How’s the move-up real estate market in the west valley areas of Silicon Valley?  Today we’ll have a glance at the segment of the realty market (for houses for sale, not condos or townhomes) with list prices between $800,000 and $1,200,000 in Almaden, Cambrian, Los Gatos/Monte Sereno, Saratoga, the LG Mountains, Cupertino and Campbell.  (Monte Sereno has very few properties in this price range so it wasn’t helpful to break it out separately.)We will look at a few of the statistics for the area as a whole, but look at the absorption rate or months of inventory area by area.

Recent sales: In all of these areas combined, there were 146 houses or duet homes which have closed escrow (sold & closed) in the last 30 days.  Only 4% total were short sales (2%) or bank owned property sales (another 2%).  Bargain hunters trying to scoop up one of these be aware: it’s slim pickings!

Of the 146 houses sold, ten of them went “all cash”, all but one of the rest were “conventional” (could mean any range of down payments but a regular loan) and one was listed as “other” so it could have been owner financing. None, of course, were FHA backed financing – the limits are too high for that.

For all areas combined, the average list price to sales price was 99.68%.   Lots of variation from one area to the next, though, just as with the absorption rate or MOI, which is covered below. Cupertino’s ratio was 102.34%, while  in Campbell it was 95%.

Absorption rate or months of inventory: It varies on the school district, price point, home type and home sale type (distressed vs regular sale).  For example, in Almaden Valley right now, overall it is a strong seller’s market – prices are rising, especially in the lower price points, and the months of inventory is a very brisk 1.8 (6 is said to be “balanced”, more than 6 is a buyer’s market and less than 6 is a seller’s market). Short sales are at 2.6 months of inventory overall.  But look at homes selling between 1.2 mil and 2 million and it’s a different story: in that part of the market it’s 5.8 months of inventory – almost “balanced”.

Here’s how they stack up for months of inventory:

While it is consistently a “seller’s market” in the west valley, it is more fiercely competitive in Cupertino than anywhere else, followed by Saratoga, Los Gatos/Monte Sereno, and Almaden.  Campbell has the softest market at the moment.  We could do a more comprehensive study by adding in all the other factors mentioned at the beginning of this post, such as sale type and school districts, but that would take a lot more research and time than is intended today.  (Most of these areas include at least 2 school districts, if not more.)

As a whole, the west valley move-up price range of $800,000 to $1,200,000 is a sellers market overall, with the most expensive areas with the best schools tending to have the strongest seller’s market of the bunch.

If you are interested in buying or selling in one of these great communities, please contact me for a confidential & no pressure consultation.  We can drill down to the specific market realities in your segment of the market, whether it’s entry level, move-up, or luxury housing.