The Numbers Don't Lie

Reposted here from my Facebook page:

I've officially stopped reading the newspaper and listening to the TV news. Today's Merc has the most "grim" story on the front page about the economy----including Real Estate in the Valley. But the truth lies underneath all the belly-aching and drama.

Here's a bit of interesting information:

Today's statistics in Santa Clara County---derived from the shared MLS Listings site that members of the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors use:

Active Properties = 5316 (this same time last year, the number was 6553)
Pending Properties = 2560 (this same time last year, the number was 1243)
County Average for Pending Sales = 33.3% (Last year was 16.4%)

The National Association of Realtors has long defined a "seller's market" as a market where more than 25% of the available properties are under contract (Pending). But you do have to keep in mind that many of these properties are bank-owned (have been foreclosed) so we have to keep some perspective with judging what's going on.

HOT Markets:Milpitas = 45% properties are Pending
Santa Teresa = 42.8% properties are Pending
Blossom Valley = 42.2% properties are Pending

Slowest Markets:Almaden Valley = 12.8% Pending
Los Gatos/Monte Sereno = 11.7% Pending
Saratoga = 8.3% Pending

We're seeing # of properties available going down and % of Pending properties going up. Are the numbers shocking or outrageous? Nah. But numbers are INDICATORS. And numbers have no drama. Gotta love it.
---The always optimistic Realtor, Marci