The median price for the county in April increased 12.1%, YoY, more than I expected, led by increased prices and volume in high-priced areas like Cupertino, Los Gatos and Palo Alto.

Table: Inventory & Sales Of Single Family Homes In Santa Clara County & Selected Towns For April 07
Area	Total Sales	Listings	Inventory In Months
County	886	3473	3.9
Los Altos	32	56	1.8
Los Altos Hills	15	40	2.7
Palo Alto	45	47	1.0
San Jose	431	2011	4.7

As the table above shows the claims of less than a month's inventory of homes in Lao Altos and Palo Alto by some brokers were exaggerated. It could be that quite a few sales don't go thru and therefore it is not correct to use Pending Sales as a measure of demand to calculate inventory. I don't know for sure if there are some tricks that get played to create a buying frenzy by not listing a home even when a home is known to be for sale. I know that some homes are purposely listed quite a bit under the market, say, 15-25%, to get multiple offers and biding wars in areas with good demand.

Someone in Los Altos was boasting of such a case in his neighborhood. He hasn't figured out that it is usually a set up. He even quotes data from unsolicited e-mails sent by brokers to list homes. One must have a healthy degree of skepticism when dealing with salespersons. I am sure that there are few honest and good people among brokers but I like to double check their claims.

By Jas Jain, Ph.D.
the Prophet of Doom and Gloom

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