Roadmap with Irina - January 2025

In January 2025, the number of single-family homes sold dropped by 33% but the median sale price hasn’t changed since last month. The number of new listings increased by 53%, which is a great sign of growing inventory. Most houses sold in January received 5+ offers and went under contract within a week, however, some properties stay on the market for much longer resulting in an average days on the market 26.

For condos and townhouses, the median sale price dipped by 11% from the previous month. The number of sales declined by 35%, and the average time to sell extended from 36 days to 45, so no wonder that the condo inventory increased by 34% compared to last month. The required balcony inspection for condo and townhouse sales can be a dealbreaker in some cases: lenders will scrutinize HOA insurance policies for proper coverage and can drop the ball in the middle of transaction. I had this situation twice last year, and we were very lucky to find another lender with fewer restrictions. So, if you are thinking about selling your townhouse or condo, check the status of the balcony inspection and repair plan with your HOA. If you are thinking about buying a condo or townhouse, don’t make an offer without a property contingency unless you pay cash.
  
Currently, there are 1,397 active listings and 804 pending sales in Santa Clara County indicating a more active market than last month. It feels like the spring market started in January, so let’s see how the activity develops in the next couple of months.

If you are thinking about buying or selling, let’s connect, talk about your options, run some numbers, and see if this is the right time for you. Call me, I am always here for you.

For years we have been going to Lake Tahoe in December, around Christmas time, to ski, sled, cross-country, and other activities. Time flies, kids grow, and life changes, so last December was crazy busy with school, college and work, so we skipped our traditional trip. Besides, there was not enough snow in December, so postponing our trip to a later date seemed very reasonable.

For many years visiting Tahoe in winter, we had all kinds of weather. I remember rain with snow for a few days in a row, and we had to stay inside most of the time.  Some years during drought time there was not enough snow to cover the ground, and ski resorts had to make artificial snow. Some years there was so much snow that we had to dig our car out every morning.  A couple of years ago we were stuck in a snowstorm on the way home, all roads were closed, and we had to turn back, spend a night in Reno, and drive home the next day when the roads opened for a short period of time.

We have family traditions that we always did when going to Tahoe. One evening was dedicated to pelmeni, like ravioli or dumplings. This is traditional Russian food, and we prepared it from scratch with everyone involved. Also, we played many games together: zhmurki (blind man’s buff?), cards, hide and sick, monopoly, etc. This time the extended family couldn’t join us, so we didn’t make pelmeni or played zhmurki, but we went to our favorite pizza place, Fireside Pizza in Squaw Valley now called Palisades (I prefer Squaw Valley; this name has more charm and history). We used to stay in the Olympic Village many times before, so coming here brings a lot of good memories.  

Skiing was great! The first day the weather was beautiful: sunny, clear skies, no wind, compacted snow on the slopes, and we had so much fun. My husband didn’t want to go to the mountain, so he went for quiet and slow cross-country skiing. The next day was super windy, and we were afraid that the lifts would be closed, but we were lucky and could ski despite the wind. On the last day, before going home, we spent a couple of hours sledding from a hill. Our legs were tired after two days of skiing, so it was very nice not wearing heavy boots.

I was born and grew up in Siberia in Russia, so I am used to cold weather and snow, but life in sunny California relaxed me so much that I don’t want to deal with snow for more than a few days in a year. It was a great family trip to our favorite winter spot, but we were happy to come back home. See you next year, Lake Tahoe!

Always yours,
Irina