Monthly Home Sales: Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and San Carlos

Tracking recent monthly sales data in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and San Carlos indicates the real estate market is getting stronger and more competitive for buyers.

I have been tracking percentage of sales at or above list price since the start of the year.

Data for the first four months of the year can be found here.

May 2010 Sales at or above list price

30.9% in Menlo Park, down from April’s 36.6%.
57.4% in Palo Alto, up slightly from April’s 56.2%.
75.0% in San Carlos, up from April’s 70.0%.

May 2010 Average Days on Market

40 average days on market in Menlo Park
27 average days on market in Palo Alto
14 days on market in San Carlos

Both metrics indicate the San Carlos market is stronger.

I am interested in why the data is different between these three cities.

Any ideas as to why this is happening?

San Carlos homes are at a lower price point than homes in Palo Alto and Menlo Park.

Perhaps the data indicates higher demand in the more affordable price ranges.

I will need to take a closer look, at the raw data below.

Menlo Park May 2010 sales data

Palo Alto May 2010 sales data

San Carlos May 2010 sales data

How’s the Market in Menlo Park?

How’s the Market in Palo Alto?

How’s the Market in San Carlos?

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 at 11:52 pm and is filed under Menlo Park Real Estate, Palo Alto Real Estate, San Carlos Real Estate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Kristen Emery said at June 6th, 2010 at 9:39 am
Arn,
I am wondering if it is related to the expiration of the Homebuyer’s Tax Credit that expired on May 1, 2010? I am very curious about the numbers for May, June and July for San Carlos, Menlo Park and Palo Alto. Let me know what you come up with.
Arn Cenedella said at June 6th, 2010 at 9:18 pm
Kristen
Good point, I had not thought about the tax credit as impacting this issue. The federal tax credit has income limits and the state tax credit I believe had an $800,000 limit. So many more homes in San Carlos at $800,000 and below than in Menlo Park and Palo Alto. In general, I have not felt the tax credits were a major force on the Peninsula market.

Arn Cenedella