Menlo Park Market Conditions February 2014
- Sales and inventory rise
- Median sales price increases
- $1 million – $2 million pending sales spike
- Price per square foot way up
The Menlo Park real estate market posted strong results for February. The median sales price was up 27% from a year ago. Both inventory and pending sales increased for the second straight month, paced by homes priced from $1 million to $2 million, which saw pending sales increase form one in December to nine in January and 14 in February.
February’s median sales price for single family detached homes was $1,760,000, 9% higher ($141,967) than January’s $1,618,033. That was also 27% ($372,500) higher than February 2013’s 1,387,500. February was the ninth consecutive month where the median sales price was higher than a year earlier. The average price per square foot jumped $161 in February, from $800 in January to $961 in February. That was the highest level in at least three years and probably a lot longer. The average sale in Fbruary was for 196% of the list price, down from 107% in January and 103% a year ago.
17 sales closed during February, four more than in January, a 31% increase. That was, however, three fewer sales than closed a year ago. Sales have been falling since peaking in May at 52. February may be the turning point as we head into spring.
24 sales went into contract in February, a 27% increase from 19 in January but five less than a year ago. Inventory increased 15% in February, from 20 units at the end of January to 23 at the end of February. 29 homes were on the market a year ago. Inventory relative to sales that went pending was virtually unchanged at about 1.0 month.
January’s closed sales were on the market an average of 18 days, one less than January’s 19 days. A year ago, the average was 35 days and for all of 2013 it was about 27 days,
Analysis by Price Range
There has not been much change in the inventory level of homes priced under $1 million. Between three and eight homes have been actively listed in this segment for over a year. Six homes were actively listed under $1 million at the end of January, accounting for 26% of Menlo Park’s total. Two sales of less than $1 million went pending in February, half of February’s total and one fifth the total from a year ago. 26% of Menlo Park’s inventory at the end of February and 8% of the sales that went pending during the month were priced below $1 million. 3.0 months of inventory relative to sales that went pending were available at the end of February, up from 1.3 months at the end of January.
14 homes priced from $1 million to $1.99 million went into contract in February, five more than in January and three more than a year ago. This price range made up the biggest portion of Menlo Park’s real estate activity in February, accounting for 58% of the sales that went pending and 30% of inventory. Seven homes were actively listed at the end of February, one less than at the end of January. Months of inventory dropped from 0.9 months at the end of January to 0.5 months at the end of February.
$2 million-plus homes accounted for 44% of Menlo Park’s total inventory at the end of February and 33% of the sales that went pending during February. 10 properties were actively listed at the end of February, up from seven at the end of January. Eight sales went into contract during February, two more than in January.
