Sunnyvale Market Conditions March 2016

/in , /by
  • Pending sales triple
  • Inventory up
  • Prices off February’s record highs
  • Days on market very low
  • Higher end has record high sales and inventory

After two months of extremely low pending sales, the Sunnyvale real estate market broke out with a vengeance in March, tripling sales. Closed sales, which were at a record low in February also more than tripled. Inventory increased as well, to its highest level in nearly two years. And for the second consecutive month, the time homes were on the market was below 20 days. Price indicators were down in March but I’m not concerned by that, since February’s numbers were record highs that were driven more by mix than anything else.

March’s median sales price was $1,550,000, down from $1,616,000 in February but still 12% higher than a year ago. The price per square foot was also off from February’s high of $955, declining 7% to $885. That was 5% higher than March 2015’s $841. The average sale in March was for 109% of the list price, down from 111% in February and 116% in March 2015.

Sunnyvale-Market-Conditions-MAR-0149 sales closed in March, a pretty remarkable number given that only 19 sales went to contract in February. March’s closed sales were up from only 15 in February but were still below the level of a year ago when 56 sales closed.

Sunnyvale-Market-Conditions-MAR-02More homes were available for sale in March and buyers moved in aggressively to take advantage. 58 sales went to contract during March, up from only 19 in February. March also had three more sales than a year ago. Inventory was up 34%, from 74 at the end of February to 102 at the end of March. That was the highest inventory level since July 2014. With sales climbing faster than inventory, available supply dropped form 4.0 months at the end of February to 1.8 months at the end of March.

Sunnyvale-Market-Conditions-MAR-03The average time on the market in March was only 16 days. That’s down from an already low 17 days in February but is more than March 2015’s 11.

Sunnyvale-Market-Conditions-MAR-04Analysis by Price Range

Pending sales of homes priced under $1 million increased form only four in February to 14 in March, accounting for 24% of all sales. Inventory increased from 15 units at the end of February to 21 at the end of March. That was 21% of the total homes available for sale. A 1.5 month supply was on the market at the end of March, down from 3.75 months at the end of February.

Sunnyvale-Market-Conditions-MAR-05Homes priced from $1 million to $1,499,999 continue to account for the bulk of the activity here. 39% of Sunnyvale’s inventory and 45% of its pending sales were in this price range. Inventory increased by ten homes to end March with 30 homes for sale. Pending sales spiked from nine in February to 26 in March. That cut supply relative to pending sales in half, from 3.3 months at the end of February to 1.5 months at the end of March.

Sunnyvale-Market-Conditions-MAR-06More homes priced at or above $1.5 million were actively listed than ever before. 41 such homes were on the market at the end of March, ten more than at the end of February and 23 more than a year ago. Pending sales were also at an all-time high at 18. That was triple February’s six. There was a 2.3 month supply at the end of February, down from 5.2 at the end of March. 40% of all inventory was in this segment, as well as 31% of pending sales.

Sunnyvale-Market-Conditions-MAR-07