Recap: Q3’08 Home Sales for San Carlos

October 13, 2008

san-carlos-q308

“Results Not Typical”

This is a disclaimer that I saw on an advertisement for a weight loss company as we were pulling into the Starbucks in Dublin this weekend.   This disclaimer should also apply to San Carlos real estate, since the results throughout this extended slump are certainly not typical of what other regions are seeing.   Here's what happened in the most recent quarter:

Trends At a Glance Jul-Sep 2008 Previous Quarter Year-over Year
Median Price $1,020,000 $950,000 (+7.4%) $1,151,000 (-11.4%)
Average Price $1,058,060 $1,076,940 (-1.8%) $1,229,150 (-13.9%)
No. of Sales 77 75 (+2.7%) 73 (+5.5%)
Active 60 61 (-1.6%) 72 (-16.7%)
Sale vs. List Price 98.6% 99.5% (-0.9%) 102.6% (-3.9%)
Days on Market 34 35 (-4.9%) 28 (+19.5%)

Both the average and median home prices remained over $1M, and “only” dropped by the low teens in percentages from a year ago.  These are the results that are not typical — communities on the mid to north Peninsula are continuing to weather the economic storm much better than other areas.  Here's a graphical representation of the same data:

san-carlos-q308.jpg

The results of the most recent quarter could best be described as “stable” since unit sales, average and median prices avoided the wild swings of previous quarters.  These results are definitely encouraging, since the housing and economic slump seem far from over.

Finally, here's a snapshot of the sales to date.   Unit sales are still lagging 2007, but the gap is closing as the year progresses.

san-carlos-q308-sales-to-date.jpg

These are the kind of results that make you glad that you own a home in San Carlos.  This resiliency will pay off handsomely when the market finally picks up…whenever that may be.

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