Mark Twain popularized the phrase, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Well, we’ve got plenty of statistics to mull over as we approach the holiday season. The housing market will continue to be slow through the Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Year period, which is traditionally a slow period. Here’s how October shook out. The following statistics represent Central San Jose’s (Area 9 includes downtown San Jose) condos, townhomes, and lofts.
2007 . . . . . . . Inventory . . . . . Closed Sales . . . Median Sales $ . . . . Total Sales Volume
September . . . . 162 . . . . . . . . . . 12 . . . . . . . . . $490,000 . . . . . . . . . $5,986,500
October . . . . . 172 . . . . . . . . . . 12 . . . . . . . . . $430,000 . . . . . . . . . $5,943,700
While there was a dramatic drop from August to September in the number of transactions and the total sales volume, October seems to indicate a leveling out of sorts. The number of closed transactions and the total sales volume in October was very close to the September numbers. Inventory is up which means people still need to sell their homes (otherwise, why would they sell in this market?!?!).
One important note that definitely needs mentioning when we discuss these statistics is that these numbers are reported by the local multiple listing service (MLS), which in this case is MLSListings, Inc. Only properties listed on the MLS are reflected in the stats discussed here. New construction, condo conversions, and for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) properties are generally NOT listed on the MLS and, therefore, not part of these numbers. For example, if City Heights closed escrow on five new condos in October, those five condos would not be reflected in the number of closed transactions we just cited. Lies, damned lies, and statistics.
*These statistics are generated using information from the MLSListings, Inc. (formerly RE InfoLink) MLS, but have not been verified and are not guaranteed. MLSListings, Inc. disclaims any resposibility for the accuracy and reliability of these statistics. This information should not be relied upon for real estate transaction decisions.