This week’s Almaden Valley real estate market numbers are virtually unchanged from last week. The total number of available properties on the market dropped from 65 last week to 64 this week, while the percentage under contract dropped slightly, from 38% to 37%.

Traditional (ie non-distressed) properties remained unchanged, with 54 available properties and 30% under contract. As we enter the last month of the year, it is likely that this trend will continue through December as we pass through our traditional, anticipated holiday market cooling period.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This past week saw a slight improvement in the Almaden Valley real estate market from the previous week. The total number of single family homes currently for sale decreased from 80 to 77, while the percentage of properties that are under contract increased slightly, from 35% to 36%. The number of traditional (ie non-distressed) single family homes currently for sale dropped from 71 to 68, and the number under contract remained at the 30% we saw last week.

Interest rates from some banks edged upward slightly, but still remain an attractive incentive for buyers to make the jump from looking at homes to purchasing them.

This past week in Almaden Valley saw the market staying virtually the same as it has been the past few weeks. The number of single family homes listed as available on the market dropped from 77 last week to 74 this week, but the percentage of listings under contract remained almost the same, dropping from 36% to 35% over the same time frame. Traditional (ie non-distressed) single family homes experienced much the same trend, dropping from 68 available homes to 65 this week, and a drop in listings under contract from 30% to 29% over the same time frame. As we pass through the holiday season, I anticipate we will continue seeing the gradual cooling of the market that we see every year at this time.

Interest rates have drifted up and down slightly, but remain an attractive incentive for buyers to make the jump from looking at homes to purchasing them.

The number of distressed properties in the pre-foreclosure/auction/bank owned portion of the report increased for the third week in a row, after several weeks of gradual decrease.

The number of single family properties in Almaden Valley that are on the market crept up slightly, from 74 last Monday to 76 today. However, the number of pending escrows also increased, from 37% last week to 38% this week. Traditional (ie non-distressed) properties experienced similar changes, with the number of properties on the market increasing from 66 to 67 and the percentage of pending escrows increasing from 31% to 32%.  Although the number of active listings increased, the percentage of pending escrows has pretty much recovered from the dip we saw last week.

Interest rates are remaining stable, though some banks posted a slight increase. Even so, rates are so low that buyers who are contemplating purchasing are being lured into acting by the historically low interest.

The number of available single family properties continued the decline we first noted in late June, from 99 last week to 98 this week. However, this last week saw a decrease in the percentage of pending listings, from 39% last week to 33% this week. Researching this further, we saw a decrease in the number of new pendings this past week accompanied by a dramatic increase in the number of properties that completed the sales process. We’ve observed the same pattern in traditional (ie non-distressed) sales; available single family listings dropped from 92 last week to 90 this week, and the percentage of listings under contract dropped from 30% to 24%.   Many families are squeezing in the last days of summer vacation before their kids go back to school.   Plus there may be a few jitters with the volatility of the stock market in recent weeks. As is typical with the Almaden market, we expect the market to start picking up again soon once kids are settled back in school.  Interest rates are at record lows and buyers want to take advantage of that.