September Silicon Valley Real Estate Market Update

Quick Market Summary:  Year over year decreases continue in Santa Clara County as the median price decreased 8.5% from last year to $1,188,000 but shows a 3.3% increase since August 2017. Not so in San Mateo County which had an increase on 5.1%!  Overall, demand is below supply which puts downward pressure on prices and makes for listings staying on the market longer. Sellers need to be more aggressive as to list prices. Buyers have a few important considerations to think about -- declining mortgage rates, more choices and decreasing prices in Santa Clara County helping buyers purchase a home below record prices and a smaller monthly payment.

For August results, we see that Santa Clara County median prices for single family residences are 8.5% lower than the same month a year ago. San Mateo County median prices increased 5.1% from the same month a year ago. Median prices for Santa Clara County stood at $1,188,000 versus $1,298,000. In the context of looking at the past two years we've seen the median go from $1,150,000 in August 2017 to $1,188,000 or a two-year gain of 3.3%. San Mateo County shows a two-year gain of 8.9%.   

Condo and townhouse median price in Santa Clara County reached $840,000 in August compared to $924,000 last year or a decrease of 9.1%.

August Nuts and Bolts: Inventory or the amount of homes available for purchase in Santa Clara County was 1,347 up sharply from 1,197 or 12.5%. Closes were 925 down 0.8% from the same month last year when is was 932. This has actually been about flat for three years.

For San Mateo County, inventory of single family residences stood at 420 versus 498 a decrease of 15.7% from August 2018. Closes were 335 compared to 354 for the same month last year, a decrease of 5.4%.

Sale price to list price ratio, a key market condition indicator, shows that for Santa Clara County transactions completed during the month, this stood at 100.4% compared to last year's ratio of 104.1%. 45.2% of homes in Santa Clara County that closed escrow in August sold for more than list price compared to 67.4% last year and 74.4% in August 2017. It was 56% in San Mateo County versus 77% last year.

The hottest market in Santa Clara County continues to be the Cupertino/Sunnyvale market area with a median price of about $1.860 million) at 101.3% which means that the average closed sale has a sale price 1.3% higher than the list price! It also registered a median days on market of 13 which means half the inventory sells in 13 days. The coolest is the South County market area (Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy) with a median price of about $0.908 million) with 98.9%.

Days of unsold inventory and another key indicator which is the intersection of supply of available homes compared to the demand, moved up and stands at 52 for Santa Clara County and 43 for San Mateo County. The current levels place both counties in a balanced market condition since their levels are above 40. Contrary to a recent San Jose Mercury News article which stated we are in a "buyer's" market, each county is not.

The hottest market in San Mateo County last month is the North Cities (Brisbane, Colma, Daly City, Pacifica, San Bruno, South San Francisco) market area (median price of about $1.139 million) at 110.6% with a median days on market of 13. The coolest is the Coast (Half Moon Bay, El Granada, Moss Beach, Montara) market area (median price of about $1.250 million) at 98.7% with median days on the market of 65. 

As always, markets are always changing and the supply and demand in a particular area or even neighborhood can vary. If you would like specific market condition information for your area or neighborhood or a current home valuation, please feel free to call me, your RE/MAX Gold Agent! You are welcome to leave your comments or questions or contact me directly at my website. Check out and “like” my Facebook Business Page (over 775 have done so) or follow me on my Twitter Page.Thank you.