Saratoga, CA

The months of inventory, or absorption rate, in Saratoga, CA reveals that the market is not too unhealthy in this high-end community. While much of Silicon Valley is struggling with long months of inventory, the condominium and townhouse market & single family home market in Saratoga both remain at under 6 months. (The National Association of Realtors says that less than 6 months of inventory constitutes a sellers market, and more than 6 months a buyers market.)

Read more of this post, view graph with aborption rates and find key data and trends:
http://www.sanjoserealestatelosgatoshomes.com/market-update-aamp-absorption-rates-for-saratoga-ca-real-estate

This post in its entirety is published on The Valley of Hearts Delight, a blog about Silicon Valley real estate, featuring information and reports on Los Gatos, Saratoga, Monte Sereno, Almaden Valley, Cambrian Park, and several other cities and neighborhoods within Santa Clara County.

Mary Pope-Handy, Realtor, CRS, ABR, e-PRO, SRES, ASP, RECS, CNHS, ACRE
Helping Nice Folks to Buy & Sell Homes Since 1993
Co-Author: "Get The Best Deal When Selling Your Home In Silicon Valley"
Keller Williams, Cupertino, CA (Silicon Valley)
877 397-5391 (Direct/Toll-Free/Fax); 408 204-7673 (Cell)
www.DelightHomes.com (PopeHandy.com)
emailto: Mary@PopeHandy.com
Blog: www.LiveInLosGatos.com & www.ValleyOfHeartsDelight.com

Our MLS provider, MLSListings.com, has not yet given us the statistics for September's closed sales in Silicon Valley, so I've done a little of the data work myself. Below, please see a graph displaying the "months of inventory" or "absorption rate" for Saratoga, California.

The National Association of Realtors uses 6 months as a benchmark for when it flips from one type of market to the other. Less than 6 months is considered a sellers market, and more is a buyers market. Saratoga real estate is very pricey and offers fantastic schools with exceptionally good API scores, so this area is nearly always in demand. While these numbers may be viewed favorably on the national scale, having more than about 4 months of inventory among single family homes feels like it's a buyers market.

It really depends on the home, location, condition, and marketing/pricing as to whether a home will really take 5 months to sell. The best homes will go in 3-4 weeks, despite the average numbers.

Saratoga California is located in Santa Clara County ~ California. Saratoga zip code is 95070

Property Type: Single Family Homes ~ Saratoga California

• There were 26 single family homes reported sold in Saratoga California during the month of August 2008 compared to 22 homes sold in Saratoga during the month of July 2008.
• The current inventory of homes in Saratoga in August 2008 = 131
• The current inventory in the month of July 2008 = 137
• The average sales price was $1,802,476
• The average sales price in July 2008 was $2,098,175
• The median sales price in August 2008 was $1,625,000 compared to $1,740,000 in July 2008
• The average Days on Market (DOM) were 30 compared to 37 in July 2008.
• % LP Received = 96.05% compared to 96.84% in July 2008
• There were 54 new listings reported in Saratoga ~ California in August 2008.
• In July 2008 there were 61 new listings reported in Saratoga ~ California.

Property Type: Condos / Townhomes ~ Saratoga California

• There were 6 condos / townhomes reported sold in Saratoga California during the month of August 2008. This is consistent with 5 condos / townhomes sold in Saratoga during July 2008.
• The current inventory of condos and townhomes in the month of August 2008 = 21
• The current inventory in the month of July 2008 was 15
• The average sales price was $686,250
• The average sales price in July 2008 was $785,000
• The median sales prince was $656,500 as compared to $625,000 in July 2008.
• The average Days on Market (DOM) were 53 compared to 69 days in July 2008.
• % LP Received = 96.70% compared to 98.44% in July 2008
• There were 9 new listings reported in Saratoga California in August 2008.
• In July 2008 there were also 5 new listings reported in Saratoga California.

Definitions:

• Current Inventory = represents the total number of properties with status 1, 2, and 3.
  • Status 1 is active; Status 2 is pending with release; and Status 3 is pending without release.
• Average Sales Price = the sum of the sales prices divided by the number of sales.
• Median Sales Price = the sales price of the property that falls in the middle of all the sold properties.
• Average DOM = the sum of the number of days on market for sold properties divided by the count of sold properties.
• New Listings = the number of listings with a list date within the month being reported.

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Kathleen Daniels is a Saratoga Real Estate Broker Realtor^® serving the needs of home buyers and home sellers in Saratoga California ~ Silicon Valley ~ Santa Clara County California.

1.800.972.1822 ~ Call today for a free ~ no obligation ~ home value!

Copyright © 2008, All Rights Reserved by Kathleen Daniels *Saratoga California Market Trends ~ August 2008*

Wildwood Park is tucked away along Fourth Street, but is less than a block away from the "main drag" in Saratoga Village, Big Basin Way. It would be easy to go downtown for a nice meal and never notice the nearby park, or if you had seen it on a map, not realize what a treasure it is.

Why would you want to visit Wildwood Park in Saratoga? For those lucky enough to live in the area, it's a great neighborhood park that features a nice playground, large grassy area, a volleyball court and even restrooms. (Many parks in Silicon Valley do not have restrooms - the fear is that folks will spend too much time in the park.) Large trees provide ample shade.

But best of all, Saratoga Creek cuts through the park; this is what makes it truly special and unique! On any given day, kids and adults alike can be seen under the footbridge shown here, making small splashes, observing crawdads, exploring, and maybe taking some photos too.

Wildwood Park is one of the more photogenic parks in Santa Clara County, and certainly a great place for family pictures or individual portraits to be taken.

If you're headed to Big Basin Way, think of the park as an "added value" to the trip to Saratoga Village. All the better if you like to take photographs.

If you'd like to see a little more of the park, I tried my hand at videotaping it today and you can see my efforts on my Valley Of Hearts Delight Blog.

Saratogas market continues to show signs of slowing. Inventory is up, sales are down. While average sales price remains healthy and days on market are still reasonable, if inventory continues to rise while sales drop, price will eventually have to come down to equalize the market again. Read on for all the details.