The Surmont subdivision is a highly desirable, scenic, low turnover area situated close to the coastal foothills with large trees, gently winding roads, and tidy homes in Los Gatos, California, 95032.
What are homes and lots like in Surmont?
There are 72 houses in Surmont. I pulled the data shared below from Realist, a program offered to members of the MLS which provides information from the Santa Clara County tax records as well as MLS data.
Typical:
- 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms
- 2496 SF
- 1 story
- 2 car garage
- built in 1965
- 10,000 SF lot
- ranch style (or modified ranch)
- slight hillside grade
Most houses are single story, but a few are split level or two story houses. (Average is 1.33 floors.)
These are good sized single family homes with the average house providing about 2500 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2.5 or 3 bathrooms. The smallest houses are a little more than 1650 SF and the three largest boast more than 4,000 SF.
This is generally an older area, with most houses first built in the early 1960s. The earliest properties were constructed in 1952 and 1955. Four houses were built after 1970, with the newest constructed in 1980. The average year built is 1965.
Most parcels enjoy between 9,000 SF and 11,000 SF of space, but a few are larger: 4 are about a half acre and 1 is 1.5 acres.
This region is gently hilly overall. A few homes on Surmont Drive, Surmont Court, and Westhill Drive have more of a slope than other parts of the neighborhood. Some of those properties have amazing views, too – though most houses in this community do not. Most of the two story houses are hillside homes.
Low turnover
This lovely pocket is a place where people buy, put down roots, and don’t leave all that often. Three of the 72 owners have been there so long that Realist could not tell me when they bought. Something we see a fair amount of in Surmont, Belgatos, and Belwood is properties staying in the family when the original owners need more care or die.
- 6 houses last sold in the 1970s (earliest is 1971)
- 4 have been held since the 1980s
- 16 haven’t turned over since the 1990s
- 0 sold in 2023 so far
- 1 sold in 2022
- 3 sold in 2021
- 4 sold in 2020
- 1 – 2 per year is fairly typical, but some years it’s zero
- the average year for “last sold” was 2003
What makes this area so special?
So many things make this neighborhood highly desirable!
The nearby hills are not just gorgeous to look at, but they also invite exploration through the trails at Belgatos Park and the Heintz Open Space Preserve as well as the expanded network of open space trails connecting with them.
People aren’t the only ones enjoying the open space and trails. Horses are boarded in two places nearby: Harwood Farms (at Harwood and Alerche) and Los Gatos Horse Boarding on Surmont Drive, just beyond the subdivision’s boundaries. It’s fun to be out walking and stumble upon horses and riders coming down Westhill!
Another perk is the optional Belwood Cabana membership for 100 Belwood Gateway. Surmont, Belgatos, and Tract 5129 and lots A – D (see map below) are eligible “Class D” members. For a fee of $750 (as of this writing in 2023), residents in those 3 areas may join the Belwood Cabana and enjoy the pool, rent the clubhouse for parties, etc. Residents of Belwood of Los Gatos have mandatory membership, but the fees are a little less than in these optional areas.
Members can make use of swim lessons and there are many community events that take place there, such as the summer bingo and movie nights and Halloween parties that we’ve written about on this site.
Something unusual is the high percentage of owner occupied homes. Per Realist, only 4 of the 72 homes are non-owner occupied. That’s just 5%! This seems to underscore that when people move here, they really don’t want to leave!
Where is the Surmont neighborhood?
This subdivision is located off of Blossom Hill Road between the Heritage Grove and Belgatos areas in east Los Gatos. The streets include part of Westhill Drive, Old Orchard Drive, Old Orchard Court, Campos Verde Drive, part of Surmont Drive, Surmont Court, and part of Blossom Hill Road.
What do homes cost here?
Home prices vary a little by subdivision. Surmont tends to sell for more than Belgatos or Belwood of Los Gatos, perhaps in part due to the larger homes and lots. As of this writing, there have been no recent sales in Surmont. You can check what has sold nearby here on the Live in Los Gatos blog post for Belwood, Belgatos, Surmont home prices.
Are there any special concerns with the Surmont area?
Any hilly area in Los Gatos or nearby needs to pay extra attention to grading and diverting water away from the homes. Many, perhaps most, homes in this area have sump pumps to help keep moisture out of the crawl space. Cupped floors and foundation problems can ensue when water is not kept away from the foundation.
It can be challenging, at times, to emerge from Surmont or Belgatos and try to turn left onto Blossom Hill Road. As is well known, there were tragic deaths on Blossom Hill Road earlier this year.
This area is not in a very high fire hazard severity zone (that’s good!) but with so much open space and hilliness nearby, it’s important to take the fire risk seriously. I would encourage everyone to take measures toward fire hardening the home (and yard) in case fire comes into the neighborhood as it has some other suburban areas in California in recent years. We’ve been chipping away at this with our home and yard, too, as the Santa Rosa fire in 2017 was a wakeup call to all of us that suburban areas can be devastated by fire, too.
Related reading:
Los Gatos Terrain Map (on our Live in Los Gatos blog)
What to consider when buying a hillside home in Silicon Valley (on our Valley of Heart’s Delight blog, SanJoseRealEstateLosGatosHomes.com)
