Los Gatos vs. Saratoga: Downtowns, Eichlers, Rules and the Market

Los Gatos and Saratoga are neighbors at the foot of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Santa Clara County, about 4 miles apart center to center. Neither has a train station, and both get electricity from the same provider. The differences show up in their downtowns, their older houses, a few local rules and the market. Here’s the comparison, with a live-market snapshot from our City Match-Up.

The basics

• Town and city. Los Gatos is a town, incorporated in 1887. Saratoga is a city.
• Trains. Neither has a Caltrain, BART or light rail station. The closest VTA light rail stops are in neighboring Campbell: Winchester, Downtown Campbell and Hamilton.
• Downtowns. Downtown Los Gatos centers on North Santa Cruz Avenue and Main Street; Saratoga Village runs along Big Basin Way. See Homes Near Downtown for homes within a short walk of each.
• Parks and campuses. Vasona Lake is in Los Gatos; Hakone Gardens, Villa Montalvo and West Valley College are in Saratoga. Netflix has its headquarters in Los Gatos. See Homes Near Parks and Homes Near Tech Campuses.
• Electricity. Both get power from Silicon Valley Clean Energy, delivered by PG&E.
• School districts. Check the district’s boundary lookup for any address.

At closing

Neither adds a city transfer tax, so a $2 million sale carries only the county’s $2,200 in either place. See our transfer tax guide.

Homes and rules

• Victorians. Los Gatos has design guidelines for five historic districts: Almond Grove, Broadway, Fairview Plaza, University-Edelen and Downtown. See Los Gatos Victorian and Edwardian homes.
• Eichlers. Saratoga has one Eichler tract: 35 homes designed by Claude Oakland on De Havilland Drive, Shubert Drive and Columbine Court, built in 1964–65. Los Gatos has none; the nearest is Sereno Foothills, 16 Eichlers on Via Sereno in neighboring Monte Sereno. See Silicon Valley Eichler tracts.
• Single-story zoning. Saratoga has a single-story overlay for the Saratoga Woods neighborhood; we found none in Los Gatos. See overlays by city.
• Rentals. Los Gatos runs a rental dispute program for properties with three or more units: one increase a year, with 5% presumed valid and larger increases open to tenant petitions. See rent rules by city.

The market, in a snapshot

From our City Match-Up on October 18, 2026, for houses, condos and townhomes, with sales from the previous 90 days:

• Homes for sale: 129 in Los Gatos, 50 in Saratoga.
• Sales in 90 days: 98 in Los Gatos, 72 in Saratoga.
• Median sale price: $2.14 million in Los Gatos, $3.8 million in Saratoga.
• Median price per square foot: $1,001 in Los Gatos, $1,520 in Saratoga.
• Median sale-to-list: 98.3% in Los Gatos, 100.0% in Saratoga.
• Median days on market, homes for sale now: 54 in Los Gatos, 32 in Saratoga.
• Months of supply: 3.9 in Los Gatos, 2.1 in Saratoga.

Medians follow the mix of homes, and these numbers change daily, so open the live City Match-Up and switch to houses only to compare like with like.

Weighing the two? Call the Boyenga Team at (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606. Commissions are negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.