HOUSING DEMAND The 2020 gains in South Valley residential real estate sales were primarily driven by new homes coming online at the Glen Loma Ranch development in Gilroy.
Strength of the market San Benito, South Valley home sales grow in 2020 amid pandemic BY ERIK CHALHOUB
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espite a pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns that crippled the economy, home sales across the state, including in San Benito County and Santa Clara County’s South Valley, grew in 2020 compared to the previous year. According to end-of-year statistics
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recently released by the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors, 543 single-family homes sold in Gilroy throughout 2020, compared to 512 in 2019. The average days on market was slashed by eight days to 33 total, indicating that buyers were grabbing homes at a much quicker pace even during the stay-at-home orders, which affected the way real estate agents sold and showed homes. A total of 547 single-family homes sold in Morgan Hill in 2020, an increase of 90 over the previous year, according to the SCCAOR. According to MLSListings data, closed sales in San Benito County increased by 4.3 percent in 2020, and the median sales price rose to its highest level at $675.000.
MLSListings Partner Economist Elliot Eisenberg noted this may be reflective of some intra-region movement if buyers are moving from the more expensive areas to more affordable San Benito County. Closed sales in the county rose by double digits for the second quarter in a row. “You should see price appreciation like this in the summer, not around the holidays,” Eisenberg said. “Clearly, we are seeing a tempering of seasonality and I don’t see this changing until perhaps next fall as vaccination rates rise and we go back to a normal school schedule.” The California Association of Realtors released its 2020 numbers statewide on Jan. 15, showing ➝ 20
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