by Mary Pope-Handy, Clair Handy | Dec 6, 2023 | Almaden Valley (SJ), Market Reports
The Almaden Valley real estate market is experiencing some up and down, but remains clearly in a seller’s market. Inventory remains perpetually low, so the best homes in great locations are selling like hotcakes while buyers are passing over others that may need more work.
Almaden Valley Real Estate Market Conditions: Trends at a Glance
Next, a look at the residential real estate market statistics for Almaden, or San Jose 95120 from the Real Estate Report (a subscription that uses closed / sold data). They’re having a bit of a technical issue with their data collection, so not every number is exactly correct, however it still offers useful market analysis.
There is too much diversity of home sizes, conditions, and locations for last month’s 14 sales to give us a great idea about what homes are worth in today’s market. But what I do find helpful is the sale to list price ratio (barely over 100%) and the days of inventory (just under a month). This is a warm seller’s market from the closed sales.
That said, in any particular “tier” or area, such as starter homes with Williams Elementary or homes worth 8 million +, the market conditions could be decidedly more hot or cool. Always study the comps for your home, or the one that you want to purchase.
| Trends At a Glance |
Nov 2023 |
Previous Month |
Year-over-Year |
| Median Price |
$1,845,000 (-16.1%) |
$2,200,000 |
$2,000,000 (-7.8%) |
| Average Price |
$1,842,210 (-18.7%) |
$2,266,310 |
$2,023,480 (-9.0%) |
| No. of Sales |
14 (-12.5%) |
16 |
21 (-33.3%) |
| Pending |
17 (+30.8%) |
13 |
9 (+88.9%) |
| Active |
14 (-12.5%) |
16 |
27 (-48.1%) |
| Sale vs. List Price |
100.6% (+0.4%) |
100.2% |
96.1% (+4.7%) |
| Days on Market |
18 (+18.4%) |
16 |
28 (-33.8%) |
| Days of Inventory |
29 (-3.3%) |
30 |
37 (-22.2%) |
And from the month before:
| Trends At a Glance |
Sep 2023 |
Previous Month |
Year-over-Year |
| Median Price |
$2,310,000 (+6.0%) |
$2,180,000 |
$1,930,000 (+19.7%) |
| Average Price |
$2,264,200 (+1.4%) |
$2,232,720 |
$1,928,390 (+17.4%) |
| No. of Sales |
15 (-48.3%) |
29 |
31 (-51.6%) |
| Pending |
8 (-46.7%) |
15 |
23 (-65.2%) |
| Active |
21 (+40.0%) |
15 |
41 (-48.8%) |
| Sale vs. List Price |
104.2% (+2.4%) |
101.8% |
98.9% (+5.3%) |
| Days on Market |
14 (-2.9%) |
15 |
32 (-55.4%) |
| Days of Inventory |
41 (+161.6%) |
16 |
38 (+5.9%) |
Altos Research charts for Almaden Valley real estate market, single family homes segment (more…)
by Clair Handy, Mary Pope-Handy | Dec 6, 2023 | Market Reports, Morgan Hill
How is the Morgan Hill real estate market? Signals indicate it is an active seller’s market, but noticeably milder than other parts of the county and experiencing seasonal cooling. Overall the wild extremes of last spring are no more. Below are some quick points from our RE Report (link below).
- The average sale price for houses in November was $1,404,530 (-17.2% from the month before and -3.9% from a year ago)
- The median sale price for single family homes was $1,300,000 (-10.3% from the month prior and -4.8% from this time last year)
- The sales to list price ratio for homes dipped to 97.4% (-1.1% from the month before and -0.5% from last year).
- Days on market slowed month-over-month, averaging 38 days, which is about 1.5 weeks faster than this time last year, but still a quick turnover.
It’s still a seller’s market with plenty of competition for the best homes.
See the Santa Clara County real estate market report (for comparison) here.
The Morgan Hill Real Estate Market
The cities of Morgan Hill and Gilroy usually experience a lower demand than other parts of Santa Clara County which are either tech magnets, closer to big businesses, or a quicker commute around the Bay Area. So if most of the Silicon Valley has a sale price to list price ratio of anywhere from 105% to 110%, you might see 98% to 103% here. Not exact numbers, just to say it’s generally lower here making the home buying conditions calmer for weary buyers, though still a sellers market.
Now let’s get into the data.
First up, the market profile from Altos Research – this is updated weekly, so check back often! You can also view the weekly newsletter through the link below, where you can also subscribe to receive this update every week in your inbox. Prefer a particular zip code instead? You can type in your desired zip in the “Search Anywhere” line and then request that particular weekly update by email.
Altos Research weekly report for all of Morgan Hill
Altos weekly report for 95037 only
Altos weekly report for 95038 only
Please note that Altos uses information on actively listed homes for sale, not closed sale data. If you compare the days on market of the active listings with the days on market of the sold properties, they will be different.
Trends at a Glance for Single Family Homes in Morgan Hill
Below is a chart with basic info, to see more click on this link to see the Real Estate Report for Morgan Hill.
Month-over-month November active inventory and pending sales grew while closed sales plunged. Homes sold slightly under asking on average and with longer days on market compared to last month. There are clear signs all around that the market is cooling, which is expected around the end of the year. Looking year-over-year, the market slightly hotter than it was in 2022.
No doubt it’s still a clear seller’s market, but compared to other parts of the county it’s easier for buyers to get their foot in the door here in south county.
| Trends At a Glance |
Nov 2023 |
Previous Month |
Year-over-Year |
| Median Price |
$1,300,000 (-10.3%) |
$1,450,000 |
$1,365,000 (-4.8%) |
| Average Price |
$1,404,530 (-17.2%) |
$1,696,270 |
$1,461,000 (-3.9%) |
| No. of Sales |
19 (-38.7%) |
31 |
17 (+11.8%) |
| Pending |
24 (+4.3%) |
23 |
20 (+20.0%) |
| Active |
36 (+12.5%) |
32 |
49 (-26.5%) |
| Sale vs. List Price |
97.4% (-1.1%) |
98.5% |
96.9% (+0.5%) |
| Days on Market |
38 (+17.0%) |
33 |
47 (-18.5%) |
| Days of Inventory |
55 (+77.4%) |
31 |
84 (-34.3%) |
Single Family Home Live charts from Altos Research (more…)
by Mary Pope-Handy, Clair Handy | Dec 5, 2023 | Market Reports, Santa Clara County (all)
The Santa Clara County real estate market is very similar to last month: inventory remains tight, home prices continue rising year over year, interest rates came down a little more last week, and most listings are “have to sell” situations (more sales after a death than usual).
Here’s the RE Report summary table for the Santa Clara County real estate market. It’s an excellent summary of our Silicon Valley housing market.
Santa Clara County real estate market statistics: multi year real estate data charts for (single family homes)
PLEASE NOTE: to view any of the data tables / images below in a larger version, just click on them and you will be taken to our blog post, where the images are larger (except for the first one). Still too small? Click on them in the article and a larger still version will pop up.
Months of Inventory
First, the months of inventory. This is a great summary statistic for the Santa Clara County real estate market. At 1.3 months of inventory it’s a pretty clear seller’s market. It’s also not atypical for this time of year.
Inventory
Next, inventory – how much is there for buyers to choose from? Almost nothing. And what is for sale is often not stunning since the majority seem to be “must sell” situations.
(more…)
by Mary Pope-Handy, Clair Handy | Nov 17, 2023 | Gilroy, Market Reports
Garlic Festival – much missed!
Gilroy is a scenic area well known for wineries, farmland and fruit stands. More than anything, it’s most iconic produce is garlic, which used to be celebrated late each July with the annual Garlic Festival, which, sadly, has been discontinued.
In summer days, the scent of garlic fills the early morning air and blows north along the coastal foothills so that those of us in Silicon Valley get a healthy nose full when grabbing our morning paper off the driveway. This has been my experience since I was a small child and I’m happy that all the progress of the last 40 or 50 years hasn’t changed the smell of garlic heralding mid-summer.
If you’re exploring this city, be sure to also check out Morgan Hill and San Martin, the other South County communities, too!
Gilroy: shopping, dining, wine tasting, parks, golf, and more
A nice easy, and fairly fast trip by car will bring you to South County and to this city nestled at the base of the coastal range. It’s a wonderful day trip to explore the backyard of Silicon Valley, or better, take a whole weekend to get to know the area. There’s a nice downtown area where you can do some shopping and dining. Go out a bit and there are a number of fabulous wineries to check out. And lest we forget, Gilroy is a local epicenter of bargain shopping.
At the intersection of highways 101 and 152, the Gilroy Premium Outlet Mall is found. Go with the intention of spending money, because resistance is futile once you park your car. We have shopped there many times and often found some especially good pricing on clothes.
Many will attest that cars are found for a better price there, too.
This area is also home to a charming family amusement park (aimed at younger kids), Gilroy Gardens. Adults and children alike will appreciate the astounding topiary and twisted special trees which are unlike those you’d find anywhere else. Even if you don’t have small kids, it’s worthwhile to visit this park just to see the amazing trees at least once.
Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Coyote Valley and nearby areas make up the “south county,” which has a little slower pace of living and quite a bit more affordability in housing. The commute is long. The summers are hotter. So there are some trade-offs.
Love golf? There are several courses here: Eagle Ridge, Gilroy Golf Course, and Gavilan Golf Course are all in town.
Gilroy neighborhoods
(more…)
by Mary Pope-Handy, Clair Handy | Nov 16, 2023 | Market Reports, Most Popular Articles, Sunnyvale
The Sunnyvale real estate market, like the rest of Santa Clara County, has remained hot with a couple of cooling data points, some of which is seasonally typical.
Sunnyvale real estate market trends and stats at a glance
Here is a quick rundown of the trends at a glance for the Sunnyvale real estate market, with more in the charts below:
- The average sale price of Sunnyvale homes slipped a little (as they did the month before)
- Average prices are now up year over year by .4%. The median is up 3.6%
- Inventory rose as compared to September, but is less than normal.
- Pending sales are down slightly, monthly and annually, but the culprit is lack of inventory, not lack of buyer interest.
- The sale to list price ratio rose wildly to 113.2% in October, compared to 106.5% in September,107.0% in August and, 108.1% in July. This is far above October 2022.
PLEASE visit our ReReport page for data here, throughout Santa Clara County, and also for San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties.
(If you’re viewing this on a mobile phone, swipe horizontally to see the full chart if it goes off the screen.)
| Trends At a Glance |
Oct 2023 |
Previous Month |
Year-over-Year |
| Median Price |
$2,500,000 (+0.1%) |
$2,497,000 |
$2,412,000 (+3.6%) |
| Average Price |
$2,345,930 (-2.2%) |
$2,398,600 |
$2,337,420 (+0.4%) |
| No. of Sales |
38 (+52.0%) |
25 |
33 (+15.2%) |
| Pending |
25 (-3.8%) |
26 |
27 (-7.4%) |
| Active |
21 (-27.6%) |
29 |
44 (-52.3%) |
| Sale vs. List Price |
113.2% (+6.3%) |
106.5% |
102.0% (+10.9%) |
| Days on Market |
11 (-26.4%) |
14 |
19 (-44.7%) |
| Days of Inventory |
17 (-50.7%) |
34 |
40 (-58.6%) |
You may also want to see how Sunnyvale stacks up to other communities in Santa Clara County. If so, click to see the PDF Real Estate Report for Santa Clara County, updated monthly.
(more…)
by Mary Pope-Handy, Clair Handy | Nov 16, 2023 | Condos & Townhomes, Houses, Luxury Homes, Market Reports, Saratoga, Single Family Homes
Orchard and Hills in Saratoga, California
The Saratoga CA real estate market is a strengthening sellers’ market.
- the average and median home prices are up year over year – by double digits (it’s down monthly) – just like the month prior
- inventory of Saratoga houses for sale is rising, but still far lower than normal – just like September
- the sale to list price ratio is 101.3%, indicating a good seller’s market, but not as hot as September
Here’s a quick overview from the RE Report details below or please view the full data here.
How’s the Saratoga CA real estate market?
Saratoga has a diverse real estate market due to a wide range of home prices, square footage, lot sizes, school districts, and more. The luxury tier, generally $4 million and up (but in Saratoga, that’s really still just a house in an expensive zip code) normally moves slower than other price points. Saratoga’s entry level housing is usually the strongest. If the numbers swing wildly at any given month, it could be that more or fewer homes in a particular school district and pricing tier.
To really understand the Saratoga CA real estate market, you’ll need to get hyper local data for that home’s pricing tier, school district, and any other impactful data points.
Trends at a Glance for the Saratoga CA Real Estate Market
Data below for the Saratoga CA real estate market is from the ReReport.
Prices are up annually but down monthly – however, that is with just 13 sales, which may be too few to really indicate what’s happening. The sale to list price ratio and the short days on market tell us that it is a hot market.
| Trends At a Glance |
Oct 2023 |
Previous Month |
Year-over-Year |
| Median Price |
$3,944,000 (-8.3%) |
$4,300,000 |
$3,125,000 (+26.2%) |
| Average Price |
$4,351,650 (-4.2%) |
$4,542,270 |
$3,272,330 (+33.0%) |
| No. of Sales |
13 (+18.2%) |
11 |
12 (+8.3%) |
| Pending |
22 (+37.5%) |
16 |
8 (+175.0%) |
| Active |
26 (+18.2%) |
22 |
25 (+4.0%) |
| Sale vs. List Price |
101.3% (-4.4%) |
106.0% |
96.6% (+4.9%) |
| Days on Market |
38 (+162.8%) |
15 |
58 (-33.8%) |
| Days of Inventory |
60 (+3.4%) |
58 |
63 (-4.0%) |
And the month before:
(more…)
by Mary Pope-Handy, Clair Handy | Nov 10, 2023 | Los Gatos, Market Reports
As of today, November 10, 2023, the Los Gatos real estate market in 95030 & 95032 remains strong, especially for well priced, turnkey homes.
Across the county, first time home buyers are the most active and more entry level prices is the strongest segment.
Los Gatos real estate market statistics for the last 30 days (not a calendar month)
Numbers for today (pulled from the MLS), going back 30 days from yesterday, so appx mid September to mid October:
- 40 houses for sale
- 15 are contingent or sale pending
- 27 have closed in the last 30 days
- average home size 2,438 SF
- average lot size 19,052 SF
- average days on market = 19 (up from 13!)
- average sale price $2,963,808 (down from last month’s report of $3,338,419)
- median sale price $2,800,000 down from $3,040,000 in last month’s report)
- average sale to list price ratio 106% (up from 104% last month and 102% in mid Sept)
Trends at a Glance from the RE Report for Los Gatos 95030 & 95032
The numbers below analyze data gathered during the first week of each month and cover real estate statistics from the month prior in Los Gatos 95030 & 95032 (all areas / school districts), or MLS “area 16”. See the full RE Report here.
These numbers never line up exactly with the MLS figures, but the data trends line up:
| Trends At a Glance |
Oct 2023 |
Previous Month |
Year-over-Year |
| Median Price |
$2,943,000 (-3.5%) |
$3,050,000 |
$2,844,000 (+3.5%) |
| Average Price |
$3,269,090 (+7.4%) |
$3,042,590 |
$3,331,400 (-1.9%) |
| No. of Sales |
30 (+100.0%) |
15 |
30 (0.0%) |
| Pending |
16 (-42.9%) |
28 |
13 (+23.1%) |
| Active |
42 (-12.5%) |
48 |
53 (-20.8%) |
| Sale vs. List Price |
104.1% (+0.1%) |
103.9% |
98.3% (+5.9%) |
| Days on Market |
20 (-12.5%) |
23 |
39 (-48.2%) |
| Days of Inventory |
42 (-54.7%) |
93 |
53 (-20.8%) |
And the month before:
| Trends At a Glance |
Sep 2023 |
Previous Month |
Year-over-Year |
| Median Price |
$3,050,000 (-4.7%) |
$3,200,000 |
$2,600,000 (+17.3%) |
| Average Price |
$3,042,590 (-10.2%) |
$3,386,360 |
$2,923,980 (+4.1%) |
| No. of Sales |
15 (-40.0%) |
25 |
27 (-44.4%) |
| Pending |
28 (+33.3%) |
21 |
27 (+3.7%) |
| Active |
48 (+14.3%) |
42 |
46 (+4.3%) |
| Sale vs. List Price |
103.9% (+1.5%) |
102.4% |
100.4% (+3.5%) |
| Days on Market |
23 (-28.0%) |
32 |
45 (-48.8%) |
| Days of Inventory |
93 (+84.1%) |
50 |
49 (+87.8%) |
Further below you’ll find similar charts for houses in the Los Gatos Mountains and also condos and townhomes “in town”.
Los Gatos real estate market statistics: multi year data by month
Here is some Los Gatos real estate market data that I pulled directly from the MLS today.
Inventory of available homes for sale in Los Gatos 95030 and Los Gatos 95032
A quick glance at the last few years suggests that this inventory remains a little low.
(more…)
by Clair Handy, Mary Pope-Handy | Nov 9, 2023 | Market Reports, Santa Teresa (SJ)
Silver Leaf Park in the Santa Teresa area of San Jose
How’s the Santa Teresa real estate market? The scenic Santa Teresa area of San Jose is popular as it’s a bit more affordable, offering lovely views of the hills and public schools that seem to be improving over time making the area more desirable. These positives appear to be helping that district hold its value well. Here are a few details from the latest monthly market update for Santa Teresa single family homes (read the full analysis below):
- Both the single family and condo / townhouse market are seller’s markets with extremely few available listings, per the latest monthly data.
- Average and median sale prices have shot up since the month prior and annually
- Homes are selling extremely quickly with time on market at a 17 day average, and market absorption racing to just 20 days
- The number of closed and pending sales shot up month-over-month, though it’s far behind year-over-year
To begin our analysis below, we have some live data feeds broken up by zip code. Santa Teresa (our MLS Area 2) includes a small bit of the 95123 zip code, which is more expensive, but most of that zip code is Blossom Valley, so we will omit it. The 95138 zip code is about half Santa Teresa and half Evergreen (more expensive area), so take those numbers with a big grain of salt. I find the 95119 zip code to be most helpful, but even then, the school district is divided between Oak Grove and Morgan Hill.
Weekly update from Altos Research with a “market profile” of San Jose’s Santa Teresa area, zip code 95119 for single family homes / houses:
When there’s not enough data, the fields will be blank.
(more…)
by Mary Pope-Handy | Oct 25, 2023 | Finance Information, Multiple Offers
Why are all cash offers such a big deal?
Buyers who are getting slammed out of the Silicon Valley real estate market due to low inventory and multiple offers are extremely frustrated. Part of the problem may be the amount of cash in their offer. It can be hard to compete with bids with smaller loan amounts or which are “all cash, no loans”.
The question arises all the time: why isn’t my 20% down offer just as good as the 50% down or the all cash offer? Isn’t 20% down good enough? Or for that matter, why wouldn’t a lower interest rate FHA backed loan be suitable?
All cash is better because there’s less risk
Twenty percent down is “good enough” if there are no other offers. If it’s multiple offers, though, it’s probably not sufficient for most sellers provided that the all cash offers are written with realistic pricing. Right now, about 15% of home sales in Santa Clara County are all cash, and sellers would far rather deal with an offer that includes no finance or appraisal contingencies. For sellers, the fewer contingencies the better and no contingencies is ideal. Particularly now, when we are seeing a very sudden and dramatic upswing in pricing, appraisal contingencies can kill an offer’s chances of success due to the fear of a low appraisal. With all cash, there is no appraisal at all – it’s a slam dunk on that front. (more…)
by Clair Handy, Mary Pope-Handy | Oct 16, 2023 | Market Reports, Monte Sereno
How is the Monte Sereno real estate market? Because the city is small, with just about 3,500 residents, there usually are few homes listed for sale or selling, and with small numbers we can get seeming volatility. This article is updated monthly with new data and analysis, so scroll down to read the latest and check back regularly. Here are a few details from the latest market update:
- With so few sales and listings, Monte Sereno real estate data can swing quite wildly in the charts below so take it with a grain of salt.
- This city appears to be in a seller’s market with severely low inventory, just 7 available homes at the end of September. That’s huge growth, but still a drop in the bucket for what’s needed.
- There were just 2 closed sales and 2 pending sales, both short of this time last year.
There are ALMOST no condominiums or townhomes in Monte Sereno. As of August 2023, the MLS showed just 6 sales in these two categories in total – and that’s going back to 1998! And one of those, at least, appears to actually be in Los Gatos. One of the major challenges for this city is to ensure that at least some housing units are deemed “affordable.” You can find the city’s housing plan here (an online pdf): http://www.montesereno.org/DocumentCenter/Home/View/674
Because this is such a small city and there’s a tiny pool of data, please also have a look at the Los Gatos real estate market post on this site.
Below is a quick market profile for the Monte Sereno real estate market. This is updated automatically weekly, so please check back often.
(more…)
