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 seller’s market, whereas markets with more than three months of MSI are considered buyer’s markets.
With 1.2, 1, and 2.5 months' worth of single-family home supply on the market, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz Counties are all staunchly sellers’ markets. However, when it comes to the condo market, things are considerably more balanced. There are 3 and 3.5 months’ worth of condo supply on the market in San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties, respectively, which means there might be some room for buyers to make a deal! However, Santa Clara County only has 2.2 months’ worth of condo supply on the market, so the sellers certainly have the upper hand at the negotiation table there.