Archive for the 'Commentary' Category
May 16th, 2012 by Steve Tenbroeck
April is fastest selling month in over 10 years!
Palo Alto, Los Altos, and Menlo Park (west of Bay Rd) continue to be extremely hot markets. This is apparent in the average percentage of list price received by sellers. Sellers received 108.6% of list price in Palo Alto, on average, in April! Buyers are anxious to get into a home in the better areas before they are “priced out”. Most home owners, on the other hand, are in no hurry to sell as they watch their estimated values climb.
The market typically slows for the summer months beginning toward the end of May. Demand normally picks back up in August. And, as long as local consumer confidence remains positive, that’s what we expect will occur this year.
In the charts below, you’ll find 10 years of data for market activity and median sales price in April in Palo Alto, Los Alto, Los Altos Hills and Menlo Park.
You can’t find this level of historical data all in one place anywhere else, so if you have any questions or wish to get more info about your community, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Topics: Commentary, Monthly Snapshots Please leave a comment.
April 24th, 2012 by Steve Tenbroeck
Spring Fever is Here
In the charts below, you’ll find 10 years of data for market activity and median sales price in March in Palo Alto and Los Altos.
The big takeaways are:
- Over Asking is the new normal. Average list price received in Los Altos was 102.7%. Menlo Park was 101.2%. Palo Alto continues to defy gravity at 108.8%.
- 14 Days – that’s the average days it took for a home to sell in Palo Alto. The lowest since we started tracking the data over ten years ago. Menlo Park was 19 Days — a whopping 33 days fewer than March 2011.
- Fewer new listings in Palo Alto – less desirable properties are also getting snatched up.
- More new listings in Los Altos – it’s becoming a great alternative to Palo Alto for many buyers.
You can’t find this level of historical data all in one place anywhere else, so if you have any questions or wish to get more info about your community, don’t hesitate to contact us.
Source MLSlistings.com
Topics: Commentary, Market Trends, Monthly Snapshots Please leave a comment.
March 27th, 2012 by Steve Tenbroeck
IPO’s are back; so are “dot-com boom” market conditions
LinkedIn employees and investors are leading the way in the early days of 2012 and the community is a buzz about the upcoming Facebook IPO. With all of this activity, it’s clear that Palo Alto is ground zero for much of the new wealth in the area. The multiple offers and over-bidding are reminiscent of the dot-com boom of ’99-’00. The average selling price in Palo Alto in January ’12 was 4% over the asking price.
Low Inventory Continues
Local inventory of homes for sale were down in January. This trend is consistent with rising (local) consumer confidence. Over the years, we have observed that when home owners have confidence in the economy, they believe the value of their home is rising and are less likely to want to sell in the near term. Buyers, on the other hand, are desperate to find something to buy before they are priced out of their target neighborhoods. This is a happy time for home owners in our area.
Please find charts of market activity and median sales price for single family home sales in January for the last decade in Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Menlo Park. Included are % of list price received and months of inventory which give you a more complete picture of supply and demand.
If you have any questions about the charts below or wish to get data and analysis about another town in the area, please contact us.
It’s Hockey Season! Prices continue to go sky high in Palo Alto and the surrounding communities. And the inventory of homes on the market continues to be as low as the rainfall this winter. This is making for even more multiple, over-the-asking-price, offers.
In the charts below, you’ll find 10 years of data for market activity and sales price in February in Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Menlo Park. We also compiled information about Condos and Townhomes in Palo Alto this month. Given that the average sales price of a single family home in Palo Alto is inching toward $2M, attached homes are becoming an attractive and affordable alternative. You can’t find this level of historical data all in one place anywhere else, so if you have any questions or wish to get more info about your community, don’t hesitate to contact us.
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Topics: Commentary, Monthly Snapshots Please leave a comment.
February 18th, 2012 by Steve Tenbroeck
January 2012 Market Trends
IPO’s are in the news! LinkedIn employees and investors are leading the way in the early days of 2012. Palo Alto is ground zero for much of the new wealth in the area. Multiple offers and over-bidding are reminiscent of the dot-com boom of ’99-’00. The average selling price in Palo Alto in January ’12 was 4% over the asking price.
Inventories in all areas, locally, were down this year. This is consistent with rising (local) consumer confidence. When owners believe the value of their home is rising, they are less likely to want to sell. Buyers, on the other hand, are desperate to find something to buy before they are priced out of their target neighborhoods. This is a happy time for home owners in our area.
IPO’s are back; so are “dot-com boom” market conditions
LinkedIn employees and investors are leading the way in the early days of 2012 and the community is a buzz about the upcoming Facebook IPO. With all of this activity, it’s clear that Palo Alto is ground zero for much of the new wealth in the area. The multiple offers and over-bidding are reminiscent of the dot-com boom of ’99-’00. The average selling price in Palo Alto in January ’12 was 4% over the asking price.
Low Inventory Continues
Local inventory of homes for sale were down in January. This trend is consistent with rising (local) consumer confidence. Over the years, we have observed that when home owners have confidence in the economy, they believe the value of their home is rising and are less likely to want to sell in the near term. Buyers, on the other hand, are desperate to find something to buy before they are priced out of their target neighborhoods. This is a happy time for home owners in our area.
Please find charts of market activity and median sales price for single family home sales in January for the last decade in Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Menlo Park. Included are % of list price received and months of inventory which give you a more complete picture of supply and demand.
Read the rest of this entry »
Topics: Commentary, Market Trends, Monthly Snapshots Comments Off
September 26th, 2011 by Steve Tenbroeck
The local real estate market continues to be hot!
Inventories of homes for sale continued to decline in August while competition for the best properties in all price ranges increased fiercely. Over-bidding, all-cash offers, as-is terms, no contingencies — these were all commonplace terms in many of the sales transactions over the past several months.
Local consumer confidence is finally beginning to waver, based on the non-stop negative economic news both nationally and internationally. This has begun to adversely affect demand for homes that have “issues,” but for most homes it remains a “Seller’s Market.”
Source: MLSListings.com
<h3 style=”TEXT-ALIGN: left”>Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Menlo Park</h3>
<p style=”TEXT-ALIGN: left”>July statistics are going to require more explanation and interpretation than usual. The <strong>decline in sales volume in our area is a result of a shortage of inventory</strong>, especially in the mid- and upper-range of the market. It is certainly not due to lack of demand.</p>
Another statistic that can be easily misinterpreted is Days On Market (DOM). As the market heats up – as it is now – and inventory declines, homes that have been sitting begin to sell, increasing the average days on market. It is definitely<strong> not taking longer for the typical home to sell</strong> in the current market.
Lastly, the<strong> median sales price decline is a result of the shortage of inventory of homes</strong> to sell in addition to the increasing number of “quiet sales”. “Quiet sales” refers to homes being sold through local agent networks and not listed or recorded on the Multiple Listing Service, usually higher priced properties. These two factors are causing the reported median sales price to decline. Homes in our area are most certainly not declining in value at this time.
<a href=”http://jeffandsteve.com/files/2011/08/FinalPA-2Mkt-Activity-Jul-02-112.jpg”><img title=”Palo Alto Market Activity Jul-02-11″ src=”http://jeffandsteve.com/files/2011/08/FinalPA-2Mkt-Activity-Jul-02-112.jpg” alt=”Palo Alto Market Activity Jul-02-11″ width=”600″ height=”366″ /></a>
<a href=”http://jeffandsteve.com/files/2011/08/FinalPA-2Med-SP-Jul-02-11.jpg”><!–more–><img title=”Palo Alto Median Sales Price July 2011″ src=”http://jeffandsteve.com/files/2011/08/FinalPA-2Med-SP-Jul-02-11.jpg” alt=”Palo Alto Median Sales Price July 2011″ width=”600″ height=”373″ /></a>
<a href=”http://jeffandsteve.com/files/2011/08/FinalLA-Mkt-Activity-Jul-02-11.jpg”><img title=”Los Altos Market Activity July 2011″ src=”http://jeffandsteve.com/files/2011/08/FinalLA-Mkt-Activity-Jul-02-11.jpg” alt=”Los Altos Market Activity July 2011″ width=”600″ height=”367″ /></a>
<a href=”http://jeffandsteve.com/files/2011/08/FinalLA-Med-2SP-Jul-02-11.jpg”><img title=”Los Altos Median Sales Price July 2011″ src=”http://jeffandsteve.com/files/2011/08/FinalLA-Med-2SP-Jul-02-11.jpg” alt=”Los Altos Median Sales Price July 2011″ width=”600″ height=”377″ /></a>
<a href=”http://jeffandsteve.com/files/2011/08/FinalLAH-Mkt-Activity-Jul-02-111.jpg”><img title=”Los Altos Hills Market Activity – Jul 02-11″ src=”http://jeffandsteve.com/files/2011/08/FinalLAH-Mkt-Activity-Jul-02-111.jpg” alt=”Los Altos Hills Market Activity – Jul 02-11″ width=”600″ height=”363″ /></a>
<a href=”http://jeffandsteve.com/files/2011/08/FinalLAH-Med-SP-Jul-02-111.jpg”><img title=”Los Altos Hills Median Sales Price July 2011″ src=”http://jeffandsteve.com/files/2011/08/FinalLAH-Med-SP-Jul-02-111.jpg” alt=”Los Altos Hills Median Sales Price July 2011″ width=”600″ height=”377″ /></a><a href=”http://jeffandsteve.com/files/2011/08/FinalMP-Med-SP-Jul-02-11.jpg”><img title=”Menlo Park Median Sales Price July 2011″ src=”http://jeffandsteve.com/files/2011/08/FinalMP-Med-SP-Jul-02-11.jpg” alt=”Menlo Park Median Sales Price July 2011″ width=”600″ height=”377″ /></a><a href=”http://jeffandsteve.com/files/2011/08/FinalMP-Mkt-Activity-Jul-02-11.jpg”><img title=”Menlo Park Market Activity July 2011″ src=”http://jeffandsteve.com/files/2011/08/FinalMP-Mkt-Activity-Jul-02-11.jpg” alt=”Menlo Park Market Activity July 2011″ width=”600″ height=”375″ /></a>
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Topics: Commentary, Market Trends, Monthly Snapshots Comments Off
