The Almaden Valley real estate market is not greatly changed now from a month ago.

List prices of homes, both condominiums and single family houses, continues to decline in Almaden Valley:

The amount of inventory continues to fall. Homeowners tell me, “I don’t want to sell my house at the bottom of the market”. If this continues, it will help give some balance to the market and keep prices from losing value as much in Almaden Valley.

The days on the market, though, are rising very dramatically in Almaden Valley.

Overall, the market is tougher for condos and townhouses than for single family homes. This has been the case for most of the valley for over a year.

(Above 30 is a seller’s market, below 30 is a buyer’s market.)  As you can see from the steeply dropping black line above, the condo market has gone from bad to catastrophic.  My educated guess is that potential buyers who could have purchased a luxury condo in Almaden have decided to buy a single family home in a less expensive area instead, since the costs are now very similar.

The Campbell real estate market is levelling out and even improving in many regards but it does remain a buyers market there now. In this look at the real estate market in the city of Campbell, we’ll use tools and data provided by two subscription services I have, Altos Research and The Real Estate Report, and also I have crunched some numbers from our MLS myself. We will review both the situation for buyers and sellers of houses as well as condos and townhomes.

How is the Campbell housing market? Data from Altos Research.

Altos Research analyses the Campbell real estate market as a whole using list prices (not sold prices - I will use sold prices further on in this post). To get an overview of how the market’s doing, Altos created the “median market action index”. This is an overview of how Altos perceives that the real estate market is doing, factoring in prices, days on market, etc. Below is the median market action index for Campbell (the 95008 zip code).

Altos states that “A value above 30 indicates demand is relatively robust, we call that a Seller’s Market. Below 30 is a Buyer’s Market.” So we can understand that the condo market seems to be improving now and fthe single family home market has been bouncing up and down within a small range since July or so. (Tthe chart below should report whatever is most current, thanks to my having used a little html magic.)

Inventory in Campbell had been rising, but recently is leveling off:

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Ths San Jose real estate market conditions vary wildly from one part of this sprawling city to the next. The high-end neighborhoods of Silver Creek, Almaden Valley, as well as parts of the Rosegarden and some hilly locations with views are all very different real estate markets then downtown San Jose, the Santa Teresa area, Burbank, or east San Jose. Even within each district, there are many smaller markets. Today we’ll have a look at the Cambrian Park real estate market.

How’s the real estate market in Cambrian Park?

There are some plusses for Cambrian Park, being up against some well-to-do areas (Los Gatos and Almaden Valley). The area is a middle-class to upper-middle class area and homes are generally well kept and schools range from good to great. All of these help keep values fairly strong in Cambrian.

Even so, prices are down and sales are down, just like the rest of Silicon Valley. However, it’s not as bad here as in many parts of Santa Clara County.

Houses in Cambrian Park have mostly enjoyed a good absorption rate of under 6 months for most of this year. It’s been a little rougher on the Cambrian condo market though. As with the rest of Silicon Valley condos, they just are not selling as well as houses, most likely because single family homes have come down so much in price that they are more affordable.

Overall, it is currently very close to a “balanced market” in Cambrian Park. That means it’s a reasonable time for both buyers and sellers right now.

Next let’s have a look at the data, statistics and trends for the housing market in Cambrian Park. How are realty values holding up?
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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.

Silicon Valley has wildly divergent real estate market conditions right now, and those swings are evident in the Willow Glen district of San Jose. As is the case elsewhere in Santa Clara County, the condo market has had a far rougher time of it than the single family home market.

The market for Willow Glen houses has been fairly close to a balanced market (6 months) for much of this year, though the general trend is in the buyers favor at this point and prices are down (see chart below).

The statistics, data and trends for single family homes in the Willow Glen Real Estate Market:

While the aborption rate for condos is far worse then for single family homes in Willow Glen, pricing is amazingly strong - down a very slight amount from a year ago (much less then with houses). That said, almost no condos are selling. So likely only the best of the best is selling and everything else goes unsold. So having strong prices but most homes not selling is no consolation to sellers.

This is a trend we are seeing in most of Silicon Valley, and in all types of homes. Buyers don’t want to fix up. They want turnkey.Statistics, data and trends for condominiums and townhouses in the Willow Glen Real Estate Market of San Jose:

If you are interested in buying or selling a home in Willow Glen, please call or email me. I’d be happy to offer you a free one hour consulation.