How is the residential real estate market doing in the Cambrian Park area of San Jose, CA?  We’ll have a look at the 95124 zip code area and the 95118 zip code area of San Jose, which together comprise at least 95% of the Cambrian Park real estate area of Silicon Valley. (A small sliver belongs to the predominently Campbell area of 95008.) The following charts, from Altos Research, represent list prices (not sold prices).

Although the condos in 95124 (green line) have not fared too badly in the last year, the vast majority of Cambrian Park real estate seems to be hurting. The median list price on these homes has been slipping fairly steadily over the last year - often at least 10% of value. This is the broad overview. Next we will view things on more of a micro level.

Next, we’ll view Cambrian in smaller segments, broken down by both zip code and quartile. First, let’s take a look at the 95124 zip code, starting with the single family home real estate market:
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How’s the real estate market in Santa Clara, California? In a nutshell, it’s doing much better than the majority of Santa Clara County or Silicon Valley. Let’s look at the absorption rate first, which is the rate at which the current inventory would sell off if no new homes were to come on the market and properties would continue selling at the current rate. The National Association of Realtors says that 6 months or less of inventory is a sellers market whereas more than 6 months reflects a buyers lunch.

As you can see on the absorption rate chart above, the condo market has had its ups and downs, faring better than the single family market five months of the nine so far this year, but faring far, far worse on the others.

Next let’s track the data for Santa Clara’s houses, and afterwards, condos and townhomes.

Real Estate Statistics for Single Family Homes in Santa Clara, CA

Things seem to be improving. It will be good to keep an eye on this market to see if this month was just a blip or if the market is truly on its way back up.

Real Estate Statistics for Condominiums and Townhouses in Santa Clara, CA

Prices seem to be on their way up and inventory is up from last month but down from last year, and days on the market are down too. The Santa Clara condo market appears to be improving so this is definitely something to watch. Buyers, this may be a great time to buy a condo in Santa Clara!

 Mary Pope-Handy, Realtor, CRS, ABR, e-PRO, SRES, ASP, RECS, CNHS, ACRE
Helping Nice Folks to Buy & Sell Homes Since 1993
Co-Author: “Get The Best Deal When Selling Your Home In Silicon Valley”
Keller Williams, Cupertino, CA (Silicon Valley)
877 397-5391 (Direct/Toll-Free/Fax); 408 204-7673 (Cell)
www.PopeHandy.com & www.ValleyOfHeartsDelight.com
emailto: Mary@PopeHandy.com
Blog: www.LiveInLosGatos.com & www.ValleyOfHeartsDelight.com

The months of inventory, or absorption rate, in Saratoga reveals that the market is not too unhealthy in this upscale community. While much of the valley is struggling with long months of inventory, the condo and townhome market and single family home market in Saratoga are both under 6 months. The National Association of Realtors says that less than 6 months of inventory constitutes a sellers market, and more than 6 months a buyers market.

That said, the condo market is inching upwards, and so is the single family home market. Will the impact of the morgage meltdown be felt in this corner of Silicon Valley?

Next, please view some of the key data on Saratoga CA single family homes (these charts from the Real Estate Report, a subscription I have):

And the same information for the condo and townhouse market in Saratoga:

The market is close to balanced in Saratoga, so it’s a very decent time to either buy or sell there now. If you’d like information on buying or selling a home in Saratoga, please contact me!

How’s the Los Gatos real estate market? The answer depends on if you’re a buyer or seller and what type of home you are dealing with.

The condo market had become a severe buyers market, but that is now lessening and the current months of inventory is a mild 6.33 for September (the National Association of Realtors views a 6 month supply a balanced market, with more being a buyers market and less being a sellers market).

The single family home market in Los Gatos is doing the exact opposite, though. It had been somewhere in the range of a balanced market to a sellers market (again, depending on lots of things such as the quartile - entry level vs luxury home, condition, how aggressively the home was priced, etc.).

For more detailed information, see a post of mine on my Live in Los Gatos blog:Los Gatos Single Family Home Absorption Rates and Market Conditions plus Condos and Townhomes in Los Gatos: Market Update . Finally, see also my Real Estate Report, where you’ll find an interactive report on all the cities and towns in the county.

With so much dire news abounding, it’s easy to believe that there’s no good news in Silicon Valley real estate. That just isn’t the case, though. Every market is an opportunity for someone. It’s always better for one side (buyer/seller) and worse for the other. Right now, values are slipping, especially in the condo market, and people who own homes generally feel glum about that. But for those wanting to buy, this is a glimmer of hope that maybe they can buy a home in San Jose - maybe a condo or a house, here rather than in the Central Valley. And with gas at $4 per gallon, living close to work is highly prized.

I. The Data for Sold Single Family Homes in Cambrian Park

But back to the local market in San Jose’s Cambrian Park district. What’s happening now in the housing market? Here are a few facts about the solds in Cambrian for single family homes in August 2008 (charts care of my Real Estate Report, a subscription):

• Cambrian Park short sales are not rising dramatically - in fact, they seem to have leveled off or perhaps even reduced in number
• sales prices in Cambrian are down 2-4% from July to August (that said, August is often one of the softest months of the year)
• the median Cambrian Park sales price was down 7.2% in August from a year ago
• the average Cambrian sale price was down 12% in August from a year ago
• the Cambrian Park list price to sales price ratio in August was a healthy 98.2%, improved from July’s 97.7% but worse than a year ago’s 99.4%
• days on market in Cambrian was slightly improved with 45 in August, 46 in July but 27 a year ago

Let’s now have a look at some of these Cambrian Park single family home real estate facts in graphs that include not just this year, but recent history as well. First, the ratio between the list price and sales price. In a seller’s market, homes often sell at or over 100% of the asking price. Here you can see that the last time there was this type of peak in Cambrian Park was in about May of 2007. The ratio slipped consistently until February of this year, when it rose again until about May before beginning a decline. This type of slippage is not uncommon from sometime in spring through at least the end of the summer.
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