Living in Gilroy

Wine country, rolling hills, and brand-new single-family homes 35 minutes south of San Jose. My parents moved to Gilroy in 2015. My brother followed. I bought here in 2020. Three Rulfs households inside the same zip code — Gilroy is home now.

See Homes in Gilroy Call Michael — (408) 504-0385

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Why I know Gilroy

I still remember the first time I drove up over Mantelli into Country Estates and realized this was Gilroy too.

Most South Bay locals know Gilroy from the same two things: the outlets and a slow drive past Eagle Ridge. That was my whole picture of it growing up. Then in 2015, my parents bought a home on the west side, and on one of my first visits up I drove over Mantelli into Country Estates. The view stopped me. Rolling hills, vineyards in the distance, beautiful homes tucked into the canopy — this was a side of Gilroy I'd never seen, even though my dad had been running his pool service route down through here for decades.

A few years later, my brother bought a brand-new home next to Christopher High School. And in 2020 — right at the start of COVID — I became a first-time buyer myself in Gilroy. The timing was lucky. Affordability that doesn't exist anywhere else in Silicon Valley, plus an equity ride through one of the fastest-appreciating five-year windows the South Bay has ever seen. I stayed for the affordability and the family proximity. I'm still here for both.

That's three Rulfs households now in Gilroy — parents, brother, and me — all within a few minutes of each other. When I talk about Gilroy, I'm talking about where I actually live.

Here's what to know if you're thinking about moving here.

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Why People Move to Gilroy

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Gilroy Market Snapshot

Single-family homes · 95020 · April 2026 · Source: REIN MLS

Gilroy runs on a different rhythm than the rest of the South Bay. Median prices have eased about 2% in the last year while Willow Glen and Almaden kept climbing — and homes here sell within 0.2% of list price on average, not 5–10% over. That makes Gilroy one of the only South Bay markets where a buyer actually has room to negotiate. At the same time, inventory has tightened sharply: months of supply dropped from 3.3 to 1.5 year-over-year, and active listings fell from 82 to 71. Translation: buyers still have leverage, but the window is closing. For sellers, this is your moment to list while inventory is thin and demand is steady. For buyers, you have time to write a measured offer — and you should, before the supply side flips.

Get a Custom Gilroy Valuation

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Gilroy Schools

Gilroy has its own school district — Gilroy Unified — separate from San Jose Unified. The district's quality varies by school, so location within Gilroy matters. Christopher High School (where my brother bought a home next to) is the standout and a major reason new families choose west-side Gilroy. Confirm specific attendance zones with Gilroy Unified before writing an offer.

School	Grades	GreatSchools Rating
Christopher High	9–12	7 / 10
Solorsano Middle	6–8	5 / 10
Gilroy High	9–12	4 / 10

Private and alternative options: Mount Madonna School (K–12, in the hills above Gilroy — independent, progressive curriculum), Saint Mary Parish School (Catholic K–8), and a handful of charter schools through Gilroy Unified. If schools are the primary driver of your move, this is a conversation worth having early — Gilroy is improving but doesn't yet match Almaden's or Cupertino's school strength. The trade-off you're making is hundreds of thousands of dollars in price for a different school landscape.

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Where We Eat in Gilroy

Downtown Gilroy along Monterey Road has steadily grown into a real restaurant strip — these are the spots I actually go to.

• Old City Hall Restaurant — Downtown's anchor. Housed in the original 1905 city hall building. American comfort food, great patio, full bar. The kind of place I take family for dinner and clients for a working lunch.
• Westside Grill — West-side staple. Solid breakfast and lunch menu, weekend brunch is the move. Casual, family-friendly, the regulars all know each other.
• Pop's Pub — Best beer selection in town, surprisingly good food. Where I end up on Friday nights more often than I should.
• Cafe Dolce Vita — Downtown's newer addition, opened by Aldo Aiello (the same Aldo behind Aldo's Ristorante in Los Gatos). Authentic Italian — get the gnocchi or the short rib ravioli. Fine dining in downtown Gilroy is a new category and Aldo nailed it.

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Wine Country in Your Backyard

The best-kept secret of moving to Gilroy: you live ten minutes from a dozen wineries. The Hecker Pass corridor (Highway 152) runs west out of town through hillside vineyards, and Santa Clara Valley wine country stretches up Monterey Road toward Morgan Hill. Most are open weekends; many run events March through November.

• Clos LaChance / CordeValle (San Martin, just north of Gilroy) — Hosts the KRTY Song & Wine Series — Nashville songwriters telling the stories behind their hits. Past artists include Lady A, Dan + Shay, Justin Moore. June and July dates each year. This is the wine-country event of the year for South Bay country fans.
• Fortino Winery — Family-owned since 1970, Italian-style reds, picnic grounds, often live music on weekends.
• Solis Winery — Smaller production, great Sangiovese and Cab, frequent tastings.
• Sycamore Creek Vineyards (Morgan Hill, ten minutes north) — Beautiful patio, food trucks on weekends.
• Kirigin Cellars — Historic property dating to the late 1800s. Bocce, picnics, dog-friendly.
• Sarah's Vineyard — Smaller, intimate tasting room, well-regarded Pinot Noir program.

The right move on a Saturday is to pick two wineries, build a picnic at one, work back into town for dinner at Old City Hall or Cafe Dolce Vita. That's a Gilroy weekend.

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Golf in Gilroy

• Eagle Ridge Golf Club — The premier course in town. Not what it used to be a decade ago, but still a solid track and the most scenic round you'll get within Gilroy city limits.
• Gilroy Golf Course — A 9-hole muni right off Hecker Pass. Not a championship round, but a perfect short-on-time round with a buddy. The kind of course where you don't have to commit a whole afternoon.
• CordeValle (San Martin, 10 minutes north) — Private, world-class, hosts professional tournaments. Bucket-list course if you can get a tee time through a member.
• Cinnabar Hills (in the hills between Almaden and Gilroy) — 27 holes, public, and the course where I was the starter through high school and college. Worth the drive up the hill.

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Things to Do in Gilroy

Annual events

• Gilroy Garlic Festival (late July) — Took a hiatus a few years back but is officially back, now hosted at Gilroy Gardens. The festival is the reason most outsiders know Gilroy — locals look forward to it every year.
• Holiday Lights at Gilroy Gardens (late November through early January) — One of the best holiday-light displays in the Bay Area. Family tradition for almost every household around here.
• KRTY Song & Wine Series (June & July, Clos LaChance) — Country songwriters in the round, under the stars at a winery. Hard to beat.
• Downtown Gilroy events — First Friday art walks, summer street fairs, holiday tree lighting on Monterey Road.

Year-round

• Gilroy Gardens — Theme park with circus trees and rides built for younger kids. Pretty unique attraction.
• Gilroy Premium Outlets — One of the largest outlet centers in the region; people drive in from across Northern California for it.
• Mount Madonna County Park — Hiking, picnicking, sometimes snow at the top in winter. Twenty minutes up Hecker Pass.
• Coyote Lake-Harvey Bear Ranch — Hidden gem on the east side. Boating, hiking, picnicking.

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Getting Around Gilroy

Gilroy sits at the southern end of Santa Clara County, off Highway 101 as it runs south toward Monterey. Most commutes head north on 101 to San Jose and Silicon Valley. The trade-off Gilroy buyers make is real: you're trading commute time for affordability, larger homes, and a lifestyle you can't get further north. With remote and hybrid work, that trade-off is more workable than ever — but you should be honest with yourself about how often you actually need to be in the office.

Inside Gilroy, you'll drive everywhere — it's a car town, not a walking one. Downtown along Monterey Road is the one walkable stretch.

Commute estimates from Gilroy

Downtown San Jose	35–45 min
Apple Park (Cupertino)	45–60 min
Nvidia HQ (Santa Clara)	40–55 min
Google (Mountain View)	50–70 min
Monterey / Carmel	55 min
San Jose International Airport	35–45 min

Sub-neighborhoods worth knowing: The west side (hillside views, Country Estates, Eagle Ridge, Glen Loma) is where my family is — newer construction, premium feel, where most buyers gravitate. The east side is more established and lower-density. Downtown historic homes are getting renovated and prices there are climbing fastest in percentage terms. Christopher High zone is its own micro-market because of school assignment.

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Drives Through Gilroy

Four videos from my YouTube channel — a downtown tour, a drive through Eagle Ridge, a drive through the new Glen Loma development, and a home tour. Watch in order to get the full picture.

Subscribe to @RulfsRealEstate on YouTube for ongoing Gilroy home tours, market updates, and neighborhood drives.

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Homes for Sale in Gilroy

Live MLS inventory, updated multiple times a day. Save the homes you like, set up instant alerts when a new one hits the market, and book a showing in one tap.

Want to see every active Gilroy home in the MLS — not just our office's listings? Open the full search:

Search All Gilroy Homes

Looking specifically at new construction? Text me — I'll send the current Glen Loma and Day Road builder phases as they release.

Text Michael — (408) 504-0385

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