Silicon Valley Real Estate Market Trend Report:

Santa Clara County (SCC): August was Scorching!

And I’m not referring to the weather.
Prices for both single-family, re-sale homes and condominiums were up by double-digits, again!
The median price for homes gained 17.4% over last August. The third month in a row the median price has been higher by double-digits. It is also the 66th month in a row the median price has been higher than the year before.
The average price for homes was up 12.9%. The second month in a row it has been up by double-digits.
The median price for condos gained 10.8%, the second month in a row of double-digit gains. Notably, the median price for condos has been higher than the year before every month since July of 2011!
The average price for condos was up 14.5% over last August.
Multiple offers continue to be the norm. The sales price to list price ratio, or what buyers are paying over what sellers are asking remains at triple digits: 106.4% for homes and 106.1% for condos.
The ratio has been over 100% for homes since March 2012 and for condos since April 2012.
Homes and condos are flying off the shelf. It is taking only nineteen days to sell a home, on average. Condos are taking eighteen days.
All of this is due to an incredible lack of inventory. Since January 2000, Santa Clara County has averaged 94 days of inventory. Last month it was nineteen!
Condos have averaged 87 days since 2000. Last month it was eleven.
With demand being through the roof due to Silicon Valley’s growth, people are moving further and further out: into the East Bay and down valley towards Gilroy.

August 2017 Sales Statistics (SCC)

* Total inventory is active listings plus pending listings. Active listings do not include pending.

More information is available in our on-line report at http://avi.rereport.com/market_reports

What to Know When Buying a Home (SCC & SMC)

Buying a home is one of the most complicated transactions you will ever do. So many people and companies are involved that it is easy for mistakes to be made. Freddie Mac offers a number of tips:

• Get pre-approved for a loan. With competition fierce, you’ll want to be ready to make an offer. With a pre-approved loan, you’ll have more clout as the seller considers your offer.
• Make sure it’s in writing. Don’t settle for verbal agreements. If the seller says he’ll replace the carpet or leave his washer and dryer, get it in writing.
• Get a good-faith estimate. Your mortgage lender is required to provide you with a good-faith estimate of closing costs within three days of receiving your application. They need to provide it in writing. If you don’t have to pay loan application fees, you may want to compare lenders and compare closing costs.
• Don’t settle for the first lender you come across. Contact at least three lenders and compare rates.
• Lock-in your rate. One of the most stressful parts of the loan process is watching rates inch up and down each day and trying to figure out when to lock in your rate. Once you do lock in, be sure to get a written statement that outlines your interest rate and length of the lock.
• Get a home inspection. A professional home inspector will examine the house’s major systems and let you know if there are any problems or defects. You can then use the information in your negotiations. Look for an inspector who is a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors. Members are required to have completed at least 250 paid professional home inspections and passed two written exams that test the inspector’s knowledge. Also, ask for references.
• Shop for homeowners’ insurance as soon as your offer is accepted. The National Association of Realtors recently cautioned home buyers to not take homeowners insurance for granted. You and your spouse may have a clean claims history and a stellar credit history – something insurance companies use to determine whether they will insure you – but it’s not just you they’re looking at. If the house you’re eyeing has had claims, there’s a chance they won’t insure you, especially if it’s a water-related claim.
• Read everything. When you have the closing meeting to sign the mountain of papers, make sure you read through everything carefully and don’t hesitate to ask questions if there is anything you don’t understand.

Finally, give yourself enough time between your closing and your move date, just in case there are delays in the closing process.

Call or email me if you have any questions.

For further details and a city-by-city breakdown statistics, go to http://avi.rereport.com/market_reports.

Real estate related Articles

Helpful resource for home owners
Many new home owners or owners who consider remodeling or rebuilding their homes should take advantage of their county Tax Assessor web site. These web site and their respective city building departments web site typically have vest information regarding the process for applying for permits, the impact on their taxes and many other resources that home owners should be aware are available for them.
For the San Mateo County Tax Assessor office visit http://www.smcare.org/default.asp
For Santa Clara County Tax Assessor visit https://www.sccassessor.org/index.php

The Silicon Valley 150 Index Corner

The Silicon Valley’s Real estate market is a derivative of the local economy–it prospers and withers depending on how well the local innovation-based sector performs. The San Jose Mercury News tracks the performances of the largest 150 publicly traded companies headquartered in Silicon Valley through an index called the SV150, which may be found at www.mercurynews.com. Stocks are valued based on several criteria, but one of the more important criteria is a company’s future earnings. Therefore, I see the SV150 as a leading indicator for Silicon Valley’s real estate market.

Investors Corne

THE S&P CORELOGIC CASE-SHILLER NATIONAL HOME PRICE INDEX RISES AGAIN TO ALL TIME HIGH

NEW YORK, AUGUST 29, 2017 – S&P Dow Jones Indices today released the latest results for the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices. Data released today for June 2017 shows that home prices continued their rise across the country over the last 12 months. More than 27 years of history for these data series is available, and can be accessed in full by going to http://bit.ly/2wIVEmT

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San Mateo County (SMC): August was Scorching!

And I’m not referring to the weather.

Prices for both single-family, re-sale homes and condominiums were up again!

The median price for homes gained 9.4% over last August. The average price for homes was up 9.7%.

The median price for condos gained 9.5%. The average price for condos was up 10.2% over last August.

Multiple offers continue to be the norm. The sales price to list price ratio, or what buyers are paying over what sellers are asking remains at triple digits: 108.7% for homes and 105.4% for condos.

The ratio has been over 100% for homes since April 2012 and for condos since June 2012.

Homes and condos are flying off the shelf. It is taking only nineteen days to sell a home, on average. Condos are taking seventeen days.

All of this is due to an incredible lack of inventory. Since January 2000, San Mateo County has averaged eighty-five days of inventory. Last month it was twenty-six!

Condos have averaged one hundred and sixteen days since 2000. Last month it was eighteen.

Inventory continues to be at the root of the problem. Since January 2000, single-family, re-sale homes on the market have averaged 1,086. On September 5th, there were only 323 homes actively for sale.

Things are no better for condos. Since 2000, the market has averaged 292 condos for sale. Now, there are only 84 condos actively for sale.

With demand being through the roof due to Silicon Valley’s growth, people are moving further and further out: into the East Bay and down valley towards Gilroy.

August 2017 Sales Statistics (SMC)

Call or email me if you have any questions.

For further details and a city-by-city breakdown statistics, go to http://avi.rereport.com/market_reports.