Real Estate Market Update: A Strong Fall Market
Neither cooler temperatures nor an ongoing epidemic could tamp down the strong real estate market in our area. Although San Mateo County sales in October showed slight decreases in median sale price on a month-over-month basis, they were higher (9.6% for single family and 2.1% for condos/townhomes) compared to last year. Santa Clara county sales increased on both month-over-month and year-over-year basis. Of note, the number of closed sales in all categories increased between 16-35% compared to last October, which is indicative of our usual fall market being pushed later in the year due to COVID.
In the following chart, we compared the number of sales between January and October over the past six years. Although this year has had fewer sales, it’s actually not as bad as might have been expected considering the Shelter in Place restrictions that we’ve been under for most of the year.
to October 31
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |
| SFH San Mateo | 3,703 | 3,546 | 3,611 | 3,615 | 3,463 | 3,312 |
| Condo/TH San Mateo | 1,211 | 1,184 | 1,194 | 1,091 | 1,031 | 1,017 |
| SFH Santa Clara | 9,396 | 8,799 | 9,236 | 8,648 | 8,124 | 7,787 |
| Condo/TH Santa Clara | 3,768 | 3,767 | 3,771 | 3,393 | 3,140 | 3,026 |
On the ground, we experienced a bit of a slowdown toward the last week of October, quite possibly due to the election, and while there may be some good activity depending on specific properties, will not be surprised to have November & December numbers decrease a bit as COVID restrictions are tightened and as people prepare for the holidays. On a good note, most economists are predicting that our recovery will continue, especially with the promise and hope of a COVID-19 vaccine, and that we will have a brisk spring market in 2021.