There seem to be 2 different climates for the real estate market here on the Peninsula. After an incredibly robust 2014 market, Portola Valley, Woodside and Atherton may be turning a corner into new territory this year, but it's a bit too early to tell, it may just be the quiet before the storm. On the other hand, the Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills markets are on fire! Just one look at the lists of sales below indicates that buyers want to live in these cities.

With spring weather approaching, daylight savings time now in effect, and still an amazing economy all around us, I remain optimistic but want to be cautious. If you would like to discuss the market further, please don’t hesitate tocontact me.

Portola Valley Market Update

The market in Portola Valley is quite slow but much of this still appears to be due to lack of homes available for sale these past few months. There were 2 homes that closed escrow in January and 3 homes in February. Clearly buyer demand was strong as 2 of the February sales were for more than list price. There is also one additional home that went into contract, after 96 days on the market, but has not yet closed escrow.

Currently, there are just 16 homes for sale in Portola Valley plus 3 parcels of vacant land. 11 of these homes came on the market in just the past 2 weeks – a good sign that inventory may be starting to increase, which is always expected as we move into the spring. Homes priced $3 million or less are definitely in demand.

Woodside Market Update

As previously mentioned, the market in Woodside is also quite slow with just 1 sale in February, a smaller home in the Skyline area. The number of homes for sale is significantly higher than at this time last year. Currently, there are 30 homes for sale, half of which have been on the market for more than a month. New inventory is also starting to come on as there have been 10 new listings just in the past 2 weeks. What does all of this mean to sellers? Typically, the spring season is when th emajority of homes become available for sale. This means even more competition, so now is the time to act and it is more important than ever to have expert representation.

Atherton

The slow market in Atherton also appears to be due to lack of homes available for sale these past few months. There were 3 homes that closed escrow in January and 2 homes in February, one that sold for 23% more than list price. There are an additional 4 homes that are in contract but have not yet closed escrow.

Currently, there are just 16 homes for sale in Atherton, half of which have been on the market for more than a month. Homes priced $3 million or less are definitely in demand, but the higher end of the market also appears to picking up momentum with 3 of the pending sales in excess of $7 million.

Menlo Park

There were 18 homes that closed escrow in February, 13 of which were for more than list price and by as much as 48% over list price. It’s no surprise that homes sold very quickly with most homes selling in less than 2 weeks. Menlo Park was ranked as the #8 city with the fastest growing home values in the nation. Comparing 2009 to 2014, values have increased 47% (and we believe this is actually quite understated).

Palo Alto

There were 17 homes that closed escrow in February, 11 of which were for more than list price and by as much as 42%. It’s no surprise that homes sold very quickly with most homes selling in less than 2 weeks. Palo Alto was ranked as the #1 city with the fastest growing home values in the nation. Comparing 2009 to 2014, values have increased 75%.

Los Altos and Los Altos Hills

There were 29 homes that closed escrow in February, 21 of which were for more than list price and by as much as 44%. It’s no surprise that homes sold very quickly with most homes selling in less than 2 weeks. The highest end of the market performed quite well too with 5 sales in excess of $5 million, and 3 of these were in Los Altos.

Currently there are just 11 homes for sale in Los Altos Hills, only 4 of which came on the market in the last 2 weeks. In Los Altos, inventory is finally starting to increase with 25 homes currently for sale, and only 2 of them have been on the market for more than 2 weeks.