Mountain View Market Conditions December 2014
- Inventory still in single digits
- Demand still very strong
- Homes selling for 112% of list price, on average
- Pending and closed sales lowest in two years
The Mountain View real estate market remains very hot, in spite of the fact that there is little to no inventory. It’s hard to sell what isn’t there, so both pending and closed sales dropped to their lowest level in two years. Buyers remain active and aggressive, as evidenced by the fact that homes that sold did so for an average of about 112% of their list price.
December’s median sales price was $1,414,500, 10% below November’s $1,575,500 and about 4% below December 2013’s $1,472,500. December was the first time the current median price was below that of a year ago.
One he other hand, the average price per square foot increased 5% or $53, from $984 in November to $1,037 in December. December’s average was 19% or $166 higher than a year earlier. The average sale in December was for 111.5% of the list price. That is down slightly from 111.7% in November but well above December 2013’s 105%.
11 sales closed in December, the lowest monthly total in 2014. The last time sales were this low was January 2013 (eight). The current month’s sales were seven less than November’s 18 and about half the 20 sales in December 2013.
Five properties were actively listed at the end of December, one less than at the end of November and the lowest level of the year. It was, however, more inventory than a year ago, when only two homes were on the market. Pending sales were also lower in December (nine) than in any other month in 2014. 12 sales went to contract in November and 15 a year earlier. The last time pending sales were this low was in December 2013. There was about two weeks of inventory on the market at the end of December, little changed from November but higher than the three days available a year ago.
The length of time homes were on the market increased for the second consecutive month, from 11 days in November to 19 in December. By comparison, the average was 40 days in December 2013.
Analysis by Price Range
There was no inventory of homes priced under $1 million at the end of December and only one sale went pending during the month. It was the second straight month-end with no inventory. November was the first time in many years that there was no inventory in this market segment and now that has been the case for two months. The one pending sales in this category represented about 11% of Mountain View’s total sales for December.
There wasn’t much more inventory in the $1 million to $1,499,999 price range, where only one home was actively listed, accounting for 20% of the city’s inventory at the end of December. In spite of the lack of inventory, four sales went to contract during the month, the same as in November. That was 44% of Mountain View’s December sales.
In the $1.5 million-plus segment, four properties were available for sale at the end of December, one more than at the end of December and four more than a year ago. Four sales went to contract in December, unchanged from November, as well as a year ago. One month of inventory was on the market at the end of December, up from about three weeks at the end of November. This category accounted for 80% of Mountain View’s inventory and 44% of its pending sales.
