January 2009

The real estate market in Danville continues to be consistent in that the inventory absorption rate is now at 6.38 months.

The current absorption rate is down from the levels realized in late 2008 of 7-8 months. This in part is due to sellers opting to keep homes off of the market over the holidays and because many would be sellers are now waiting for signs that the Bay Area market has turned. There are some areas within Danville that have not seen the consistency of the entire market in terms of absortion rate. The Westside Danville and Westside Alamo markets have experiences wide swings in inventory while the areas of Sycamore and Greenbrook have performed more in line with the town as a whole.

Current activity in Danville

There are 166 active listings today of detached homes in Danville. The average list price for these homes is $1,364,101 with the highest price listing at $5,200,000 and the lowest at $585,000. The average price per square foot for these active listings is $419 with the highest being at $1,259.79 and the lowest at $251.29. The average days on market is 108 with the longest being at 418 and the shortest at 3 days. There are 26 pending sales in Danville. The average list price for these pending homes is $972,717 with the highest priced pending at $1,895,000 and the lowest priced at $465,000. The average price per square foot for these pending sales is $362 with the highest at $543 and the lowest at $217.82. The average days on market for these homes is 87 with the longest being at 374 and the shortest at 0.

The real estate market in Westside Danville was turbulent to say the least with most homes sales taking place in the first half of the year.

In 2008 there were 80 homes sold with the Westside Danville real estate market. The average list price for these homes was $1,229,623 with an average sold price of $1,190,047. In terms of price per square foot the average list was $510 with the average sold at $494. This represents a sold price 3% under asking price. The highest priced sold home closed at $3,810,000 and the lowest closed for $537,570. The average days on market was 37 with the longest being at 179 and the shortest at 0.  We saw the inventory absorption rate fluxuate from a low of 5 months to an infinate number at the end of the year.

Comparison with 2007

Interestingly enough, the Westside Danville market actually saw more homes sell in 2008 than 2007. And while most of these sales took place in the first half of the year it is drastically different than the overall Danville market and the smaller sub-markets of Greenbrook, Sycamore, and Westside Alamo which saw an overall reduction of sales. The number of homes sold in Westside Danville during 2007 was 51. This indicates an overall increase in sales from 2007 to 2008 of 36%. The average list price per square foot in 2007 was $519 and the sold price was $506. The difference in sold price between 2007 and 2008 shows an overall reduction in price of 3% with homes typically selling at 3% less than asking price.

The real estate market in Westside Alamo slowed from that of 2007

In 2008 there were a total of 26 homes sold. These homes had an average sales price of $1,245,413 with an average list price of $1,300,471. The average list price per square foot was $524 with the average sold price per square foot being at $501. This indicates that the sold price typically went for 10% below asking price. The highest price Westside Alamo home sold for $3,200,000 and the lowest sold for $550,000. The average days on market for these sold homes was 49 with the longest being at 204 and the shortest at 3. This shows a dramatic difference from the Town of Danville which typically had houses sell within 4% of asking price.

Comparison with the 2007 Westside Alamo real estate market

The 26 homes sold in 2008 is dramatically less than the 43 homes sold in 2007 and represents a 40% reduction in total sales. In addition the average price per square foot for listings in 2007 was $533 and the average price per square foot for sold homes was $517 or a 3% drop in average sales price for 2008. The highest price home sold in 2007 closed for $3,550,000 and the lowest priced home sold for $750,000. The average days on market for 2007 was 29 days or 30% shorter than 2008.

The real estate market in Danville for 2008 was as strong as one could hope for given the current economic environment

Within the Danville market we saw an extremely reliable and robust environment for real estate. The inventory absorption consistently hovered around 7 months with prices holding. There were 341 detached homes sold in Danville in 2008. The highest priced home sold closed at $3,810,000 while the lowest priced home sold at $530,000. The average list price per square foot was at $404 per square foot with the average sold price per square foot at $387. This meant on average homes sold for approximately 4% under asking price. The average days on market for sold homes in Danville was 60 days with the longest being at 266 days and the shortest at 0.

As compared with the 454 Danville homes sold in 2007 the number of sales has declined by 25%. We have also seen inventory drop by approximately the same percentage in 2008. The average listing price per square foot was $436 in 2007 and the average sold price per square foot was $426. The difference in price per square foot from 2007 to 2008 shows a reduction of 10%. The areas of Greenbrook and Sycamore have numbers consistent with that of Danville as a whole while the area of Westside Danville and Westside Alamo have shown a more pronounced change.