Livermore Market Update September 2011 – Sales Increase, Inventory Falls

The Livermore real estate market saw pending sales of single family detached homes increase and inventory decrease for the second month in a row in September.  The past few months have been interesting, with both inventory and pending sales peaking in June, then pending sales dropping sharply in July before trending back up the last two months.  Inventory remained high in July, then fell in both August and September.

Pending sales increased from 92 in July to 96 at the end of August and 106 at the end of September, a 15% increase during the period.  106 is the second highest number of [pending sales in a month this year, behind only July’s 119.  In fact, it is the second highest number since May 2010.  On the other hand, inventory fell 11% since July when there were 240 homes on the market.  August saw inventory fall by 13 to 227 and September saw a drop of 14 homes, ending with 213 at the end of the month.  As s result, the market tightened.  Inventory relative to pending sales fell from 2.6 months in July to 2.4 months in August and 2.0 months in September.

All Livermore Single Family Homes
Inventory Vs Pending Sales September 2011

Homes priced under $1 million accounted for 89% of Livermore’s inventory and 96% of pending sales in September, a mix that has not changed by more than a few percentage points over the past several months.  Inventory fell from 215 at the end of July to 207 at the end of August to 189 at the end of September, a decline of 13% from July to September.  Inventory relative to pending sales fell to 1.9 months in September from 2.2 months in August and 2.4 months in July.

Livermore Single Family Homes Under $1 Million
Inventory Vs Pending Sales September 2011

Pending sales of homes priced over $1 million matched their high of four for 2011 in September, after posting two and three sales in July and August, respectively.  24 homes were on the market in this segment at the end of September, up from 20 in August but off one from 25 in July.  There was 6.0 months of inventory in this price range relative to pending sales at the end of September, down from 12.5 months in July and 6.7 months in August.

Livermore Single Family Homes Over $1 Million
Inventory Vs Pending Sales September 2011

The Livermore real estate market showed some good strength over the past couple of months, with pending sales increasing and inventory falling.  The market looks as strong as it has all year.