by Clair Handy, Mary Pope-Handy | May 17, 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 seller’s market with low inventory, just 6 available homes at the end of April.
- Pending sales shrank month-over-month, but are up a hair year-over-year.
- As of today, May 17, 2023, there are 8 available homes for sale (2 of them are “members only”), 0 closed sales so far this month, 1 pending sale, and 1 contingent sale 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 (6 in April and just 3 in March).
| Trends At a Glance |
Apr 2023 |
Previous Month |
Year-over-Year |
| Median Price |
$2,905,000 (-22.0%) |
$3,726,000 |
$4,212,500 (-31.0%) |
| Average Price |
$3,505,000 (-6.3%) |
$3,738,670 |
$4,316,600 (-18.8%) |
| No. of Sales |
6 (+100.0%) |
3 |
6 (0.0%) |
| Pending |
5 (-28.6%) |
7 |
4 (+25.0%) |
| Active |
6 (-14.3%) |
7 |
8 (-25.0%) |
| Sale vs. List Price |
99.6% (-0.5%) |
100.10% |
116.6% (-14.6%) |
| Days on Market |
24 (-46.2%) |
44 |
8 (+197.9%) |
| Days of Inventory |
29 (-58.6%) |
70 |
39 (-25.0%) |
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 about $2.5 million in Monte Sereno. Even a “fixer” often goes 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
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$2,399,000
-
Lot Size
7,841 sqft
-
Home Size
1,391 sqft
-
Beds
2 Beds
-
Baths
2 Baths
-
Year Built
1920
-
-
Sold
$2,540,000
-
Lot Size
11,522 sqft
-
Home Size
2,112 sqft
-
Beds
3 Beds
-
Baths
3 Baths
-
Year Built
1952
-
-
Sold
$2,625,000
-
Lot Size
8,978 sqft
-
Home Size
1,862 sqft
-
Beds
3 Beds
-
Baths
2 Baths
-
Year Built
1964
-
-
Sold
$2,800,000
-
Lot Size
1.10 ac
-
Home Size
1,825 sqft
-
Beds
3 Beds
-
Baths
2 Baths
-
Year Built
1950
-
-
Sold
$2,810,000
-
Lot Size
8,146 sqft
-
Home Size
2,475 sqft
-
Beds
4 Beds
-
Baths
2 Baths
-
Year Built
1969
-
See all Monte Sereno, CA Homes for Sale & Recently Sold.
(all data current as of
6/2/2023)
Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.
by Mary Pope-Handy, Clair Handy | May 10, 2023 | Homes & Housing Market, Los Gatos Real Estate
As of today, May 10, 2023, the Los Gatos real estate market in 95030 & 95032 is showing signs of warming. Many homes are selling quickly, but some languish on the market – mostly if they started overpriced or have a location defect.
Los Gatos real estate market statistics
Here is some Los Gatos real estate market data that I pulled directly from the MLS today.
Inventory of available homes for sale in Los Gatos 95030 and Los Gatos 95032
A quick glance at the last few years suggests that this inventory is somewhere between a little low and normal.
Numbers of homes sold
Sales slipped a little while inventory rose – that’s making the LG market a little easier for buyers!
Months of Inventory
(more…)
by Mary Pope-Handy | Nov 18, 2019 | Homes & Housing Market
Map of the Blossom Hill Manor neighborhood of Los Gatos (east Los Gatos)
The Blossom Hill Manor (aka “the Manor” or “Blossom Manor”) is a highly sought after neighborhood with its close proximity to the well regarded Los Gatos schools, parks, shops, grocery stores and major transit routes. Homes there are nicely maintained, many streets are tree-lined and there’s a good amount of community spirit and involvement in this close-in, walkable area. Explore the area more using my Google Map of Blossom Manor, or take a video drive-through of the neighborhood at my other post, The Blossom Manor neighborhood of Los Gatos.
In this posting, we’ll discuss the Blossom Manor real estate market. The real estate market in Los Gatos has been on fire like the rest of the Bay Area over the last few years, but there’s a great deal of variation from one area, price point, school district, age and condition of home to the next. As you can imagine, the “fixer” market is very different from the luxury market.
So far in 2019, there have been 15 closed sales in The Manor. A few quick stats on those sales:
- Average list price $2,150,343
- Average sale price $2,207,518 (103% of list price)
- Median sale price $2,060,000
- Least expensive list price $1,589,000
- Lease expensive sale price $1,775,000
- Most expensive list price $2,749,000
- Most expensive sale price $2,790,000
- Average price per SF $1,114.61
- Average days on market 16
- Average living space 2046 SF
- Average lot size 9,431 SF
- Average age of the home 61 years
Of these 15 sales, 9 were over list price, 1 was exactly at list price (an off market sale – the only one not exposed publicly before selling), and the rest sold under list price. (more…)
by Mary Pope-Handy | Oct 23, 2019 | Homes & Housing Market, Los Gatos Real Estate
There are many factors impacting the Los Gatos real estate market, including the price point and the elementary or high school district. This post is updated every month or two. Today we’ll look at the Los Gatos realty market by pricing tiers and high school district using the months of inventory as a data point. The months of inventory, or MOI, is the currently active (for sale, no contract or pending sale) homes for sale divided by the number of homes using the same criteria which have closed escrow in the last 30 days.
These numbers were run today using MLSListings.com and it’s possible that a few more homes will be recorded as closed sales or new homes added to the market after I ran these numbers. One other disclaimer: sometimes the number of closed sales is very low or is at 0. This can be for many reasons. In some cases, there are a few which are sale pending and simply haven’t closed recently. In other cases, the market might actually be empty in those tiers, indicating a possible lack of demand or inventory. That being said, what do the numbers say?
Los Gatos real estate months of inventory in 95030 and 95032 combined
The overall MOI for the town as a whole with 95030 and 95032 zip codes shows a mild seller’s market, with post-summer cooling likely in what is a typical seasonal pattern. It is a bit of a mixed market when looking at the town as a whole, but less so when viewed by high school district or price point. We’ll see when the month is over, but already in many parts of Santa Clara County, the real estate market is returning to seasonal patterns with some cool pockets and some which remain hotter.
And here’s the same chart with data from last February. You can see that in mid-winter the inventory was smaller and moving slightly slower.
Looking back farther, here’s the same info for last November – the overall absorption rate isn’t much different from right now, and inventory and sales are neck-and-neck. Almost exactly a year ago, the market doesn’t look too different.
And a reference from April, when the market was red hot:
The real estate market for homes with the Los Gatos – Saratoga Joint Union High School District only
Now let’s view just the homes which are in the Los Gatos – Saratoga Joint Union High School District (or homes “in the schools” as locals say).Houses for sale with Los Gatos schools tend to be more pricey than those in neighboring school districts. This isn’t just the schools, but is also a function of being closer to downtown Los Gatos. The lowest priced homes in this area are seldom listed for less than $1 million.
Once again, we’ll compare it against last February. While the overall market is moving faster today than in February, here we can see that for homes in the Los Gatos School District were moving more quickly in winter. While the number of sales hasn’t changed much, inventory has gone up in this sector.
From last November, again, not a ton different between then and now.
(more…)
by Mary Pope-Handy | Aug 30, 2017 | Homes & Housing Market
The August real estate market in Los Gatos is usually a bit slow. Inventory, even in a normal year, tends to shrink in August, and with it, a lot of sales activity. Many home buyers and home sellers take the month off, sneak in one last vacation, get kids ready to school, or perhaps deliver older ones to college. Real estate often takes a back seat for a few weeks in August (and sometimes early September, too).
August and the Los Gatos Housing Market: it’s all about inventory levels
This year is worse than most in terms of buyers having any selection with record low levels of inventory throughout Silicon Valley. Have a look at the chart from January 2011 to today for Los Gatos single family homes – zip codes 95030 & 95032 (pulled from MLSListings this afternoon):
Buying and selling homes in Los Gatos and Monte Sereno right now
For home sellers, this August has been a great month to market your home and to get it sold, despite vacations and student issues, because demand is so high for the minuscule amount of housing for sale. For home buyers, it feels like a crazy real estate game of inventory limbo: how low can it go? How many offers can get thrown at a single listing?
One way of looking at it is to consider the ratio of available houses for sale vs those under contract. Right now in Los Gatos 95030 and 95032, there are 55 single family homes on the market, and there are 50 in some stage of “sale pending” (with or without contingencies). That’s pretty close to 100%. (Monte Sereno is such a small market area that the numbers are too wonky to be useful – we need a larger sample for reliability.)
The number sold and closed in the last 30 days is 31. The months of inventory is the actives divided by the closed in the last 30 days, so 55 / 31 = 1.77 months of inventory for ALL houses, all schools, all price points, all conditions, all locations – good and bad alike. That is a red hot sellers’ market! (Every month or two I update this article here on Live in Los Gatos: “Los Gatos real estate market trends by price point and high school district” – please check back for an update on those numbers soon.)
What has been true for most of 2017 still holds true in August: the nicely updated and remodeled homes in the lower prices to move-up prices in Los Gatos continue to sell well (quickly, often with multiple offers) if they are priced right. Specifically, these are homes under $3 million with no special challenges (location issues, lot issues, strangely configured layout, too many stairs, too much deferred maintenance, a combination of a large pool and small back yard, and so on).
What does it take to be a successful home buyer in Los Gatos or Monte Sereno right now? How to maximize buying or selling in the current market conditions
Buyers: For the lower priced homes, you will need to be quick as they usually won’t last more than 8 to 10 days before the offer date and multiple offers pour in. If you can get out to see the property soon after it hits the market, you’ll have enough time to study the disclosures and get guidance from your buyer’s agent on those and the comps. If you wait to see something on a Sunday afternoon and offers are due Tuesday, you will have a very unpleasant couple of days as you rush to be ready and prepared. With the more expensive properties, they may take longer to sell, but at any given moment things could change and suddenly there are 2 offers rather than just your one.
Sellers: Being super well prepared so that you hit the ground running is absolutely key to selling your home quickly and for top dollar. That means doing the presale inspections, ordering HOA docs (if applicable), and having your disclosures completed before a buyer ever sees the home. It also means taking your Realtor’s guidance to heart in regard to staging / decluttering and easy access for buyers. If it’s too hard to see, or it does not show well, you may not sell it for as much. Price carefully! The number 1 problem with homes that do not sell is price. Aim too high and you won’t get the traffic or the offers. If you aim a little low, you may draw multiple offers and push the price higher than you could have imagined.
The market can be a little funny sometimes. I’ll attend an office meeting and hear discussions about multiple offers and once in awhile there’s a particular property that seems to have trouble. When that happens, it’s very important to try to get feedback from the buyer’s agents. While often the problem is a too-high price, sometimes it’s something easier to adjust to effect a sale. Communication between Realtors can be invaluable so that you don’t reduce the price when perhaps a less expensive fix will do.
September is just around the corner, and it promises to be a busy one as a slight influx of inventory should bring a strong flurry of activity.
If you are thinking of buying or selling a home, please contact me for a confidential consultation on what it takes to get the best deal possible in the current market.
