Here’s a fun bit of Los Gatos real estate history – pricing from yesteryear! The newspaper ad for Los Gatos homes for sale is enticing. One of them reads:
Fillmer Ave.
Rustic type of 5 rms.,
2 Brs., tub and shower bath,
fireplace, H.W. floors, 2 car
garage, lot 60 x 140.
Immediate poss.
Asking $15,000
Or check out the house on Englewood:
Englewood Ave.
1 story, rambling type, 6
rms., 3 brs., H.W. floors,
fireplace, tiled baths, 2-car
attached garage, choice
location. Terms.
Price $13,500
Another one features a house on Almendra for $12 ,750 with “floor furn”, which appears to be “floor furnace” (from the “Must Sell” ad, which spelled it out). Makes me wonder what the alternative to floor furnace would be! Or a house on Massol, also a rustic type for $15,000. I love the description of the “Must Sell” home as “sturdily built” and, surprisingly, “complete, with all new furniture” – $12,700 and just $4,000 down.
Can you guess the year of this Los Gatos real estate advertisement?
Have a look at this and try to guess the year:
Los Gatos real estate ad date not shown
What year do you think this ad for Los Gatos homes for sale ran? The newspaper was called the Mail News and Star, by the way.
Keep reading to see the year…
Here you go – mystery solved – the add ran July 15, 1948
Los Gatos real estate ad from 1948
Other ads from the same newspaper issue offered homes between $10,250 and $19,500 in town. The most expensive one was promoted as “New 6 room stucco, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, hardwood floor, gas furnace, fireplace, beautiful yard, 1/3 acre”. Interesting to me is that many of the ads mention the lot size but not the square footage of the home – just the number of rooms.
Don’t you wish you could buy a home in Los Gatos for less than $20,000 today! It’s a reminder to us of the value of “buy and hold”!
