Silicon Valley Home Prices Are Rocketing, Pacific Union Says

News provided by

Mar 11, 2014, 10:00 ET

MENLO PARK, Calif., March 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Research by Pacific Union, the San Francisco Bay Area's leading luxury real estate brokerage, reveals that home prices in San Mateo County's most desirable cities are booming while available homes for sale remain in short supply.

The data, sourced from MLSListings, showed that median sales price and price-per-square-foot appreciation in four key Silicon Valley cities outpaced the number of homes sold by more than 200 percent between 2011 and 2013.

David Barca, vice president of Pacific Union's Silicon Valley region. (PRNewsFoto/Pacific Union) (PRNewsFoto/PACIFIC UNION)

The median sales price for a single-family home in Atherton, Menlo Park, Portola Valley, and Woodside averaged $2.02 million in 2013, and buyers paid an average of $886 per square foot, Pacific Union said.

Meanwhile, the combined months' supply of inventory in the four communities has slowly but steadily declined, from 3.5 in 2011 to 3.1 in 2013. An influx of foreign buyers may be further constricting inventory, Pacific Union said; such buyers often purchase properties as an investment without returning an existing home to the market, helping push prices even higher.

According to the company, serious home hunters in this prestigious region of Silicon Valley shouldn't assume that price appreciation will level out soon and would do well to weigh the potential consequences of waiting to enter the market.

"Prices will likely continue to rise in this inventory-constrained environment," said David Barca, vice president of Pacific Union's Silicon Valley region.

"The continued constraint of supply against the velocity of existing demand, if sustainable, could drive single-family-home median prices to approach $1,300 per square foot in 2016," added Mark A. McLaughlin, CEO of Pacific Union.

To read the full report, please visit http://bit.ly/1fd1M9L.

About Pacific Union

Pacific Union is Northern California's premier luxury real estate brand. It operates in eight regions, including Contra Costa County, the East Bay, Marin County, Napa County, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Sonoma County, and the Tahoe/Truckee region. The brand enjoys a relationship with Christie's International Real Estate, the leading global organization of residential real estate service firms.

Pacific Union offers a full range of personal and commercial real-estate services, including buying, selling, and relocation.

Locally owned, Pacific Union's leadership operates with an entrepreneurial mindset and unwavering commitment to deliver exceptional service and expertise to ensure deep, long-standing client and agent relationships. In 2012, the San Francisco Business Times recognized Pacific Union as one of the Bay Area Top 100 fastest-growing companies, and the company was also included in the Inc. 5000 list – the only full-service real estate brokerage in the Bay Area to make the cut.

Quick Facts:

28 offices
More than 550 real estate professionals
Ranked #3 in U.S., 2012 average sale price (REAL Trends)
#3 largest real estate firm in the Bay Area, 2012 (San Francisco Business Times)
Ranked #5 in U.S., 2012 sales volume per associate (REAL Trends)
Ranked #18 in U.S., 2012 total sales volume (RISMedia)
Named to 2012 Inc. 5000 list
Named to 2012 San Francisco Business Times Fast 100 list
CEO Mark A. McLaughlin received 2013 RISMedia Leadership Award for innovation in real estate

For more information, please visit us at www.pacificunion.com, get our real estate news and insights at blog.pacunion.com, or find us on Facebook (facebook.com/pacificunionrealestate) and Twitter (@pacunion).

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140311/SF80659

SOURCE Pacific Union