What a difference a year makes. In the Mountain View real estate market, that difference is a substantial increase in the median price paid per square foot for available homes.
Depending on the square footage, that difference was as much as 25.2 percent higher in the last 12 months than in the 12 months previous.
We’ll look at seven home-size categories and see the median sold price-per-square-foot trend in each, comparing February 2014 through January 2015 (Period 1) and February 2013 through January 2014 (Period 2).
1,200 to 1,399 square feet:
For homes sold during Period 1 in this size category, buyers paid an average of $703.75 per square foot. That was up 12.3 percent from $626.92 in Period 2.
1,499 to 1,599 square feet:
The average price per square foot jumped 22.8 percent, from $587.25 in Period 2 to $721.36 in Period 1.
1,600 to 1,799 square feet:
The greatest increase in average square foot price paid was in this size category: $598.25 in Period 2 to $749.10 in Period 1, a jump of 25.2 percent.
1,800 to 1,999 square feet:
In Period 1, buyers paid an average of $807.75 per square foot, compared with $680.10 in Period 2, for an increase of 18.8 percent.
2,000 to 2,499 square feet:
In this size category, the average square foot price rose 21.1 percent, moving from $662.75 in Period 2 to $802.83 in Period 1.
2,500 to 2,999 square feet:
Buyers in this category of larger homes spent $782.33 per square foot in Period 1, an increase of 12.3 percent over Period 2, when the paid square foot price was $696.67.
3,000 to 3,999 square feet:
In this category of the largest homes for which any substantial sales were made in the last two years, buyers paid $785.83 per square foot in Period 1, compared with $661.22 in Period 2, for an increase of 18.8 percent.
We do track two other home-size categories — 4,000 to 4,999 square feet and 5,000-plus square feet — but in the two years reviewed here, only one home was sold between both categories. In October 2013, a home in the 4,000 to 4,999 square foot range sold for $569 per square foot.
Median price relaxing
Taking into account the total price paid for single-family homes of all sizes, we saw a slight drop in January 2015, when the median figure was $1,394,000, down from $1,414,500 in December and $1,575,500 in November. In January there were 26 homes available in Mountain View on the Multiple Listing Service. In late February there were 14.Hadar Guibara is a Realtor with Sereno Group of Palo Alto. She can be reached at hadar@serenogroup.com.
