Belmont Home Sales – March 2012

Belmont Homes Sales on The Rise

After an extremely busy winter home selling season and an unusually active spring, these are the home sales in Belmont for March 2012.

The media hasn’t mentioned much about the multiple offers which are once again very prevalent, but then it usually takes several months of prolonged activity before sales become statistics. If you’re someone who would rather get ahead of the market, now’s a good time to assess your position in the housing market.

Belmont March 2012

NUMBER OF HOMES SOLD  – Belmont’s homes sales improved dramatically from March of 2011. Home Sales in Belmont were up 29%, from 17 sales last year to 22 this March.

DAYS ON MARKET  – The time it took to sell a home in Belmont dropped from 43 days last March to only 38 this year.

PERCENT RECEIVED – Sellers not only sold their home faster they also received closer to their asking price. The average seller this March received 101.6% of their asking price compared to last March when sellers received 99.4%.

REDUCING THE PRICE –  Last year 29% of sellers had to lower their asking price expectations by on average $43,000 to attract a buyer. This March only 14% [three sellers] lowered their asking price before obtaining an offer. Either buyers are willing to pay more, or sellers are listening to their agent’s advice on pricing their home.

MEDIAN PRICE  – The Median price was up from last March’s $840,000 to this year’s $899,000, though the size home one could purchase this year was also larger by 12%, essentially negating any perceived increase in the median home price. Interestingly, this does not ring true with what we are seeing; for which we offer the explanation that statistics alone cannot account for the condition of the homes which sold. If last year homes which sold were smaller but in much better condition than the homes which sold this year, the price per square foot would be much higher for homes sold last year–which happens to be the case.

The Belmont home market is very strong right now. Most homes are selling in multiple offers. We recently sold a home at 1528 Altura Way in Belmont. Listed for $915,000 we received four offers and it sold in ten days for $962,000. This week we closed escrow on our listing at 2605 Read Avenue. We listed that home at $820,000 and it sold in ten days with 10 offers for $882,300!

As always, you are welcome to visit our web page for detailed statistics on the Belmont housing market.

The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario. 
*These are all the home sales in Belmont, CA for last month. Drew & Christine Morgan did not necessarily participate in any or all of these sales.

 

 

My Story. A Story About A Home in San Carlos

I visited a home in San Carlos today and the seller had this story posted for everyone to read. I found it moving…

My Story

Although I was “born” in 1969, my story really began 13 years before. One spring day, a young couple looking for the perfect spot to raise a family, came down the lane. They had seen many, many properties but the woman knew the minute she spotted the majestic oak that this was THE ONE.My Story in San Carlos

Don’t you want to see the house first asked the man, referring to the little, two-bedroom house that was, at the time, the only one on the property.

“Yes”, replied the woman as she plopped down under the oak, “But it won’t matter. I already know this is our home.”

And so it was. Soon they welcomed their first child, then another, and so on. The little house was bursting at the seams. But there was room to grow- underneath the grand oak tree. I swelled with pride when my family moved in. the eldest, on the verge of becoming a young woman, loved her private balcony and hiding away in the library that held shelf-after-shelf of her favorite books. The little red-headed boy chose the largest room because it looked out onto the huge yard he loved to explore, particularly his favorite plum trees that he knew would provide years of climbing and juicy plums ideal for neighborhood battles. The littlest, a brown-haired girl, was tucked away in the smallest bedroom, bedecked with a brand-new canopy bed that made her feel cozy and provided the perfect cave for her collection of much loved stuffed animals.

So, our life together began. As the years went on, I was filled to the brim with love, laughter, song, tears, and heartache –all the joys and sorrows that life brings. I embraced my family and loved watching them grow and change. But, one by one, the children began to leave. I was sad, but I knew that no matter what house the moved to, I was always Home. I was the place that held the Christmas tree; I was the kitchen that cooked Thanksgiving turkey; I was the pool that hosted birthday parties. But as time passed, their visits were less often, the couple stayed with me, but it became clear the others had, at last, found their own perfect homes in which to build new memories.

And one day the couple looked at each other across their now – empty table. Their bodies were bent and their faces weathered. They new, and so did I

“It’s time.”

Time to pass me on to another family, to build their own lifetime of memories, underneath the branches of my sheltering oak tree.