Hot or Not? Redfin Tests the Temperature of January’s Hottest Neighborhood Predictions – @Redfin
In January, we published our annual Hottest Neighborhoods report, identifying the 10 neighborhoods in the country that we predicted would see fast growth in home values this year, based on Redfin.com user data and insights from local Redfin agents. Nine of the 10 neighborhoods in the January report are in San Jose.
Now we’re checking back to see if these California neighborhoods outperformed in home value growth as predicted. We’re also identifying the hottest three neighborhoods in the largest metro areas to close out the year.
To assess the accuracy of our predictions, we calculated median home sale price growth in each neighborhood between December 2017 and July 2018. If home prices grew, the neighborhood was confirmed “hot.” If home prices declined, the neighborhood was deemed “cool.”
Rank Neighborhood City Metro Area Median Sale Price (July 2018) Median Sale Price (December 2017) Percent Change Temperature Avg Sale-to-List Price Ratio* % of Homes Sold Above List Price* 1 Bucknall San Jose San Jose $1,661,500 $1,565,000 6.2% Hot 100.1% 89.0% 2 Cambrian San Jose San Jose $1,320,000 $1,244,000 6.1% Hot 108.3% 73.7% 3 White Oak Campbell San Jose $967,500 $1,010,000 -4.2% Cool 109.0% 75.0% 4 Ortega Sunnyvale San Jose $1,237,000 $1,920,000 -35.6% Cool 110.8% 86.2% 5 West Santa Clara Santa Clara San Jose $1,400,000 $1,237,500 13.1% Hot 112.4% 82.4% 6 Sunnyvale West Sunnyvale San Jose $2,106,500 $1,945,000 8.3% Hot 114.3% 89.2% 7 Lakewood Sunnyvale San Jose $1,355,000 $1,200,000 12.9% Hot 100.1% 87.0% 8 Sunnyside San Francisco San Francisco $1,387,750 $1,272,500 9.1% Hot 100.3% 91.0% 9 Blacow Fremont San Jose $1,060,999 $1,005,000 5.6% Hot 107.6% 81.0% 10 Rex Manor Mountain View San Jose $1,670,000 $1,500,000 11.3% Hot 100.2% 100.0% Median sale price growth between December 2017 and July 2018.
Eight of our 10 picks for the Hottest Neighborhoods in 2018 were spot on with price growth above 5 percent between December 2017 and July 2018. Our top pick, Bucknall (San Jose), saw prices grow 6.2 percent during that period, and 89 percent of homes sold above their asking price. Our second pick, Cambrian (San Jose), saw 6.1 percent price growth.Redfin Silicon Valley agent Kalena Masching is not surprised that these neighborhoods saw strong price growth. Masching believes that both Cambrian and Bucknall will continue to be hot neighborhoods.
“Especially as buyers are priced out of the peninsula areas, many of these neighborhoods offer relative price savings,” said Masching. “Bucknall offers a great community vibe. It’s very walkable and also has a desirable commute. Homes in Cambrian are more affordable relative to Bucknall and the nearby areas with similar amenities. New tech campuses moving into downtown and West San Jose provide Cambrian homeowners an easy commute without being right in the middle of the city.”
West Santa Clara (Santa Clara), Lakewood (Sunnyvale), and Rex Manor (Mountain View) all experienced price growth above 10 percent.
Masching explains, “Lakewood has been hot for years, especially with home prices about a million dollars less than nearby Sunnyvale West. Similarly, Rex Manor is significantly more affordable than the surrounding parts of Mountain View. It’s a great place to get your foot in the door if you’re under a $2 million budget and want to be in Mountain View.”
White Oak and Ortega were the two predicted hottest neighborhoods, where prices actually declined between December and July.
“I’ve noticed in Ortega that single family homes are staying on the market a lot longer. Additionally, almost all of the sales from May and June were townhomes and condos, which has a lowering effect on the prices” said Masching.
What Neighborhoods Are Hot in your Metro Area?
Below we’ve ranked the top three hottest neighborhoods in each major metro area so you can see what places in your city are likely to be the most popular among buyers for the remainder of 2018. These places were identified using our Hottest Neighborhoods algorithm, which ranks neighborhoods based on increases in favorites and visits to home listings on Redfin.com.