it is easily measured), the differences are not so great at the elementary and middle school levels. Where it's pronounced is the high school level. Have a look - I pulled these numbers from the Santa Clara County API page for all schools in the county. There was no update for Union Middle School so I used the year prior (Dartmouth Middle is in the same school district and situation - the last year it recorded, the number was 900 exactly). I did not compare all schools, just those on the border closest to those "in the schools".
The results are a little surprising - but of course where to live is about much more than just the schools. However, since it's a main driver for consumers, it's fair to answer the question of what you get for your money, and part of that package is the schools.
Please enjoy some photos I took last Saturday and Sunday. I am sorry that I didn't get everyone. It was a great celebration, it's a fabulous library. Many thanks to all who helped to make it possible! If you haven't stopped by yet, the new pubic library in Los Gatos is the gem of the town!
Valentine's Day on a tight budget: picnic with your sweetie
Los Gatos is filled with beautiful parks, and lately the weather has been in the low 70s. If you want or need to be frugal, get a simple assortment of cheeses, crackers, grapes and wine and head to your favorite park, enjoying a picnic at Vasona Park (or any other lovely park in town). It's affordable, and the views cannot be beat.
How about a walking tour of Los Gatos?
Stroll through scenic downtown Los Gatos. The "village" area is full of neat shops. Head over to Old Town too, and while there, walk across the pedestrian bridge between Old Town and Forbes Mill. There is something about being still on this little bridge with the world passing by underneath that's very special. Have a look at the old mill. This was the first commercial venture in Los Gatos - and it's tucked away, off the beaten path. . . . But easy to find if you know what to look for.
After you've dined, head back to North Santa Cruz Avenue and pick up some dessert at Dolce Spazio.
Dinner out in Los Gatos for Valentine's Day? Reserve early!
Need to do the official Valentine's meal out? Los Gatos is oozing with great restaurants. Just don't wait until the last minute to call in for a table. Some of my favorites include the Wine Cellar, I Gatti, Tapestry, Viva, Crimson and Pedro's, Looking to totally "wow" him or her? A world class restaurant is Manresa. I haven't eaten there yet but understand that it's one of the finest restaurants to be found anywhere (it's just not as affordable as the other places I've suggested).
Need flowers? Bunches in downtown is very nice. Do yourself a favor and visit a proper flower shop if you're going to do it. The grocery store flowers just don't tend to last very long.
Need chocolate? I love Chocolate Dream Box, located near Lunardi's at King's Court Shopping Center (yes, it used to be downtown on N. Santa Cruz Avenue). Another good option is Fleur de Cocao, which is downtown.
Need attention, ladies? Romantiques on University Avenue near Old Town, Los Gatos, is worth a visit! Beautiful silk goodies that you are NOT going to find in a chain store.
Wishing you all a wonderful Valentine's Day, no matter where or how you celebrate it!
In Los Gatos 95030 and 95032 (*not the mountains, not Monte Sereno, not San Jose on the LG border) it is close to a balanced real estate market overall with about 5 months of inventory. Six months is considered balanced by the National Association of Realtors.
But most houses don't have a market which is exactly like the "overall" market. Bank owned homes and short sales are selling best - it should be noted that there are not many of them! Next are regular sales in entry level to moderate price ranges. As the price climbs, so does the months of inventory or absorption rate for the Los Gatos real estate market. Worst of all would be short sales priced at over $3,000,000 - they are not moving at all!
We could further fine tune it by lot size, school district, proximity to town etc. Often the hottest segmant of the market are the entry level homes with the best schools. We didn't tease that out here today.... Schools are a big deal in Los Gatos, but some of it may be proximity to downtown rather than just the API scores since 1/3 of the kids in town attend private schools. (The town of Los Gatos encompasses about 10 square miles. The farthest neighborhoods from downtown LG are about 4-5 miles and 15 or 20 minutes driving time at the worst, if one hits all red lights.)
For information on your neighborhood's market conditions, please contact me!
Guest article by Barbara Dodson, resident of Marchmont Drive in Los Gatos
People in the neighborhood around Hillbrook School are worried. And with good reason. Hillbrook, a private school at the end of Marchmont Drive, will be asking the Town to allow an almost 32% increase in its enrollment—from 315 to 414 students. Most of the increase would occur in the middle school.
Hillbrook has created traffic problems in the neighborhood for years. Local streets, which include upper and lower Marchmont,Hilow, Topping, Cardinal, Robin, Stonybrook, Englewood, Shannon, and Kennedy, already face serious traffic problems, a large number of them generated by Hillbrook. And traffic is worst just when everyone is going to school—Hillbrook children heading to and from Hillbrook and neighborhood children walking and biking to and from Blossom Hill Elementary, Van Meter Elementary, and Fisher Middle School.Add to this the fact that none of the streets have sidewalks or bike lanes and some have blind curves and you have a recipe for disaster.
We are very concerned about the safety of our children. Hillbrook has no response to this, and what response could they have? Over the years, we have asked for reductions in traffic. Hillbrook’s answer is this increase.
Hillbrook’s planned expansion is part of a five-year strategic plan, which has been approached as if the school exists in a vacuum and can do anything it wants. In fact, the school is tucked into a residential community with only one access road in and out. The only way for parents to take their children to Hillbrook is through our completely residential neighborhood with streets all flowing into this single access road. There is no access from the main streets of Kennedy and Shannon. The lack of access provides an obvious limit to growth.
Hillbrook claims it needs to expand so it can offer more sports programs and other activities. But there are innumerable opportunities for Hillbrook students to play almost any sport you can imagine. Hillbrook students have done this for decades, and thrived.
Here are some additional thoughts on this issue:
·The Hillbrook expansion has no benefits for the town. Hillbrook is a nonprofit, and, thus , pays no taxes. There is no upside for Los Gatos residents. All we get is traffic, noise, pollution, and dangerous conditions for our children.
·Hillbrook enlarged its facilities under a 2001 Conditional Use Permit (CUP). In 2001, neighbors worried the school was seeking to enlarging the campus so that it could have more students. Time after time, the Head of School insisted that the school had never asked for an increase beyond 315 students. Permission to increase facilities was contingent on no enrollment increase. Hillbrook’s current actions amount to a breach of faith.
·Hillbrook is proposing most of its growth for its middle school. An increase at the middle school level will bring not only an increase in the number of cars dropping off and picking up children. It will also create more traffic with after-school and evening events.
·Hillbrook continually indicates that it encourages carpooling, and we can see some carpooling. However, this has not solved the problem in the past. There is no reason to expect it will solve the problem in the future.
·Most of Hillbrook’s students do not live in Los Gatos. Cars come from out of town, adding to the town’s overall traffic problems.
·Hillbrook has frequently violated the current CUP. For example, last summer Hillbrook allowed a private camp to use its facilities. The head of school said that at least 900 children were enrolled in summer programs. Under the CUP, Hillbrook is not allowed to rent or lease its facilities, nor can it have more than 315 children on site. Given this and other violations, there is no reason to trust that Hillbrook will adhere to a new CUP.
On January 1st, 2012, the city of San Jose banned plastic bags and free paper bags at grocery stores. Los Gatos and Monte Sereno appear poised to follow suit.
"The West Valley Solid Waste Management Authority, which represents Los Gatos, Saratoga, Campbell and Monte Sereno, will meet on Feb. 2 at 5 p.m. to discuss the paper/plastic bag issue."
Things are winding to a close with the transition from the old Los Gatos Public Library to the newly constructed one. If you drive over to the area, you'll see the construction zone taping and fences still in place ("hard hat area" advisories present but people wandering about without hard hats). Inside, the lights are on and people are working hard to set the books into place for the grand opening, which will be February 11th, 2012, at 10am and with events continuing through the weekend.
In the past, home buyers wanting to know about the elementary, middle and high schools and their boundaries had to visit a couple of sites to track down the attendance area (or in some cases, phone the district) and do a separate search to find out the API scores for each one. Particularly for folks interested in purchasing a house, townhouse or condo in Los Gatos, the school boundaries can be confusing and it may be unclear whether the property is in the Los Gatos Union School District, the Union School District, the Campbell Union High School District etc.
No more - enter SchoolAndHousing.com, a new website that mashes up the school boundaries and API scores so you only need to visit this one website, enter an address and get the information. Alternatively, you can search listed homes for sale (where the seller and broker have permitted IDX searches on non-MLS websites) either by API score or by school boundary. This is primarily for Silicon Valley and areas nearby, but it's growing.
Check it out - play with the various features - you don't have to register and you don't have to pay to use it.
They are adding more features to the site and improving it all the time and recently have included private schools (sorry, no scores - there isn't an easy way to score them), daycare etc. SchoolAndHousing also has their own scoring system, on a scale of 1 to 10, to locate a residence. Another neat feature they've added recently is a "compare houses" page too. Pull it up on your cell or mobile device and learn about the schools for a house you're at right then and there with the "current location" button after you select public schools (this works for most cell phones). Right now the listings feed comes from Oodle.com but it's hoped to pull directly from our MLS soon.
Disclaimer: I like this site well enough that I'm advertising for several zip codes, which is something I seldom do as most of my web traffic is organic, meaning it's generated not by ads but by the content I write myself on my various blogs and websites.
The Los Gatos Community Concert Association is partway through its 64th season, again bringing delightful music to our town from fall through spring. One concert was presented in late October but three more are still ahead:
January 22nd, Hector Olivera, Organist
March 25,Evan Marshall, Mandolinist
April 23, Chris Burton Jacome Ensemble, Flamenco Guitarist
All performances are at Los Gatos High School. Fore more info on musicians, times, ticket pricing, discounts for seniors and students, as well as subscription pricing, please see the LGCCA website.
A blog about Los Gatos real estate, homes, houses, condos, townhomes, housing market, neightborhoods, history, events, businesses, parks, schools, photos, issues, and lifestyle by Mary Pope-Handy, town resident, enthusiast and Realtor.
Mary Pope-Handy
Realtor, CRS, ABR, E-Pro
Sereno Group Real Estate
214 Los Gatos-Saratoga Road Los Gatos, CA 95030
DRE # 01153805
408 204-7673
The Los Gatos Rural Supply Hardware (part of the ACE chain of stores) is now displaying, and selling, adorably fuzzy little baby chicks. This is an annual tradition in late winter, early spring, perhaps to coincide with Easter. Even if you don't want to take one home with you, it is worth the time to pop in when you are near Lyndon Plazaand the main Los Gatos Post Office to have a view. Could anything be cuter? Warning: if you bring small kids with you, have the talk about buying or not buying these fuzzy babies before you step over the threshold. (Photo credits: 
If you are interested in checking out some hot chicks in Los Gatos, be sure to visit the Ace Rural Supply Hardware Store at 110 South Santa Cruz Avenue Los Gatos, CA 95030 (408) 354-3910. You can find them and their store hours (but not these little birds) .jpg)
Los Gatos home buyers often ask the question of what the ratio is for prices of houses with "Los Gatos Schools" as opposed to those with Union or Campbell Schools. In other words, how much more costly is real estate if the property feeds to Los Gatos High School? Although there's no tidy, easy rule of thumb that will uniformly apply, often the answer is in the 10-20% range. It can be more or less, though.
Los Gatos is filled with beautiful parks, and lately the weather has been in the low 70s. If you want or need to be frugal, get a simple assortment of cheeses, crackers, grapes and wine and head to your favorite park, enjoying a picnic at Vasona Park (or any other lovely park in town). It's affordable, and the views cannot be beat. 
People in the neighborhood around Hillbrook School are worried. 
Things are winding to a close with the transition from the old Los Gatos Public Library to the newly constructed one. If you drive over to the area, you'll see the construction zone taping and fences still in place ("hard hat area" advisories present but people wandering about without hard hats). Inside, the lights are on and people are working hard to set the books into place for the grand opening, which will be February 11th, 2012, at 10am and with events continuing through the weekend.
