There is a lot going on in the world right now and we won’t pretend to know how things will turn out or affect the local real estate market over the next few months. In the meantime, this report will look at the most recent data available, though the impact of the wild volatility in the financial markets and the unfolding situation with the coronavirus has yet to show up in reliable statistics. Typically, the spring selling season is the most active of the year. 

The February median house sales price was well above that of February 2019, but a tad below that of February 2018. Frankly, monthly year-over-year statistics are of limited value: One must really look at longer term trends for meaningful insight into market conditions. These are illustrated in the second chart following.

In this chart below, it's interesting to see how county median sales prices pulled away from Bay Area prices in 2017. In 2017 through mid-2018, Santa Clara County may have been the hottest major market in the country. Then significant cooling occurred in the second half of 2018, with 2019 seeing some recovery.

A graphic illustration of what occurred in the market during 2017, 2018 and 2019 (though this chart goes back to 2013).