Silicon Valley Real Estate Blog

The San Jose Mercury News has a nice breakdown (below) of the median sales price and number of sales for each zip code in the Peninsula (Santa Clara County, San Mateo County, and Santa Cruz County). You can also see the percent change comparing this January to the same period in 2010.

In the Silicon Valley (Santa Clara County) the median sales price for all homes was $460,000, a 2% drop from the same period last year. But looking at resale homes, we saw a 1.9% increase to $529,000. Looking at number of home sales in the area, there were 1,424 sales for all homes, a drop of 10.9% from last year; in resales, 987 sold, which was 5.6% less than last year. We’ll soon see in the spring and summer months of 2011 if it picks back up, when the majority of sellers and buyers are on the market.

Overall, Los Gatos Los Altos zip code 94024 had the highest median sales price of $1,569,000, but Palo Alto/East Palo Alto zip code 94303 had the highest $/SqFt at $883. On the other side of the scale, San Jose zip code 95133 had the lowest median sales price at $230,000, and Gilroy zip code 95020 had the lowest $/SqFt at $195.

Jan.29.2011 [ Filed under: Bay Area Real Estate, Market Updates, santa clara county, Silicon Valley News ] 3 Comments »

_{Photo Credit: James Sugar, National Geographic}

DataQuick released their December 2010 monthly report for the Bay Area recently hitting the headlines with “Bay Area Housing Ends Year With Many Looking but Not Buying.” But amongst the headline there were also bits of sun hinting of more to come for Bay Area real estate.

Here’s what John Walsh, DataQuick president, said:

“While the dicey economy and employment concerns are major factors, tight mortgage credit is also a big issue right now, especially for the upper half of the market. There’s a lot of pent-up supply and demand out there, which will start to meet when the lenders re-open their spigots a turn or two,” he said.

_{Data includes single-family homes and condos. Source: MDA DataQuick}

Jan.21.2011 [ Filed under: Bay Area Real Estate, Market Updates, santa clara county ] Comment Here »

Since the crash, the Silicon Valley has recovered faster than the nation on average. Narrowing the range to our four comparison cities – Los Altos, Mountain View, Palo Alto, and Sunnyvale – we have an above average group even against Santa Clara County (see graph below).

Experts at DataQuick, an independent real estate analysis company, report that the median sales price and home sales have fallen in the Bay Area from a year ago. The same is true in our example cities. But in a post-crash economy the most important factor real estate professionals, buyers, and sellers are looking for is a stable market.

Prices in our four cities have remained stable, yet deprecated, for the past two years. What will really excite the housing market is a return of high-cost homes and increased buyer confidence found in areas such as gains in employment and relaxed credit standards from banks. While some have seen this as an opportunity to find a house for less, most of the market is collectively holding its breath.

So with anticipation of what 2011 brings, lets review how 2010 was for our four real estate cities.

_{(Single-family home data from MLS listings Inc.)}

Continue Reading »

Jan.15.2011 [ Filed under: Market Updates, santa clara county, Silicon Valley News ] 1 Comment »