The Almaden Valley real estate market, a small residential portion of the larger Santa Clara County and Silicon Valley housing markets, showed strong signs of improvement in the month of May. According to a June 17, 2010 article in the Mercury News, “Driven by more sales of homes in expensive neighborhoods and fewer low-priced post-foreclosure sales, the median price of houses sold in Santa Clara County rose 23 percent in May compared with a year earlier to $585,000. Sales volume also rebounded last month from a tepid April, with 1,464 houses changing hands. That's up 24 percent from April and up 21 percent from May 2009, according to figures released Thursday by MDA DataQuick, which gathers the information from public records of completed transactions.” The article by Sue McAllister went on to note that “In the nine-county Bay Area, 41 percent of the homes sold last month — including new and previously owned houses and condos — cost at least $500,000, up from 37 percent in April and 31 percent in May 2009. Condominium sales and median prices also rose last month in Santa Clara County. The median price of condos that changed hands was $360,000, up 28 percent from May 2009. A total of 470 condos sold, a 27 percent increase.”
San Jose foreclosures had less of an impact on Almaden Valley homes for sale in the month of May, leading in part to the increase in median price. According to a June 16, 2010 article from Sue McAllister, “Foreclosure filings dropped more than 40 percent last month in Santa Clara County compared with May 2009, the sixth consecutive month that default notices declined from their year-earlier levels. A total of 778 notices of default were filed in the county in May, according to a report released Tuesday by ForeclosureRadar, down from 1,339 in May 2009, and down from 966 in April 2010.” The report from the Mercury News continued to note a possible alternate cause for the decline, saying “O'Toole suggested banks are purposely slowing the process to avoid dumping too many foreclosed properties on the market at the same time, which could drive down home prices further. But others who track the lending industry and foreclosure situation say reasons for the decline in foreclosure filings are more complicated.”