Tight Inventory Frustrates San Carlos Home Buyers.

Ready, Set...

Do you know that feeling when you've decided on a particular make and model of car, only to find out that it's not anywhere to be found, or that it's back-ordered for 4 months?  That's the frustration that's being experienced right now with prospective home buyers who have their eye on San Carlos.   Why?  Because at the time of this post, there are only 24 single family residences for sale in all of San Carlos.

To put that in perspective, that's about 20% lower than what we normally see at the beginning of a new year, and about a third of the inventory at the peak of a typical spring market in San Carlos.   

And there isn't much new in that list of 24 to see.  The average days on the market for those 24 homes is 114 days.  So with the exception of the occasional new listing, buyers have seen everything there is to see out there.

Not a Typical Year.

The fact that there isn't a variety of homes to choose from in the first week of February is hardly news.  Buyers and sellers are always on a different timeline when a new year starts.  Buyers who didn't land their dream home the previous year are usually right back out on the street looking again on January 2nd.   But sellers have been conditioned over the years to wait until March or later to list their homes, coincidental with what has become the customary spring market.  So there's usually a bit of a supply vs demand imbalance as the year starts, but everything tends to synch up in the April-June timeframe, when the bulk of the sales take place in the year.

But this is not your typical year.  With more people going back to work -- some of whom will be part of large IPO's this year -- combined with historically low interest rates, there's an unprecendented number of buyers looking to establish their roots in some of the more desirable communities on the Peninsula, like Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and yes, San Carlos.

To further exacerbate the demand vs supply imbalance, most colleagues that I've spoken with who are intimately familiar with the San Carlos market aren't expecting that normal rush of listings to hit the market in the spring this year.  If that extremely un-scientific poll holds any validity, 2012 has the makings to be an abnormally competitive year for home buyers in San Carlos.

Be Ready, or Be Patient.

If you're one of those who is actively looking to purchase a home in San Carlos, preparation will be key in the coming months.  This means having your financing completely buttoned down, and keeping a very close eye on the market as new listings come on line.  If you choose to wait until the inventory grows to a normal level, patience will be your virtue, since it may take longer than normal for that to happen this year.

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"The Square Foot Blog: Straight Talk on San Carlos Real Estate" is written by Chuck Gillooley -- San Carlos Resident, Realtor, and author of the White Oaks Blog.