The federal tax credits for first-time and repeat home buyers expired on April 30th, and Congress took no action to renew it as some had predicted. The good news is that for those who were in contract by that date, they have until June 30th to close their transaction.
A new tax credit, at the state level, took effect May 1st for first-time home buyers and buyers of new construction homes. But funds for the California tax credit are limited, and most experts predicted that enough home buyers would claim the tax credit to cause the funds to run out within a few weeks.
In the midst of all this, the average sales price in Santa Clara County increased 6% from $648,000 in March to $687,000 in April. The volume of sales was outpaced by an increase in inventory volume, pushing the relative inventory to a supply of 3.1 months, where we consider it to be quite balanced. It is possible that we may see a mild slowdown in our market now that the tax incentives are no longer there; but that does not mean it is an inopportune time to buy! On the contrary, serious buyers may find that they will have more homes to choose from and fewer competing buyers.
Vital Signs: (Santa Clara County houses, townhouses, and condos, as of March 2010)
Total Active Listings: 3,597
Average asking price of unsold homes: $944,000
Average sales price of sold homes: $687,000
Average percentage of original asking price obtained by successful sellers: 97%
Average number of cumulative days on market: 58
Closed sales, year-to-date: 4,190
Listings expired during April 2010: 139
Average 1-year appreciation: 30.6%
Months of supply by the end of April, based on closed sales: 3.1 (balanced market)
Average 30-year fixed interest rate as of May 6, 2010: 5.00%, fees not included
Snapshots, April 2010
Top 3 sellers’ markets in Santa Clara County by zip code:
1t. 94303* (Palo Alto), 1.2 months of inventory
1t. 95119 (San Jose-Santa Teresa), 1.2
3. 95132 (San Jose-Berryessa), 1.5
Top 3 buyers’ markets:
1. 95033 (Los Gatos Mountains), 22.3 months of inventory
2t. 95139 (San Jose-Santa Teresa/Coyote), 9.0 months of inventory
2t. 94086 (Sunnyvale), 9.0 months of inventory
3 most expensive zip codes in Santa Clara County:
1. 94022 (Los Altos/Los Altos Hills-North), median price $1,639,000
2. 95070 (Saratoga), $1,510,000
3. 94024 (Los Altos/Los Altos Hills), $1,480,000
3 least expensive zip codes in Santa Clara County:
1. 95116 (San Jose-East/Central), median price $268,000
2. 95111 (San Jose-Edenvale/Seven Trees), $275,000
3. 95122 (San Jose-East/Hillview), $283,000
* The 94303 zip code also includes a part of East Palo Alto, in San Mateo County. Only the Santa Clara County portion is factored into these statistics.

