Home Value Increases Taper in July

July is a great month in Belmont as the wind winds down a bit in anticipation of our Indian summer.

We hope everyone had a great Fourth of July weekend and our slightly warmer than usual weekend.

If you are interested in the local microclimates in Belmont you can visit Weather Underground’s web site where folks like us upload our personal home weather station data. It’s interesting to see the various Belmont of micro-climate pockets.

On to the numbers…

[Click on the picture for a large view]
[Click on the picture for a large view]

 

Talk about low inventory–real estate has been very slow this week as you can imagine. Tuesday was our Broker tour day and there no new listings in Belmont or San Carlos to even view. We can’t remember the last time that happened.

In this post we visit the home sales in Belmont for the month of June 2014.

SALES

Sales of existing single family homes dropped 15% over last year from 26 sales to 22 this June.

 

 

 

 

MEDIAN PRICE

Belmont’s median home price rose almost 20% over June of last year. The size of homes selling in the two periods also dropped almost 10% from 1975 square feet in 2013 to 1778 square feet in 2014 which does nothing but exacerbate the median price increase since for 20% more you can now buy a home 10% smaller. At $1,099,000, though, it’s a steep drop from May’s astounding median price of $1,300,000. Of course the homes which sold in May were over 16% larger and the median price only dropped 8.4% so there’s still a paper net gain of 8%.

Compared to June of last year, single family residential median price levels rose in all counties with Santa Cruz County up 20%, Monterey County up 16%, San Mateo up 14%, San Benito up 15% and Santa Clara County up 12%.

DOM

The time it took to sell the average home in Belmont was 12 days—down from 14 last year.

OVER ASKING SALES

91% of the homes sold over asking in June of 2014 compared to 88% during the same time last year.

PERCENT RECEIVED OF ASKING

This is the one statistic that indicates a slowdown in the rate of market appreciation. In 2013 the average seller received 112% of their asking price. That dropped to 109% this month—exactly on par with last month.

What does this drop mean? It’s probably indicative of values getting closer to where they should be for now. The initial increase we have seen over the last two years was clearly unsustainable but also understandable.

Prices had dropped well below expected value levels and that deficit was easily wiped out in 2012 as the market began its rebound in earnest. In 2013 we saw the rebound continue into unchartered waters and prices hit a high watermark. This year we see more of the same but as prices continue to rise fewer people can qualify for the median priced home and begin to seek less expensive cities—watch out east bay.

Disclaimer:

Drew & Christine Morgan are REALTORS/NOTARY PUBLIC in Belmont, CA. with more than 20 years experience in helping sellers and buyers in their community. They may be reached at (650) 508.1441 or emailed at info@morganhomes.com.

 

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.

 

Drew & Christine Morgan did not necessarily participate in these sales.

 

Are Home Prices Rising Too Fast?

Are Home Prices Rising Too Fast? [re-blog]

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | MONDAY, APRIL 15, 2013Rising Home Prices

Some housing analysts are concerned that the sudden rise in home prices could make homes more unaffordable again if the price increases outpace income growth, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Average housing costs for home buyers who took out a mortgage were around 22.5 percent of average incomes, according to John Burns Real Estate Consulting. That is down from 38.5 percent in 2006, the peak of the housing bubble. The historical average is about 33 percent.

But with home prices rising in many markets and, in some, rising at a faster pace than income levels, will more people soon be priced out of the market?

Housing analysts say that, for now at least, lower mortgage rates are offsetting the higher prices of homes.

Borrowers have seen their purchasing power rise by around 33 percent over the past four years due to the low interest rates, The Wall Street Journal reports. For example, a borrower can make a $1,000 monthly mortgage payment and qualify for a $222,000 mortgage at today’s low interest rates, compared to 2008 when they’d likely qualify for $165,000 when mortgage rates were around 6.1 percent — nearly double what they are today.

Borrowers are able to withstand home-price increases because of the low rates, not because household incomes are growing, The Wall Street Journal reports. If mortgage rates tick back up to the 6 percent or 8 percent range, homes may look overpriced relative to incomes, according to housing analysts.

Source: “Why Rising Interest Rates Could Eventually Curb Price Gains,” The Wall Street Journal (April 10, 2013)

Read More

Existing Home Sales and Prices Continue to Rise
What’s Really Driving the Rise in Home Prices?

Belmont Homes Sales – May 2009

What’s happening in our local market is the number one question we receive so here’s the good the bad and the ugly for May 2009 in Belmont.

Bel May 2009

The Good

The number of homes sold in creased in May to 15 from April’s paltry 12. Still, compared to 2004 when 32 homes sold there’s not a lot of activity.

The number of days it took to sell a home in Belmont went from 48 in April down to only 37 in May.

Of the 15 sales in May, 5 sold over the asking price, none sold at asking, and 10 sold under the seller’s asking price.

The Bad

Homes which were originally overpriced took a beating.

Overprice Homes

10

Homes Priced Well

5

DOM

 

76.8

DOM

 

18.8

Percent Received of Original List Price

89%

Percent Received of Original List Price

101.4%

Real Dollar change

$67,000 less

Real Dollar Change

$5,000 more

 

The number of overpriced homes reaching a factor of 2-1 over well priced homes is indicative of the disconnect between what sellers feel their home is worth as compared to what a buyer will actually pay. It’s clear by looking at the numbers though that the number one mistake a seller can make continues to be overpricing their home.

The Ugly.

The median price in Belmont continued its correction in May.

 

May 2009

April 2009

May 2008

May 2007

Median Price

$820000

$775,000

$1,098,750

$1,036,733

* Corrected for size of home

$820,000

$855,000

$952,300

$1,106,533

May Δ in percent

 

-4.09%

-13.94%

– 25.89%

 

*We endeavor to report the true median price as accurately as possible. In doing so, we must take into consideration if larger or smaller homes are selling in a given period.

 

*Date retrieved form the Multiple Listing Service of San Mateo County.