Lyon Hoag Real Estate Update October 2011 - Sales Way Up

Sales are up sharply in the Burlingame neighborhood of Lyon Hoag. Through the first ten months of the year there have been 25 homes sold, as compared to 10 homes sold in the same period last year. Even when looking at all of 2010, there were only 13 homes sold, the same as in the three month stretch of May, June and July of the 2011.

Another interesting way to look at the data is that for all of Burlingame, there have been five more homes sold in 2011 than 2010. In other words, including Lyon Hoag, sales are up 3% in Burlingame. Excluding Lyon Hoag, sales are down 6% in Burlingame. The moral: real estate really is local, even within such a small town as Burlingame. It is important to have an understanding of what is going on in the different neighborhoods as city level data can be misleading.

Part of the reason for the jump in sales is that there have been more new listings in 2011 than 2010. At the same time that sales are up 150%, new listings are higher by 44%. Even with the increase in new listings, buyers have responded and inventory remains at normal levels. At the end of October 2011, there were five homes for sale, which has been the average level for the past two years.

A clear indication of the willingness of sellers and buyers in this neighborhood is that the average days on market has fallen sharply. The days on market measures the average time from a home's listing to when an offer is accepted and the home goes into contract. In the first ten months of 2010, the average home that sold was on the market for 67 days. In 2011, homes have been selling in 35 days, about one month quicker. That is a huge change.

Sometimes when we see big jumps in sales, it can be due to sellers dropping prices to attract buyers. While it is difficult to gauge price levels for a small neighborhood, at most, prices seem soft, but certainly not falling. If you look only at median and average selling prices, you might disagree, as they are down about 10% from last year. However, the average square foot of a home sold in Lyon Hoag in 2011 has been about 1,600 square feet, down nearly 200 square feet, or 10%, from last year. Prices per square feet are down only 4%, and the ratio of sales price to list price is still 99%, versus 100% last year. All in all, fairly steady prices, certainly not a major drop driving sales, though perhaps evidence of more strength in the lower end of the market.

If you're interested in learning more about the Lyon Hoag real estate market, considering selling your home in Lyon Hoag, or thinking about moving to Lyon Hoag, please drop me a line and I'd love to connect with you.

By The Numbers - Lyon Hoag Real Estate for October 2011