Belmont Housing Review - February 2011

Belmont Housing Review - February 2011

Once again if we are lulled into believing the raw numbers Belmont’s median home price shot up 14.7% over last February and an unbelievable 23% since just last month—unbelievable being the operative word.

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(click on the picture to see a larger image). * Yes. Those are Mardi Gras colors...

In fact the median home price in Belmont was $917,500 in February 2011 while last February it was $800,000 and just last month it was $745,000.

But being the spoiler I am I have to report that the size homes which sold last February were only 1640 square feet in size and this February they were 2,030—24% or 390 square feet larger.

We can play around with some fuzzy math and arrive at several conclusions which all point to the fact that year over year prices have actually declined.

A home which is 23% larger yet only costs me 14.7% more seems too good to be true. Part of the inequity has to do with the issue that land remains a constant, which makes any approximation of value just that. Looking at it from several different ways one can safely arrive at a price decline of around 8.3% year-over-year.

SALES

And that perhaps is why home sale in Belmont are up 20%--well, 12 sales this year compared to 10 last year is only two more sales but hey, we have to offer full disclosure right?

In February of 2010 four of those Belmont homes lowered their asking price by on average $28,760 but this February three sellers slashed their asking price by on average $62,000.

Six homes sold for on average $51,000 less than there asking price last year while only four did so this year—for the exact same amount.

Each year two of the homes sold right at the seller’s asking price while last year two sold for more—on average $53,000 and this year six sold for on average $15,000 more.

DOM

The time it took to sell your home dropped dramatically over last year. Several factors are in play here. First there were more homes to choose from this year which helped buyers come to a decision more quickly. Both years there were many hangover listings from the previous December which carried with them the dreaded DOM stigma but this year we sold a few more of them than last year.

% Received.

The amount the seller received of their asking price 98.7% remained unchanged from last year but was up 1.4% over last month.

On an insider note, 13 of the 19 homes pending sale in Belmont right now are scheduled to close this month and we personally know that of the 19, several will be closing well over the asking price thanks to multiple offers. Yes, the word buyers hate to hear has raised its ugly head again due to the low inventory of homes to buy.

If you are considering selling your Belmont home, right now’s a pretty good time according to the activity we’ve seen.

*Data San Mateo County MLS.

Disclaimer: This information is for entertainment purposes only and includes no legal, accounting or real estate advice nor is this response in tended to be specific to your situation-consult a specialist for your specific situation.