San Carlos Market Update July 2011 – Steady Sales and Firm Pricing

In July, there were 29 homes that sold in San Carlos. Through the first seven months of the year, there have been 162 sales, up 15% from the prior year, and up 36% from 2009. This is not surprising given how desirable San Carlos is a place to live, coupled with the excellent public elementary school system.

Unlike some of the other areas of San Mateo County that we are tracking there has been a slight increase (of five percent) in new listing inventory so far in 2011 in San Carlos. However, with sales increasing faster than new listings, inventory has remained low and the supply has dropped slightly.

The active inventory was 57 homes in July 2011. Usually the summer months has the most inventory because that is when people are most likely to be selling and buying homes. Inventory is down from 70 homes in April 2011.

Overall, supply in San Carlos is tighter than average in San Mateo County, which makes sense given that it is one of the most popular places to live. The average days on market is a measure for how many days the average home that sold was listed. For the year it has averaged around 30 days, as compared to 60 days for the whole county. Homes that are well priced sell fast in San Carlos.

Price levels are very firm, which should be good news for sellers concerned about the macro economy as well as for buyers concerned about the long term stability of the market. With numbers like these the future of San Carlos real estate continues to be bright.

Median prices move around a lot from month to month depending on which specific homes sold in a given month. If we look at the 2010 time period, median prices were generally between $880,000 and $930,000, averaging just over $900,000. In 2011, median prices have averaged just over $930,000, a slight increase from the year prior. The price per square foot has averaged about $550 in 2011, which is the same as 2010.

Sellers are continuing to get pretty close to their asking price. The sale price divided by list price has averaged just over 99% in 2011, meaning that homes sold for about 99% of their asking price. In the past few months, the ratio has been at or above 100%, meaning that some buyers are putting in offers above the asking price. While this statistic is not perfect -- it doesn't take into account homes that were price reduced and then immediately sold -- it is relevant in that we know that when homes do sell they sell pretty close to the asking price; the trick is understanding as a buyer (and working with your Realtor) if it is priced appropriately.

By The Numbers - San Carlos July 2011