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The Silicon Valley Real Estate Market continues to pick up momentum. The question is, have we hit bottom and are we heading out of this or is this just a short upswing before the bottom really falls out? I wish I had the answers to that question. My suggestion right now would be that if you are considering a real estate purchase, jump in now. You simply cannot go wrong. If you are selling or need to sell—list now and price your home to move fast. If this is a short upswing then you don’t want to miss your chance to sell now during an upswing.
How long of a window might we have? Who knows??? I would guess that we might see a better market for at least the next 60-90 days. The longer term problem could be increased interest rates or the increase in inventory of short-sale and foreclosed homes. Any of these could have a negative impact on our local market. My suggestion is don’t watch national trends, but focus mostly on what you see taking place in our community and listen to your Real Estate professional for the best perspective on what’s really going on. Your Realtor® has his/her ear to the ground every day and knows the pulse of the local market.
Have you noticed that mass media has stopped talking about Real Estate since the drama is no longer left in the story and there’s no more “tragedy?” Take notice of this, my readers!
Let’s Talk Trends
For Silicon Valley Real Estate as a whole, check out these trends. Bottom line—if the trends continue, we will see a shortage of inventory in the not-so-distant future. The last time this happened was in 2005.
In Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, and Mountain View, we are seeing some upward momentum in certain areas and fairly regular activity in others (stats from April 2009):
Los Altos—New listings increased (118% of April 2008); Inventory is 203% of April 2008; Closed sales are 45% of April 2008.
Los Altos (comparing April ’09 to March ’09)—17 more new listings entered the market in April, making the current inventory of active homes 132. Closed sales were down a bit—11, which was 78.5% of March’s closings.
Los Altos Hills—New listings increased – 1.5 times more in April 2009 than in April 2008; Inventory is 159% of April 2008; Closed sales were right on point with April 2008.
Los Altos Hills (comparing April ’09 to March ’09)—27 more listings came on in April, making the current inventory of active homes 70. Closed sales were 6, which is the total of combined sales for all of Dec. ‘08 – Mar. ’09). This is an excellent trend for the higher-end!
Mountain View—New listings increased (115% of April 2008); Inventory is 200% of April 2008; Closed sales are 133% of April 2008—another great upward momentum indicator for our market!
Mountain View (comparing April ’09 to March ’09)—45 more listings came onto the market in April, completing month-end active inventory at 108. April’s closed sales exactly doubled March’s at 20!
So, I will ask you—have we hit bottom? I would love hear your comments!
