San Mateo Real Estate - April 2013

Imbalance Between Buyers and Sellers Grows Further

For the 15th straight month, the average ratio of selling price to list price in the San Mateo real estate market was over 100%, echoing the frenzy of the 2004 to 2006 timeframe. The ratio was 107.2% in March 2013, the highest since April 2005. A ratio above 100% means that the average sale is for more than the final list price (though even in this market many homes still sell for less than their asking price, as some sellers price too far ahead of the market).

The sales price to list price ratio continues to rise. Impressively, this is happening even though sellers have increased their asking prices to reflect recent price increases. Buyers are bidding well above prices that were set based on recent comparables.

Prices Rising

Not surprisingly, given bidding frenzies, the data shows prices are rising in the San Mateo real estate market.The 12 months moving average price per square foot, median selling value and average selling prices are all at their highest since early 2009. Prices have increased by more than 10% in the past year.

April 2013 was a particularly notable month. The average selling price was $1,057,000. It was the first month above $1 million since the end of 2008. The average price per square foot was $612. It was the first month above $600 since the middle of 2008.

Sales Activity Strong in April 2013

After a slow March, sales activity jumped in April. There were 65 homes sold in the month, the most in an April since 2004.  Still, sales are down from the previous year. There have been 185 sales in San Mateo in the first four months of 2013, down slightly from the 199 sales in the first four months of 2012.  Sales have been on a long-term upswing over the past few year. There were 686 homes sold in 2012, up from 596 homes in 2011, and the most since 2006.

Even though there is very healthy buyer demand, the number of sales in 2013 may fall short of 2012 due to constrained levels of inventory. At the end of April 2013, there were approximately 50 unsold homes on the market in San Mateo as compared to 83 unsold homes in April 2012 and 162 unsold homes in April 2011. Inventory has increased slightly to start the year, as is part of the customary seasonal pattern. However, the increase has been more muted than in previous "normal" years.

Sellers are incredibly successful. Through the first four months of the year, there have been only 19 listings that were expired or cancelled! While not all of these listings represent sellers that could not attract an acceptable offer (some sellers may have simply changed their mind) it does create a baseline. By comparison, in the first four months of 2012, there were 49 listings that were expired or cancelled. In the depths of the real estate crash there were regulary over 100 listings that were expired or cancelled over the course of four months.

By The Numbers - San Mateo Real Estate for 2013