The Mountain Housing Market

If you have ever tried to buy a home in the Silicon Valley flatlands, you know the experience. You walk into an open house, make eye contact with a bidding war, and leave three hours later realizing you just offered your firstborn child for a 900-square-foot fixer-upper with no backyard.

But if you look up—specifically toward the redwood canopy of the 95033 zip code—the real estate air gets a little fresher.

The housing market in the Los Gatos Mountains is currently a balanced to slightly buyer-friendly market, unlike the intense seller competition seen in other parts of the Bay Area. Down in San Jose or Sunnyvale, buyers are still throwing cash at sellers. Up here? You might actually get to view a house twice before someone else buys it.

A balanced market means you have leverage. You can ask for a home inspection without the seller laughing you off the mountain. You can negotiate. You might even find a seller willing to leave behind their backup generator.

Of course, mountain buying comes with its own unique flavor of Bay Area drama. You aren’t competing against 45 other software engineers. Sometime’s a buyer’s primary concerns shift from “How good are the local schools?” to “How old is this septic tank?” and “Will this driveway require a personal winch system in January?”

For those willing to trade the convenience of a neighborhood Starbucks for the thrill of a 20-minute winding descent down Highway 17, 95033 offers a rare Bay Area luxury: breathing room.

Keith and Shelly Kanady are a real-estate team at Compass serving the Santa Cruz Mountains for 40 years. Call us at 408-316-1666, or email Keith.Kanady@Compass.com.