by Clair Handy, Mary Pope-Handy | Sep 25, 2026 | Homes & Housing Market, Los Gatos Real Estate, Monte Sereno Real Estate
The City of Monte Sereno is a popular community bordering Los Gatos, Saratoga, and the Santa Cruz mountains. It’s also quite small, with just about 3,500 residents, so tracking the real estate market trends for the area can be tricky.
Info at a glance (details further below):
- With so few sales and listings, Monte Sereno real estate data can swing quite wildly, so take it with a grain of salt.
- This city appears to be in a seller’s market with low inventory – just 4 available homes at the end of August.
- There were 3 closed and 1 pending sales by the end of last month.
- The average sale to list price ratio for August (based on those 3 sales) was 101.8% of asking, rising well above the previous month’s 95.5%, but below June’s sky-scraping 111.9%, and down significantly from this time last year at 103.9%.
- The lack of sales makes it difficult to track trends using averages and medians. It’s still useful data, especially if we piece it apart a bit. The MLS showed 4 closed sales in August, and from those:
- Homes sold between $2,600,000 – $5,998,880. That low sale is one of the lowest we’ve seen in a long while, and it was sold off-market.
- The 2 lower sales sold off-market (0 DOM) and the other 2 took 11 and 86 days on market to sell.
- Of the 2 that sold on the open market, one sold at asking price and the other sold over asking at 105.5% of list. The higher sale had originally been listed at $7M back in April and had multiple price reductions before selling.
- As of today, September 25, 2026, the MLS shows that there are 7 available Monte Sereno homes for sale (2 are Member’s Only: Show), 0 contingent sales, 2 pending sales, and 2 closed sales so far this month. Activity has been high in recent months for this small city, though lately it seems to be coming in waves!
The number of houses sold in any given month will always be extremely small making the data tend to jump around. Checking the Los Gatos market will also help, but the best pulse on the market will come from identifying particular sales in particular neighborhoods to track relevant micro markets.
Houses make up most of Monte Sereno – there are no commercial buildings, just city hall, some churches or religious grounds, and an elementary school. There are also extremely few residential properties that are not detached single family homes. We don’t track the condo or townhomes in this area as we do in other communities because there just wouldn’t be enough (and more often not any) data for it!
First up for the market analysis is the Altos Research weekly profile for Monte Sereno (uses list prices, not sales). This is updated automatically, so feel free to check this article weekly to see what’s happening now with listed homes.
Trends at a Glance from the RE Report:
The number of home sales is very small in Monte Sereno. Even when there are sales, one or two outstanding properties could cause major waves in the data, so take this summary with a grain of salt.
August: 3 Sales
| Trends At a Glance |
Aug 2026 |
Previous Month |
Year-over-Year |
| Median Price |
$4,000,000 (-2.4%) |
$4,100,000 |
$4,668,000 (-14.3%) |
| Average Price |
$4,566,290 (+13.6%) |
$4,018,670 |
$4,839,330 (-5.6%) |
| No. of Sales |
3 (-50.0%) |
6 |
3 (0.0%) |
| Pending |
1 (0.0%) |
1 |
2 (-50.0%) |
| Active |
4 (+100.0%) |
2 |
6 (-33.3%) |
| Sale vs. List Price |
101.8% (+6.7%) |
95.5% |
103.9% (-1.9%) |
| Days on Market |
4 (-90.7%) |
43 |
10 (-60.0%) |
| Days of Inventory |
40 (+300.0%) |
10 |
60 (-33.3%) |
While the lack of sales and listings can make the data in these charts swing wildly, the overall trend in recent months has shown an active market in this high-end community, though it seemed to be having some up and down in recent months following an earlier spring peak. For the right homes, however, it’s still blazing hot! With so few sales it’s crucial to track the neighboring Los Gatos market as well, to gain additional insight.
What does it cost to live in Monte Sereno? With an average sale price of roughly $4 – $5 million, you may wonder if anything sells that’s not in the stratosphere – can you buy an entry-level Silicon Valley home in Monte Sereno? The short answer is this: it’s extremely unlikely you will find anything for under $3 million in Monte Sereno. Even a “fixer” often goes well above that. It can happen, although it’s rare, and the home will certainly be priced that way for a reason.
We also keep track of this market over at the Valley of Heart’s Delight blog, in addition to many other communities around Silicon Valley.
Other pricing consideration: what about schools?
Something else to be aware of is that most Monte Sereno houses are in the Los Gatos Union School District, but a small pocket of properties lies within the Campbell School District. Those with Campbell schools usually sell for a little less. Additionally, most of this city is within the 95030 zip code, but again, there’s a small pocket which is in the 95032 area.
Next, what kind of home is available to purchase in Monte Sereno now?
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by Mary Pope-Handy, Clair Handy | Sep 17, 2026 | Homes & Housing Market, Los Gatos Real Estate
The Los Gatos real estate market in August was strong for single family homes, cool for condos and townhouses, and a cold market in the mountains. This is a repeat from July, more or less.
1 – Los Gatos real estate market statistics for the “in town” areas: multi year data
Here is some Los Gatos real estate market data that I pulled directly from the MLS. This is for the in town areas of 95032 and 95030.
Inventory of available homes for sale in Los Gatos 95030 and Los Gatos 95032
Click on any of the images below and a larger version will pop up in a new tab and be easier to read.
Inventory in August was way up from July, but a little lower than August 2025. It was in the range of normal.
(more…)
by Mary Pope-Handy | Sep 26, 2025 | Los Gatos Real Estate, Maps of Los Gatos, Relocating to Los Gatos
How high is the water table at your property? (Why would you care?) In Los Gatos, like Almaden, Monte Sereno, Saratoga, and many other parts of Santa Clara County, there are pockets in which the water table, meaning groundwater, is quite high. This can come with some risks.
What are some of the potential issues with high ground water?
In some cases, that groundwater is at such a shallow level that there’s an actual spring with water bubbling up at times. This can happen particularly in times of heavy rainfall. Should it occur directly under your house and into your crawlspace, that would not be good. Water can cause havoc with foundations, so the standard advice from home inspectors and structural engineers is to divert water away from the house. In most cases, that means correct any faulty grading (the soil around the house should case any rainfall to be directed away from the house), to extend downspouts away from the home, etc. If you have a spring bring water up from underground, that is a whole different approach to the challenge.
Another concern with higher water tables is the possibility of environmental problems spreading from the site of a leaking underground storage tank to nearby neighbors (who would get stuck paying the cleanup). Underground plumes of water can carry chemicals from a spill site to some distance away. That’s why home buyers receive a natural and environmental report which includes contamination sites within one mile of the property they’re interested in purchasing.
How can you learn about your neighborhood’s water table?
It seems like experts have mapped just about everything, and one of those things does include the depth at which first groundwater can be found. Today I was curious about this question and was delighted to find a Valley Water map which lays out the various depths of the water table throughout much (but not all) of the Santa Clara Valley.
How shallow is the water in Los Gatos? Per this map, it appears that:
- At the intersection of N Santa Cruz and Los Gatos-Saratoga Road, it’s 0 – 10 feet on the northwest corner and 10 – 20 feet on the southeast and southwest corner
- Much of the Almond Grove area appears to have 0 – 10 ft depth for water
- Old Town seems to have 10 – 20 feet
- Los Gatos High and the Civic Center look to have 20 – 30 feet (interesting as there was a cleanup at the Hotel Los Gatos and the high school from a leak at the Dry Cleaner next to the hotel a few years back)
- The Town Park Plaza is in the 10 – 20 foot area
Click on the link to the Valley Water Open Data site and scroll around to see your part of town! (Unfortunately there are some big pockets missing.)
Image of the Valley Water open data map, including Los Gatos and Saratoga – click on image to visit source, the Valley Water website
by Mary Pope-Handy | Nov 5, 2024 | Home buyer tip, Los Gatos Real Estate, Relocating to Los Gatos
Thinking of moving to, or buying a house in Los Gatos?
Particularly for people relocating to Los Gatos (or generally to Silicon Valley) from other areas, or from parts of Santa Clara County not by the hills, there are a few home buying tips you’ll want to know before purchasing a home in the “Town of the Cats”. (For locals, these may seem obvious!)
Here are our top 5 things you should know when looking for a home in Los Gatos, CA.
1. Los Gatos & Schools
Whether you have school aged kids or not, you’ll want to know that there are several school districts covering the Los Gatos area. School district lines do not follow the town’s boundaries. (Some years ago I met someone with a home to sell in the Belgatos area and he had no idea that his home did not belong to the Los Gatos Union School District. This caused him to misunderstand the likely market value of his property.)
You can check a property’s district a few ways. Many schools have public boundary maps, and you can always call to confirm with the school district itself. The County of Santa Clara has another lookup service. After accepting the terms of service and checking the bot-filter, then you will be allowed to search an address. Once you have the address information, click the tab titled “School District/Tax Rate Area” and the information will be right at the top.
Santa Clara County Office of Education School District Boundary Map – only a rough guide
Town of Los Gatos: List of Schools Serving Los Gatos Students
2. Historic downtown Los Gatos areas
Areas closest to “downtown Los Gatos,” especially the historic neighborhoods (including Almond Grove, Edelen, Broadway, Fairview Plaza) tend to be much more expensive than those further out. The “walk to town” or “close to town” proximity makes them highly desireable, but also these regions of town are very scenic and have some fabulous Victorian and other beautiful architectural styles, and tree-lined streets.
One challenge faced by downtown residents is worsening beach traffic. The downtown area is a popular spot any day of the week, but it can be bumper-to-bumper on a hot summer weekend with cars inching across the pass on 17 to Santa Cruz.
Related to both #1 and #2, the public schools are not all that close to downtown Los Gatos, except for Los Gatos High School in the heart of Town on Main Street. (St. Mary’s Catholic Elementary School is in the downtown area, as is the adjacent Los Gatos Parent Nursery School.) Much of central and downtown Los Gatos also have the enjoyment and challenges associated with the next on our list, #3.
3. Hillside locales
If you buy a house close to a hill, among some hills or on a hill, you will need to pay close attention to issues which are less common in flatter areas further from slopes. Among them are foundation, water and drainage concerns. Some flat areas near the hills may have a high water table, many springs that come seasonally or in very wet years as well as runoff problems.
Water is often far more damaging than termites but it is not really uncommon to find water in a crawl space during the rainy season. Learn about it and pay heed to property inspectors’ suggestions regarding remediation if it’s a condition in a house you want to purchase.
Additionally, with fire seasons worsening newer fire hazard zoning has had major impacts on property insurance and residential construction. Many homes near the foothills or any open space are designated in the High or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones. Some homes must also abide by Defensible Space requirements.
I wrote about this on my Valley of Hearts Delight blog (covering all of Santa Clara County, but mostly the west valley) and suggest these two articles:
What To Consider When Buying a Hillside Home in Silicon Valley
Cracked Foundations, Adobe Clay Soils and Water in Silicon Valley
4. Los Gatos address
Some homes with a “Los Gatos address” may not actually be in the town of Los Gatos. Many are in a county pocket or unincorporated area (and may not have all the services of the Town). A very few are actually part of either Campbell, Saratoga, or San Jose but were assigned a Los Gatos mailing address by the US Post Office.
How can you tell if a residence is within the Town of Los Gatos, is unincorporated, or part of another city? Santa Clara County has an interactive map with the boundaries. You can also search for a specific address and look under “Zoning” and “General Plan” to see where that address is mapped. In the past, the house number (how many digits) or whether or not the street had curbs and gutters were telltale signs, but since many unincorporated pockets have been incorporated over the years it’s not always obvious today which is which.
What difference does it make? The actual address (not mailing address) will impact a variety of things such as services (sherriff vs Los Gatos Monte Sereno police, free access to Oak Meadow Park), planning (any additions, remodels etc. will need to be approved by your actual city), voting in Los Gatos elections, etc.
5. Los Gatos is a town, not a city
Los Gatos is a town. (Monte Sereno, with whom we share some services, is much smaller but is a city, not a town.) This means our government is run a little differently. For instance, we don’t vote for mayor. Instead, we vote for town council members. They, in turn, vote for mayor. (Usually it’s a rotation.)
According to Wikipedia: “There are 481 incorporated municipalities in California, of which 459 are called cities and 22 are called towns.” [Edit: this quote was accurate as of Feb 28, 2011, but has been edited since. On Oct 24, 2017, the page lists 482 municipalities, 22 of which call themselves Towns.] I was surprised that there are so many towns – had thought it was only a handful!
Los Gatos is an interesting, fun, welcoming town. If you’re moving to the area, it’s a vibrant place you should check out. Please call or email me if you’d like more assistance.
by Mary Pope-Handy | May 9, 2024 | Los Gatos Real Estate, Los Gatos Events, Los Gatos Government
UPDATE on May 9th: today I received the following from the Planning Dept in an email that went out to their mailing list I’ve put into italics):
Hello,
On May 3, 2024, the Town received a letter from HCD stating that the Town’s Draft Revised Housing Element (May 2024), as submitted to HCD on March 18, 2024, along with the specific technical modifications directed by HCD and submitted on April 26, 2024, meet the statutory requirements of State Housing Element Law (See Attachment).
As required by AB 215, the Draft Revised Housing Element is being made available to the public for a seven-day review period prior to the anticipated formal submittal of an adopted Housing Element to HCD in June.
The Draft Revised Housing Element (May 2024) is available to the public for a seven-day review period prior to HCD re-submittal. The seven-day public review period runs until 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.
The following items can be viewed on the Town’s Housing Element Update website at: https://www.losgatosca.gov/1735/General-Plan—Housing-Element.
- Draft Revised 2023-2031 Housing Element (May 2024) – Clean Copy
- Draft Revised 2023-2031 Housing Element (May 2024) – Track Changes Copy*
*Please note track changes showing the specific technical modifications directed by HCD are highlighted in gray and are located on pages 10-62, 10-63, and D-44
Written comments (including name, affiliation, telephone number, and contact information) can be submitted through Wednesday, May 15, 2024, by 5:00 p.m., by email to HEUpdate@losgatosca.gov or by mail to:
Town of Los Gatos
Community Development Department
110 E. Main Street
Los Gatos, CA 95030
On May 22, 2024, the Planning Commission will consider the Draft Revised Housing Element and will make a recommendation to the Town Council. On June 4, 2024, the Town Council will consider the Planning Commission’s recommendation and take action on the Draft Revised Housing Element. Once adopted by Town Council, the Housing Element will then be submitted to HCD.
Good news to report on the Los Gatos Housing Element: on May 3rd, our town got preliminary approval from the state for the Housing Element Plan. This has been a very long time in coming!
Housing Element update from the town
Per per the town’s website:
On May 3, 2024, the Town received a letter from HCD stating that the Town’s Draft Revised Housing Element (March 2024), as submitted to HCD on March 18, 2024, along with the specific technical modifications directed by HCD and submitted on April 26, 2024, meet the statutory requirements of State Housing Element Law.
If this is the first you’ve heard of the Housing Element in Los Gatos, this phrase refers to our “strategic plan for housing the Town’s present and future residents,”
The state requires us to prepare for both the current and future housing needs and the plan must be updated every 8 years.
Once again, there’s a 7 day period of time for the public to weigh in (the quote below is from the same link above).
As required by AB 215, the preliminary review revisions to the Draft Revised Housing Element will be made available to the public for a seven-day review period prior to a formal resubmittal to HCD. The seven-day public review period will run concurrently with the public noticing for the Planning Commission’s consideration of the Housing Element.
San Jose Spotlight shared that:
The plan identifies Los Gatos Boulevard, Los Gatos-Saratoga Road, Oka Lane and Burton Road as future development sites for housing. The housing element must still go through final Los Gatos Town Council approval before heading back to the state for certification.
Los Gatos has some unique challenges since much of our town’s land is in the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, and except for the addition of ADUs, construction appears to be discouraged by CalFire in those areas. Even parts of town not in that precise zone are still in higher fire risk areas. It will be interesting to see how this is factored in to the long range real estate planning for our area. (I’m concerned about safety above all.)
To get more details, please click through the two links above.
Related reading
Los Gatos neighborhoods – links to articles for MANY parts of town, posts on this site
Updated fire zone map (this site)
by Mary Pope-Handy | Apr 17, 2024 | Los Gatos Mountains Real Estate, Los Gatos Real Estate, Relocating to Los Gatos
Once you have visited Los Gatos – the charming architecture, the backdrop of the hills, the vibrant downtown, the great schools, and all the trees and parks – you may want to call it home. I sure did. But the town is expensive and for some it may be out of range. What if you love Los Gatos, but it’s not affordable?
There are nearby areas that may work, so I’ll mention them here. They are all discussed in depth at my Valley of Heart’s Delight blog and mentioned in my Move2SiliconValley or popehandy blogs too – the links will be to any of my own sites.
For people relocating to Silicon Valley especially, where “sticker shock” is a normal part of the welcome package, these other areas which are a little less pricey might be helpful.
Less Expensive Alternatives to Los Gatos
A little further southeast than Los Gatos, the Almaden Valley is a very scenic suburb with the Santa Cruz Mountains on one side and the Santa Teresa Foothills on the other. There’s no “downtown”, however you’ll find a large shopping center with a remodeled Safeway, banks, Starbucks, etc., along Almaden Expressway. This area features the New Almaden neighborhood, which is where the area began with mercury mining operations long ago. Like Los Gatos it’s also a haven for the outdoor enthusiasts with Almaden Lake, miles and miles of mountain trails, golfing, and more. Almaden real estate market post
On the north and northeast side of Los Gatos sits the Cambrian area of San Jose (which has 2 zip codes, but the part adjacent to LG is 95124). The Union School District serves both part of Cambrian and part of east Los Gatos. There’s a noticeable price drop going into Cambrian, but the hills and the town of LG are still close. Very good schools and a good “bang for your buck” in terms of what you get in education for the price of the home. Cambrian real estate market statistics
Willow Glen is closer to downtown San Jose than to Los Gatos, but it has much of the charm that LG is known for, includes a lovely downtown area with its own identity, and boasts some of the most scenic streets in all of Silicon Valley. The public schools are generally not a drawing factor. Willow Glen real estate market article
Campbell is probably the most happening city in Santa Clara County right now in terms of home buyer popularity. Campbell provides a lovely downtown, light rail access to downtown San Jose and beyond, a great parks system (especially along the Los Gatos Creek Trail), unusually good shopping, and in some areas really excellent schools. This is a “closer in” location than Los Gatos or Almaden, so it’s an easier commute for that lower price, too. Campbell housing market trends and stats
The 95033 zip code covers a lot of land in Santa Clara County and Santa Cruz County too. Part of it is just beyond the Los Gatos town border, but the majority of it is quite a bit further. School scores are high, air is clean, trees are everywhere and valley views (or in the next county over, Monterey Bay views) are not uncommon.
The prices are much better than in town, but the tradeoff is that you have to deal with Highway 17 every day with beach and commute traffic, plus a number of issues that are particular to the mountains, fire hazards, wildlife, septic, landslides, etc.Please also see this article on the Los Gatos Mountains or Santa Cruz Mountains And on the market – Altos Live RE Market Charts for the LG or Santa Cruz Mountains area
