Happy New Year! Looking back at 2019, the market was pretty much as expected with continued low inventory levels, low interest rates and strong home values. Despite talk of impending recession, indications are that this year will be more of the same. We’ll be covering this in detail at our upcoming seminar (more information below), and also in next month’s newsletter.
Let’s first take a look back at 2019 and some trends we saw for sales of single-family homes in our area:
Median Sale Price
As noted in the charts above, the median sale price in San Mateo County started at $1,400,000 in January and ended the year at $1,475,000 with an all-time high at $1,765,000 in May. In Santa Clara County, the median sale price started at $1,160,000 and ended at $1,220,000 with a high of $1,330,000 in July. In both cases, median sale prices ended the year slightly higher than they started with the usual increases during late spring, a slight decrease in late summer, then a small boost in the fall.
Median Days to Sell
In San Mateo County, the median days from “on market” to an accepted offer started at 27 then remained at less than two-week levels for most of the year, going to 24 days in the month of December. In Santa Clara County, this started at 29, went to less than two weeks in the spring, and then increased to less than three weeks during the second half of the year. Although we saw some cases of homes staying longer on the market, the majority of homes sold within 2-3 weeks for most of the year.
Months of Inventory
As a reminder, this is a statistic to measure how long it would take to sell all existing inventory at the current rate. Six months is traditionally considered a balanced market and less than 6 months a seller’s market. San Mateo & Santa Clara counties followed fairly similar patterns starting over the two-month level, dipping to less than two months over much of the year, and then ending the year with less than one month of inventory!
Again, all indicators are of a strong market that can still be great for sellers and a challenge for home buyers. For those who are considering selling or buying in the near future, what happens in the coming years may have a significant impact on your real estate goals. Whatever your personal situation, I will continue to keep you updated on the market through these newsletters, and would be happy to meet with you at any time to discuss your specific market and real estate needs.