Benford Real Estate, Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County

Recently, the California Association of Realtors reported a major increase in the percentage of households which could afford to buy an entry level home. Well, we’ve got some more news: When affordability is on the rise, sales follow! Last month, we reported that buyers were out shopping in April as evidenced by the decline in months of inventory based on pending sales. This month, we’re pleased to report that many of those buyers are now homeowners, as there were 1136 closed sales in Santa Clara County in May, a 24% increase from the month before! The pending sales were up too, at 1552, the greatest number seen in over a year. At the same time, the number of homes on the market remained virtually the same, taking some of the pressure off home sellers.

A hot stat: There were 6.5 months of inventory based on closed sales at the end of May, down from a peak of 11.7 in January. We consider a buyers’ market to be anything above 6. Nobody knows when we’ve hit bottom until it’s already happened. But since pending sales have been increasing, it may not be too long before Santa Clara County is out of the slump.

Here’s a look at the local markets within Santa Clara County. Figures represent months of inventory based on closed sales during the month of May 2008, using data from MLSListings, Inc. The lower the number, the more favorable the market is to sellers; the higher the number, the more favorable the market is to buyers.

Sellers’ Markets: Cupertino (1.7); Los Altos (1.9); Palo Alto (1.9); Mountain View (2.2); Sunnyvale (3.0)

Balanced Markets: Los Altos Hills (3.3); Saratoga (3.9); San Jose-Almaden Valley (4.1); San Jose-Cambrian (4.3); Los Gatos (4.8); Santa Clara (5.1); Campbell (5.5); San Jose-Santa Teresa (6.0)

Buyers’ Markets: San Jose-Willow Glen (6.8); San Jose-Berryessa (7.2); San Jose-Blossom Valley (7.4); Milpitas (7.9); San Jose-Evergreen (8.2); San Jose-Central (11.2)

Significant Buyers’ Markets: Morgan Hill/Gilroy (13.4); Los Gatos Mountains (17.5); San Jose-Alum Rock (18.1); San Jose-South (19.7)

Click on images below to view graphs and charts.

This is a beautiful home! Fresh interior and exterior paint, new carpet, dual pane windows, newer roof, newer appliances, baths fixed up…all ready for the new owner to move right in. Even the back yard is pristine, waiting for the new owner to landscape. This is a wonderful house with 4 bedrooms, large family room, as well as living room and separate dining room.