by Clair Handy, Mary Pope-Handy | Sep 20, 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 8 available homes at the end of August.
- Pending and closed sales are up compared to this time last year, but relatively stable month-over-month.
- As of today, September 20, 2023, there are 8 available Monte Sereno homes for sale (1 of them is “members only”), 2 pending sales, 0 contingent sales, and 2 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. In fact, there were no closed sales throughout the month of May! The same is true with August 2022, as you can see in the chart below. But 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 2023 |
Previous Month |
Year-over-Year |
Median Price |
$3,450,000 (-2.3%) |
$3,532,500 |
$0 (N/A) |
Average Price |
$4,083,330 (+15.6%) |
$3,532,500 |
$0 (N/A) |
No. of Sales |
3 (+50.0%) |
2 |
0 (N/A) |
Pending |
2 (-33.3%) |
3 |
1 (+100.0%) |
Active |
8 (+100.0%) |
4 |
1 (+700.0%) |
Sale vs. List Price |
110.9% (+17.1%) |
94.7% |
0.0% (N/A) |
Days on Market |
17 (-67.6%) |
53 |
0 (N/A) |
Days of Inventory |
80 (+33.3%) |
60 |
0 (N/A) |
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 sales, pendings, and active inventory are all up from last year when the market was cooling. 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
-
Sold
$2,650,000
-
Lot Size
10,298 sqft
-
Home Size
1,268 sqft
-
Beds
2 Beds
-
Baths
2 Baths
-
Year Built
1958
-
-
Sold
$2,715,000
-
Lot Size
1.07 ac
-
Home Size
2,824 sqft
-
Beds
4 Beds
-
Baths
3 Baths
-
Year Built
1920
-
-
$2,890,000
-
Lot Size
10,956 sqft
-
Home Size
1,524 sqft
-
Beds
4 Beds
-
Baths
2 Baths
-
Year Built
1954
-
-
Sold
$3,050,000
-
Lot Size
12,454 sqft
-
Home Size
2,782 sqft
-
Beds
3 Beds
-
Baths
2 Baths
-
Year Built
1962
-
-
Sold
$3,450,000
-
Lot Size
1.24 ac
-
Home Size
2,188 sqft
-
Beds
4 Beds
-
Baths
3 Baths
-
Year Built
1962
-
See all Monte Sereno, CA Homes for Sale & Recently Sold.
(all data current as of
9/28/2023)
Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.
by Mary Pope-Handy | Mar 7, 2017 | Los Gatos Real Estate, Sell a home
How long will it take to sell your Los Gatos home? If you own a house in Los Gatos, 95030 or 95032, the answer is “it depends”. Naturally part of the formula will be the condition of the property and how aggressively it’s priced. The pace also will be a function of schools and price point. Generally speaking, the lower priced single family homes tend to sell the fastest (assuming that it’s priced and marketed well and doesn’t have any “issues”). That’s true in all neighborhoods and subdivisions. (The Los Gatos Mountains area, or 95033, is a different market.)
Today, let’s take a look at the Los Gatos real estate market for home sellers by pricing tier and high school district with a view toward the number of days on the market. (You can read about the ratio of actives to solds and the absorption rate at the article linked below under Related Reading.)
We’ll begin with a look at the town as a whole. For homes actively listed and not yet sold or sale pending in town, have a look at the number of properties for sale and the days on market (“DOM”) for each price point:

The average “days on market” for all homes is 70, so you might think that this is how long it will take to get your home into contract. That’s not the case, though, as some homes never sell (even in a red hot economy like ours). Others sell really fast.
What we can see, though, is that the homes in the lowest price point haven’t been on the market long – a hint that this is the market segment that is moving.
Next, let’s have a look at the part of LG 95030 & 95032 with Los Gatos High School.

Notice that the average days on market for this group is 47, not 70. Most groups have double digit days on the market. So perhaps not flying off the market, but not bad by national standards, and certainly faster than the town as a whole. It looks like the answer to “how long will it take to sell” may be improved by being “in the schools”.
How long will it take in the areas with either Westmont High or Leigh High? Overall, a much longer “days on market” are present for the active listings with 124. But the lower prices, up to $2 million, are extremely fast with the few homes in that band only being available for about a week or less.

The actively listed properties are everything available – the good as well as the not so good. If we look at pending sales, though, we’ll get an idea on how fast buyers take the best homes out of the market. Let’s check on the homes under contract now. (more…)
by Mary Pope-Handy | Aug 10, 2015 | Homes & Housing Market
The Los Gatos real estate market varies by zip code, school district, neighborhood and price point. Today we’ll view it by zip code (95030, 95032 and 95033 – the latter is the Los Gatos Mountains area and is not part of the “town” but has a Los Gatos mailing address and is generally considered Los Gatos if not properly or officially part of the town).
1.) First, let’s look at single family homes and some key stats (coming from Altos Research and will be updated weekly):
the median list price of single family homes in these 3 zip codes in Los Gatos plus the city of Monte Sereno, the total inventory of homes for sale in Los Gatos by zip code, homes absorbed, average list price, price per square foot, median lot size, average age, nad more.
Los Gatos 95030 real estate market data:

Los Gatos 95032 real estate market statistic:

Los Gatos Mountains (not “in town”) 95033 housing market information:

Monte Sereno – not a part of Los Gatos but shares many services, so they are often intertwined:

2) Next, let’s see how some of these real estate statistic look compared to recent months – below please find the MEDIAN LIST PRICE (not sale price) of homes by zip code, separated out by pricing quartile:
95030 is mostly Los Gatos, but some homes will be in Monte Sereno

95032 is 99% Los Gatos and 1% or so Monte Sereno

The Los Gatos Mountains area – 95033 (more remote and usually far, far more affordable than the town of Los Gatos)

To see what’s happening with the Los Gatos real estate market via the “solds” please visit my real estate report and view the latest market date & trends for houses in Los Gatos or houses in the Los Gatos mountain communities as well as the condo and townhouse market in the town of Los Gatos. Additionally, you can check what has sold anywhere in Los Gatos or Santa Clara County generally as long as it was on the multiple listing service!
by Mary Pope-Handy | Jan 17, 2015 | Los Gatos Real Estate
Today I’m able to share with you some statistics pulled together from MLSListings.com by Timothy Proschold of Sereno Group Los Altos (which he’s given those of us in Sereno permission to share). I thought my readers would really appreciate this statistical history of sales in Los Gatos and Saratoga from 2005 to 2014.
A quick, but important, note on the areas included for Los Gatos. “Los Gatos”, as a mailing address and as an area searched on the MLS, now includes the Los Gatos Mountains (95033) as well as the “in town” or the unincorporated areas close to town with the zip codes of 95030 and 95032. (This is a recent change in the way MLSListings collects data – and it’s messing with us!) In the study below, all three of these areas are included. If you are looking at 95033, these figures will be a bit high, and if you’re considering 95032 or 95030, they will be low. So while we often do compare and contrast Los Gatos and Saratoga, the gap in pricing will be more acute because of the more rural areas include. Be that as it may, this is great info that I think you will find very valuable – and thanks again to Tim for compiling it for us!
First, the price per square foot for single family homes (SFH) in Los Gatos and Saratoga (these might shake out differently by school district, price point etc.).

Similar patterns overall, but Saratoga is currently making a steeper climb in housing values.
Next, the median sale price and average days on market (DOM) from 2005 to 2014 for houses or single family homes in Los Gatos.
(more…)
by Mary Pope-Handy | May 5, 2014 | Homes & Housing Market
May 05, 2014
The Los Gatos real estate market is very healthy, with a strong sale price to list price ratio. As with the rest of Santa Clara County, inventory is extremely low, and that is pushing prices up. Today we’ll get a view of the market using just a few charts, but please click on the links for more info (or call, email or reach out to me if you’d like an appointment to discuss your segment of the market in particular).
First, a chart from my Los Gatos Real Estate Report (click on the link for more information).

Trends At A Glance Jan 2014 Previous Month Year-over Year Median Home Price +23.7%$1,770,000 $1,431,000 +13.8%$1,555,000 Average Sales Price +34.8%$1,920,450 $1,424,850 +12.6%$1,704,850 No. of Homes Sold -17.4%19 23 +46.2%13 Pending Properties +31.8%29 22 +61.1%18 Foreclosures Sold N/A0 0 N/A0 Short Sales Sold N/A0 0 N/A0 Active Listings +2.1%48 47 -7.7%52 Active Foreclosures N/A1 0 N/A0 Active Short Sales -66.7%1 3 N/A0 Sales Price vs. List Price +0.8%101.1% 100.3% +1.7%99.4% Average Days on Market +136.6%74 31 +118.6%34 – See more at: http://popehandy.rereport.com/market_reports?formSubmit=1&searchtype=search&emailtype=search&period=1&report_description=Santa+Clara+County%2C+All+Cities%2C+All+Neighborhoods&area=15&cities=3048&locations=&yearmonth=2014-1&proptype=1&get_report=#sthash.H93BlIu0.dpuf
Trends At A Glance Jan 2014 Previous Month Year-over Year Median Home Price +23.7%$1,770,000 $1,431,000 +13.8%$1,555,000 Average Sales Price +34.8%$1,920,450 $1,424,850 +12.6%$1,704,850 No. of Homes Sold -17.4%19 23 +46.2%13 Pending Properties +31.8%29 22 +61.1%18 Foreclosures Sold N/A0 0 N/A0 Short Sales Sold N/A0 0 N/A0 Active Listings +2.1%48 47 -7.7%52 Active Foreclosures N/A1 0 N/A0 Active Short Sales -66.7%1 3 N/A0 Sales Price vs. List Price +0.8%101.1% 100.3% +1.7%99.4% Average Days on Market +136.6%74 31 +118.6%34 – See more at: http://popehandy.rereport.com/market_reports?formSubmit=1&searchtype=search&emailtype=search&period=1&report_description=Santa+Clara+County%2C+All+Cities%2C+All+Neighborhoods&area=15&cities=3048&locations=&yearmonth=2014-1&proptype=1&get_report=#sthash.H93BlIu0.dpuf
The Los Gatos Condominium and Townhouse Market
Next, the same information but for Los Gatos condos and townhomes: