In January, there was a 21.59% increase in the number of new SFH listings, and a 26.39% in active SFHs. While it’s worth noting that the SFH market had very low inventories around this time last year, the condo market did not, so it’s interesting to see that that there was a 26.42% increase in the number of new condo listings, and a 38.24% increase in the number of active condo listings.
We’ll have to follow the trend, but this could mean that there will be some great buying opportunities for condos in the near future.
An interesting divergence in the number of days on market
Although there is typically a slight divergence in the number of days on market between Alameda and Contra Costa Counties this time a year, the difference is seemingly more pronounced this year. Single family homes are sitting on the market for roughly 26% more days in Contra Costa County than Alameda County. On the flip side, condos in Alameda County are sitting on the market for 65% longer than condos in Contra Costa County!
The East Bay continues to be a sellers’ market
When determining whether a market is a buyers’ market or a sellers’ market, we look to the Months of Supply Inventory (MSI) metric. The state of California has historically averaged around three months of MSI, so any area with at or around three months of MSI is considered a balanced market. Any market that has lower than three months of MSI is considered a sellers’ market, whereas markets with more than three months of MSI are considered buyers’ markets.
Although the condo market teeters on the edge of being balanced, with 2.9 months of supply in Alameda County and 2.8 months worth of supply in Contra Costa County, there’s a much different story when it comes to single family homes. The SFH market remains a very strong sellers’ market in both Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, with there being 1.3 and 1.5 months worth of supply on the market, respectively.
