Lyon Hoag Real Estate - July 2012

Seller Delight in Lyon Hoag

2011 was a big year for Lyon Hoag when 29 homes were sold, more than double the number sold in any recent year. 2012 might be even bigger. Sales activity is actually just ahead of 2012, with 19 homes sold in the first seven months, versus 18 in the first seven months of 2011. This has occurred even while listings are down, with 22 new listings in 2012, versus 24 in the same period in 2011. The end result is a market that has become even more of an inventory constrained seller's market. At the end of July 2012, there was only a single unsold home remaining on the market. Last year at this time, there were five unsold homes.

With so little inventory, buyers have to act quickly and often bid high to prevail. Most homes are selling very quickly, in less than 2 weeks. However, there have been a couple of homes that stayed on the market for awhile which has skewed the average days on market.

Many homes are receiving multiple offers and offers above asking price. We can see this in the sales price to list price ratio which has averaged 106.4% for homes sold in 2012. A ratio above 100% means that buyers are bidding above sellers' final asking prices, and is a positive sign for sellers. When buyers bid above list prices, it is a sign that values are rising. This definitely appears to be the case in Lyon Hoag. The average price per square foot has been $608 in 2012, up about 15% from $525 in 2011. To put that into perspective, consider that Lyon Hoag is one the less expensive neighborhoods. The 2012 average price per square foot has been higher than the average for all of Burlingame in 2011!

Median and average selling values are above $1,000,000 in this neighborhood, for the first time in years. While those values have certainly risen in 2012, the reported increase of 20%-25% is a bit misleading. As part of random fluctuations, the average size of a home sold in Lyon Hoag in 2012 has been close to 1,8000 square feet, versus about 1,600 square feet in 2011. An extra 150-200 square feet, at $600 per square feet, adds about $100,000 to selling values. That accounts for half of the reported increase when just looking at the unadjusted average and median selling values. Still, this 'value' neighborhood has seen considerable price appreciation in the past six months. It is a statement of the desirability of Burlingame overall that buyers are willing to spend $700,000 to $800,000 on 2 bed, 1-1,5 bath homes as they did in Lyon Hoag in recent months.

 

By The Numbers - Lyon Hoag Real Estate for July 2012