In the past few weeks, there have been a few news reports and articles claiming that home sales have rebounded after months of record lows. The San Jose Mercury ran an article (May 21, 2008) stating that home sales were up 30% in April 2008 compared to the previous month in Silicon Valley. How did downtown San Jose fare relative to the rest of the Valley? Let’s take a look. As always, the following statistics represent resales of Central San Jose’s (MLS Area 9 which includes downtown San Jose) condos, townhomes, and lofts.

In the Central San Jose area, the number of closed sales actually dropped in April (16) from March (20) but then bounced back up in May (19). Historically, however, sales are still down compared to 2007 in the same months.

Even though it looks like sales are still down in the area, this may be a bit misleading. The statistics above only include resales of property in the area and do not include sales from new construction developments, which are generally not included in MLS stats. With the number of inventory available from new construction, its probably safe to say that there are a few sales from that category of real estate. The sales statistics also may be a bit skewed by new construction sales since many of these units will not close escrow until a later date. For example, a buyer may put down a reservation hold and enter into contract on a condo in Axis, but the close of escrow and move-in will not be until July. Therefore, the transaction will occur in July even though the “sale” occured months before. In addition, with the opening of The 88, many buyers that were waiting for this complex may now be taking action after seeing the models.

*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.