Archive for the 'Commentary' Category
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.
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.
Source: MLSlistings.com
Topics: Commentary, Market Trends, Monthly Snapshots Please leave a comment.
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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June 12th, 2011 by Steve Tenbroeck
May 2011 Market Trends
The local real estate market is hot!
Inventories of homes for sale continued to decline in April & May 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 over the past few months.
Local consumer confidence is still riding high, based on the success of our local companies, and in spite of the non-stop negative economic news both nationally and internationally. How long this can continue is anyone’s guess, but for the moment it’s certainly a “Seller’s Market”.
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April 30th, 2011 by Steve Tenbroeck
In Palo Alto, Los Altos and surrounding communities, the residential real estate market continued an upward trend. Even “the Hills” are bouncing back. Supply and demand continued to move back in favor of sellers with multiple offers common and prices rising.
SINGLE FAMILY HOMES
South and Mid-Peninsula Market Snapshot
♦ 2010 vs. 2011 ♦
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April 11th, 2011 by Monie Tenbroeck
While the median home sales price for San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties are down from last year, the communities of Los Altos, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Los Altos Hills are up! Here are charts for March from 2002 to 2011.
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