Lunar New Year 2020

Happy New Year! OK, Happy Lunar New Year! In the Chinese calendar, the longest chronological record in history dating back to 2700 B.C., this year marks the lunar year 4718 -- Year of the Rat. The first day of the lunar year is January 25, 2020. For the Tet Vietnamese New Year it will be the same, Year of the Rat! 

Famous people born in the Year of the Rat include William Shakespeare, George Washington, Richard Nixon, George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Charles I of England, Peter the Great, John McCain, James Cook, Galileo Galilei, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. 

Here are selected local events celebrating the Lunar New Year in San Francisco. Please check the events for updates.

San Francisco/San Francisco's Chinatown:

Saturday, January 18, 10:00am-8:00pm, Sunday, January 19, 9:00am-6:00pm - 31st Annual Flower Market Fair, Grant Avenue from Clay to Broadway. Pacific, Jackson, and Washington between Stockton and Kearny. The Chinese New Year Flower Market Fair is held on the weekend before Chinese New Year Day. The Flower Fair is the place to come to purchase fresh flowers, fruits, candies and brand new supplies for the home to begin the new lunar year. Non-smoking event. 

Chinese New Year Day, January 25, 2020, Year of the Rat

Saturday, February 1, 10:00am-4:00pm - 25th Annual Basketball Jamboree, Betty Ann Ong Recreational Center, 1199 Mason Street, San Francisco. More information: email hoopsterlee@gmail.com

Saturday, February 1, 7:30pm - Miss Chinatown USA Pageant, Palace of Fine Arts, 3301 Lyon Street @ Bay, San Francisco (www.chineseparade.com). Admission fee. For more information contact the Chinese Chamber of Commerce at 415-982-3000.

Friday, February 7, 6:00pm - Miss Chinatown Coronation Ball. The newly selected Miss Chinatown USA and her court will be crowned at the annual Thunder Valley Casino Resort Miss Chinatown USA Coronation Ball. The black-tie dinner/dance, attended by many community leaders, promises to be a highlight of the Lunar New Year festivities. Coronation Ball Tickets are sold through the SF Chinese Chamber of Commerce by dialing at 415- 982-3000.

Saturday, February 8, 5:15-8:00pm, Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade http://www.chineseparade.com  Free

History: San Francisco's Chinese New Year Parade began in 1860 and was named by the IFEA to be one of the top ten parades in the world! It is also one of the few remaining night illuminated parades in the country. The parade and festival have grown to be the largest celebration of Asian culture outside of Asia! Since 1958 the parade has been organized and directed by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

More Information: Chinese New Year Festival and Parade, Market and Second Streets to Kearny and Jackson. Check out "Gum Lung", the 288-foot-long Golden Dragon! (www.chineseparade.com/)  Can't be there?  Watch or DVR it on KTVU Fox Channel 2 or KTSF Channel 26 (Chinese broadcast) on Saturday, February 8 from 6:00-8:00pm.

Saturday, February 8, 10:00am-4:30pm - Sunday, February 9, 9:00am-5:00pm, 29th Chinatown Community Street Fair, Grant Avenue from California to Broadway, Sacramento, Washington, Jackson & Pacific between Stockton & Kearny. www.chineseparade.com 

You will find over 120 booths and concessions making this a shopper’s paradise. The SF Chinese Chamber of Commerce has planned activities and entertainment for all ages. Enjoy Chinese folk dancing, opera, drumming and much more at the entertainment stage on Washington St. below Grant Ave. Make sure to get a family photo with the giant puppets, dragon and other memorable artifacts from the Parade!

Sunday, March 1, 8:00am start, registration begins at 7:00am, 39th Annual Chinese Chamber of Commerce; Chinatown YMCA 10K/5K Run/Walk, Chinatown/Sacramento and Grant www.sfchinatownrun.org or 415-576-9622

This event comprises a 10K or 5K run or walk and raises funds for the YMCA's youth and teen programs. The event expects 1,700 participants and 250 volunteers.

More Than A Hundred Years of the Chinese (Lunar) Calendar (1912 to 2043)

The Chinese Calendar names each year after an animal and legend has it that a person born under a certain animal will display traits of that animal. I was born in the Year of the Tiger. What sign are you in the Chinese 12-year calendar cycle? Look up in the table below what year you were born and the corresponding animal.

Rat: 1912 1924 1936 1948 1960 1972 1984 1996 2008 2020 2032

Ox: 1913 1925 1937 1949 1961 1973 1985 1997 2009 2021 2033

Tiger: 1914 1926 1938 1950 1962 1974 1986 1998 2010 2022 2034

Rabbit: 1915 1927 1939 1951 1963 1975 1987 1999 2011 2023 2035

Dragon: 1916 1928 1940 1952 1964 1976 1988 2000 2012 2024 2036

Snake: 1917 1929 1941 1953 1965 1977 1989 2001 2013 2025 2037

Horse: 1918 1930 1942 1954 1966 1978 1990 2002 2014 2026 2038

Ram: 1919 1931 1943 1955 1967 1979 1991 2003 2015 2027 2039

Monkey: 1920 1932 1944 1956 1968 1980 1992 2004 2016 2028 2040

Rooster: 1921 1933 1945 1957 1969 1981 1993 2005 2017 2029 2041

Dog: 1922 1934 1946 1958 1970 1982 1994 2006 2018 2030 2042

Boar: 1923 1935 1947 1959 1971 1983 1995 2007 2019 2031 2043

Gung Hey Fat Choy! Chuc Mung Nam Moi! Happy Year of the Rat!

January Silicon Valley Real Estate Market Update

Quick Market Summary:  From year over year decreases to year over year increases! That's what we find analyzing December transactions for both counties. Santa Clara County's December 2019 median price was $1,248,000, 7.5% increase since December 2018 when it was $1,161,000. Same in San Mateo County which saw an increase of 3.4% to $1,499,000 from $1,450,000. 

Inventory (supply) plummeted in each county. Demand crossed oversupply last month and continues to be the case. This pattern puts upward pressure on prices and generally signals higher prices depending upon how long it lasts. Still, sellers need to be more aggressive as to list prices as the market is lower than the market peak which occurred back in Spring 2018. Buyers are still looking at low mortgage rates but with a decrease in inventory, there will be more competition when it comes time to submit an offer so buyers need to have all their ducks in a row! 

Condo and townhouse median price in Santa Clara County settled at $766,000 in December compared to $775,000 last year or a decrease of 1.2%.

December Nuts and Bolts: Inventory or the number of homes available for purchase in Santa Clara County was 393 (second lowest in the last 20 years!) down sharply from last year of 639 or 38.5%. Closes were 703 and were 13.4% higher from the same month last year when it was 620. This blows the theory oft spread by some agents and in the media who state that sales/closings are constrained by low inventory levels. They lose sight of another major variable in their research that of turnover. 

For San Mateo County, inventory of single-family residences stood at 190 versus 276 a decrease of 31.1% from December 2018. Closes were 279 compared to 241 for the same month last year, an increase of 15.8%.

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 100.5% compared to last year's ratio of 100.2%. 43.7% of homes in Santa Clara County that closed escrow in December sold for more than list price compared to 41.9% last year and 75.3% in December 2017. For San Mateo County, the ratio was 102.3% versus 103.4% last year. The percent sold for more than list price was 51% versus 57% last year.

The following graphs of the Number of Active Listings (Inventory) of single-family residences for Santa Clara County and San Mateo County, respectively. Data are from MLSListings.com transactional information and covers the date range from January 2003 through December 2019. Please notice that for the past 6 years or so the trend has been generally lower.

The hottest market in Santa Clara County again was the Cupertino/Sunnyvale market area with a median price of about $2.002 million) at 103.6% which means that the average closed sale has a sale price 3.6% higher than the list price! It also registered median days on market of 18 which means half the inventory sold in 18 days! The coolest is the South County market area (Morgan Hill, San Martin, and Gilroy) with a median price of about $0.873 million) with 98.1% and median days on the market of 48.

Days of unsold inventory is another key indicator which is the intersection of supply of available homes compared to demand that is flat or slightly up and stands at 33.6 for Santa Clara County and 41 for San Mateo County. The current levels place both counties in a seller's market condition since their levels are below 40. I've seen some so-called experts or recent news articles state that we are in a "buyer's" market, this is clearly NOT the case. Again, sellers need to be careful about their list price and should err more on a lower level lest they get stuck on the market.

The hottest market in San Mateo County last month remains the North Cities (Brisbane, Colma, Daly City, Pacifica, San Bruno, South San Francisco) market area (median price of about $1.091 million) at 106.9% with median days on market of 24. The coolest is the Expensive (Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley, Hillsborough, Woodside) market area (median price of about $3.068 million) at 97.5% with median days on the market of 33. 

As always, markets are dynamic and the supply and demand in a particular area or even neighborhood can vary and it does so sometimes quickly. 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 770 have done so) or follow me on my Twitter Page. Thank you for your interest.