July Silicon Valley Real Estate Market Comments

Here are my observations of the most recent June 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 at low levels continuing the pattern started at the beginning of the year. Normally, inventory levels start their climb in early spring and peak by mid-year but not this time. Most areas in both counties have the characteristics of a seller's market with more than half of the closings during June had a sales price greater than a list price. A well-priced listing has a tendency to attract multiple offers.

Want to Be First Time Buyers? Part 3 --  Rents are continuing to jump as there is more demand than supply of rental units. This week, mortgage rates again reached record lows so it may be more advantageous to own than to rent provided you plan on living in the home for a while.

Median Prices Increase -- Median prices of single family, condo and townhouse homes continue to march upward. For June, Santa Clara County's median price for single family residences, half above and half below or the middle transaction, increased to $686,000, as more and more lower priced homes have been scooped up whereas the median sales price for San Mateo County was $840,000.

Median Days on Market Drops -- Some real estate practitioners are mentioning that it takes on average about six weeks (40 days) to sell a home and they consider that good. However, most sellers wouldn't consider that good when you tell them it will take an average of that long to sell! In actuality, it now takes but 13 days to sell half of the homes. That is the median days on market. The difference is that those homes that have issues, are grossly overpriced or just plain super expensive sit on the market for a long time thus bringing the average up and does not impact the median which is the middle transaction. When I provide advice to sellers I use the median and calculate it down to their neighborhood or as small an area as possible.

Inventory of Available Homes for Sale Continue at Low Levels -- There were just 1,296 single family residences for sale in Santa Clara County and just 606 in San Mateo County. Not record lows but each are about 56% lower than in June 2011.

What's HOT and What's NOT -- In Santa Clara County, the hottest market area is Santa Teresa, North Valley, Blossom Valley portions of San Jose and Milpitas with a Days of Unsold Inventory (DUI) of 24. In San Mateo County, the hottest area is Foster City with a DUI of 18. What's not is Los Gatos/Saratoga in Santa Clara County with a DUI of 66 and the expensive areas of Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley, Hillsborough and Woodside in San Mateo County with a DUI of 76.

OK, I'm bragging so I'm repeating that Sunnyvale is #7 in the U.S. -- According to the Kiplinger Personal Finance survey, Sunnyvale was named as the 7th greatest city in the United States to raise kids. As a long-time resident of Sunnyvale and where my wife and I have raised our two sons, I'd have to agree! For a glimpse at Kiplinger's write-up of Sunnyvale, here's a link.

Thanks for reading my blog. 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.

July Silicon Valley Real Estate Market Comments

Here are my observations of the most recent June 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 at low levels continuing the pattern started at the beginning of the year. Normally, inventory levels start their climb in early spring and peak by mid-year but not this time. Most areas in both counties have the characteristics of a seller's market with more than half of the closings during June had a sales price greater than a list price. A well-priced listing has a tendency to attract multiple offers.

Want to Be First Time Buyers? Part 3 --  Rents are continuing to jump as there is more demand than supply of rental units. This week, mortgage rates again reached record lows so it may be more advantageous to own than to rent provided you plan on living in the home for a while.

Median Prices Increase -- Median prices of single family, condo and townhouse homes continue to march upward. For June, Santa Clara County's median price for single family residences, half above and half below or the middle transaction, increased to $686,000, as more and more lower priced homes have been scooped up whereas the median sales price for San Mateo County was $840,000.

Median Days on Market Drops -- Some real estate practitioners are mentioning that it takes on average about six weeks (40 days) to sell a home and they consider that good. However, most sellers wouldn't consider that good when you tell them it will take an average of that long to sell! In actuality, it now takes but 13 days to sell half of the homes. That is the median days on market. The difference is that those homes that have issues, are grossly overpriced or just plain super expensive sit on the market for a long time thus bringing the average up and does not impact the median which is the middle transaction. When I provide advice to sellers I use the median and calculate it down to their neighborhood or as small an area as possible.

Inventory of Available Homes for Sale Continue at Low Levels -- There were just 1,296 single family residences for sale in Santa Clara County and just 606 in San Mateo County. Not record lows but each are about 56% lower than in June 2011.

What's HOT and What's NOT -- In Santa Clara County, the hottest market area is Santa Teresa, North Valley, Blossom Valley portions of San Jose and Milpitas with a Days of Unsold Inventory (DUI) of 24. In San Mateo County, the hottest area is Foster City with a DUI of 18. What's not is Los Gatos/Saratoga in Santa Clara County with a DUI of 66 and the expensive areas of Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley, Hillsborough and Woodside in San Mateo County with a DUI of 76.
 
OK, I'm bragging so I'm repeating that Sunnyvale is #7 in the U.S. -- According to the Kiplinger Personal Finance survey, Sunnyvale was named as the 7th greatest city in the United States to raise kids. As a long-time resident of Sunnyvale and where my wife and I have raised our two sons, I'd have to agree! For a glimpse at Kiplinger's write-up of Sunnyvale, here's a link.


Thanks for reading my blog. 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.

June Silicon Valley Real Estate Market Comments

Here are my observations of the most recent May 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.

General Market Observations and Comments -- The amount of homes (single family and condos and townhouses) available for sale continue at lower levels continuing the pattern of most of the year thus far. Normally, inventory levels start their climb in early spring and peak by mid-year but not this time. Since there have been a good amount of buyer demand, this condition has set up many areas as seller's markets -- many buyers chasing relatively few properties with its tendency toward multiple offer situations. This condition is occurring in both counties but certainly not in every area. The market continues to be more brisk in Santa Clara County than San Mateo County at present.

Want to Be First Time Buyers? Part 2 --  If rents going up are getting you down, and you expect to live in the area for a reasonable period, it may be advantageous to own than to rent! Mortgage rates continue at virtual cartoon-like levels with about 85% of borrowers choosing a fixed rate loan product.

Median Prices Increase -- Beware of the month to month numbers you read in the press or see on the internet -- they don't mean much! Year over year is much more meaningful as it eliminates the seasonality of the market. For May, Santa Clara County's median price for single family residences, half above and half below or the middle transaction, increased to $640,000, as more and more lower priced homes have been scooped up.

14 will get you 51 -- Some real estate practitioners are mentioning that it takes about eight weeks (51 days) to sell a home and they consider that good. However, most seller's wouldn't consider that good when you tell them it will take an average of that long to sell! In actuality, it now takes but 14 days to sell half of the homes. That is the median days on market. The 51 figure is the average. The difference is that those homes that have issues or are grossly overpriced sit on the market for a long time thus bringing the average up and does not impact the median which is the middle transaction. When I provide advice to sellers I use the median and calculate it down to their neighborhood or as small an area as possible.

Sunnyvale is #7 in the U.S. -- According to the Kiplinger Personal Finance survey, Sunnyvale was named as the 7th greatest city in the United States to raise kids. As a long-time resident of Sunnyvale and where my wife and I have raised our two sons, I'd have to agree!

According to a City of Sunnyvale press release, the city now reports the highest rate of construction and permitting in its history! Included in the issuance was a permit for a 75,000 square foot building that will house LinkedIn. The presser went on to say "construction activity in Sunnyvale has significantly increased in the past 18 months. Development activity is led by new office and R&D construction, both new building construction and tenant improvements, and residential development is also experiencing a resurgence of interest."

Thanks for reading my blog. 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.

June Silicon Valley Real Estate Market Comments

Here are my observations of the most recent May 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.

General Market Observations and Comments -- The amount of homes (single family and condos and townhouses) available for sale continue at lower levels continuing the pattern of most of the year thus far. Normally, inventory levels start their climb in early spring and peak by mid-year but not this time. Since there have been a good amount of buyer demand, this condition has set up many areas as seller's markets -- many buyers chasing relatively few properties with its tendency toward multiple offer situations. This condition is occurring in both counties but certainly not in every area. The market continues to be more brisk in Santa Clara County than San Mateo County at present.


Want to Be First Time Buyers? Part 2 --  If rents going up are getting you down, and you expect to live in the area for a reasonable period, it may be advantageous to own than to rent! Mortgage rates continue at virtual cartoon-like levels with about 85% of borrowers choosing a fixed rate loan product.

Median Prices Increase -- Beware of the month to month numbers you read in the press or see on the internet -- they don't mean much! Year over year is much more meaningful as it eliminates the seasonality of the market. For May, Santa Clara County's median price for single family residences, half above and half below or the middle transaction, increased to $640,000, as more and more lower priced homes have been scooped up.


14 will get you 51 -- Some real estate practitioners are mentioning that it takes about eight weeks (51 days) to sell a home and they consider that good. However, most seller's wouldn't consider that good when you tell them it will take an average of that long to sell! In actuality, it now takes but 14 days to sell half of the homes. That is the median days on market. The 51 figure is the average. The difference is that those homes that have issues or are grossly overpriced sit on the market for a long time thus bringing the average up and does not impact the median which is the middle transaction. When I provide advice to sellers I use the median and calculate it down to their neighborhood or as small an area as possible.


Sunnyvale is #7 in the U.S. -- According to the Kiplinger Personal Finance survey, Sunnyvale was named as the 7th greatest city in the United States to raise kids. As a long-time resident of Sunnyvale and where my wife and I have raised our two sons, I'd have to agree!

According to a City of Sunnyvale press release, the city now reports the highest rate of construction and permitting in its history! Included in the issuance was a permit for a 75,000 square foot building that will house LinkedIn. The presser went on to say "construction activity in Sunnyvale has significantly increased in the past 18 months. Development activity is led by new office and R&D construction, both new building construction and tenant improvements, and residential development
is also experiencing a resurgence of interest."



Thanks for reading my blog. 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.

May Silicon Valley Real Estate Market Comments

Here are my observations of the most recent April 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.

General Market Observations and Comments -- The amount of homes (single family and condos and townhouses) available for sale, after a short spurt, continue to languish at low levels and have actually turned back down! At this time of the year, normal market activity would be an increasing inventory.  As buyers enter the market, they have fewer choices and we see many instances of multiple offer situations with sale prices much higher than list prices. This has created a seller's market situation in most areas in both counties. The market is more brisk in Santa Clara County than San Mateo County at present, no change from recent past.

Where Have All the Regular Sellers Gone? -- Part 2 -- I make recommendations to sellers contemplating a sale of a home or property that they've owned a long time to get counsel from their professional tax preparer or CPA.  If new legislation is not enacted before the end of 2012 to either extend the current capital gains tax rates or substantially modify them, the capital gains tax rates will about double next year. Definitely, something that must enter into any discussions BEFORE deciding on a timeline for a sale.  Of course, you can also gamble that Congress will act just in time!

Want to Be First Time Buyers? --  If you or someone you know are complaining about a recent large rent increase, it may be actually cheaper to own than to rent!  Mortgage rates at virtually at 60-year lows and about 85% of borrowers choose a fixed rate loan product - smart to lock in the low rates providing you have a reasonable time horizon.

Median Prices Increase -- Beware of the month to month numbers you read in the press or see on the internet -- they don't mean much! Year over year is much more meaningful as it eliminates the seasonality of the market. For April, Santa Clara County's median price for single family residences, half above and half below or the middle transaction, increased to $635,500, up 9.9% from $578,000 in April 2011. San Mateo County's median price stood at $725,000, up 3.6% from $700,000 the same month a year ago.

For condos/townhouses, Santa Clara County's median price was $347,500 in April versus $282,250 the same month a year ago, representing a 23.1% increase. For San Mateo County, the median stood at $405,000, up 3.2% from $392,500 in April 2011.

Lender Controlled Transaction Update -- A lender controlled transaction is either a short sale (pre foreclosure) or a bank-owned (REO or real estate owned by a bank). The range in Santa Clara County was 3% in Cupertino/Sunnyvale/Los Altos/Palo Alto area to a high in South County (Morgan Hill/San Martin/Gilroy of 62%. For San Mateo County the range was a low of 13% in Foster City/Redwood Shores to a high of 24% in the Coastal areas.


Days of Unsold Inventory (DUI) continues steady drop in each county/area -- For Santa Clara County, the lowest DUI (fastest market) was 28 days in the Santa Clara/Willow Glen/Cambrian/Campbell area whereas the highest DUI was 75 days in Los Gatos/Monte Sereno/Saratoga area. San Mateo County had a DUI of 27 days in Foster City/Redwood Shores to a high of 133 in the expensive areas of Hillsborough/Portola Valley/Woodside/Atherton. See your Realtor for information on a particular area or neighborhood market condition.

Sale Price to List Price Ratio (single family residences) -- For Santa Clara County, this ratio is running about 40% or about two in five closings had a sale price above list price. The range was a low of 29% in South County (Morgan Hill, San Martin, Gilroy) to a high of 60% in Los Altos/Palo Alto with the Cupertino/Sunnyvale area coming in at 52%. For San Mateo County, the ratio stood at about 35% or about one in three. The range was a low of 16% in Coastal (Half Moon Bay) to a high of 44% in Foster City/Redwood Shores.


Thanks for reading my blog. 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.

March Silicon Valley Real Estate Market Comments

Here are my observations of the most recent February 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.

> General Market Observations and Comments -- The amount of homes (single family and condos and townhouses) available for sale, after a short spurt, continue to languish at low levels and have actually turned back down! As buyers enter the market, they have fewer choices and we see many instances of multiple offer situations with sale prices much higher than list prices.

First Time Buyers - What to Buy a Home with a 3 1/2% Down Payment? -- You can! These FHA loans have current rates of 3.875% with no points! The downside -- they are increasing their mortgage insurance premiums next month.

For February, Santa Clara County's median price for single family residences, half above and half below or the middle transaction, increased to $530,000, up 1.9% from $520,200 in February 2011. San Mateo County's median price stood at $580,000, down 2.5% from $595,000 the same month a year ago.

For condos/townhouses, Santa Clara County's median price was $310,000 in February versus $295,000 the same month a year ago, representing a 5.1% increase. For San Mateo County, the median stood at $376,000, down 3.3% from $389,000 in February 2011.

Sales (my definition is closed transactions), increased in each county. For Santa Clara County, closings increased 35% for single family residences to 918 from 679 the same month a year ago and increased 32% for condos/townhouses to 413 from 313 in February 2011. In San Mateo County, closings increased 46% for single family residences to 370 from 252 in February 2011 and increased 44% for condos/townhouses to 117 from 81 in February 2011.




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

February Silicon Valley Real Estate Market Comments

Here are my observations of the most recent January 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.

> General Market Observations and Comments -- The amount of homes (single family and condos and townhouses) available for sale, after a short spurt, continue to languish at low levels. The most interesting thing about this trend toward fewer homes on the market is twofold: one, this occurs every year but this time the level is at its lowest since 2005; and two, the portion of lender-controlled homes (short sale and bank-owned) has diminished but with lower inventory of regular transaction homes, the portion of lender-controlled listings are larger.

Mortgage rates continue to hover in the high 3% to low 4% range. Since most buyers need a loan to purchase a home, mortgage rates are a major consideration in the decision and ability of the buyers to purchase. I continue to advise those buyers who purchased even last year to refinance their "low" 4 3/4% loans and lock in a high-3% loan rate for the long haul.

For January, Santa Clara County's median price for single family residences, half above and half below or the middle transaction, stood at $489,900, down 6.6% from January 2011. San Mateo County's median price stood at $575,000, no change from the same month a year ago. In addition to the seasonal aspect where prices typically decline in off-peak season selling periods, the mix of homes available are made up of a higher portion of lender-controlled transactions (short sales and bank-owned). Furthermore, the smallest homes sell during these off-peak periods which also impact prices.

For condos/townhouses, Santa Clara County's median price was $271,444 in January versus $265,000 the same month a year ago, representing a 2.4% increase. For San Mateo County, the median stood at $317,500, down from $371,250 in January 2011.

Sales (my definition is closed transactions), increased in each county. For Santa Clara County, closings increased 23% for single family residences and 40% for condos/townhouses as compared to the same month a year ago. In San Mateo County, closings were 27% higher and condos/townhouses were 17% higher than the levels in January 2011.

Don't hold your breath! The state attorneys general mortgage deal with the five banks totaling $25 billion is great for those borrowers. Right? Well, after the government gets their squeeze of $2 billion (for what you ask), the remaining $23 billion will take an estimated one to three years to find its way to borrowers. Why so long? The government has to write the rules first. By the way, the latest figure I've seen regarding the amount of mortgages associated with homes where the values are "under water" was between $700-800 billion! I call that a drop in the bucket.

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