If you read yesterday’s post, you know that a 10-year chart of Zillow estimates (“Zestimates) is pointing to the apparent beginning of a double-dip in home prices in Almaden and Blossom valleys, and the flattening of a yearlong up trend in Cambrian.

Nonetheless, an analysis of MSL sales statistics for the past two years shows that 2010, as a whole, was a year of recovery for all three of those markets from 2009. Without further ado, here are are the numbers based on actual closed escrows over the 2-year period:

In Almaden Valley, total sales improved from 286 in 2009 to 328 in 2010, a 14.7 percent increase; average sale price rose from $944,721 to $975,826, or 3.2 percent. On a per-square-foot basis, the gain was from $404 to $412, or 1.9 percent. And homes sold 25.5 percent quicker, in 35 days, down from an average of 47 days in 2009.

In Cambrian, total sales rose from 594 to 605, or 1.8 percent; average sale price jumped from $590,891 to $616,702, or 4.4 percent. On a per-square-foot basis, the gain was from $376 to $396, or 5.3 percent. And homes sold in 41 days instead of 50 — or 18 percent quicker.

Only Blossom Valley showed a drop in any of the four categories being reviewed: Total sales dropped from 681 in 2009 to 608 in 2010, a 10.7 percent decrease. Average sale price, however, inched up from $502,797 to $505,392, or 0.5 percent; the price gain was larger on a per-square-foot basis, from $291 to $302, or 3.7 percent. And homes sold 20.8 percent quicker, in 42 days instead of 53 days.

These statics are what they are, but they don’t exist in a vacuum. If I combine them with the Zillow estimates trend outlined in the previous post, seasonal trends, and with anecdotal evidence from the past several years, a portrait begins to appear of a market in these three areas that bottomed in early 2009 and has, essentially been bouncing along the bottom ever since.

Was there recovery in 2010? Yes, there was. But it was neither substantial nor, apparently, sustained enough to point to a market that’s headed anywhere fast.

Tags: Almaden Valley Real Estate, Blossom Valley Real Estate, Buying a Home in San Jose, Cambrian, Cambrian Homes for sale, housing market

Posted on Saturday, January 1st, 2011 at 9:57 pm and is filed under Housing Market. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.