February 05, 2009
If you read the San Jose Mercury, you’ve seen a rash of articles on the local, Santa Clara County real estate market. You probably know that although there are a lot of foreclosures in some parts of Silicon Valley, they are being bought up (or “absorbed”) at a fairly decent rate. These homes are more affordable, and buyers are responding. Countywide, about one home in four is selling.
It’s not that easy in the high end marketplaces such as Los Gatos, Almaden Valley, Monte Sereno and Saratoga. In these four areas, only about 8 – 15% of all homes are selling. (Monte Sereno is a very small area and the actual numbers for January were worse as no homes closed escrow, so technically in January that would be 0%. However, it has improved there in February already.)
My January Real Estate Report is now out and I invite you to view it and input the area and home type you seek to get the most current numbers.
Here’s an image from that report regarding the Los Gatos real estate market which will help to make the current situation more clear:
It is important for homesellers to understand that inventory is rising and sales are falling and that the odds of selling are not in their favor. Only then can they be realistically prepared to do what it takes to sell.
How is it that some of these high end homes are selling now, despite the odds?
- all of them have been priced aggressively, aiming to be “the best value” for the buyer
- many of them have been professionally staged
- most of them are very easy to see (lockbox, call first and then go rather than appointment with seller or appointment with listing agent)
It is very likely that the homes that have sold have been well marketed too, but that is not so easily trackable as there are so many components to consider in that arena.
Today’s post has focused on the Los Gatos real estate market. For more information on the Saratoga real estate market, and a focus on selling luxury homes in particular, please read a blog post I did yesterday on my Valley of Heart’s Delight blog:
http://sanjoserealestatelosgatoshomes.com/how-is-the-saratoga-real-estate-market/
If you would like to discuss selling your home in Los Gatos or nearby areas, please contact me for a personal consulatation.
