November Silicon Valley Real Estate Market Update

Here are my observations of the most recent October transactions for Santa Clara County real estate and San Mateo County real estate. Your comments and questions are always welcome. If you see something in your neighborhood that you are curious about or have a question, please don't hesitate to share with us. If you have questions or a comment, please leave them here, or feel free to contact me through my website or send me an email.

General Market Observations and Comments -- The amount of homes (single family and condos and townhouses) available for sale continue to drift lower as it does this time year but this continues to advantage sellers. Levels reached are among the lowest in the last 12 years! Most areas in both counties have the characteristics of a seller's market with more than half of the closings during September had a sales price greater than a list price (57% in Santa Clara County and 56% in San Mateo County). That said, a well-priced listing has a tendency to attract more activity and multiple offers.

Which Half Are You? --  In October, it took just 14 days to sell half of the homes in Santa Clara County and San Mateo County! If you know of a home that has been on the market longer than the median days on market then there must be something wrong not only with the marketing strategy employed but with its condition, location, and oh yes, maybe even the price.  Keep in mind that these are countywide averages.  A neighborhood may vary from these figures so it's best to contact your Realtor for a current reading.

In Santa Clara County, the fastest market area is Cupertino and Sunnyvale (zip codes 95014, 94086, 94087) with a median days on market of just 9 whereas the slowest is Los Gatos and Saratoga with a median days on market of 30 for those that closed escrow during the month. For San Mateo County, the fastest market area comprises the Bay Cities of Belmont, Burlingame, Millbrae, San Carlos and San Mateo with 12 and the slowest is the expensive areas of Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley, Hillsborough and Woodside with 19.

Median Prices Increase -- Median prices of single family, condo and townhouse homes continue to march upward. For October, Santa Clara County's median price for single family residences, half above and half below or the middle transaction, increased to $695,000 and the median sales price for San Mateo County was $845,000.

Inventory of Available Homes for Sale Continue at Low Levels -- There were just 1,072 single family residences for sale and 233 condos/townhouses in Santa Clara County and just 565 single family residences in San Mateo County. Not record lows but each are about 55% lower than the same month a year ago.

Milpitas Great Mall by Debbie Giordano

What's HOT and What's NOT -- In Santa Clara County, the hottest market area comprises Santa Teresa, North Valley, Milpitas, Blossom Valley with a Days of Unsold Inventory (DUI) of 20. In San Mateo County, the hottest area is Foster City/Redwood Shores with a DUI of 25. What's not is Los Gatos/Saratoga in Santa Clara County with a DUI of 87 and the expensive areas of Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley, Hillsborough and Woodside in San Mateo County with a DUI of 114.

Thanks for reading! I'm Tom McEvoy, Realtor with RE/MAX Santa Clara Valley -- Let me know if you have any comments, questions, observations or any future topics you'd like me to address.