The Santa Clara County real estate market in January 2023 sees inventory grow, but at a rate slower than seen last year at the same time.

In January, we continue to see the same trends playing out and also falling in line with some of our predictions from previous market reports. What is interesting is that the rate of change has slowed in some key areas… such as total inventory.

Santa Clara County Inventory

Inventory has risen 44% compared to January of 2022 – which is less than the rate we saw last month. In addition, increase between December 2022 and January 2023 was far less dramatic than the increase between December 2021 and January 2022.

Santa Clara County New Listings

While YoY the new listings in January 2023 were down by 27%, the increase between December and January was on par with the kind of growth seen at the same time last year.

Santa Clara County Homes Sold

The number of sold homes in January of 2023 was down 45% compared to the same time last year. It is also important to note that in addition to a drop in sales, the number of homes sold also is far fewer than the number of homes listed. This resulted in a net of 431 homes being added to the inventory.

Santa Clara County List Price

The original list price of homes – or the amount that sellers first agreed to list their home for – was up 12.4%. So this indicates that when compared to the same time last year, the average seller is expecting to make 12.4% more than a year ago. When we compare this to what homes actually sold for, we can see that there is a disconnect between seller expectations and what the market can currently support. On average, sellers in January 2023 were expecting their homes to sell for $1,796,892.

Santa Clara County Sales Price

As we discuss sales prices for January of 2023, keep in mind the original list price noted above. Overall, the average price of a home in Santa Clara County dropped by 1.2%. So while sellers are expecting to get 12.4% MORE than last year, they are – on average – getting 1.2% LESS than last year. This will mean continuing price reductions as homes stay on the market longer and longer. The average sales price was $1,638,302.

Santa Clara County Percent Of List Price

While the original list price gives us some insights into what sellers expectations are, the percent of list price gives us a little insight into what buyers are doing when faced with a list price. In this case, the percent of list price is based on what the listed price of the home was at the time the offer was accepted – not what the price might have been when it was originally listed.  In January 2023, sellers were getting and buyers were offering 99% of the list price.

In January of 2022, that number was 110.6% – so 10.6% over asking price. Given the growth in inventory, which will put additional stress on sellers to get their homes sold and the continuing trend of sellers to price their homes too high for the current market, we can expect this number to continue to move downward. That is a net drop of 11.6% from last year!

Santa Clara County Days On The Market

There is not much nuance in the data relating to days on market. Since April of 2022, they have simply increased each and every month. In January 2023, the average days on market stood at 35. That is up 106% from the same time last year. As I have mentioned before, I think 30 days is kind of a ‘magic’ number. There is a certain psychology to realizing your home has been on the market for a month without selling. At that point, most sellers will start to re-think their list price if they have not already.

On a side not, if you are currently trying to sell your home, please have conversations about list price with your real estate agent at least weekly. You should be paying close attention to how many buyers are viewing, liking, sharing or favoriting your property. How many showings have their been? How many calls for more information. If you have gotten the expected level of attention but no offers or not a level of attention appropriate for your local market, you should consider changing your list price.

Santa Clara County Price Reductions

In January 2023, 23.4% of the homes on the market reduced their price. The average price reduction was a whopping $237,717. The median reductions was $100,000. The average days on the market for all homes that had a price reduction was 95. The highest was 450 days.

Check out last months analysis

Santa Clara County Real Estate Market Report December 2022

You can also check out the latest Coffee & Real Estate Live Chat for February Below!