Silicon Valley Real Estate

Here in the Valley of Hearts Delight, aka Silicon Valley, the market continues to be a buyers market with downward pressure on prices, longer days on market, and bigger gaps between list price and sales price. What is happening area wide or county wide is not always exactly what we find in smaller market areas. Some parts of Silicon Valley, and some price points, are doing quite well relatively, while others are falling through the floor.

What is happening with San Jose real estate? Let’s look at four San Jose districts, mostly in the west valley area, by their zip code (or main zip): Almaden Valley (95120), Willow Glen (95125), Cambrian Park (95124) and West San Jose (95129).

Below, please find the trends for the median list price of single family homes for sale in these four areas of San Jose:

For the most part, it appears that the west valley area of San Jose real estate is continuing to experience noticeable declines in list prices throughout these districts. Interestingly, Almaden Valley and West San Jose (zip 95129) both saw improvement in spring before returning to the downward trend. By comparison, how is San Jose as a whole (the entire city) looking?

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Normally I view real estate on a local, or even hyper-local, level. But I thought it might also be good to view the big picture and see San Jose as a whole - with nearly a million residents, it would provide quite a snapshot of how Silicon Valley real estate is doing.

Below, please find a graph reflecting the single family home and condo/townhouse market in San Jose as displayed by the absorption rate:

I find this rather remarkably positive - look at the consistent lowering of the months of inventory for both houses in San Jose as well as townhouses and condos in San Jose. It is a very strong, consistent trend city wide.

Why is it not making the papers?

That National Association of Realtors says that more than 6 months of inventory is a buyers market and less is a sellers market. So clearly, this IS a buyers market. But at this rate, will it continue to be one?

Let’s look at the data (care of the Real Estate Report, to which I subscribe). First, find the information for the single family home market in San Jose:

The number of sales is up, but prices continue to slide. Perhaps that’s why the absorption rate isn’t making the headlines.

Next, let’s check out the condominium and townhouse market in San Jose:

And again, prices are still falling - about a third, again, over last year. So it’s not yet time to break out the bubbly.

The improved months of inventory seems to be a harbinger of improvement, though. Are we near the bottom? Increased sales indicate that we just might be there.

Interested in buying or selling a home in San Jose, or elsewhere in Silicon Valley? Call or email me. I’m happy to do a free, no-obligation, initial consultation with you to discuss your wants, needs, and dreams.

Do you love touring beautiful homes? If so, mark your calendar! 

St. Martin of Tours School in San Jose, which is on the edge of the Rose Garden neighborhood, is hosting its 13th Annual Autumn in the Rose Garden Homes Tour.  It will run on Saturday & Sunday, October 18-19 from 10am - 5pm. Tickets are discounted if purchased in advance and there’s an optional gourmet lunch available too.

The Rose Garden area includes some of the most beautiful real estate in Silicon Valley. There’s a wide variety of architectural styles, from Victorian and Craftsman to Mid Century Modern, Spanish or Mediterranean to Colonial and ranch.

For all the details, please see the webpage devoted to the tour on the school’s site:   http://stmartinsj.org/rosegardenhomestour.php

Known for engineers and high tech or bio-tech, Silicon Valley is actually much more than tilt up buildings full of well educated, hard working people. There is a ton of scenic beauty here in this sub-tropical area with 300 sunny days each year. I hope you will enjoy this slide show I put together to help introduce you to “The Valley of Hearts Delight", now known as Silicon Valley. Below, please find images from San Jose (Almaden Valley, Cambrian Park and Willow Glen, and downtown Vendome areas), Campbell, Saratoga, Santa Clara and Los Gatos. Enjoy!

Earlier today I updated my series on Silicon Valley short sales at my Live in Los Gatos blog, where I’ve been tracking the number of active listings in select parts of Santa Clara County which are offered for sale as short sales. Below please find the areas and dates I’ve charted:

To read the entire post, please continue on to Silicon Valley Short Sale Snapshot.

A quick introduction to downtown San Jose via YouTube. Downtown San Jose is Sharks Territory (NHL team), home to a diverse number of theaters and museums (including a quilting museum) and a huge variety of shops and restaurants. When the Sharks arent playing at the Arena, the Shark Tank becomes a musical venue too.

In summer, fireworks and many events draw large crowds downtown.

In winter, downtown offers Christmas in the Park and a palm tree encircled ice rink as wonderful ways to enjoy the sunny, cool days downtown. The Catholic Cathedral features free musical concerts for all from many groups around Silicon Valley, with each concert performed twice in many of the evenings leading up to Christmas.

Theres loads to do in downtown San Jose!