Real Estate Report May 2009

Saturday, June 20, 2009

HIGHLIGHTS for May 2009


- Home sales increased, year-over-year, by 8.5% in May. Year-to-date, home sales are up 26.7%.

- The median price for single-family, re-sale homes gained 4.5% from April, down 35.8% year-over-year.

- Days of Inventory now stands at 93.

Home sales increased, year-over-year, by 10.9% in May. This is the eleventh month in a row homes sales have been up compared to the year before. The 984 homes sold were the most since May 2007 when there were 1,022 homes sold. Year-to-date, home sales are up 26.7%.

The median price for single-family, re-sale homes rose 4.5% in May from April. Year-over-year, the median price was off 36.2% The average price gained 7.9%, month-over-month, but was off 33.2% compared to May 2008.

Inventory dropped to its lowest level since February 2007. It was down 42.7% year-over-year.

Pending sales, which is a leading indicator, was up 41.5% compared to last May.

The sales price to list price ratio for homes rose 0.5 of a point to 98.9%.

Days of inventory dropped 24 to 93 days for homes.

Condo sales rose 20.3% from April, and were up 20.8% year-over-year.

The median price for condos rose 10.7% from April, but it was off 38.3% compared to last May. The average price gained 7.3%, month-over-month, but was down 33.2% compared to May 2008.

Condo inventory was down 42.3% year-over-year, while pending sales were up 41.8%.

The sales price to list price ratio for condos rose 0.5 of a point to 97.6%.

Go to my on-line site SCVReport.com for the full report, plus a city-by-city breakdown.

If you would like to search for properties in the Santa Clara Valley, go to my online search form at: MLS Search

If you find the Santa Clara Valley Real Estate Report useful and know someone else who might, please feel free to forward this e-mail to them. There is also a four page printable version with more articles here:
Printable Report.

Sincerely,

Andrew Hartland
Broker/Owner

- 89 Point Marketing Program
- Virtual & Audio Showcase Tours
- Sale & Purchase Guarantees


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Real Estate Report - April 2009

Sunday, May 10, 2009

HIGHLIGHTS for April 2009

- Home sales increased, year-over-year, by 33.1% in April. Year-to-date, home sales are up 33.4%.

- The median price for single-family, re-sale homes gained 4.4% from March, down 37.3% year-over-year.

The median price for single-family, re-sale homes rose 4.4% in April from March. Year-over-year, the median price was off 37.3% The average price gained 0.6%, month-over-month, but was down 38.3% compared to April 2008.

Home sales increased, year-over-year, by 33.1% in April. This is the tenth month in a row homes sales have been up compared to the year before. Year-to-date, home sales are up 33.4%.

Sales continue to be concentrated in the lower-priced cities such as San Jose where year-over-year sales were up 76.8%, and Gilroy where sales were up 93.3%.

Inventory continues to be lower than the year before: down 35.6%.

The sales price to list price ratio for homes rose 0.1 of a point to 98.4%. Days of inventory dropped 46 to 117 days for homes.

Condo sales rose 4.8% from March, and were up 11.5% year-over-year. The median price for condos rose 17.2% from March, and it was off 42.9% compared to last April. The average price gained 7.4%, month-over-month, but was down 36.9% compared to April 2008.

Condo inventory was down 33.3% year-over-year. The sales price to list price ratio for condos dropped 0.3 of a point to 97.1p%.

Go to my on-line site SCVReport.com for the full report, plus a city-by-city breakdown.

If you would like to search for properties in the Santa Clara Valley, go to my online search form at: MLS Search

If you find the Santa Clara Valley Real Estate Report useful and know someone else who might, please feel free to forward this e-mail to them. There is also a four page printable version with more articles here:
Printable Report.

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Santa Clara Valley Real Estate Report

Monday, January 26, 2009

Santa Clara Valley Real Estate Report

HIGHLIGHTS for December 2008

- Resale homes were down 1.2% for the year.

- Considerable momentum in the second half of the year.

- Prices showed some improvement in December. The median price was down a paltry 0.2% from November.

- Average price rose for the first time in fifteen months, gaining 3.6% month-over-month.

Although sales of single-family, re-sale homes were down 1.2% for the year, there was a lot of momentum in the second half of the year. Home sales increased, year-over-year, in the last six months of 2008. Momentum that should carry over into 2009. Prices took a hit last year but should start bottoming out in the first half of this year.

For the month of December, sales of single-family, re-sale homes in Santa Clara County were up 38.8% compared to last year. Month-over-month, sales were up 6.8%. Sales continue to be concentrated in the lower-priced cities such as San Jose where year-over-year sales were up 80.6%, and Gilroy where sales were up 186.7%. It’s interesting to note that sales in Palo Alto, a very high priced area, were up 100%.

Prices actually showed some improvement in December. The median price was down a paltry 0.2% from November, and off 36.3% year-over-year. The average price actually rose for the first time in fifteen months, gaining 3.6% month-over-month, down 34% compared to last December.

Inventory crept upward last month, rising 1.9% from November, and up 11.5% compared to December 2007. The sales price to list price ratio rose 0.1 of a point to 98.9%.

Condo sales rose for the second month in a row, gaining 9.5% from November, and, surprisingly, were up 1% year-over-year.

The median price for condos was flat month-over-month, but was off 38% compared to last December.

Go to my on-line site SCVReport.com for the full report, plus a city-by-city breakdown.

If you would like to search for properties in the Santa Clara Valley, go to my online search form at: MLS Search

If you find the Santa Clara Valley Real Estate Report useful and know someone else who might, please feel free to forward this e-mail to them. There is also a four page printable version with more articles here:
Printable Report.

Sincerely,

Andrew Hartland
Broker/Owner

- 89 Point Marketing Program
- Virtual & Audio Showcase Tours
- Sale & Purchase Guarantees

Click here to receive monthly newsletters and stay up-to-date on local real estate.

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Where’s the Money?

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

With credit tight and standards even tighter, finding the money to buy a home in today’s market can be a challenge.

In today’s market, the best place to find a mortgage might just be your local credit union.
 
Credit unions never got involved with sub-prime mortgages, and are, therefore, very solvent and have the money to loan.
 
Of course, their lending is more along the lines of Jimmy Stewart’s “It’s a Wonderful Life”, which means you’ll have to document everything.
 
The interesting thing about credit unions is they are non-profit. That means loans are not only competitive with banks that sell their loans on Wall Street, but are usually lower than bank mortgages.
 
Credit unions use their own money to lend and then keep the loans in house and return the “profit”, the interest payments, to their members. Credit unions serve their members who pool their money together with the expectation they’ll get a return on their investment.
 
According to the National Credit Union Administration, credit unions, through September, saw an increase of 15.1% in the number of fix-rate mortgages outstanding compared to the same period in 2007. Adjustable rate mortgages were up 11.8%.
 
Membership Eligibility. By current federal statute, credit unions cannot serve the general public. People qualify for a credit union membership through their employer, organizational affiliations like churches or social groups, or a community-chartered credit union.
 
To find a credit union, go here: 
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Mortgage Rate Outlook

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

The overall cost of mortgage money, as gauged by HSH’s Fixed-Rate Mortgage Indicator (FRMI), spiked 34 basis points (.34%) higher, making it the third consecutive week of at least a 30-basis-point movement in rates. However, the swings from week to week are becoming somewhat smaller; they’ve moved 40 basis points up, then 37 down, and now 34 up again. Five-one Hybrid ARMs jumped 11 BP, leaving the most popular alternative to the traditional 30-year fixed rate at 6.80%.

The price of a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage nudged 33 basis points higher, while private-market 30-year Jumbo fixed rates finished the week at 7.90%.
 
There’s plenty of negativity to go around these days, and October will finish as one of the most difficult months ever for financial markets. That said, the sheer volume of new programs put in place by regulators, as well as the attempts to re-liquify the financial markets by the Treasury and Federal Reserve, means that we may just be enduring the worst period at the moment, with better things to come. If nothing else, the passing of the election cycle, with its unending repetitions of negative messages, should produce a level of quiet not enjoyed for many, many months.
 
That’s not to say there’s all that much to cheer about, given all the troubles which face the economy. Still, there are encouraging signs here and there which get pushed out of the headlines, downplayed, or outright ignored. Take home sales, for example: last week, Existing Home Sales popped much higher than expected, only to have detractors claim that they would have fallen if not for discounted prices for foreclosures. That’s equivalent of saying "That store would have closed except for that big half-off sale!" The point here is that even good news — in this case, that home sales are rising — is too often treated with scorn.
 
Such was the case this week for sales of New Homes. The unexpected lift in sales to an annualized 464,000 in September was, in part, explained away by the 9% year-over-year decline in the cost of a new house. We prefer to focus on the fact that despite challenging financing conditions and a troubled economy, homes are being sold. Better yet, inventory levels are now well below the present rate of sale, and this in turn suggests that at least some life in the building trades may be coming before long.
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Santa Clara County Home Sales Up Fourth Month in a Row

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Sales of single-family, re-sale homes in Santa Clara County were up 44.7% in October compared to last year. Month-over-month, sales fell 8%. Sales continue to be concentrated in the lower-priced cities such as San Jose where year-over-year sales were up 99.6%, and Gilroy where sales were up 372.7%.

Home prices continue to be affected by the bank-owned property that has flooded the market.
 
The median price continued to slide, down 7.8% from September, and off 35.8% year-over-year.
 
Inventory continues to decline, falling 8.1% from September, and down 12.1% compared to October 2007.
 
Condo sales tumbled 10.7% from September, and were down 19% year-over-year.
 
The median price for condos, on the other hand, rose 5.3% month-over-month, but was off 28% compared to last October.
 
If you are in escrow with one of the new higher-limit, conforming loans, or you expect to buy a home before the end of the year, remember, the new, higher conforming loan limit of $729,750 expires at the end of the year. You must have your loan funded by then. Starting January 1st, the conforming loan limit will be $625,000.

You can read the full on-line report here: http://hartland.rereport.com/.
 
There is also an 4 page printable version with more articles here:

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The Santa Clara County Real Estate Report is brought to you by:

 
Andrew Hartland
Realty World Homes & Estates
2130 The Alameda, Suite 200
San Jose, CA 95126
(408) 206-0122
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