Great questions. I don’t have any insight into why it sold at such an aggressive price. It’s a nice home, and I know it was on the market for quite awhile under a couple of different brokerages. But I would be speculating as to why it sold that price.

Regarding your second questions, there has indeed been a trend of declining prices in San Carlos over the past two quarters. Cash-strong buyers clearly have the upper hand, and are getting some very good deals. Offers that would have been considered an insult a year ago are now actually being entertained in some cases.

That being said, I still believe that this particular data-point is much more of an anomaly than a new benchmark, for two reasons. First, despite all of the price declines to hit San Carlos this year, the average sales price in White Oaks over the past 6 months is still $654/sq ft, so Chestnut’s price of $444/sq ft is simply off the charts. Of the 35 homes that closed in this period, only 4 (or roughly 10%) closed below $500/sq foot. So from a statistical perspective, it’s an anomaly.

The second reason I don’t think this will become the norm is that the majority of homeowners in White Oaks simply won’t sell their homes this low. I have seen at least half a dozen homeowners that have chosen to pull their homes off the market and either move back in, or rent them out as opposed to selling them at such a steep discount. With rents still holding strong in this market, it’s a smart strategy.

Does this mean that you won’t see any more of these “amazing deals”? Not at all. It’s clearly a buyer’s market now, and people simply have to sell. But I don’t see prices this low becoming the norm.

I hope this answers your question.

Chuck

What do you think the deal was with 1381 Chestnut St? While the property has what looks like no backyard, the price drop seems pretty significant for White Oaks – trend or anomaly?