home / los gatos / downtown los gatos
los gatos neighborhood guide · property nerds® at compass
Downtown Los Gatos Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
The town's original center on a bluff above Los Gatos Creek: 1890s-to-1930s storefronts on Main Street and Santa Cruz Avenue, the Civic Center, and older blocks of homes on both sides of Highway 17.
Downtown Los Gatos by the numbers
downtown los gatos by the numbers · live from the mls
- for sale now…
- median list price…
- homes sold, last 12 months…
- median sale price, 12 mo…
- median price per sq ft, sold…
- sale price vs. list…
Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Downtown Los Gatos: Hwy 9 to Main St and the Civic Center, N. Santa Cruz Ave to Los Gatos Blvd (approximate). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in downtown los gatos · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Downtown Los Gatos
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Downtown Los Gatos from the MLS, updated automatically, with a map of the neighborhood outline.
Get alerts for new Los Gatos listings: open Los Gatos in our full search and tap Save Search.
Loading listings…
Listings come from MLSListings and other MLSs through IDX and show their listing brokerage; confirm details with the listing agent. The map outline is the neighborhood boundary used by our listing search (Downtown Los Gatos: Hwy 9 to Main St and the Civic Center, N. Santa Cruz Ave to Los Gatos Blvd (approximate)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Downtown Los Gatos came to be
Los Gatos started here. James Alexander Forbes built a stone flour mill on Los Gatos Creek in 1854, and it began grinding on December 1, 1855; its 1880 annex still stands by the creek. A toll road over the mountains followed in 1858, along what is now South Santa Cruz Avenue. Two roads fed it from the north: the west-bank road from Santa Clara became North Santa Cruz Avenue, and the east-bank road from San Jose became Main Street. A stage stop called Ten Mile House, for its distance from San Jose, grew into the Lyndon Hotel at Main and Santa Cruz.
A general store opened on Main Street east of the creek in 1863, and a post office followed in 1864. The railroad arrived in 1877 and the population tripled in three years, to 1,510. The station sat at the southeast corner of Main and Santa Cruz, so shops spread to the west side of the creek. Los Gatos incorporated in 1887. Then came the fires: on July 27, 1891, one destroyed about two blocks of Main Street east of the bridge, and the Town Board began requiring brick or stone. On October 13, 1901, another wiped out both sides of West Main Street between the bridge and the tracks. The first replacements opened four months later, and every gap was filled by 1910.
The last passenger train to Santa Cruz left in 1940 and the last train of any kind ran to Los Gatos in 1959; the station yard became Town Plaza, next to a 1966 post office. Highway 17 now runs as a freeway in the creek canyon below the bluff, built in the mid-1950s. The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake destroyed or badly damaged a number of brick buildings, and the district was rebuilt. In 1991 the Town designated the Downtown Commercial Historic District (Ordinance 1843), and on September 13, 1991 the same blocks were listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Los Gatos Historic Commercial District: 25 buildings, 19 of them contributing.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
The commercial district is compact: an F-shaped group of storefronts on West Main Street, North Santa Cruz Avenue and University Avenue. The buildings fill their lots to the sidewalk and stand one or two stories tall, with two exceptions: the witch-hatted Queen Anne corner tower of the Hofstra Block at Main and Santa Cruz, which the nomination calls a principal symbol of Victorian Los Gatos, and the three-story Ford Opera House at 140 W. Main St., whose upper floor opened as a 500-seat opera house in 1904. About a third of the contributing buildings lean Mission Revival and another third Classical or Colonial Revival. Look for the Rankin Block (1902, built right after the fire), the Fretwell Building (1907, concrete detailed to look like stone) and 13 Art Deco streetlights installed about 1950.
Only one house is part of the commercial district: a 1920s bungalow at 15 University Ave. faced in rounded rock from Los Gatos Creek; the nomination calls it the only building in Los Gatos clad entirely in stone. A small 1934 Art Deco laundry building stands in its old back yard. Most homes inside our downtown outline sit on the residential streets around the core: the pre-1900 subdivisions of the University-Edelen Historic District between the old railroad line and the creek; the blocks of Tait, Bayview and Lyndon avenues between Almond Grove and Broadway; and, across Highway 17, streets such as Pleasant Street, Church Street and Villa Avenue around the Civic Center and Los Gatos High School. There are also condominiums and apartments close to the commercial blocks.
Which rules apply depends on the parcel. In the commercial district, the 1991 ordinance bars new setbacks on North Santa Cruz Avenue and West Main Street, keeps roofs behind parapets, forbids painting unpainted brick or stone, and prefers wood windows and doors. The residential historic districts follow the Town's historic design guidelines, and anywhere in town a house built before 1941 is treated as a historic resource unless the Town has found otherwise. The Town's R-1D zone, written for the older areas near downtown, sets a 5,000 sq ft minimum lot (8,000 for a two-family dwelling), 15-foot front, 5-foot side and 20-foot rear setbacks, and a 30-foot height limit.
streets in downtown los gatos
- North Santa Cruz Avenue
- South Santa Cruz Avenue
- West Main Street
- East Main Street
- University Avenue
- Montebello Way
- Station Way
- Elm Street
- Royce Street
- Tait Avenue
- Bayview Avenue
- Lyndon Avenue
- Pleasant Street
- Church Street
- Villa Avenue
- High School Court
house sales by street, 2021–2026
| Street | Sales | Median price | Per sq ft | Typical lot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bella Vista Avenue | 4 | $3.38M | $1,485 | 8,400 sq ft |
| Boyer Lane | 4 | $3.38M | $1,393 | 4,350 sq ft |
| Bayview Avenue | 3 | $2.94M | $1,336 | 4,500 sq ft |
| Edelen Avenue | 6 | $2.92M | $1,245 | 5,250 sq ft |
| Los Gatos Boulevard | 3 | $2.85M | $1,176 | 7,700 sq ft |
| University Avenue | 4 | $2.8M | $1,448 | 5,140 sq ft |
| Pleasant Street | 6 | $2.67M | $1,436 | 7,150 sq ft |
Single-family house sales inside this guide’s outline, Oct. 1, 2021 to Oct. 21, 2026, from MLS records, with each sale counted once. Streets with at least 3 sales; prices, price per square foot and lots are medians. The whole city, ranked: The most expensive streets in Los Gatos & Monte Sereno.
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Downtown Los Gatos
- park
Town Plaza Park
The 0.6-acre town square at Main Street and Santa Cruz Avenue, on the old railroad station yard. The farmers market runs there Sundays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- shopping
Old Town Center
Shops at 50 University Ave. in the former University Avenue School; the current buildings date to 1923.
- landmark
Forbes Mill
The 1880 annex of the 1854 flour mill the town grew up around, on Los Gatos Creek. California Historical Landmark No. 458 and on the National Register; it was the town's history museum until 2014.
- landmark
Civic Center, NUMU and the library
Town Hall is at 110 E. Main St.; New Museum Los Gatos (opened 2015) is next door at 106 E. Main, and the Town-run library is at 100 Villa Ave.
- park
Los Gatos Creek Trail
Runs past Forbes Mill and follows the creek north through Vasona Lake County Park and Campbell to Meridian Avenue in San Jose, and south toward Lexington Dam.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Downtown is served by the Los Gatos Union School District (TK-8) and the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District. Los Gatos High School is inside our downtown outline, at 20 High School Court off East Main Street, just east of Highway 17. Attendance boundaries change, so check the exact address with each district's school locator before relying on any school.
Los Gatos Union guide · Los Gatos-Saratoga high schools · Silicon Valley school districts
Getting around
- Walk: from Town Plaza it is about a quarter mile to the Civic Center and about 0.4 miles to Los Gatos High School (approximate straight-line measurements).
- VTA Route 27 stops on Main Street, North Santa Cruz Avenue and University Avenue and runs to Winchester light rail station in Campbell (about 4.4 miles from Town Plaza in a straight line) and Santa Teresa station in south San Jose.
- Highway 17 meets Highway 9 at the north edge of downtown; northbound drivers can also take the left exit to the south end of South Santa Cruz Avenue.
- Highway 9 (Los Gatos-Saratoga Road) heads west to Saratoga from the north end of North Santa Cruz Avenue.
- Caltrain: San Jose Diridon is about 8.7 miles from Town Plaza in a straight line.
- Los Gatos Creek Trail: pick it up by Forbes Mill and ride north to Vasona Lake County Park, about 1.5 miles from Town Plaza in a straight line, and on to Campbell.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Downtown Los Gatos: what we check
Buying here
- Work out which rulebook applies before you plan anything: buildings in the commercial historic district follow the 1991 commercial historic district standards, homes in University-Edelen, Almond Grove, Broadway and Fairview Plaza follow the residential historic design guidelines, and any house built before 1941 is presumed to be a potential historic resource until the Town says otherwise.
- For a condominium or a unit in a mixed-use building, read the HOA documents closely (budget, reserves, insurance, minutes) and ask about seismic work. When the commercial district was nominated to the National Register in 1991, nine of its buildings were unreinforced masonry; find out what has been retrofitted since.
- Confirm parking in writing: deeded or assigned spaces, guest parking and any permit rules for the street or building.
- Check noise and activity at different hours, especially next to Highway 17, the Highway 9 interchange and Town Plaza on market day.
- If the parcel is near Los Gatos Creek, check the FEMA flood map and ask the Town and Valley Water whether creek setbacks or permits apply to the work you have in mind.
Selling here
- For a historic or pre-1941 house, have the Historic Resources Inventory status, permits and any Historic Preservation Committee approvals ready before you list.
- For a condominium, order the HOA document package early; buyers, lenders and inspectors will want the budget, reserve study and any seismic or special-assessment history.
- Give exact walking distances to Town Plaza, the Civic Center, the library and the creek trail instead of a vague 'close to downtown'; here the walk is much of what a buyer is paying for.
- If you own a building in the commercial district, check before any facade refresh: unpainted brick and stone may not be painted, sandblasting is not allowed, and historic windows and doors should be kept or replicated in kind.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Downtown Los Gatos questions, answered
Is downtown Los Gatos a historic district?
The core is. The Town designated the Downtown Commercial Historic District in 1991, and that September the same 25 buildings on West Main Street, North Santa Cruz Avenue and University Avenue (19 contributing) were listed on the National Register. Four residential historic districts surround it.
What kinds of homes are in downtown Los Gatos?
The commercial district has exactly one house, a 1920s river-rock bungalow. Around it: older single-family houses in University-Edelen and the blocks between Almond Grove and Broadway, residential streets east of Highway 17 near the Civic Center, and condominiums and apartments near the core.
Is light rail or Caltrain reachable from downtown?
Not directly. VTA Route 27 runs from downtown to Winchester light rail station in Campbell, about 4.4 miles away in a straight line. San Jose Diridon, the nearest Caltrain station, is about 8.7 miles away.
Which schools serve downtown?
Los Gatos Union School District for TK-8 and Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District for 9-12. Los Gatos High School is on High School Court, inside our downtown outline. Confirm the exact address with each district.
When is the farmers market?
Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Town Plaza Park, Main Street and Santa Cruz Avenue.
next door
More Los Gatos neighborhood guides
From the blog: Living Near Downtown Los Gatos · Downtown Los Gatos vs. the Los Gatos Foothills
talk to a property nerd
Thinking about Downtown Los Gatos? Let's run your numbers.
Eric, Janelle and the Boyenga Team have sold more than 2,520 Silicon Valley homes, $2.6+ billion in all, since 1996. Get a value, a plan, or a straight answer about a street.
live market · los gatos
Los Gatos right now
City-wide numbers read from the MLS each time this page loads. A neighborhood can trade differently from its city, so ask us for the sales on your street.
- homes for sale…houses, condos, townhomes
- new this week…by days on market
- median list price…of homes for sale
- median days on market…of homes for sale
- 12 months of sales…median sale price
Full Los Gatos dashboard in Market Pulse →Offer Lab for Los GatosLos Gatos neighborhoods rankedWhat’s my home worth?Get early access
Listing data comes from the MLS through our IDX feeds and is shown as reported; it isn’t guaranteed. Repeat listings from overlapping feeds are removed, and land and mobile homes are left out.
Questions about Downtown Los Gatos? Send us a note.
