Even in the Winter, It’s a Seller’s Market in Dublin.

While an S&P committee recently published a report with a lukewarm outlook on parts of the U.S. housing market due, in part, to seasonal slowdown, the San Francisco metropolitan area maintains its position as the nation’s leader in the housing recovery. Across the Bay Area, virtually every county has exhibited promising growth that suggests 2015 will be another strong year for the local housing market. With that in mind, some of you Dubliners may be wondering, “What does this mean for Dublin Ranch real estate?”

Getting the bad (or more aptly, “less good”) news out of the way, first: January was indeed a slower month for Dublin’s housing market. Closing prices contracted slightly for Single-family homes, townhouses, and condos, reflecting winter’s “lull” on homebuyer numbers. But there are several good reasons why we can remain optimistic about the local market.

First, when comparing year-over-year figures, we can see that both categories appreciated in value considerably. Specifically, detached single-family home prices were up 11% over this time last year, while condos and townhouses enjoyed a 16% increase. Historically speaking, February marks the beginning of increased home sales, so this past January was actually a solid start for the coming spring and summer.

Second, local inventories have temporarily shrunk as well. For detached homes, the “months supply of inventory” — a figure that measures how long it would take to close sales on all homes currently on the market if no more homes were put up for sale—sat at 1.1 “months” in January, which is the lowest it’s been since last April. For condos and townhouses, inventory dwindled to a mere 0.7 “months” (a two-year low). Lower inventories generally coincide with higher prices, as sellers have less price-competition from other homeowners, and buyers have fewer options.

Third, even with a slower market, both categories of homes (detached single-family homes, and condos / townhouses) experienced a considerable acceleration in the time it took to sell. Between December and January, detached houses went from spending 57 days on the market to 31 days, while condos and townhouses dropped from 50 days to 24 days—that’s less than half the “days on market” time from late last year. Shorter “days on market” times demonstrate that buyers are remaining serious about home purchases throughout the year—not simply in the summer.

Ideally, these conditions have already begun drawing sellers back into the market, thereby jump starting home sales. Anecdotally, we’ve already seen a considerable uptick in business compared to 2014, which suggests that 2015 could be a very active year for both buyers and sellers.

With this in mind, if you are interested in getting the ball rolling on buying or selling a home in the city of Dublin (and why wouldn’t you be?), or even the greater Bay Area, let Lifestyle Real Estate Services help guide you through the process. We’re not just experts at marketing homes — we also know how to make the process as painless as possible, so you can focus on the next chapter of your life, sooner.