- 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.

The aftermath of the Fed tax credit, which expired April 30th, won’t be completely known until the end of June. Although the tax credit expired at the end of April, when buyers needed to be in escrow, buyers have until June 30th to close the sale.

The effect of the tax credit was complicated by the new state tax credit which started May 1st. Many buyers delayed escrow so they could take advantage of both credits, stealing sales from April, down 1.4% year-over-year, and pushing them into May, where home sales were up 21.1% year-over-year.

Pending home sales, goosed by the tax credits, continued to be near the record high recorded in April. We expect home sales to be strong in June.

The median price for single-family, re-sale homes edged upward in May by 0.2% from April. It was up 29.1% from last May. This is the eighth month in a row the median price has been higher than the year before.

Although inventory grew 2.4% from April, it was down 19% year-over-year. This is the eighteenth month in a row inventory has been lower than the year before, putting upward pressure on prices.

The sales price to list price ratio stayed over 100% for the eleventh month in a row: 100.9%. This signifies that well-priced homes in the best areas are receiving multiple offers.

ARE WE THERE YET?

If the previous numbers don’t convince you the real estate market in Santa Clara County has bottomed out, let’s look at some other statistics.

First, foreclosures levels: they dipped by 2% in April year-over-year. That’s the first annual decrease in more than five years, according to report issuer RealtyTrac.

Second, shorter marketing time: in May, average days on market was 39. That’s the shortest time since July 2007.

Third, Case-Shiller Home Price Index: often considered the gold standard for real estate statistics, the index for the San Francisco Bay Area was up for the eleventh month in a row, according to their latest statistics reported for March 2010. I expect when they report on April and May, we will see the index continue rising.

- Home sales increased, year-over-year, by 21.5% in June. Year-to-date, home sales are up 25.4%.

- The median price for single-family, re-sale homes jumped back over $500,000 for the first time since last December.

- Days of Inventory now stands at 69.

Home sales increased, year-over-year, by 21.5% in June. This is the twelfth month in a row homes sales have been up compared to the year before. The 1,192 homes sold were the most since June 2006 when 1,192 homes were sold also. Year-to-date, home sales are up 25.4%.

The median price for single-family, re-sale homes jumped back over $500,000 for the first time since last December, gaining 12.1% in June from May. Year-over-year, the median price was off 24.5% The average price gained 6.5%, month-over-month, but was off 24.1% compared to June 2008.

Inventory dropped to its lowest level since January 2007. It was down 56% year-over-year.

Pending sales, which is a leading indicator, was up 32.2% compared to last June.

The sales price to list price ratio for homes rose 0.5 of a point to 99.4%.

Days of inventory dropped 24 to 69 days for homes.

Condo sales rose 13.4% from May, and were up 33.3% year-over-year.

The median price for condos rose 12.7% from May, but it was off 23.2% compared to last June. The average price gained 7.4%, month-over-month, but was down 26.2% compared to June 2008.

Condo inventory was down 55.7% year-over-year, while pending sales were up 28.2%.

The sales price to list price ratio for condos rose 1.2 points to 98.8%.

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