Menlo Park Market Conditions June 2014

• Average price per square foot over $1,000 for first time
• Closed and pending sales highest in past 12 months
• Inventory slipped

After a brief respite in May, prices continued their years-long assent in June.  In addition to the price per square foot breaking through $1,000, the median sales price and the sales price to list price ratio both rose in June.  Both closed sales and pending sales rose sharply in June, while inventory dropped.

The median sales price of a single family detached home in June was $1,904,225, the second highest price in years, bested only by April’s $1,975,000.  June’s median price was 18% ($294,225) higher than a year ago ($1,610,000).  The average price per square foot in June was $1,124 which was $198 or 21% higher than May’s $926 and $171 or 18% higher than June 2013’s $953.  The average sale in June closed for 108% of the list price, up from 107% in May and equal to a year earlier.

42 sales closed in June, up 45% or 13 units from May’s 29.  Junes closed sales were also 27% (nine units) higher than a year ago, when 33 sales closed.

47 sales went pending in June, eight more (21%) than in May (39).  That was also nine more than went pending a year ago.  29 homes were actively listed at the end of June, seven fewer (19%) than May’s 36.  One year earlier, 45 properties were available.  The increase in sales and loss of inventory resulted in only 0.6 months of inventory being on the market at the end of June, compared to 0.9 months at the end of May.

June’s closed sales were listed for an average of 18 days, down from 25 days in May but one more day than in June 2013.

Analysis by Price Range

Homes priced under $1 million saw inventory cut in half, from six at the end of May to three.  Eight sales went into contract during June, one less than in May.  Inventory relative to pending sales fell from 0.9 months at the end of May to 0.4 months at the end of June.  10% of Menlo Park’s inventory at the end of June and 17% of its pending sales during the month were in this segment.

Homes in the $1 million to $2,999,999 range accounted for 35% of inventory and 38% of pending sales in June.  10 homes were actively listed in this segment at the end of June, two more than at the end of May but six less than a year ago.  18 sales went pending during June, down from 19 in May but equal to a year earlier.  0.6 months of inventory was available in this price range at the end of June, compared to 0.4 months at the end of May.

The inventory of homes priced over $2 million increased by more than half, from 13 at the end of May to 21 at the end of June.  June also had three times the inventory of June 2013’s seven homes.  Six fewer sales went pending in June (16) than in May (22), a 27% decline.  Inventory relative to pending sales fell from 1.7 months at the end of May to 0.8 months at the end of June.  55% of Menlo Park’s inventory and 45% of its pending sales were priced over $2 million.