The Real Deal
Median price on the rise once more
Median home prices are on the rise and the recent surge of activity in the real estate market looks like it will help maintain the growth. Figures from the fourth quarter of 2001 show significant gains in median home prices, although home sales were down.
The median price of an existing, single-family detached home in California hit a new record during the fourth quarter of 2001, rising 13.9 percent to $286,410, according to recent figures from the California Association of Realtors and Real Estate Solutions, a real estate information service. For the year as a whole, the median price of an existing, single-family detached home was $265,480, a 10.0 percent increase compared to 2000.
While there was a gain in the median home price, closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California were down in the fourth quarter of 2001 by 8.0 percent from the fourth quarter of 2000. As expected, sales for all of 2001 fell 5.8 percent to 504,430 compared to 2000, when sales were 535,470.
Although inventory has been slim during the first part of 2002, the Inventory Index for existing, single-family detached homes for the fourth quarter of 2001 was 3.4 months, compared to 2.8 months for the same period a year ago. The index indicates the number of months needed to deplete the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate.
According to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, interest rates were down overall from the year before. Thirty-year fixed mortgage interest rates averaged 6.78 percent during the fourth quarter of 2001, down from 7.62 percent in the fourth quarter of 2000. Adjustable mortgage interest rates averaged 5.24 percent in the fourth quarter of 2001, down from 7.17 percent in the fourth quarter of 2000.
The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home was 33 days in the fourth quarter of 2001, compared to 32 days for the same period a year ago.
The 10 cities and communities with the highest median home prices in California during the fourth quarter of 2001 were: Belvedere/Tiburon, $1,275,000; Saratoga, $950,000; Los Altos, $917,500; Pacific Palisades, $837,500; Coronado, $812,500; Malibu, $775,000; Palos Verdes Estates, $759,500; Beverly Hills, $748,500; Menlo Park, $710,000; and Manhattan Beach, $708,500.
There has been a shift in activity from the last quarter of 2001 during the first part of the year said Chris Trapani of Coldwell Banker in Los Gatos. "We have seen an incredible increase in our sales volume in our Los Gatos Coldwell Banker offices. The low inventory is definitely driving a lot of this right now, along with very attractive interest rates."
With spring just around the corner, many buyers are trying to beat the rush. "The economy seems to be on the mend, the nation seems stable, interest rates are good and will probably escalate this spring, so buyers want to lock in now before prices get higher," said Leannah Hunt of Coldwell Banker in Menlo Park.
To find out the median price of a home in your community, check out the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors website at www.siliconvalley-realtors.org.
Information provided in this column is presented by the Realtor members of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors at www.siliconvalley-realtors.org. Send questions on any topic to jnewton@jnpr.com.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
