Pleasanton 2011 Year In Review

2011 was not a bad year for real estate in Pleasanton; With low interest rates and lower prices leading the way, there was fairly strong demand across most price segments.  However, most of the metrics were a little worse than they were in 2010.  There were about the same number of properties sold but the median price, average price per square foot and sales price relative to list price were all lower.  Demand was strong in 2011, evidenced by lower inventory numbers.  This review includes single family detached homes only.

601 sales closed in 2011, which was remarkably close to the 603 that closed in 2010.  Here is a chart showing the number of units sold by month for the past two years.  As can be seen, Pleasanton ended 2011 on a strong note with 55 sales in December, which was one higher than the number of sales closed in December 2010.

The median sales price was 1.4% ($10,000) lower in 2011 than 2010.  That is not much of a change, particularly given the state of the economy.  The year did not end strong, with October, November and December posting some of the lowest median prices of the year, as can be seen in the following chart.

Buyers paid slightly less in 2011, relative to the list price.  2011 homes sold for an average of 96.8% of the asking price, compared to 97.1% in 2010.  The highest price paid for a home in 2011 was $3.0 million, down from $3.9 million in 2010.  The lowest price paid in 2011 was $292,000, $42,000 higher than the lowest price paid in 2010.

Homes were on the market longer in 2011, averaging 48 days.  That was one third (12 days) longer than homes sold in 2010.  Even with that, there was less inventory in 2011 than 2010.  On average, there was 3.3 months of inventory available in 2011, down from 3.8 months in 2010, a 13% decrease.  Pleasanton also ended the year with the lowest inventory levels seen in several years.  At the end of December 2011, there were only 144 units for sale, which equated to 2.0 months.  Both figures were the lowest since 2006.

Another bright spot in 2011 was distressed properties (short sales and REO).  18% of all properties sold in Pleasanton in 2011 were distressed, down from 21% in 2010.

On balance, it was not a bad year for Pleasanton in 2011.  Demand was high, inventory levels were down and the median sales price did not suffer much relative to 2010. Certainly things are looking strong as we enter 2012.