The remarkable West Menlo Park real estate market that was 2013 continues this year, as the second quarter of 2014 is proving. We are seeing unprecedented growth year-over-year due to myriad factors. We are in the eye of a perfect storm for sellers, while buyers scramble to find the perfect home.
The Numbers
Having recently completed the second quarter of 2014, the West Menlo Park real estate market continues to produce astonishing numbers. Both the home supply curve and the days on market (average days that properties are listed until sold) are uncannily unchanged from the second quarter of 2013. The second quarter of 2014 saw 80 homes for sale in West Menlo Park (Menlo Park West of El Camino Real). Fifty of those 80 homes sold within the quarter, and saw an average of only 18 days on the market.
The truly astonishing part of these numbers is the 15.5% increase in West Menlo Park homes’ median sale prices. In the second quarter of 2013 the median sale price was $2,355,500, but this year’s second quarter saw a median sale price of $2,726,500. That’s a substantial increase, especially considering the starting point!
Why Not?
We all know how dynamic and driven the Peninsula is, an area that is always inventing and reinventing itself. We live in an environment that celebrates collaboration and creativity, fostering a constant drive to create the next big thing — which in turn promotes new technologies, healthy companies and job creation. All of this new collective purchasing power combines with the international money that has continued to flow in from mainland China as well as other international investors.
Another major contributing factor to market prices is that the Peninsula is land-locked; little to no new land exists upon which to expand. Thus the strain on our area to keep up with the property demand pushes up prices. That money is still very inexpensive, with interest rates to qualified buyers locking in as low as 3.5% (or lower!), constitutes another big market driver.
On the real estate front, especially in the kind of market in which we find ourselves, you need an advocate to guide you through the process. Many buyers tell me they don’t want to compete in a multiple offers situation, wanting to avoid a bidding war. But like the lottery, unless you play there is no chance of winning. My recommendation, with a decade of experience under my belt, is to submit an offer regardless. You have no way of knowing how many offers will come in, and ultimately you will control what you are willing to spend. But first you have to jump in.
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