What a local Los Gatos agent helps you decide
Los Gatos is a small market with wide price gaps. Redfin counted 65 sales in the town in the three months to September 2026, 31.6% fewer than a year earlier, at a median of $2,438,839 and $1,209 per square foot. Inside that one figure sit very different homes: Zillow's typical value is $3,515,016 in ZIP 95030, which includes downtown and Town Hall on East Main Street, and $2,530,345 in ZIP 95032, which includes the North 40 area near Lark Avenue.
A local agent earns their fee on three calls. The first is price: with so few sales, two comparable homes can be months apart, so the agent has to adjust for lot, slope, view and condition. The second is the hillside: southern Los Gatos sits in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, and that changes insurance, building rules and buyer pool. The third is the school district line, because Los Gatos addresses can fall in more than one elementary district. Ask any agent you interview how they handle each one.
Buying a home in Los Gatos
Homes that sold went for 102.43% of list price on average in the three months to September 2026, and 45.3% sold above list, according to Redfin. The median home went under contract in 26 days. Inventory stood at 73 homes, 16.6% more than a year earlier, or about 3.5 months of supply. That is more choice than Los Gatos buyers had in 2025, but well-priced homes in the flats still draw early offers.
Step 1: Set a budget against Los Gatos prices
At Redfin's median of $2,438,839, a 20% down payment is $487,768. The $1,951,071 loan at Freddie Mac's 30-year average of 7.24% (week of October 29, 2026) costs about $13,297 a month in principal and interest before tax and insurance. Get a written pre-approval before you tour, and ask your lender whether the loan is a jumbo loan, which has its own rules.
Step 2: Confirm the school districts for the parcel
Most of the town is in the Los Gatos Union School District for transitional kindergarten through grade 8 and the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District for grades 9 to 12. District lines do not follow town limits: the high school district also serves parts of Campbell, San Jose and Santa Cruz County. Check the exact address with each district's locator before you write an offer; our Los Gatos schools guide lists the tools.
Step 3: Check the fire zone and insurance before you commit
The Town adopted CAL FIRE's Local Responsibility Area fire hazard map by Ordinance 2374 in June 2025, and it says southern Los Gatos is in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. Get an insurance quote during your inspection period, not after. Read our wildfire zone guide and FAIR Plan guide if standard carriers decline.
Step 4: Read the HOA documents for condos and townhomes
Attached homes are a minority here. Census data show 57.7% of Los Gatos housing units are single-family detached and 13.0% are attached. For a townhome or condo, ask for the budget, reserve study and any balcony inspection report. Our Los Gatos condos guide covers the main complexes.
Step 5: Agree your agent's pay in writing
Since August 2024 you sign a written agreement with your buyer's agent before touring, and it states how they are paid. Read our commission guide before you sign.
Selling a home in Los Gatos
Sellers face a split market. In ZIP 95032, Redfin's three-month median was $2,274,332 with 25 days on market and homes selling at 102.64% of list. In ZIP 95030 the median was $3,848,869, but homes took a median of 32 days and sold at 100.06% of list. Larger, pricier homes in the hills take longer.
Pricing a Los Gatos home
Zillow's typical Los Gatos value reached a new high of $2,597,611 in September 2026, up 4.6% in a year and 91.4% in ten years. Redfin's median sale price was 3.4% lower than a year earlier. The two measures disagree because Redfin's figure moves with the mix of homes that sold. Ask your agent for the three closest sales by lot size and location, not a town average.
Preparing a hillside or older home
The median Los Gatos home was built in 1972, according to the Census. Older homes often need roof, electrical and sewer lateral work before buyers will pay top price. Hillside homes should show defensible space, which state law requires, and the Town points owners to free wildfire inspections from the Santa Clara County Fire Department.
Disclosures, transfer tax and capital gains
Los Gatos sellers fill out the standard state disclosures, including the natural hazard report, which will show a fire hazard zone where one applies. Santa Clara County charges documentary transfer tax; see our transfer tax guide and seller disclosure guide. Long-time owners should read the capital gains guide before listing.
Los Gatos areas at a glance
The Town describes itself as a 14-square-mile community, bounded by San Jose and Campbell to the north and east, Monte Sereno and Saratoga to the west, and the Santa Cruz Mountains to the south. Our Los Gatos neighborhoods guide compares areas in more detail.
Downtown and the historic districts
The Town lists five historic districts: Almond Grove, Broadway, Downtown, Fairview Plaza and University-Edelen. Almond Grove, about 40 acres, was the first and largest subdivision after the town incorporated in 1887. Exterior changes to homes in these districts go through the Town's historic preservation review, so ask before you plan an addition.
ZIP 95030: west side, downtown and the hills
Zillow's typical value is $3,515,016, up 7.6% in a year. The Census counts 79.0% of homes here as owner-occupied. Downtown, Town Hall at 110 East Main Street and the County Fire station on University Avenue all carry this ZIP. The Town's Hillside Specific Plan, first adopted in 1978, governs much of the steep land at the town's southern edge. See ZIP 95030 market data.
ZIP 95032: east side and Los Gatos Boulevard
Zillow's typical value is $2,530,345, up 4.1% in a year. It includes the North 40 homes near Lark Avenue and the Los Gatos Union School District office on Roberts Road. The Census counts 65.4% of homes here as owner-occupied, against 79.0% in 95030, so more homes here are rented. See ZIP 95032 market data.
North 40: newer townhomes and condos
The North 40 Specific Plan Area is about 44 acres between Highway 85, Lark Avenue, Highway 17 and Los Gatos Boulevard. Phase I, approved in 2017, allowed 320 homes, 50 of them affordable senior units, and about 66,000 square feet of commercial space with a market hall. It is the main source of newer attached homes in town.
ZIP 95033: the mountains above Los Gatos
Many mountain homes carry a Los Gatos mailing address but sit outside the Town, in unincorporated Santa Clara or Santa Cruz County. Redfin's three-month median there was $1,609,527, with a median of 59 days on market and 6.6 months of supply. Expect wells, septic systems, private roads and harder insurance. See ZIP 95033 market data.
Local property checks before you buy in Los Gatos
- Fire zone: look up the parcel on the Town's adopted fire hazard map and CAL FIRE's viewer. Sign up for AlertSCC and check your evacuation zone in Genasys Protect, as the Town advises.
- Property tax: the base rate is 1% of the purchase price plus voter-approved bonds. Our Santa Clara County property tax guide lists Los Gatos tax rate areas from about 1.13% to 1.24% for 2025-26, so a $2,597,611 purchase at 1.142% means a bill near $29,665 a year before parcel taxes.
- School parcel taxes: the high school district's Measure A is $128 a year per parcel, with senior and disability exemptions. Ask the elementary district for its current parcel tax.
- Trees and grading: the Town's engineering pages list tree removal and grading permits. Check what applies to the lot before you budget for a remodel.
- Historic status: confirm whether the home is in a historic district or listed as a historic resource.
- Utilities: water comes from San Jose Water, sewer from West Valley Sanitation District, trash from West Valley Collection & Recycling, and power from PG&E with Silicon Valley Clean Energy generation.
How to choose a real estate agent in Los Gatos
Interview at least two agents and ask each the same questions. How many Los Gatos sales did you close in the past 12 months, and in which ZIP? Which of those were in the hills or in a fire zone? How do you check school district lines for a parcel? What are your fee and the length of the agreement, and can I end it early?
Commission is negotiable and set in writing. On Redfin's Los Gatos median of $2,438,839, each 1% is $24,388, so a quarter point matters. Check every agent's license on the California Department of Real Estate public lookup. If you want a starting point, see our featured local agent for Los Gatos, and compare that agent with others.
What buyers and sellers ask about Los Gatos real estate
Why do people leave? Census data do not give reasons, but they show what living here costs: the median gross rent was $3,247 in 2020-2024, and the median monthly cost for owners with a mortgage is above $4,000, the top of the Census range. In the same survey, 85.0% of residents lived in the same home a year earlier. For costs in detail, read our Los Gatos cost of living guide, and for the pros and cons, is Los Gatos a good place to live. The Los Gatos ZIP code guide and best places to live in Silicon Valley put the town in context.