Realtors are celebrating a slight rise in housing inventories in San Jose, California which should allow more buyers to buy homes, they say.
"Inventory is increasing slowly," says Realtor David Bergman, "It is still a great time to sell! Buyers have to act fast on good properties or they are sold. There are 815 single-family homes available on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) as of Tuesday, March 30, 2004. Home prices range from $218,000 to $90,000,000 (yes - $90 million)."
The reason is desirability. "San Jose, the capitol of Silicon Valley, is the 3rd largest city in the state with a population of 918,000," explains Bergman. "It holds the nation's best public safety record of any metropolitan area and is rich in ethnic diversity with a beautiful climate. San Jose has been ranked as the fifth best place to live in America by Money magazine and ranked second in disposable income in the U.S. (based in median household income of $71k)."
Says Realtor Harvey Yamanaka, "There are great opportunities to buy a home in San Jose! As the hub of Silicon Valley, San Jose is world renowned for quality of life and a broad-spectrum of homes to choose from."
Yamanaka advises, "Interest rates are at 30-40 year lows, prices have stabilized, and the selection of homes is a good as it's been in years. Homes that are priced right are still selling but they must be perceived as good values. The typical buyer is very selective about what they want, however when that right home comes on the market at the right price it sells very quickly."
Agrees Realtor Chuck Culli, "Inventory is slowly on the rise and mortgage rates are still at and all time low. Now is the time for buyers to act before rates and prices start to climb."
Culli suggests, "This year would be a record-setting year for sales in California if there were enough properties on the market. Unfortunately, inventory is incredibly low. 'The inventory of homes for sale is nearing a critical juncture,' said C.A.R. President Ann Pettijohn. 'In a more balanced market, there is a seven- to 10-month supply of homes for sale. In January, it was just two months. As a result, constraints on supply continue to impact both the availability and affordability of housing options for California families.' There will be records set this year, in prices. With demand high and supply low, home prices are set to soar.
"Although inventory is growing as we enter the spring selling season," says Pettijohn, "it is not growing fast enough. The inventory of single-family homes is 2,617, a drop of 36 percent compared to last February. Combine that with home sales which grew 27 percent and you have a recipe for rapid appreciation. After the 11.6 percent increase in the average home price in January, we saw a 13.1 percent increase in February. The median home price only increased 5.8 percent. I think we will see prices continue to increase through the spring and summer."
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Published: April 1, 2004
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