The Campbell real estate market appears to be “past the bottom”, as is the case with much of the Silicon Valley housing market. In some parts of San Jose, “the bottom” was in February or March of this year.  Campbell may have hit that point sooner – but in any event it is now heading back toward a balanced market (30 is the balance point for this formula). (Images and charts from Altos Research, to which I have a subscription and permission to use these, as well as the RE Report, another subscription service of mine. Altos uses list prices, the RE Report uses sold data as well as list prices.)

Let’s look at the data for October in Campbell – actives, pendings, and closeds (care of the RE Report).

While in many parts of the greater San Jose area the Days on Market (DOM) are lengthening, they are shortening in Campbell! Sales are up, but prices are still declining a bit (in several areas of Santa Clara County, prices are again inching up – this tends to happen in less expensive areas).  Pending sales are up and inventory is down.  So there are some mixed indicators but Campbell appears to be at or near “the bottom”.
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The post below was published in November of 2009. For a more current look at the Monte Sereno real estate market, please see:

The Monte Sereno Real Estate Market

The Monte Sereno real estate market is trickier than most Silicon Valley markets to gauge because it’s so tiny.  With just four thousand residents, there simply aren’t that many homes for sale in Monte Sereno at any given time and there are even fewer solds.

Monte Sereno Real Estate Trends at a Glance

The info below is from my Silicon Valley REReport, which comes out monthly. Click on the link to see the full report on October’s home sales activity in Monte Sereno.

Home Values in Monte Sereno

Sellers often want to know, perhaps more than anything, what is happening to home values. “What’s my house worth?” is a perennial question because the answer can change from month to month.  Buyers want to know what any particular property should be worth – and often do not see eye to eye with sellers on this point.  Hence, few homes go into escrow (or under contract) each month. (The months supply of inventory has averaged 19 months in MS this year – more on that below – which indicates that there’s a bit of a standoff between buyers and sellers. Buyers aren’t buying in the vast majority of cases.)

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In addition to the financial part of your offer and your contingencies and timeframes, there are other terms that may help you to be more competitive when writing an offer in a multiple offer bidding situation in Silicon Valley.

What other terms could matter, beyond price and contingencies? Lots – they will matter to the seller and they’ll matter to you. 

As Is Offers

Sellers always want to sell “As Is” if possible. They don’t want to have to do repairs, to spend the time or the money to fix what may not be perfect.  This is an extremely important area to research, weigh, and understand prior to drafing your real estate purchase agreement, particularly if you are not the only one trying to buy that real estate.  When it’s a seller’s marker (and with multiple offers, it IS a seller’s market), the seller can request and will usually be able to sell As Is.

Buyers always want every imaginable repair done, if at all possible.  Buyers don’t want to have to do termite, roof, electrical or other work on the home. They want a “red ribbon deal” where the home’s been or will be in very good to excellent shape.  They want a section one clearance from the termite & pest company.  They want a leak free roof warranty. When it’s a buyer’s market, and you’re the only one attempting to buy the house or condo, you can usually request and get the seller to do all the basic repairs.

The important point is to understand which of these two markets you’re dealing with – buyer’s or seller’s - if it’s a seller’s market and you’re behaving as though it’s a buyer’s market, you will hurt your odds of getting the property if you request repairs or if your contract provides a seller’s warantee.
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Single family homes in the more affordable price ranges seem to be flying off the market in the San Jose district of Almaden Valley.  For the last twelve weeks or so, the absorption rate or months of inventory in the 95120 zip code has been hovering around 2 – 3 months. That’s fast!  (6 months is a balanced market, less a sellers market, and more a buyers market.)

This comprehensive post will include data from three subscription based  sources.  First a summary of the October 2009 sold data (care of my RE Report ).  Then, with the aid of Clarus Market Metrics (a subscription through my MLS and real estate board), we’ll take a two year view of the Almaden real estate market, its months of inventory and supply & demand ratios.  Then we’ll incorporate data from Altos Research, another subscription service I utilize, to look at the data for listed homes today, broken down by price quartile (since what may be happening in Almaden overall may not be the experience in a subset of this market).

Fewer homes are coming on the market now, so the old inventory is getting absorbed.  Prices often are getting pushed up in multiple offers if the home sells quickly (in 3 – 4 weeks).
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