Almaden Valley Real Estate Market Conditions
How’s the real estate market in San Jose’s Almaden Valley? Commentary and statistics…..
It’s actuallya lot hotter than the numbers for the Almaden closed sales in February might indicate; the last 2-3 weeks have seen a heat-up the likes of which I have not seen since 2000. Many properties are selling fast, sometimes with multiple offers. We are experiencing this trend throughout the west valley areas: Los Gatos, Saratoga, Cupertino, Palo Alto and on up the Peninsula. These multiple offers are pushing prices higher. In many cases, it is much higher. I’m seeing some overbids of more than $100,000 in some cases as well as offers with no contingencies for loan or home inspection. Listing agents sometimes write in their private MLS comments for other agents “no pre-emptive offers“.
What’s driving it? There are years of pent up demand in which would-be home buyers sat on the fence, either because they expected further price drops or because, in the case of move-up buyers, they didn’t have enough equity to budge. With record low interest rates and prices creeping up – combined with an infusion of cash from high tech employees with either great stock prices (Apple) or an IPO (LinkedIn, Facebook, Yelp, and more), there’s the classic case of more demand than supply.
Almost every offer I’ve been involved with over the last month has been a multiple offer situation, whether in south San Jose, Blossom Valley, Cambrian, Los Gatos, or Saratoga. Prices from $400,000 to $1,800,000 – all at least 5 offers, sometimes far more. As Chris Trappani, the CEO and founder of Sereno Group says, “we’re seeing it now – the papers will report on it in a month”.
Stats for the Almaden real estate market for houses in February 2012 (click on link to see more info):
Note that the median sales price is up almost 15% from January and the average price rose 7% month over month. Year over year it’s not so good but from what we are seeing, it’s unlikely to look like this when the March 2012 numbers roll in. Also note the jump in pending sales and the lower number of actives – less inventory, more absorption.
| Trends At a Glance | Feb 2012 | Previous Month | Year-over Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Price | $917,500 | $800,000 (+14.7%) | $912,500 (+0.5%) |
| Average Price | $982,332 | $915,288 (+7.3%) | $1,025,310 (-4.2%) |
| No. of Sales | 18 | 19 (-5.3%) | 18 (0.0%) |
| Pending Properties | 46 | 27 (+70.4%) | 42 (+9.5%) |
| Active | 47 | 58 (-19.0%) | 52 (-9.6%) |
| Sale vs. List Price | 96.0% | 97.5% (-1.5%) | 95.7% (+0.3%) |
| Days on Market | 49 | 57 (-14.4%) | 69 (-29.1%) |
| Trends At a Glance | Feb 2012 | Previous Month | Year-over Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median Price | $452,500 | $0 (N/A) | $758,000 (-40.3%) |
| Average Price | $452,500 | $0 (N/A) | $758,000 (-40.3%) |
| No. of Sales | 2 | 0 (N/A) | 1 (+100.0%) |
| Pending Properties | 5 | 0 (N/A) | 3 (+66.7%) |
| Active | 7 | 0 (N/A) | 14 (-50.0%) |
| Sale vs. List Price | 94.9% | 0.0% (N/A) | 94.9% (0.0%) |
| Days on Market | 59 | 0 (N/A) | 51 (+14.7%) |
Here are a few quick stats from Altos Research (which will be automatically updated weekly and to which I have a subscription) – these are based on the list price of townhouses, condominiums and houses for sale in San Jose’s Almaden Valley 95120 area:
| 90-day stats for Single Family properties in SAN JOSE, CA95120 as of May 18, 2012 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Median List Price: | $948,017 | Average List Price: | $1,127,686 |
| Total Inventory: | 89 | Price per Square Foot: | $401 |
| Average Home Size: | 2,333 | Median Lot Size: | 8,600 |
| Average # Beds: | 4.03 | Average # Baths: | 2.83 |
| Homes Absorbed: | 9 | Newly Listed: | 10 |
| Days on Market: | 98 | Average Age: | 37 |
| 90-day stats for Condo properties in SAN JOSE, CA95120 as of May 18, 2012 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Median List Price: | $635,838 | Average List Price: | $634,999 |
| Total Inventory: | 11 | Price per Square Foot: | $346 |
| Average Home Size: | 1,753 | Median Lot Size: | n/a |
| Average # Beds: | 2.83 | Average # Baths: | 2.49 |
| Homes Absorbed: | 1 | Newly Listed: | 1 |
| Days on Market: | 152 | Average Age: | 28 |
The residential real estate market in San Jose’s Almaden Valley area is a “hot seller’s market“. Restricted inventory remains, in contrast to what we normally would see on a seasonal basis. Buyers who are successful in multiple bid situations are coming in with few contingencies, short time frames for any contingencies which they do have, and make aggressive offers in terms of pricing.
Tags: 95120, Almaden Valley (SJ), Almaden Valley real estate, buyer's market, market conditions, san jose, seller's market