Santa Clara County July Real Estate Market Report 2020

Santa Clara County R.E. Market Rebounds from COVID-19 Plunge

July 2020 Report

Despite the ongoing health and economic crisis precipitated by COVID-19, the real estate market made a dramatic recovery from the steep declines in March and April. The median house sales price in Q2 was only a tad below its 2018 peak, and high-end homes, in particular, have seen extremely strong demand – this applies to virtually every market in the Bay Area. More affluent buyers – the demographic least affected by COVID-19, unemployment, and also having the greatest financial resources – have been jumping back into the market to a greater degree than other segments.

The first chart below illustrates the big rebound in buyer demand, as the number of listings accepting offers in June 2020 rose higher on a year-over-year basis.

Demand for luxury homes has soared in the last 2 months.

Inventory started out low in the beginning of 2020, and remains well below the levels of last year.

Three angles on house value trends: median sales price and average dollar per square foot by quarter, and then a longer-term perspective.

The condo market has been softer than the house market, as measured by both sales activity and median sales price. This is a common dynamic around the Bay Area.

Average days on market were quite low in Q2.

The overbidding of asking prices has declined very dramatically from 2018, when Santa Clara County was probably the hottest market in the country.

Median home prices by city or San Jose neighborhood, by bedroom count.

The Bay Area markets with the largest year-over-year increases in the number of listings accepting offers in June 2020 were the 4 outer Bay Area counties of Monterey (up 61%), Santa Cruz (58%), Sonoma (47%) and Napa (37%). They also have among the lowest population densities in the Bay Area. The most urban counties saw modest y-o-y increases: San Francisco (6%) and Alameda (7%). Santa Clara County at 19% was between the two poles.