We will discuss the latest San Jose real estate market trends. San Jose's housing market is infamously expensive. A lack of homes for sale is pushing prices up, so potential buyers are facing an affordability crunch. Single-family inventory is about two months. San Jose's home prices are declining due to a dampening effect of high mortgage rates on housing demand. As compared to last January, the median price is down by 14.4 percent to $1.33M. The median price of a two-bedroom house is $865K. If you put 20% down, the monthly payment is $5,266 (as of January 2023).

Below is the latest monthly report of the San Jose Housing Market released by the California Association Of Realtors. It compares key housing metrics of the San Jose housing market from January 2023 to January 2022. 

• Existing SFR Home Sales were down by 47.6% year-over-year.
• The existing SFR Median Price was $1.33M, down 14.4% year-over-year.
• Active Listings increased by 44.4% year-over-year.
• Median Days on the Market was 16.
• Sales-to-List Price % was 98.8%.
• % of Active Listings with Reduced Prices was 26.8%.

Santa Clara Housing Market Trends

Santa Clara is a seller's market, according to the latest data. The California Association of Realtors has released the most recent monthly report on the Santa Clara housing market, which is included below. Months' Supply for SF detached homes is 2.5 months, an increase from 1.6 months in Jan 2022. It refers to the number of months required to sell the current inventory of homes on the market at the current pace of sales. Six months of supply has historically been associated with moderate price appreciation, while a lower level of months' supply tends to accelerate price increases.

• Existing SFR Home Sales were down -39.9% year-over-year and -35.4% MTM.
• The existing SFR Median Price was $1,530,000, down 35.4% year-over-year.
• Unsold inventory = 2.5 months.
• Median Days on Market was 23, up 16 days.
• Sales-to-List Price % was 98.4%.
• % of Active Listings with Reduced Prices was 23.4%.

San Jose Housing Price Trends And Forecast for 2023

San Jose housing is a seller's housing market. A seller's market arises when demand exceeds supply. In other words, there are many interested buyers, but the real estate inventory is low. Available inventory remains low and can’t keep up with the high buyer demand in this market. January saw a decrease of more than half in the houses for sale inventory levels as compared to a year ago. San Jose is the county seat and the largest city is Santa Clara. In January 2023, the single-family housing supply in Santa Clara was 2.5 months.

San Jose Housing Demand 

The San Jose housing market is very competitive for buyers, according to Redfin's data. Homes in San Jose receive 4 offers on average and sell in around 28.5 days. The average sale price of a home in San Jose was $1.13M last month, down 6.3% since last year. The average sale price per square foot in San Jose is $731, down 7.4% since last year.

In January 2023, San Jose home prices were down 6.3% compared to last year, selling for a median price of $1.1M. On average, homes in San Jose sell after 35 days on the market compared to 9 days last year. There were 223 homes sold in January this year, down from 433 last year.

• Sale-to-List Price = 99%.
• Homes Sold Above List Price = 36.8%.
• Homes with Price Drops = 22.4%.
• Many homes receive multiple offers, some of which include waived contingencies.
• On average, homes sell for around 1% below the list price and are pending within 29 days.
• Hot homes can sell for about 2% more than the asking price and go pending in about 10 days.

San Jose is a large city surrounded by rolling hills in Silicon Valley, a major technology hub in California's Bay Area. San Jose is the county seat of Santa Clara County, the most affluent county in California and one of the most affluent counties in the United States. In January 2023, the median listing home price in Santa Clara County, CA was $1.4M, trending up 7.8% year-over-year (source: realtor.com).

• The median listing home price per square foot in Santa Clara County is $859.
• The median home sold price is $1.3M.
• The median sale price tells us the midpoint in sale prices: half are more, and half are less than this amount.
• Often that translates into what a typical house will cost in any given area.
• Sale-to-List Price Ratio: 98.67%
• Homes in Santa Clara County, CA sold for 1.33% below the asking price on average this January.
• Santa Clara County is a seller's market, which means that more people are looking to buy than there are homes available.
• There are 28 cities in Santa Clara County (where Realtor.com has active listings).
• Los Altos Hills has a median listing home price of $5.5M, making it the most expensive city. 
• Gilroy is the most affordable city, with a median listing home price of $1M.
• The median listing home price in San Jose is $1.2M, trending up 9.9% year-over-year. 
• The median home sold price in San Jose was $1.2M.
• Homes in San Jose, CA are selling for 1.12% below the asking price on average.
• On average, homes in San Jose, CA sell after 51 days on the market. 
• Almaden Country Club has a median listing home price of $3M, making it the most expensive neighborhood. 
• Oak Grove is the most affordable neighborhood, with a median listing home price of $500K.

Why Are Houses in San Jose So Expensive?

San Jose, like the rest of the Bay Area, is an excellent place to call home. However, you should only do so if you can afford it. San Jose's job market and economy are thriving. The region has the fastest rate of employment growth among the nation's largest metropolitan areas. San Jose is also located in Silicon Valley, which is home to technology behemoths such as Apple and Google, as well as a slew of successful startup businesses. Numerous well-compensated employees can afford very high market prices. 

The 30-Year Fixed-Rate in January 2023 was 6.27% while in January 2022, it was 3.45%. The supply is still tight and with all of these factors considered, at this time, it is unlikely that the San Jose housing market will see many major price declines or crashes in the near future. The single-family homes in San Jose are currently sold at around $1.33 million (median price). It is down -14.4% from last year's price. 

• The median price of a one-bedroom house is $580K. If you put 20% down, monthly payment = $3,531
• The median price of a two-bedroom house is $865K. If you put 20% down, monthly payment = $5,266
• The median price of a three-bedroom house is $1.30M. If you put 20% down, monthly payment = $7,914
• The median price of a four-bedroom house is $1.80M. If you put 20% down, monthly payment = $10,951

San Jose's real estate market has been a strong seller's market. Available inventory continues to be unbelievably low and is unable to keep up with demand. The South Bay, Silicon Valley's heart, is home to a slew of technology companies, including Facebook and Google. As a result, employees from all over the world have settled in the Bay Area, which some attribute to the years-long increase in rent prices. The National Low Income Housing Coalition's (NLIHC) annual report (2021) revealed that the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara region was the second most expensive to rent in the country.

A minimum-wage worker earning $14 per hour would need to work approximately 141 hours per week to afford a one-bedroom apartment in Santa Clara County, the report states. The annual income needed to afford the one bedroom for one person comes out to $102,320, or an hourly wage per week of $49.19. The realistic affordable rental rate for a minimum wage worker is just $728 per month, according to NLIHC.

Average Rent in San Jose

San Jose is the #3 most expensive large city in the U.S., with a median rent of $2,370. Currently, the overall median rent in San Jose, CA stands at $2,370, roughly the same as last month. Prices remain up 4.8% year-over-year. Read on to learn more about what’s been happening in the San Jose rental market and how it compares to trends throughout the broader San Jose metro area and the nation as a whole.

San Jose rents are flat month-over-month and up 4.8% year-over-year. The median rent in San Jose fell by 0.4% over the course of January, and has now increased by a total of 4.8% over the past 12 months. San Jose’s rent growth over the past year has has outpaced both state (2.3%) and national (3.3%) averages. January rent growth in San Jose ranked #55 among large U.S. cities.

San Jose Home Value Forecast 2023

NeighborhoodScout's data also shows that San Jose has experienced some of the highest home appreciation rates of any community in the nation. San Jose real estate appreciated 136.08% over the last ten years, which is an average annual home appreciation rate of 8.97%, putting San Jose in the top 20% nationally for real estate appreciation.

San Jose's appreciation rate over the last twelve months (between 2021 Q3 – 2022 Q3) has been 21.31 percent. San Jose's appreciation rate has been 6.91% between 2022 Q2 – 2022 Q3. 

Let us look at the price trends recorded by Zillow over the past few years. Zillow Home Value Index is an adjusted measure of the typical home value and market changes across a given region and housing type. It reflects the typical value for homes in the 35th to 65th percentile range. ZHVI also represents the whole housing stock and not just the homes that list or sell in a given month.

The typical home value of homes in San Jose is currently $1,242,406, which indicates that 50 percent of all housing stock in the area is worth more than $1,242,406 and 50 percent is worth less (adjusting for seasonal fluctuations).

• San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara Metro home values have risen by 3.1% to $1,385,816.
• Zillow predicts they will decline by 5.4% between Jan 2023 to Jan 2024.

San José Housing Market Update: Q3 2022

San Jose officials recently released the City’s Housing Market Report, which provides quarterly data on the rental and ownership housing market in San José and Santa Clara County. Trends tracked in the report include median sale prices of homes, average rental rates, interest rates, and foreclosures. According to the government of San José, the metro area's affordability is less than half the national average. Many essential workers cannot afford San José housing costs.

Only 1 in 8 families can afford to buy a median-priced home in San José. That means homeownership of a median-priced home is out of reach for nearly 87.5 percent of the city’s residents. As of the third quarter of 2022, buyers need to earn $333,494 per year to afford a median-priced single-family home in San Jose. The annual income to own a median-priced townhome/condo is about $203,557. The annual income to afford typical rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $120,640. 

• The median single-family home price is $1,445,000, down 7.8% QoQ, up 2.1% YoY.
• Renters must earn $58/hour ($120,640/year) to afford the average effective monthly rent for a 2-bedroom apartment.
• Buyers must earn $160/hour ($333,494/year) to afford a median-priced single-family home.
• 449 residential building permits were issued, of which 192 (43%) were for affordable apartments (0% affordable).
• 428 ADU (Accessory Dwelling Units) permits issued.
• Rents down & Vacancy up.
• Average effective rent is $2,711, down 0.8% QoQ.
• The overall residential vacancy rate is 4.9%, up 1.0 pts QoQ.
• Below “Healthy” Rate of 5%.

San Jose Real Estate Investment Overview

Is San Jose a Good Place Real Estate Investment? Investing in real estate is touted as a great way to become wealthy. Many real estate investors have asked themselves if buying rental property in San Jose is a good investment? You need to drill deeper into local trends if you want to know what the market holds for the year ahead. 

San Jose is part of Silicon Valley, a place where $100,000 a year or higher salaries from competing tech firms have driven up the cost of real estate. But what about the San Jose housing market itself? San Jose is the third-largest city in California, home to roughly a million people. It has the highest cost of living in any area in the U.S., and it is one of the most expensive housing markets in the country.

California keeps hitting the news as a figuratively toxic market spiraling down. If it wasn’t for legal and illegal immigration, the population would decline because so many natives are leaving. The business exodus is propping up Seattle’s real estate market. The state hits the news for bleeding-edge political mandates while the public debate their cost.

Why on Earth would anyone want to buy a home here? Quite a few, actually, despite housing prices in the state of California. If you are a real estate investor, San Jose real estate has a track record of being one of the best long-term investments in the country over the last ten years. Let’s find some other factors that make San Jose a good place to invest for wealthy buyers. 

San Jose has a mixture of owner-occupied and renter-occupied housing units. According to Neighborhoodscout.com, a real estate data provider, three and four-bedroom single-family detached homes are the most common housing units in San Jose. Other types of housing that are prevalent in San Jose include large apartment complexes, duplexes, rowhouses, and homes converted to apartments. Single-family homes account for about  53.00% of San Jose's housing units. About 43.60% of residents rent a home.

Purchasing an investment property is a little different from shopping for your car or primary residence. While you still want to get the most for your money, if you are looking to make a profit, you don’t want to buy the most expensive property on the market and expect to make a good profit on rent. Perhaps you are looking for a slightly different hold-over, a turnkey investment property in San Jose that you might move into or sell at retirement in the future! Either way, knowing your profit potential and purpose is the first thing to consider.

Job Growth in San Jose

Wherever there are jobs, there will be people going there to seek work. San Jose has seen the job market increase by 2.5% over the last year. Future job growth over the next ten years is predicted to be 38.9%, which is higher than the US average of 33.5%. The very high average pay rate for any job in San Jose is simply another reason for people to move here.

The average income of a San Jose resident is $34,992 a year. The US average is $28,555 a year. The Median household income of a San Jose resident is $83,787 a year. The US average is $53,482 a year. You can make twice that or more if you have the right technical expertise. This is the biggest factor driving the San Jose real estate market — the high-tech industry which includes large companies like Google, Apple and Adobe. 

According to the State of California (EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT), the unemployment rate in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA was 2.1 percent in December 2022, down from a revised 2.4 percent in November 2022, and below the year-ago estimate of 2.9 percent. This compares with an unadjusted unemployment rate of 3.7 percent for California and 3.3 percent for the nation during the same period. The unemployment rate was 4.6 percent in San Benito County, and 2.0 percent in Santa Clara County.

Between November 2022 and December 2022, total employment in the San Jose-SunnyvaleSanta Clara MSA, which also includes San Benito County, rose by 300 jobs to total 1,195,900. Between December 2021 and December 2022, combined employment in the South Bay
counties of San Benito and Santa Clara, increased by 47,100 jobs, or 4.1 percent. 

The unemployment rate was 4.6 percent in San Benito County, and 2.0 percent in Santa Clara County.

San Jose's Big Tech Market

San Jose may have seen housing prices soften somewhat in 2018, but the high-paying jobs that led to the incredible San Jose real estate market valuations haven’t gone anywhere. Businesses like Samsung, Qualcomm, Netgear, Cisco, Paypal, and others are still located here. Samsung opened a new campus here in 2015. Apple’s new San Jose campus is under construction.

The robust tech sector is still expanding and fuelling the becoming of this region. Google, in particular, has prepared multiple springboards to catapult the search giant to dramatic expansions in Mountain View, Sunnyvale, North San Jose, and downtown San Jose. The result of all that could well equate to continued hiring at a brisk pace. People who want to work for these firms will either move to San Jose or try to find a cheaper market and commute in.

San Jose's Growing Rental Market

Any housing market will see a large and generally well-funded population of renters if there is a university in town. San Jose has several that attract students from around the world. Investors in the San Jose real estate market could buy up properties to rent out to the thousands of engineering and computer graduate majors attending the University of California Berkley campus, UC Santa Cruz, Stanford University, Santa Clara University, and California State University.

The students are coming to these schools in the hope of working for Big Tech, so they’re not going to leave if they have a choice. According to Sanjoseca.gov, many essential workers cannot afford san josé housing costs.Rents are down 0.8% QoQ but up 7.1% YoY. Only 11% of San Jose homes remain affordable to median-income households. In other words, only 1 in 8 families can afford to buy a median-priced home in San José. Buyers must earn $160/hour ($333,494/year) to afford a median-priced single-family home.

When evaluating a rental investment, working out the vacancy rate is very important. It is helpful to know the market’s average vacancy rate so you can compare your property’s current performance. According to Sanjoseca.gov, as of Q3 2022, the average effective rent is $2,711, down 0.8% QoQ. The overall residential vacancy rate is 4.9%, up 1.0 pt QoQ. The U.S. Average is 6.0%. Class A is the most volatile with the average effective rent being $3,318. Vacancy rates remain slightly higher than the healthy rate of 5%.

Class A apartments have the highest vacancy at 7.5% (up 0.7 pts QoQ) while vacancy rates for lower-rent apartments are far lower at 3.5 to 5.4%. Class B apartments have a vacancy rate of 5.4%. Class C apartments have a vacancy rate of 3.5%. Class F apartments have a vacancy rate of 4.4%.

As of February 19, 2023, the average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in San Jose, CA is currently $2,494. This is a 0% increase compared to the previous year. Over the past month, the average rent for a studio apartment in San Jose decreased by -1% to $2,085. The average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment decreased by -2% to $2,494, and the average rent for a 2-bedroom apartment increased by 1% to $3,174.

• The average rent for a 2-bedroom apartment in San Jose, CA is currently $3,174. This is an 8% increase compared to the previous year.
• The average rent for a 3-bedroom apartment in San Jose, CA is currently $3,750. This is a 4% increase compared to the previous year.
• The average rent for a 4-bedroom apartment in San Jose, CA is currently $4,298. This is a 4% increase compared to the previous year.

The most expensive San Jose neighborhoods to rent apartments in are Downtown, North San Jose, and Buena Vista. The cheapest San Jose neighborhoods to rent apartments in are East San Jose, Cambrian Park, and Evergreen.

4. San Jose is Relatively Cheaper Than Silicon Valley

We mentioned San Francisco tech firms moving jobs to Seattle to reduce labor costs or pay the same rate while giving workers a higher standard of living. However, the less often mentioned trend is San Francisco and Palo Alto firms moving to the South Bay because it isn’t as much of an inconvenience. After all, many of their workers are moving to the South Bay to be able to afford a home. Smaller firms are starting up in San Jose instead of Mountain View because it is what they can afford.

Silicon Valley is dominated by young professionals, many of whom want to start families. If you can invest in housing that caters to their needs and fits their budget, they’ll pay a premium for it. And as long as Silicon Valley continues to generate so many high-paying jobs, it will continue to attract people who will eventually start families. If families continue to be priced out of the San Jose housing market, you can still rent the property out to young tech workers willing to pay $2000 a month to rent a bedroom in a single-family dwelling.

San Jose ends up serving as a place for middle-class people working in these areas to find more affordable housing. Similarly, due to office space costs, more middle-class jobs locate themselves in San Jose and the vicinity rather than further north in Palo Alto or Mt. View. San Francisco on the other hand is the job center for that area, and people with high-paying jobs end up having to pay a premium to live close to said jobs, leaving only the richer people able to afford to live in SF.

Co-working space allows small businesses and individuals to share workspace at a lower overall cost per head. Co-living spaces bring the same economies of scale to individuals. You may have a bedroom to yourself or share it, but amenities like the laundry room, kitchen, and entertainment are shared. It is hard to think of a more profitable opportunity for investing in the San Jose real estate market.

Buy a building and convert it into a co-living space, charging several hundred dollars a month per bed for students starting up their own company or working for a Big Tech firm. If the dorm-like residence is next to co-working spaces, it is a marriage made in heaven. If you know of industrial or commercial properties near major employers that may need to convert to employee housing, you could buy now and hold until it sells. If that doesn’t happen, you could still turn it into a co-working space.

5. San Jose's Micro-Housing Is Making a Comeback

Co-living spaces maximize personal space and quality of life by minimizing the size of bedrooms while having people share living rooms, bathrooms, and gyms. However, not everyone wants to live in one of these “dorms for grownups”, but they can’t afford the $2500-3500 a month rent for a conventional apartment. San Jose is meeting demand by authorizing the construction of new micro-apartments and the renovation of existing structures to create micro-apartments.

San Francisco is considering amending its building code to reduce apartments from a minimum of 290 square feet of livable space to 150. San Jose is ahead of the curve with the 150-square-foot minimum. If you want to buy and renovate single-family homes or apartment buildings to carve up into many smaller and more profitable units, now is the best time to invest in the San Jose real estate market. Hotels are being converted to micro-apartments all ready to meet this new affordable option in the San Jose housing market.

The New Hotel Balmoral offers a new rental option in downtown San Jose. 10 micro-apartments, ranging from 344 to 926 Square feet and equipped with internet, cable TV, refrigerator, and microwave, can be rented for 2,200 dollars a month. The price includes two cleanings per week and access to the gym. Just recently, a San Jose housing development with 400-square-feet micro-apartments has been approved near Google transit village.

6. San Jose's House Prices Are Now Rising Slowly

San Jose has a large population of highly educated professionals. Due to the strong economy, there is a great deal of new construction, with commercial and residential buildings being erected everywhere. The retail infrastructure has undergone massive improvement since the 1990s. It recently became the tenth-largest city in the United States, with over a million people, but only about 40% of its land area is developed. San Jose's downtown is small relative to its population size. The majority of San Jose is suburban.

Although the inventory is up due to the pandemic it hasn’t made a dent in the problem of the housing shortage. San Jose’s total housing stock is growing year-over-year but it doesn’t translate into measurable relief on housing demand. However, over the past couple of years, the growth of inventory has significantly contributed to a slowdown in price appreciation.

Three years ago, home prices in San Jose were rising by double-digits year over year. Then they leveled off followed by a declining phase. Inventory growth has played key a role in this reversal. Zillow's latest forecast until March 2022 is that San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara Metro home values will decline by 5%. The city's appreciation rate is higher than this. As we write this, the San Jose median price is up 10.9% ($1.42M) from last year.

San Jose Investment Properties: Where To Buy?

Maybe you have done a bit of real estate investing in San Jose but want to take things further and make it into more than a hobby on the side. It’s only wise to think about how you can and should be investing your money. In any property investment, cash flow is gold. Should you consider investing in San Jose real estate?

If you are a home buyer or real estate investor, San Jose real estate investment has been generating one of the best long-term returns in the U.S. over the last ten years. Big Tech makes San Jose one of the hottest real estate markets in the country. Among all the cities of Silicon Valley Bay Area, San Jose city probably has the perfect balance of residential and commercial areas.

While the intense pressure is driving some companies and people out, the strong financial numbers continue to make the San Jose housing market a good place to invest. The unique redevelopment opportunities should not be overlooked. If you want to invest in the San Jose housing market, you should do it now while things are – relatively speaking – affordable.

The best part is low competition among buyers due to the pandemic, and historically low mortgage rates. Zillow's forecast until March 2021 is that the San Jose housing market will remain flat. You can still find affordable housing in this big city which has fantastic neighborhoods. The economy is currently strong, fueled by the vibrant high-tech sector. 

Demand would raise the price of your San Jose investment property and you should be able to get a good return on your investment over the long term. The neighborhoods in San Jose must be safe to live in and should have a low crime rate. The neighborhoods should be close to basic amenities, public services, schools, and shopping malls.

A cheaper neighborhood in San Jose might not be the best place to live in. A cheaper neighborhood should be determined by these factors – Overall Cost Of Living, Rent To Income Ratio, and Median Home Value To Income Ratio. It depends on how much you are looking to spend and if you are wanting smaller investment properties or larger deals in Class A neighborhoods.

The inventory is low, but opportunities are there. Nine of Redfin’s 10 Hottest Neighborhoods of 2018 were in the San Jose metro area. While the San Francisco peninsula has traditionally been the hottest of the hot places, we’re seeing it become unaffordable for even the tech giants that helped create its demand in the first place,” said Redfin Silicon Valley agent Kalena Masching. “The result has been a tech-worker migration to the South Bay charged by people looking for relative affordability, highly rated schools, short commutes, and access to jobs.”

Bucknall topped the list. This neighborhood is dominated by single-family homes, which sets it apart from many neighborhoods in the area that have more mixed-use or multi-family homes.

White Oak is a neighborhood that many first-time homebuyers choose because it has a lower price point and is close to vibrant Downtown Campbell and Downtown Los Gatos. 

Ortega is becoming famous among homebuyers because of its proximity to the Cupertino and Santa Clara Apple campus, its highly rated schools, and its access to highways 101 and 280.

Lakewood is a good commuter neighborhood and one of the few remaining places in the San Jose metro area where people can get a home for less than $1 million without getting deep into San Jose or going to the East Bay. It’s close to Mission College and a fairly new shopping plaza with a beautiful movie theater, small grocery store, and plenty of restaurants and pubs to keep up with demand. More information regarding all the 10 hottest neighborhoods in San Jose can be found here.

Niche.com also comes up with the best neighborhoods for buying a house in San Jose in 2020. Here are a few of them.

Remember, caveat emptor still applies when buying a property anywhere. Some of the information contained in this article was pulled from third-party sites mentioned under references. Although the information is believed to be reliable, Norada Real Estate Investments makes no representations, warranties, or guarantees, either express or implied, as to whether the information presented is accurate, reliable, or current. All information presented should be independently verified through the references given below. As a general policy, Norada Real Estate Investments makes no claims or assertions about the future housing market conditions across the US.

References

Latest Market Data, Trends, and Statistics
https://www.car.org
https://www.car.org/marketdata/data/countysalesactivity
https://www.zillow.com/san-jose-ca/home-values
https://www.redfin.com/city/17420/CA/San-Jose/housing-market
https://www.apartmentlist.com/renter-life/average-rent-in-san-jose
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/San-Jose_CA/overview
https://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/San-Jose-real-estate-hottest-market-Bucknall-12541044.php

Foreclosures
https://www.realtytrac.com/statsandtrends/ca/santa-clara-county/san-jose

San Jose demographics and universities
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Jose,_California

Big Tech isn’t going anywhere
https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/03/20/photos-apples-secretive-race-for-new-silicon-valley-office-space

Relative Deal
https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/networth/article/San-Jose-could-be-this-year-s-most-insane-12541492.php

San Francisco firms moving to San Jose
https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2017/09/27/san-jose-tech-real-estate-boom-patterson-sheridan.html
https://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/San-Jose-real-estate-hottest-market-Bucknall-12541044.php

Co-living/co-working
https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/WeWork-s-Bay-Area-boom-extends-in-San-Jose-13038193.php
https://www.bisnow.com/san-francisco/news/multifamily/starcity-plans-massive-new-bay-area-co-living-projects-94057

Overall job market
https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Location=San-Jose-CA/Salary
https://bluewatercredit.com/a-look-at-san-jose-cas-remarkably-low-unemployment-rate/

Company provided housing
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/14/google-spending-30-million-on-housing-for-silicon-valley-employees.html

Micro apartments
https://qcostarica.com/downtown-san-jose-hotel-encouraging-people-to-return-to-live-in-the-city

Birmingham Alabama Housing Market REPORT

Birmingham, Alabama has come a long way from its Southern roots, though it retains its historic charm. Birmingham recently earned the title of being the South’s “Comeback Town.” The Birmingham AL real estate market continues to slow down due to high-interest rates. However, price increases in the Birmingham housing market are largely driven by tight inventory which can't meet the buyer demand.

According to a report published by the Alabama Center for Real Estate (ACRE), Birmingham residential sales for the third quarter of 2022 totaled 4325 units, representing a decrease of 740 transactions when compared to 5065 units that were sold in the third quarter of 2021. Compared to historical data, third-quarter sales are 8.96% above the 3-year quarterly average and 16.99% above the 5-year quarterly average.

The median selling price in Birmingham for the third quarter of 2022 was $294,817, a 9.60% increase from the third quarter of 2021's median selling price of $269,000. The average selling price in Birmingham for the third quarter of 2022 was $346,142, a 7.72% increase from the third quarter of 2021’s average selling price of $321,333.

Birmingham residential units available for sale in the third quarter of 2022 increased by 473 units when compared to the same period last year. Compared to historical data to the right, the third quarter months of supply is 4.86% below the 3-year quarterly average and 25.21% below the 5-year quarterly average. The # of months of supply stands at 2.5 months.

Birmingham Metro Housing Market Trends & Forecast 2023

Data by Redfin shows that the Birmingham housing market is somewhat competitive. Homes in Birmingham receive 2 offers on average and sell in around 45.5 days. The average homes sell for about 3% below the list price and go pending in around 46 days. Hot listings can sell for about 1% above the list price and go pending in around 26 days.

In December 2022, Birmingham home prices were up 19.1% compared to last year, selling for a median price of $214K. On average, homes in Birmingham sell after 50 days on the market compared to 42 days last year. There were 176 homes sold in December this year, down from 337 last year.

The typical home value in Birmingham is $113,709 (Zillow Home Value Index). Birmingham home values have gone up 11.8% over the past year. According to statistics from NeighborhoodScout, in the last twelve months( (2021 Q3 – 2022 Q3), Birmingham's rate of appreciation has been 16.22 percent. The most recent quarter's (2022 Q2 – 2022 Q3) house appreciation rates in Birmingham were 4.56 percent, which amounts to an annual appreciation rate of 19.52 percent.

However, the real estate market has screeched to a halt, and some economists believe home prices are about to drop significantly in 2023. The home prices may remain flat or rise very modestly in Birmingham in 2023.  Zillow latest forecast shows that home prices in Birmingham Metro may drop by 0.6% between November 2022 to November 2023.

Latest Birmingham Housing Market Statistics (Residential)

The latest monthly report published by ACRE Media shows that home sales in the Birmingham metropolitan area decreased by 31.4 percent YoY in November 2022.  According to the Greater Alabama MLS, home sales in the Birmingham area decreased from 1,454 to 998 closed transactions. Following seasonal trends, sales decreased by 10.3% from October. Sales are down 12.5% year-to-date. Homes sold in November averaged 24 days on the market (DOM), 15 days slower than in November 2021.

Birmingham Housing Inventory:  November listings (3,455) decreased 5.3% from October and increased 36.4% from one year ago. At the current sales pace, all the active inventory on the market would sell in 3.5 months, up from 3.3 months in October and up from 1.7 months in November 2021. The equilibrium point where buyers and sellers have roughly equal bargaining power is 4-5 months of supply.

Birmingham Home Prices: Home sales price growth moderated in November with the statewide median sales price rising 6.8% Y/Y, down from an average of 14.3% from January-October 2022 and reaching single digits for the first time since September 2021. The statewide median sales price decreased by 4.9% from the record high reached in October 2022.

Forecast: Going forward, slowing sales and rising inventory are likely to result in home price growth moderating to the 8-10% range by year-end. November sales were 390 units, or 28.1%, below the Alabama Center for Real Estate’s (ACRE) monthly forecast. ACRE projected 1,388 sales for the month, while actual sales were 998 units. ACRE forecast a total of 16,686 sales year-to-date, while there were 15,363 actual sales through November, a difference of 7.9%.

New Construction: The 105 new homes sold represent 10.5% of all residential sales in the Birmingham area in November. Total sales decreased 40.3% year-over-year. The median sales price in November was $388,490, a decrease of 12.7% from October and an increase of 15.7% from one year ago.

Birmingham Real Estate Investment Overview

Investing in real estate is touted as a great way to become wealthy. Is Birmingham rental property good for investment? Planning to invest in the Birmingham, AL real estate market? Many real estate investors have asked themselves if buying a property in Birmingham is a good investment. You need to drill deeper into local trends if you want to know what the market holds for the year ahead. We have already discussed the Birmingham housing market forecast for answers on why to put resources into this sizzling market.

Home prices in Birmingham have been trending up year over year. One of the benefits of the Birmingham AL real estate market is that it is incredibly stable and steady, and investors can purchase Birmingham investment properties for $80,000 to $100,000. This makes it a prominent place for new investors to get their feet wet and for anyone searching for a good investment that can create a stable monthly rental income. It is seeing faster-than-average appreciation, but it has never been subject to the wild swings that have hit the coasts or other “hot” markets.

For example, a quarter of its population is made up of Millennials, and they’re buying an increasing number of homes. They bought almost a quarter of all homes in the area in 2013, and that ratio is only going to rise. Conversely, this means that you know there are buyers for homes when sold by downsizing Baby Boomers. If you buy Birmingham AL real estate, you know you’ll be able to sell it for what you paid for it if not get a little bit more. Here are the top 10 reasons to invest in Birmingham real estate.

Birmingham Real Estate Is Affordable

Birmingham AL real estate is affordable for investors. The typical home in Alabama is worth $218,421 according to Zillow. The typical value of homes in Birmingham is $113,709 as of Dec 2022, up 11.8% over the past year. For many considering relocating in search of work, Alabama’s very low cost of living – including housing – is reason enough to move there instead of Texas or Florida. Birmingham AL's real estate market remains among the most affordable markets in the nation, which bodes well for homeowners, investors, and renters alike.

The typical home value in Birmingham is less than $115,000. Compare this to a typical home price in Dallas, Texas for around $326,938. This means real estate investors could buy two to three properties in Birmingham for the price of a home in Dallas, sometimes considered one of the hottest real estate markets in the country. You could buy several rental homes in Birmingham for the price of a single property in an expensive market in California.

Suppose you don’t want to buy rental real estate in Birmingham. It is a million-person plus metro area, so there are opportunities to invest in the suburbs, as well. Graysville is one such suburb, and its typical home value is $125,447 (ZHVI). The typical home value in Adamsville is $145,009 while a typical Pleasant Grove home costs around $242,136. This makes Birmingham AL real estate an excellent opportunity since you can buy upscale suburban homes for less than a fixer-upper in the inner ring suburbs of many other cities.

The Area Is Growing, Both in Population and Rental Demand

There has been a distinct trend of people moving to the largest metropolitan area in the region in order to find the greatest opportunities. The Birmingham area is home to more than 1.1 million people. LendingTree ranked the Birmingham area as one of the least competitive real estate markets in the country. There were more potential buyers than sellers, forcing many would-be homeowners to rent instead.

The U.S. Census Bureau released data last year that showed major growth in several Birmingham metro counties from 2010 to 2020. According to the data, Huntsville is now the largest city, with Birmingham the second largest. But the Birmingham Area Metro is twice the size of the Huntsville Metro. Birmingham’s population is 200,733, that’s down 1.5 percent since 2010. Huntsville has 215,006 people, that’s up 11.2 percent since 2010. The Birmingham Metro population is 1.1 million people and the Huntsville Metro has 491,000.

It Is Landlord Friendly

No one wants to buy rental real estate in a market where it is almost impossible to evict a tenant for nonpayment. Birmingham AL real estate is attractive in part because of how landlord-friendly the area is. Alabama passed laws in 2014 that made things more favorable to landlords. Proposed 2018 legislation would make it easier for landlords to make tenants have to leave if they breached their lease contract.

Birmingham Is a Low Tax Haven For Real Estate Investors

State and local taxes are one of the biggest deciding factors real estate investors need to consider. Alabama has some of the lowest property tax rates in the nation. In 2017, Alabama’s effective tax rate was 0.48% and the average property tax bill was only $776 it ranked #2 for the lowest property taxes. According to LendingTree, the annual median property taxes in Birmingham, Ala. — where homeowners pay the least in real estate taxes — are about $7,700 cheaper than in the New York metro area, where they’re the highest.

Birmingham, Ala., is the only metro where median property taxes are less than $1,000 a year. The median amount of property taxes paid by homeowners in Birmingham is only $909. For comparison, residents in the next two metros with the lowest median real estate taxes — New Orleans and Louisville, Ky. — owe $1,345 and $1,563 a year, respectively.

The Rental Pool’s Incomes Are Rising

Alabama is seeing an increase in incomes and the skills of its privately employed sector. Birmingham is attracting jobs in law, medicine, nursing & engineering. For example, Autocar and Mercedes Benz are investing more than a billion dollars in Birmingham, bringing high-paying jobs to the area. Unemployment has been below 5% for years. As people move to the area in search of work, they often find themselves renting because of how hard it is to find a home.

The latest data shows that the State's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, at 2.7 percent in November, less than the national unemployment rate of 3.7%. The rate was unchanged from the October revised rate and below the 3.1 percent recorded a year ago. November’s rate represented 63,043 unemployed persons, compared to 61,721 in October and 69,688 in November of 2021. The comparable national rate for November, at 3.7 percent, was unchanged from the October revised rate, and below the year-ago rate of 4.2 percent.

Conclusion

If you are a beginner in the business of cash flow real estate investing, it is very important to read good books on real estate. Most investors naturally gravitate to residential property investment. When looking for the best real estate investments, you should focus on markets with relatively high population and employment growth. Both of them translate into high demand for housing. If the housing supply meets housing demand, real estate investors should not miss the opportunity since entry prices of homes remain affordable.

Buying an investment property is different from buying an owner-occupied home. Our Birmingham investment properties are designed to make money as rentals, which means you must look at it solely as an income-producing entity just like any other business. These are “Turnkey Cash Flow Investment Properties” located in some of the best neighborhoods of Birmingham.

Birmingham Investment Properties For Sale ⇐ Click Here

We strive to set the standard for our industry and inspire others by raising the bar on providing exceptional real estate investment opportunities in various growth markets. We can help you succeed by minimizing risk and maximizing profitability. You can contact us for a Free Strategy Session by clicking here.

Let us know which real estate markets you consider best for real estate investing! 

Remember, caveat emptor still applies when buying a property anywhere. The information contained in this article was pulled from third-party sites mentioned under references. Although the information is believed to be reliable, Norada Real Estate Investments makes no representations, warranties, or guarantees, either express or implied, as to whether the information presented is accurate, reliable, or current. All information presented should be independently verified through the references given below. As a general policy, the Norada Real Estate Investments makes no claims or assertions about the future housing market conditions across the US.

REFERENCES

Market Data, Trends, and Statistics
https://www.greateralabamamls.com/
https://birminghamrealtors.com/
https://acre.culverhouse.ua.edu/research/residential-research/birmingham/
https://www.zillow.com/Birmingham-al/home-values
https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/al/birmingham/real-estate
https://www.redfin.com/city/1823/AL/Birmingham/housing-market
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Birmingham_AL/overview

Population & Jobs
http://www2.labor.alabama.gov/
https://www.wbrc.com/2021/08/12/birmingham-metro-area-counties-grow-over-last-decade-birmingham-now-2nd-largest-city/

Alabama property tax rate
https://www.lendingtree.com/home/mortgage/real-estate-taxes-in-metropolitan-areas/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2017/04/16/comparing-average-property-taxes-all-50-states-and-dc/100314754

Landlord friendly laws
https://www.al.com/news/mobile/index.ssf/2018/03/post_141.html?__vfz=rtw_top_pages%3D2480300011984

Lending Tree least competitive real estate market, lots of prime credit ubyers
https://patch.com/alabama/birmingham-al/birmingham-one-countys-least-competitive-housing-markets

Millennials buying homes
http://www.builderonline.com/money/top-10-markets-attracting-millennial-buyers_o