by Clair Handy, Mary Pope-Handy | Oct 16, 2023 | 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):
- This city is currently in a slight seller’s market with low inventory, just 7 available homes at the end of September.
- Pending and closed sales are down compared to this time last year, but relatively stable month-over-month.
- As of today, October 16, 2023, there are 9 available Monte Sereno homes for sale (1 of them is “members only”), 2 pending sales, 1 contingent sale, and 1 closed sales so far this month in Monte Sereno.
The number of houses sold in any given month will always be extremely small and the data will jump around. Checking the Los Gatos market will also help, but the best pulse on the market will come from particular sales in particular neighborhoods.
Houses make up most of Monte Sereno – there are no commercial buildings, just a post office, 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 (if 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 list prices.
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.
September: 2 Sales
| Trends At a Glance |
Sep 2023 |
Previous Month |
Year-over-Year |
| Median Price |
$3,375,000 (-2.2%) |
$3,450,000 |
$3,650,000 (-7.5%) |
| Average Price |
$3,375,000 (-17.3%) |
$4,083,330 |
$3,850,000 (-12.3%) |
| No. of Sales |
2 (-33.3%) |
3 |
5 (-60.0%) |
| Pending |
2 (0.0%) |
2 |
4 (-50.0%) |
| Active |
7 (-12.5%) |
8 |
7 (0.0%) |
| Sale vs. List Price |
96.7% (-12.8%) |
110.9% |
101.0% (-4.3%) |
| Days on Market |
42 (+147.1%) |
17 |
82 (-48.8%) |
| Days of Inventory |
102 (+26.9%) |
80 |
41 (+150.0%) |
While the lack of sales and listings can make sales data (like price and days on market) swing wildly, we can see that the closed and pending sales are both short of last year when the market was cooling while listings are at the same level. When inventory and sales are this low it’s crucial to track the neighboring Los Gatos market as well, to gain a bit more insight.
What does it cost to live in Monte Sereno? With an average sale price of roughly $3 – $4 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 not easy to find anything for under $2.5 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?
- List View
- Map View
- Grid View
-
$2,500,000
-
Lot Size
8,212 sqft
-
Home Size
1,652 sqft
-
Beds
3 Beds
-
Baths
2 Baths
-
Year Built
1953
-
-
Sold
$2,750,000
-
Lot Size
34,147 sqft
-
Home Size
3,087 sqft
-
Beds
5 Beds
-
Baths
3 Baths
-
Year Built
1964
-
-
Sold
$3,050,000
-
Lot Size
12,454 sqft
-
Home Size
2,782 sqft
-
Beds
3 Beds
-
Baths
2 Baths
-
Year Built
1962
-
-
Sold
$3,215,000
-
Lot Size
17,346 sqft
-
Home Size
2,244 sqft
-
Beds
4 Beds
-
Baths
2 Baths
-
Year Built
1973
-
-
Sold
$3,700,000
-
Lot Size
1.68 ac
-
Home Size
2,120 sqft
-
Beds
3 Beds
-
Baths
3 Baths
-
Year Built
1950
-
See all Monte Sereno, CA Homes for Sale & Recently Sold.
(all data current as of
11/29/2023)
Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.
by Mary Pope-Handy | Aug 1, 2023 | Homes & Housing Market, Los Gatos Mountains Real Estate, Los Gatos Real Estate, Monte Sereno Real Estate
The Los Gatos luxury home market is faring surprisingly well now, given the strange real estate market that we are currently experiencing with ultra low inventory, interest rate hikes, and the stock market being off after Fitch’s downgrade.
Earlier this year it moved around with extremely low inventory in January and an easier time selling to a whopping 13 months of inventory in March.
Some of the bouncing around is a reflection of the very low inventory and accordingly, very lo numbers of home sales. It’s important to take it with a big grain of salt. The best homes, meaning that they are in good shape, don’t have location issues, and are well priced, continue to sell in 1 – 3 weeks.
For an in-depth article about the Los Gatos real estate market generally (not just the most expensive properties), please check our linked article, which is updated monthly!
Los Gatos luxury home market months of inventory – homes listed for sale at $4 million or more
The months of inventory is the single best gauge to use in deciding how hot or cool the market is. For July 2023 it fell to 2.2 months of inventory, which is a decently warm seller’s market.
Most of the luxury properties in Los Gatos are under $8 million, and that upper level can be much cooler than the $4 – $6 million market.
I tried to pull the same info for the Los Gatos mountains 95033, but kept getting an error message from the MLS that there were too few sales to chart meaningfully.
Altos Charts for homes listed in the top 25% or top quartile for Los Gatos 95030, 95032 and 95033
These will be automatically updated, so check back often for a quick update on the Los Gatos real estate data for this upper tier!
Median list price
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by Mary Pope-Handy | Jan 17, 2021 | Monte Sereno neighborhoods, Monte Sereno Real Estate
The Twin Creeks neighborhood in Monte Sereno (and a small number in Saratoga) enjoys an ideal setting away from busy commercial roads, with gently curving streets graced by creeks, an abundance of trees, and the coastal foothills as its backdrop. It’s a more rural community in that you won’t find sidewalks, curbs, gutters, or many street lamps – if any. Property in this area is impeccably presented, with nicely maintained or updated homes and often gorgeous landscaping. Both homes and land tend to be large, though not in every case.
The neighborhood does not come across as pretentious at all, although of course it is a very costly place in which to buy a home. I think it comes across as more low key because the homes seem proportionate to the land, and many are ranch style rather than something trendy. These lovely houses are in sync with the space around them, so you don’t end up with the McMansion effect. The houses are nice but do not crowd the land.
As with most of Monte Sereno, this charming neighborhood is served by the Los Gatos Union School District (or the Saratoga Union School District for the handful in Saratoga) and the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District.
What are properties like in the Twin Creeks area?
(more…)
by Mary Pope-Handy | Mar 21, 2019 | Equestrian, Monte Sereno neighborhoods, Monte Sereno Real Estate
The Loma Serena neighborhood in Monte Sereno is semi-rural, and it enjoys the distinct advantage of being an equestrian community. This community offers horse trails and a stable which can be rented by home owners in the community. This is a wonderful plus, as many equestrian areas feature homes that are perhaps a little more rural, on larger lots, and which feel less like a neighborhood. Loma Serena enjoys both the neighborhood feel and the community trail and stables. It’s the best of both worlds.
Loma Serena neighborhood in Monte Sereno
Where is the Loma Serena neighborhood?
The Loma Serena subdivision is located partially along and just off of Daves Avenue in Monte Sereno as well as on and near Vineland. It is adjacent to the Twin Creeks neighborhood to the west and is just south of the English Oaks neighborhood (in Los Gatos). Loma Serena is within the Los Gatos Union School District (most of Monte Sereno is, but part is within the boundaries of the Campbell School District).
Map of the Loma Serena neighborhood in Monte Sereno
Loma Serena neighborhood streets include:
Daves
Equestrian Way
Via Encantado
Via Palomino (off Vineland)
Via Caballero
Via Pinto
Via Vaquero
Vineland
Plus one home on Alma Jo Ct, and one home on Twin Creeks
Loma Serena equestrian area
What are the homes like in the Loma Serena area of Monte Sereno?
There are 89 parcels (one vacant parcel, the other 88 with a house built), and 85 of them are part of tract number 3393, for those of you interested in doing some research yourself.
Loma Serena house in Monte Sereno
Most houses were built between 1964 and 1975 (the marjority in the 60s) as ranch style homes. The living space ranged in square footage from 2100 or 2300 up to about 3200 SF. Many have since been either rebuilt or enlarged and remodeled extensively and may not look like ranch or ramblers today, but driving through the area, it’s predominantly still single story, larger, unpretentious ranch style houses. Today, a few properties have more than 5,000 SF and the average home size is 3286 square feet. Most have 4 or 5 bedrooms, but some have as few as 3 bedrooms, and a handful have 6 bedrooms.
In addition to a more typical ranch style house, in this area you will also find some striking modern and contemporary 2 story homes.
Loma Serena cul-de-sac house
Lot sizes average about a half acre – most homes sit on parcels of 20,000 to 25,000 SF, but a few are bigger. The average, by my calculation, is 25,550 SF.
Loma Serena neighborhood real estate info
What does it cost to buy a home in this scenic community? Like most of Monte Sereno, real estate prices are high here. For most properties, values will run between $3 and $4 million, but larger estate like homes which are rebuilt or extensively remodeled and expanded could fetch more than $4 million. A small, “all original” home needing a lot of work might possibly go for less than $3 million, depending on many factors.
This is a small pocket, and turnover is low!
See also the Altos Research weekly real estate market report for Monte Sereno (updates automatically).
Below, I tried to map the neighborhood on the program which allows to to display listed, pending, and sold properties here. My map may not be 100% correct, but the homes showing will give you a general idea of the real estate pricing in Loma Serena.
- List View
- Map View
- Grid View
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$4,700,000
-
Lot Size
32,035 sqft
-
Home Size
3,031 sqft
-
Beds
5 Beds
-
Baths
3.5 Baths
-
Year Built
1968
-
-
Sold
$6,070,000
-
Lot Size
32,091 sqft
-
Home Size
4,857 sqft
-
Beds
4 Beds
-
Baths
5 Baths
-
Year Built
1966
-
-
Sold
$5,498,000
-
Lot Size
37,214 sqft
-
Home Size
4,320 sqft
-
Beds
5 Beds
-
Baths
3.5 Baths
-
Year Built
1967
-
-
Sold
$5,050,000
-
Lot Size
22,660 sqft
-
Home Size
3,468 sqft
-
Beds
5 Beds
-
Baths
3 Baths
-
Year Built
1968
-
-
Sold
$8,000,000
-
Lot Size
21,780 sqft
-
Home Size
8,328 sqft
-
Beds
5 Beds
-
Baths
8 Baths
-
Year Built
2021
-
-
Sold
$4,150,000
-
Lot Size
24,851 sqft
-
Home Size
3,015 sqft
-
Beds
5 Beds
-
Baths
3 Baths
-
Year Built
1966
-
-
Sold
$5,400,000
-
Lot Size
29,700 sqft
-
Home Size
4,013 sqft
-
Beds
6 Beds
-
Baths
4.5 Baths
-
Year Built
2001
-
-
Sold
$3,615,000
-
Lot Size
25,013 sqft
-
Home Size
2,828 sqft
-
Beds
5 Beds
-
Baths
3 Baths
-
Year Built
1968
-
See all Loma Serena.
(all data current as of
11/29/2023)
Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.
Loma Serena common area
by Mary Pope-Handy | Jan 27, 2015 | About Monte Sereno, Monte Sereno neighborhoods, Monte Sereno Real Estate
An Introduction to Monte Sereno, California
Nestled against the base of the Santa Cruz Mountains on the west side of Santa Clara County (about an hour south of San Francisco and a few minutes from San Jose), adjacent to the town of Los Gatos, Monte Sereno is a scenic, small city which is semi-rural with neither sidewalks nor street lights. It has, in fact, the tiniest population of the 15 cities within the County, having just about 4000 residents in about 1.6 square miles. There are no businesses in town, just residences, the city office and post office, and Daves Avenue School. It is one of the most highly regarded and upscale communities in Silicon Valley.
Monte Sereno enjoys many rolling hills and green views of the coastal range, particularly El Sereno, the peak of which rises over the the city and has an elevation of 2249 feet. There is an open space preserve there now, with 1415 acres and 7.4 miles of trails. Please see the El Sereno Open Space Preserve website for information on parking, trail maps, equestrian trails, and more. As you might imagine, the city is named for this mountain: monte – mountain, sereno – serene, calm or pleasant. And it is a pretty calm place to be.
Monte Sereno shares schools, police, parks and the library with the town of Los Gatos, so they have much in common.
Monte Sereno Zip Codes
Almost 100% of Monte Sereno falls into the 95030 zip code, with a very tiny sliver belonging to the 95032 zip code. Both of these zip codes are also utilized by neighboring Los Gatos.
Monte Sereno Public Schools
Of the approximately 1250 households in Monte Sereno, all but about 60 of them fall within the boundaries of the highly regarded Los Gatos School District. The other small minority is in Campbell Schools. (You can check the assigned schools on this website: SchoolAndHousing.com)
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