Burlingame Real Estate Update September 2011 - Inventory Constrained

Inventory for sale is getting increasingly strained (continuing to frustrate many Burlingame home buyers), even by the normally tight standards in Burlingame. At the end of September 2011, there were less than 40 homes for sale in Burlingame. While we normally see inventory (and sales) start to decline as we move into the less active fall and winter months, this is well below historical standards. At the end of last September, for example, there were 68 homes on the market. Even wilder, there have not been this few homes on the market at the end of September since 2004! Properly priced inventory is not staying on the market for long. The average home that sold in 2011 has done so in 38 days, about 14 days faster than in 2010, which is a huge drop and indicates the continued strength of the Burlingame real estate market.

Even with a lack of inventory, sales remained solid in September. There were 19 homes sold in the month, which was the number that sold in September of last year. For the year, sales are up 6%, while new listings are down 5%. With more homes sold and fewer homes for sale, the supply of homes has averaged 2.6 months in 2011 versus 3.6 months in 2010.

Price levels are holding steady. The price per square foot has averaged nearly $600 in 2011, which is about the same as 2010, and it was $608 in September 2011.

The median selling price in September was $950,000, the first month below $1 million in any month for many years. The reason for the lower selling price is not due to falling prices. Rather, there were a lot of smaller homes sold last month. The average square footage of home sold was 1,740 square feet, as compared to over 2,200 square feet during most of the summer.

There had been some bidding wars in the summer as evidenced by the ratio of sale price divided by list price averaging 100% between April and July. In the last two months buyers may have gotten slightly more restrained as the ratio has been 97%, which is more normal for Burlingame.

By The Numbers - Burlingame September 2011

See below for all our September 2011 real estate market updates:

San Mateo County Belmont Burlingame and neighborhoods (Burlingame Grove, Burlingame Hills, Burlingame Village, Easton Addition, Mills Estates, Ray Park, Terrace) Foster City Hillsborough and neighborhoods (Upper Hillsborough, Tobin Clark Estate, Lower Hillsborough) Redwood City Redwood Shores San Carlos San Mateo