Benford Real Estate, Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County

No, you probably won’t see that headline in the newspapers while all the media attention is focused on the turmoil in the credit market. But the facts are that in Santa Clara County, at the end of September there were about 6700 homes for sale (down 300 from August), and 1500 pended sales (up from August). There were about 1000 closed sales, which is down about 200 from August, but that makes it about 6.4 months of inventory, which is a better-selling market than the same time a year ago. What about next month? Nobody knows what will happen tomorrow, but we can tell you there are opportunities out there, and as long as you’re looking for them, we’ll give you the facts.

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 September 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.

Balanced Markets: Sunnyvale (3.1); Cupertino (3.5); Palo Alto (4.1); Mountain View (4.2); Los Altos (4.2); San Jose-Cambrian (4.4); San Jose-Santa Teresa (4.7); San Jose-Blossom Valley (5.5); Santa Clara (5.6); Saratoga (5.8)

Buyers’ Markets: Campbell (6.0); San Jose-Berryessa (6.1); San Jose-Central (6.9); Los Gatos (7.2); San Jose-Almaden Valley (7.4); San Jose-Alum Rock (7.5); Milpitas (7.8); San Jose-South (7.8); Morgan Hill/Gilroy (8.6); San Jose-Evergreen (8.7); San Jose-Willow Glen (9.1)

Notable Buyers’ Markets: Los Gatos Mountains (16.0); Los Altos Hills (16.0)

Charts and graphs (Click to enlarge)

Ken Sotelo, a mortgage banker with Private Mortgage Advisors, supplied us with this very enlightening graph depicting the rise and fall of mortgage interest rates over the last four decades. Current events in the banking industry may feel depressing - that is, until we remember how high interest rates were in the early 1980’s! 18.5%?? As they say, the grass is always greener on the other side. In every market there is opportunity to be found by those who seek it. This one is no exception. (Click on the image to enlarge it).