Despite national reports that the five-year housing boom is over, local Realtors do not see any significant slowing of home sales in Pleasanton
“Most of the popular national media would have you believe that the inventory of resale homes (excluding new home developments) was growing out of control while prices were either crashing down or poised to collapse,” noted Earl Rozran who, with is wife Andrea, are Realtors and independent contractors operating under the umbrella of Prudential California Realty on Stoneridge Drive. “In Pleasanton, this is simply not true.”
Rozran said that the inventory of resale homes for the period from Jan. 1 to Feb. 28 was 190 homes, compared to the same period last year when the inventory was 143.
“So the net change in inventory is only 47 more homes this year,” he said. “For Pleasanton, 190 active homes are far from an excessive number.”
The number of active homes on the market is much higher in other communities, including Brentwood, where there are now some 400 listings.
Home prices in Pleasanton are also holding up unlike in other parts of California and the country where new home prices advertised by Centex have been cut $25,000 with other builders offering free upgrades equal to 10 percent of a new home’s list price to attract buyers.
According to the National Association of Realtors, the median price of an existing single-family home has declined since peaking at $219,700 last July to $210,500 in January.
But as far as pricing goes here, the median list and median sold prices for the same first two months this year and in 2005 is still up. However, unlike the last few years when sellers had multiple offers that often exceeded their asking price, sellers today are rarely seeing sold prices exceed their listing price.
According to Rozran, the numbers for the first two months last year showed a median list price of $749,950, with median sold price of $759,000. During the same period this year, the median list price was $799,950 with median sell price of $764,500.
“We believe the message here is that properties for sale need to be priced at or just below the last comparable sale to appeal to the pool of buyers that are watching their borrowing costs go up significantly when compared to a year ago,” Rozran said. “We strongly advise our clients of this change from the previous market and the best Realtors do this as well rather than simply listing the home at an inflated price only to watch it sit unsold.”
But the demand for Pleasanton housing is still strong, as Realtor Jim Walker of Keller Williams Realty saw first-hand just last weekend.
“We held an ‘open home’ Saturday and Sunday and between the two days, we had over 50 groups of people coming through,” Walker said. “This was at a house priced at $994,000, about in the mainstream of Pleasanton prices right now.”
Holding open houses has proven to be a valuable marketing tool for Walker and his wife Jasmine Feng, also a Realtor and a partner in the Jim Walker Real Estate Team, an independent contractor under the Keller Williams banner.
“In our first year as Realtors, 30 percent of our business came from open homes, with additional clients gained through referrals from people who went through the homes we were hosting and took our cards,” Walker said.
As for the next 10 months of 2006, both Walker and Rozran see the Pleasanton market gaining strength as it enters one of the most active periods–March through June when homeowners buy and sell based on next year’s school enrollment.
“For Pleasanton, probably the biggest draws are not only our historic downtown, but also our excellent schools,” Rozran said. “We hear from a lot of clients who are living in Fremont or Tracy or somewhere in the surrounding areas and want to move into the Pleasanton school district.”
Still, although prices are still rising and the number of available homes is relatively limited, the time it takes to sell a home is also increasing.
“Many sellers refuse to accept that the market has changed,” Rozran said. “If they price their homes at a premium to the comparable homes recently sold in their neighborhood, they will be forced to endure longer market time and, ultimately, a price reduction or two.”
“The most telling example of this is in the number of days on market (DOM),” he added. “Once again, looking at the same two time periods one year apart, the average DOM for January and February in 2005 was 12 days. For this year, the DOM has grown to 27 days.”
“However,” he continued, “keeping everything in perspective here, 27 days to sell your Pleasanton home is still well below the average time in most markets anywhere. It’s just that we Realtors and sellers have gotten out of calibration with the white-hot market we experienced during the past two years. Now, it’s imperative that we adjust to what is still a very good market with some balance between a seller’s expectations and a buyer’s perceived value.”
Andrea Rozran has been selling real estate for eight years, with Earl Rozran joining her three years ago. They have two children: Brice, 14, who is in the eighth grade at Harvest Park Middle School, and Marilyn, 12, a seventh-grade student also at Harvest Park. Realtors Andrew and Earl Rozran maintain their own Web site at www.prurealty.com/TheRozrans.
Walker has been active in the East Bay area for two decades. He is Assistant Scoutmaster of Pleasanton Troop 908 and chairs the Fundraising Committee for Tri-Valley Animal Rescue, where he is also a board member. The Walkers have three sons, Thomas, Brian and Eric, who attend Amador Valley High School and Harvest ParkÝMiddle School.
