Pleasanton Real Estate Market Update for May 2009

The month of May showed continued improvement in the number of Pleasanton homes that went under contract. 64 homes went under contract in May (as of May 28^th when this article was written) a significant increase over the average of 33 homes going under contract in each of the first three months of 2009.

May ended with 219 homes available for sale (note: at the end of May 2008 there were 262 homes available for sale).  This would put the unsold inventory index at 3.4 months supply of inventory.  The unsold inventory index is a unit of measure that is used to evaluate the strength of the market.  It takes the current number of sales for the last 30 days and divides it into the number of homes available for sale.  In this case, that would be 219 divided by 64= 3.4.  That is down substantially from as recently as February of this year when the unsold inventory index stood at nearly 10 months of inventory.  Many experts believe that anything under 6 months is considered a sellers’ market.

A closer look at the break down of inventory into price brackets reveals that the months supply of inventory is even lower in certain price brackets and higher in others:

This graph reveals that 80% of the sales activity is happening in the under $1 million dollar price range where the unsold inventory index is under 2.1 months.  In contrast, homes over $1 million dollars are showing a much greater months supply of inventory with the highest being 20 months for homes in excess of $2 million.  This is due in part to the difficulty of obtaining financing for loan amounts in excess of $729,000. 

 In the townhouse and condo category, Pleasanton sales are quite strong while the available inventory continues to decrease.

At this time last year there were 66 townhomes and condos available for sale in Pleasanton- nearly 3 times as many.  As recently as January of this year there were 41 available for sale with only 4 “pendings.

Pleasanton Market Update for April 2009

The month of April showed a strong improvement in the number of homes that went under contract. 64 single family homes went under contract in April- a significant increase over the average of 33 homes going under contract in each of the 1st three months of 2009.

How many homes were for sale in Pleasanton during the month of April?

April 2009 showed a 6% increase in the number of homes on the market as compared with April 2008.

There were 354 homes (248 single family homes) for sale last month as compared to 333 homes in April of last year.

Of these how many were new listings for the month?

115 homes were new to the market in April of this year as compared to 118 new listings in April 2008, representing a 3% decrease in number of new listings from this same time last year.

How many homes went under contract in the month of April?

The sales pace in April picked up considerably compared to previous months this year. 64 homes went pending last month compared to 66 pendings in April 2008. This represents a 6% decrease in sales for the same month last year.

At the current pace of sales, what is the month’s supply of inventory?

At the current pace of sales, Pleasanton has approximately 3.9 months of inventory on the market (otherwise referred to as the unsold inventory index). In April 2008, there was 3.5 months of inventory on the market.

The 3.9 months is a statistic calculated by the number of homes available for sale at the end of April divided by the total number of sales in the month of April. 248 divided by 64 sales =3.9 months.

Pleasanton’s unsold inventory index is down substantially from as recently as February of this year when the unsold inventory index stood at nearly 10 months. Many experts believe that anything under 6 months is considered a sellers’ market.

In what price range are homes selling?

80% of the sales activity is happening in the under $1 million dollar price range where the unsold inventory index is under 2.5 months. In contrast, homes over $1 million dollars are showing a much greater supply of inventory with the highest being 20 months for homes in excess of $2 million. This is due in part to the difficulty of obtaining financing for loan amounts in excess of $729,000.

Pleasanton Market in a Minute

July 2008

How many homes are currently on the market in Pleasanton?

Inventory levels are up for single family homes from this time last year. There are currently 283 single family homes for sale in Pleasanton.  This is up 32% (214) from one year ago. Inventory levels have more than doubled compared to the beginning of 2008 which began with 135 homes for sale.

Are home sales increasing or decreasing?

Sales activity in July is on par with last month.  This month, 40 homes have been reported pending, as compared to 42 homes in June. In July 2007, 55 homes were pending. This represents a 20% decrease from this same period a year ago.

What’s happening with townhomes and condominiums?

There are currently 57 units for sale compared to 80 units at this time last year. Sales activity is comparable to last year.  There are 12 units pending this month. 11 units sold in July 2007. The median sales price for townhomes/condominiums for June 2008 was $460,00, compared to a median price of $582,500 in June 2007. This represents a 21% decrease.

What’s Roy’s perspective on the market?

Inventory levels are up and sales activity is down. However, the median sales prices for single family homes in Pleasanton is holding steady, with only a 3.5% decrease from this same period last year.  In June 2008, the median home price was $830,000. In June 2007, the median home price was $859,000. At the current selling pace, Pleasanton has 5 months of inventory on the market. The average number of days on the market for June 2008 was 60, down slightly from year to date days on market of 70. Sales Price vs. List Price for the month of June was at 95.54%. These numbers have significant relevance when compared to other local markets. Hayward, for example, had 767 homes on the market at the end of June, a seven month supply of inventory. The median home sales price for this area was at $329,900 with a year to date days on market average of 100 days. Livermore averages about 89 days on the market with an median home price of $529,000. At the end of June, there were 351 homes on the market in this area.

In real estate, it’s important to look closely at our local markets to truly gauge what is happening. Pleasanton is holding steady compared with other nearby communities that have significantly more inventory, longer days on market, and lower median home prices. 

Mid Year Market Update

The first six months of 2008showed mixed results for our Pleasanton Real Estate Market.  Overall the market appears to be searching for some semblance of normality.  Let’s call it the new normal.

SINGLE FAMILY HOMES:  Inventory levels are up for single family homes from this time last year.  There are currently 253 single family homes available for sale. That is up 21% (209) from one year ago. The year started out with 135 and has nearly doubled since then.   For the moment inventory levels are actually pulling back slightly.  The month of June started out with 262 homes. 

Sales activity for June 2008 vs June 2007

 Sales activity for Jan-June 2008 vs. Jan-June 2007 

As you can see, the number of sales is down dramatically from the same period of one year ago.  This is at least partly due to the difficulty associated with obtaining financing.

TOWNHOMES & CONDOMINIUMS:  Inventory levels are fairly flat from one year ago.  There are currently 69 townhomes and condominiums available for sale.  This is down slightly from one year ago (72). 

At the current pace of sales Pleasanton presently has an unsold inventory index of 8 months. This is a number used to measure the strength of sales activity in a market place.  The bright spot for this category is that inventory levels have remained very flat since one year ago.  This is very significant since other communities are seeing a dramatic increase in inventory.

SUMMARY

Although the number of sales compared to the same period a year ago is down significantly, the pace of current sales activity is fairly stable relative to inventory levels.  At the current rate of sales, June should end with approximately 50 sales for single family homes. 

 At the current level of inventory of 250, that represents about five months worth of inventory.   The next two months should give us an idea of what direction the market is headed.  There are many potential buyers going through open houses and many of my Realtor colleagues are busy writing offers.  Financing restrictions are loosening up a bit although rates have bumped up recently.