It’s a sign of the times: a 4-bedroom home that’s a one-minute walk from the Almaden Country Club on the market for less than $800,000. For more details, drop by from 2-4 on Saturday, March 5 and or click on this link:
6627 BOSE LN.
But the times, they are a-changing. In my previous post, I noted that in a fairly rare event, Almaden Valley median list prices have continued to drop in recent weeks even as prices in nearby neighborhoods and in San Jose as a whole have bounced off their seasonal lows of January. But I also noted another uncommon trend: While median list prices are still dropping in zip code 95120 – from $1 million in early January to $932,000 in recent days – median per-square-foot prices have been rising, from $399 per square foot just before Christmas to $422 currently:

There’s only one way I can read this situation, which can’t last long: For the past few weeks, buyers have been paying less money for Almaden homes, but getting less home for their money!
So rather than a recent “win-win” for buyers, it’s actually more of a “win-lose.” But wait: It gets worse (for buyers), and probably sooner rather than later. Past seasonal trends indicate that this per-square-foot increase is a leading indicator of a coming bounce in actual median prices. Last year, for instance, the average sale price of an Almaden home rose from $844k in January to $948k in May and $1.025 million in July.
At this point, a little context is needed to bring the real picture back into clear view for buyers. All of the above notwithstanding, Almaden Valley prices remain a full 25 percent below their 2006 peak, and despite a recent rise, mortgage rates remain close to their lowest point in recorded history.
All told, according to this story in the Wall Street Journal, housing is the most affordable it has been in decades.