Snapshot and 30-day Trend: January 2018

We had a nice jump in inventory in January (35% higher than the end of December) but it apparently came too late for most buyers. Closed sales fell 44% from December. The increase in supply is much needed, though. With the increase in supply, sales will likely increase in Feburary. We remain, however, at record low inventory levels.

Sellers are reaping the benefits of the tight market in the form of higher prices. The median sales price of a Silicon Valley homes jumped 9% in January from December and was 23% higher than a year ago. The average home sold for 111% of the asking price, with Sunnyvale leading the way at 123%.

Time on the market fell one day in January to 16 days, on average. With the increase in inventory and decrease in sales, relative supply increased from 0.7 months at the end of December to 1.8 months at the end of January.

The real estate market in our beach communities was a little quieter in January than in the Silicon Valley.  Inventory actually fell 12% from month-end December, while closed sales fell 35%.  Prices fell as well, although with the low sales numbers, it is difficult to tell much from month to month variations in prices.  Medians and averages can be moved by a few particularly large sales when numbers are this low.  Days on market jumped 25 days to 61 for sales closed in January.