San Jose, 95124 Summary
The median sales price for homes in ZIP code 95124 for Jan 12 to Mar 12 was $535,500. This represents a decline of 6.1%, or $34,500, compared to the prior quarter and a decrease of 6.9% compared to the prior year. Sales prices have depreciated 23.5% over the last 5 years in 95124, San Jose. The median sales price of $535,500 for 95124 is 40.18% higher than the median sales price for San Jose CA. Average listing price for homes on Trulia in ZIP code 95124 was $656,717 for the week ending Apr 11, which represents an increase of 0.7%, or $4,591 compared to the prior week and an increase of 3.6%, or $22,927, compared to the week ending Mar 21. Average price per square foot for homes in 95124 was $353 in the most recent quarter, which is 23.86% higher than the average price per square foot for homes in San Jose.
Rising rents, coupled with slumping home prices and interest rates near record-lows, are
boosting demand for homes at entry-level prices.
Making sense of the story
Increased buying activity from investors and second-home purchases may be factors
behind the recent pickup in home sales, but real estate agents say they are fielding more
calls from anxious tenants complaining about rising rents.
Average apartment rents rose by 2.7 percent last year, while the national vacancy rate
dropped below 5 percent for the first time since 2001, according to a quarterly survey
released Wednesday by REIS Inc., a real estate research firm.
The largest rent increases came in San Francisco and San Jose, Calif., which saw
increases of 5.9 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively. Such increases are one reason
why industry analysts believe 2012 will be the first year since 2005 when the share of
apartment renters that moves out to buy a house increases from the previous year.
Historically, the cost to rent an apartment has been about 10 percent lower than the
after-tax cost of owning a home. That rental discount began to fall in 2010 and
disappeared entirely last year, according to analysts at Deutsche Bank who track
housing costs. By the end of 2011, the bank’s research found that the cost to rent an
apartment was about 15 percent higher than the cost to own a home.
It isn’t always easy for home buyers to make it to the closing table though. Lending and
appraisal standards remain tight, keeping many would-be buyers out of the market. And
aspiring buyers are competing with savvy investors who have turned buying and
reselling foreclosed homes into a business.
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