Does the Super Bowl Have an Impact on San Carlos Real Estate?

“The Super Bowl Effect.”

Happy Friday, everyone.  On the eve of Super Bowl weekend, I thought I’d pose this question:  Does the Super Bowl have an effect on the San Carlos real estate market?  As it turns out, many Realtors actually have a pretty strong opinion about this.  Most agents I spoke with swear that Super Bowl weekend marks the real start of the spring buying season, since sales activity makes a big “hockey stick” (to use another sports analogy) upward right after the big weekend.  It’s almost as if the Super Bowl is an honorary milestone that must be passed before the real buying and selling can begin.  Go figure…

The effect seems to be even more noticeable when there’s a local team playing… (but you’d have to go back quite a few years to substantiate this, if you know what I mean…)  But regardless of who is playing, the Super Bowl phenomenon was noticeable enough that many years ago a former colleague of mine began to track the general activity (listings, sales, open house attendance) before and after the Super Bowl, and she absolutely swears by it.  She’s been at this way longer than I, and I respect her opinion, so I therefore submit it as empirical evidence… or something like that.

Are You Ready For Some….Real Estate?

It makes sense, if you think about it.  Football is arguably the most popular televised sport in America, and the playoff games that lead up to the Super Bowl  are played in January and February usually at the same time as open houses.  So people aren’t out en masse looking for homes.  And some sellers don’t get serious about selling until after they can trash their house one more time with a Super Bowl party.

So enjoy the spectacle that is the Super Bowl, replete with its $3M commercials.   And then lets get ready for some real estate starting next week.  Believe me, the economy could use it!

San Carlos Real Estate Report Card: September ‘09.

September is traditionally a soft month in real estate, regardless of where you live.  Home sales that close in September are usually the result of contracts that were ratified in July and August, which are not usually strong sales months because they’re right in the middle of summer vacation.   So it’s not a huge surprise to see only 15 homes close this past month.

Observations?   Well, despite the low number of sales, this was the first month of this entire year where the San Carlos real estate market actually tracked pretty closely to its respective month in 2008.   In September, the number of sales and the median price were essentially equal, while the average price dropped by only 8% (compare that with double-digit drops of previous months.)     In addition, the days on market and “% of list price” statistics clearly show that homes are selling much more quickly and often above the list price.   This compelling evidence backs up what many of us who watch the market every day have been feeling  — the San Carlos real estate market is starting to find the bottom.

Here’s the story:
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How is White Oaks doing so far this year?

The first half of 2008 is complete, so I thought it would be interesting to see how the White Oaks real estate market performed during this period.  In a nutshell, the number of homes that sold in Q2′08  rebounded strongly from a weak Q1, but the average and median sales prices were far lower.  Overall, we’re still behind the 2007 sales pace at the mid-year point.  Here area a few different looks at the numbers:

WHITE OAKS:  2nd Quarter 2008

WHITE OAKS:  Quarterly Comparison

The following chart shows both the unit volume, median sales price, and average sales price by quarter for the past several years.  (The key at the bottom can be read as follows:  Using 2007 as an example:  07=Jan-Mar, A= Apr-June, J=July-Sept, O=Oct-Dec.)

WHITE OAKS: Year-to-Date Unit Sales

Clearly, the weight of the economy is having an impact on the White Oaks real estate market.  Compared to the nationwide and statewide averages though, the San Carlos real estate market is holding its own pretty well.  With homes still selling under a month on average, and prices staying within 15%, this clearly shows that the demand for homes in San Carlos remains strong.

We’ll see what the next quarter brings..

Fun with Numbers…

For better or for worse, the first half 2008 is in the books for San Carlos.    I’ll be writing an upcoming post on the trend data for the most recent quarter…But in the meantime, I though it would be fun to take a look at the extremes of what sold during the first half.  The biggest home, shortest sale, least expensive home, etc…  Click on the addresses below for more details and photos.

Here are the Awards:

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Most Expensive Homes:

3 Lewis Ranch Rd:  (Below) Sold for $2,675,000

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298 Loma Road,  Sold at $988/square foot.

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Least Expensive Homes:

333 Old County Rd,  Sold at $575,000.

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62 Madera Avenue,   Sold for $384/square foot.

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Greatest Amount Above List Price:

1744 Arroyo Ave, Sold for $212,000, or 20% over the original list price.

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Greatest Amount Below List Price:

742 Crestivew Dr, Sold for $2,450,000, which was $750,000 or 23% below original list price.

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Longest on the Market:

385 Devonshire Blvd,   325 Days on the Market

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Shortest on the Market:  (tie)

• 125 Belvedere Ave (pictured above)
• 928 Walnut St,   both at 0 Days on the Market.

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Biggest Home Sold:

3 Lewis Ranch Rd:    4,400 square feet.

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Smallest Home Sold:

2716 San Carlos Ave,  780 square feet.

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That’s it for the first half.  Have any other stats you’d like to see?  Just post a comment below, and I’ll see what I can do!

(disclaimer:  information provided above is taken directly from the Multiple Listing Service, and is provided for entertainment purposes only.  the author makes no guarantees to the reliability nor accuracy this data. )

Does the Market Really Take a Snooze in the Summer?

It’s a common perception that the real estate market takes a siesta during the summer months of July, August, and September. There’s good reason for this belief, too. Many folks take extended summer vacations, the kids are out of school so there’s less time to seriously shop for homes, etc… Consequently, homeowners who are thinking about putting their home on the market often hesitate to do so during these months. After all, why should you sell if the buyers are gone?

But do the statistics back up this notion? I think the answer will surprise you — it certainly surprised me. The chart below is the month-by-month home sales in San Carlos for 2007. The red line is the number of units sold, and the blue and grey bars are the median and average prices, respectively.

While the summer segment certainly isn’t as strong as the traditional spring market, the momentum wasn’t lost in the summer months. In fact not only did the unit volume remain steady during this period, but the median and average prices were some of the highest of the year! Check it out:

San Carlos 2007 Home Sale Summary

This may not be the case in other cities, but we all know that the San Carlos real estate market is unlike any other. So this is great news for sellers. If you’re considering putting your home on the market during the summer in San Carlos, you can rest assured that the buyers will be there.