Santa Clara County R.E. Market Rebounds from COVID-19 Plunge
Despite the ongoing health and economic crisis precipitated by COVID-19, the real estate market made a dramatic recovery from the steep declines in March and April. The median house sales price in Q2 was only a tad below its 2018 peak, and high-end homes, in particular, have seen extremely strong demand – this applies to virtually every market in the Bay Area. More affluent buyers – the demographic least affected by COVID-19, unemployment, and also having the greatest financial resources – have been jumping back into the market to a greater degree than other segments.
The first chart below illustrates the big rebound in buyer demand, as the number of listings accepting offers in June 2020 rose higher on a year-over-year basis.
![](https://assets.agentfire3.com/uploads/sites/1152/2020/07/img_5f19e20c4539c.jpg)
Demand for luxury homes has soared in the last 2 months.
![](https://assets.agentfire3.com/uploads/sites/1152/2020/07/img_5f19e20d2c009.jpg)
Inventory started out low in the beginning of 2020, and remains well below the levels of last year.
Three angles on house value trends: median sales price and average dollar per square foot by quarter, and then a longer-term perspective.
![](https://assets.agentfire3.com/uploads/sites/1152/2020/07/img_5f19e20ddac85.jpg)
![](https://assets.agentfire3.com/uploads/sites/1152/2020/07/img_5f19e20ec07b3.jpg)
![](https://assets.agentfire3.com/uploads/sites/1152/2020/07/img_5f19e20f7f770.jpg)
The condo market has been softer than the house market, as measured by both sales activity and median sales price. This is a common dynamic around the Bay Area.
![](https://assets.agentfire3.com/uploads/sites/1152/2020/07/img_5f19e2103ff07.jpg)
![](https://assets.agentfire3.com/uploads/sites/1152/2020/07/img_5f19e210e9cf1.jpg)
Average days on market were quite low in Q2.
![](https://assets.agentfire3.com/uploads/sites/1152/2020/07/img_5f19e211bb758.jpg)
The overbidding of asking prices has declined very dramatically from 2018, when Santa Clara County was probably the hottest market in the country.
![](https://assets.agentfire3.com/uploads/sites/1152/2020/07/img_5f19e2126e8d5.jpg)
Median home prices by city or San Jose neighborhood, by bedroom count.
![](https://assets.agentfire3.com/uploads/sites/1152/2020/07/img_5f19e2132500d.jpg)
![](https://assets.agentfire3.com/uploads/sites/1152/2020/07/img_5f19e213d0e52.jpg)
The Bay Area markets with the largest year-over-year increases in the number of listings accepting offers in June 2020 were the 4 outer Bay Area counties of Monterey (up 61%), Santa Cruz (58%), Sonoma (47%) and Napa (37%). They also have among the lowest population densities in the Bay Area. The most urban counties saw modest y-o-y increases: San Francisco (6%) and Alameda (7%). Santa Clara County at 19% was between the two poles.
![](https://assets.agentfire3.com/uploads/sites/1152/2020/07/img_5f19e2148b5e3.jpg)
Interest rates, once again, hit a new historic low
![](https://assets.agentfire3.com/uploads/sites/1152/2020/07/img_5f19e21551224.jpg)