Los Altos Market Conditions August 2015
- Price indicators decline
- But demand remains strong
- Inventory stays low
- Days on market longest since February
All price indicators fell in August, with the sales price to list price ratio staying below 110% for the second straight month. It may be we that we are beginning to see some softening in the market with these price declines but with homes still selling for well over their list price, there is no cause for alarm. Demand remains strong and inventory low.
The median sales price in August was $2.8 million, only $52,000 lower than in July but still a very healthy $525,000 (23%) higher than a year ago. August’s price per square foot was $1,141, $79 or6.5% below July’s $1,220 but 8.6% higher than August 2014’s $1,051. The average August sale was for 107% of the list price, compared to 109% in July and 106% a year ago.
Closed sales increased form 15 in July to 21 in August, the most since February. One year ago, there were 22 closed sales.
Note that in each of the past several months, pending sales and inventory numbers have been restated (pending sales downward and inventory upward) the following month, so we need to take caution with the following data. That being said 25 properties were actively listed at the end of August, down from 40 at the end of July. 37 sales went pending in August, seven more than in July. The result was that there was a 0.7 month supply available at the end of August relative to pending sales.
Homes were on the market for an average of 21 days in August, which equaled the number from a year earlier but was six more days than July’s 15 days.
Analysis by Price Range
Five properties priced below $2 million were actively listed at the end of August, one more than at the end of July. Four sales went to contract during August, down from ten in July. A 1.25 month supply was on the market at the end of August. 20% of Los Altos’ inventory and 11% of its pending sales were priced below $2 million.
The inventory of homes in the $2 million to $2,999,999 price range was cut from 24 at the end of July to 11 at the end of August. Pending sales, on the other hand, went from 11 in July to 26 in August. Less than two weeks of inventory were available at the end of August. This price range accounted for 44% of inventory and 70% of pending sales.
In the $3 million-plus market segment, nine homes were available for sale at the end of August, one less than at the end of July. Those nine homes were 44% of the total inventory. Pending sales fell from nine in July to seven in August, accounting for 19% of all homes for sale here. A 1.3 month supply was on the market at the end of August.
