News — Headlines

California’s Unemployment Rate Maintains Record Low in May

The Golden State added 5,500 jobs in May and downwardly revised April’s monthly growth to 25,600, according to the latest numbers from the California Employment Development Department. This year’s job numbers have been unusually volatile, mostly due to larger-than-usual changes in industries that are sensitive to seasonal trends. Total state numbers also differ slightly from changes seen at metropolitan area levels, suggesting that statewide numbers...

Video: California May Jobs Report

Check out this short animation offers highlights from California’s May jobs report. To read the full analysis by Pacific Union Chief Economist Selma Hepp, click here.

Real Estate Roundup: The Median Down Payment in Silicon Valley Is $300,000

Here’s a look at recent news of interest to homebuyers, home sellers, and the home-curious. BAY AREA HOMEBUYERS CONTINUE TO LEAD THE NATION FOR DOWN-PAYMENT SIZE Amassing a down payment is frequently cited as one of the biggest hurdles to homeownership for first-time buyers, and a recent report sheds light on how difficult that task currently is in the Bay Area’s sky-high housing market. That’s...

Want to Be a Good Neighbor? Avoid These Behaviors.

A recent poll found that Americans think that nosiness is the worst quality in a neighbor. Nearly half of those surveyed have observed their neighbors be too loud, fail to clean up after pets, and violate parking protocols. One-third of baby boomers have reported getting into a verbal or physical confrontation with a neighbor. Anyone who hopes to be known as a good neighbor would...

Millennials Are Now the Most Active Home Remodelers

Millennials have completed more home-improvement projects over the past 12 months than any other generation. Despite increased home-renovation activity by millennials, they still spend the least on projects, while baby boomers spend the most. Tight inventory conditions and rising mortgage rates should cause both remodeling activity and spend to grow in the coming years. Having either purchased lower-end homes in need of renovations or unable...

San Francisco Has the Nation’s Fewest Delinquent Mortgage Holders

The U.S. mortgage-delinquency rate dipped to 4.3 percent in March, the lowest since March 2007. In the San Francisco metropolitan area, 1.5 percent of homeowners are delinquent on their mortgages, the fewest of any large U.S. housing market. Mortgage delinquencies rose in the Santa Rosa and Napa metro areas from one year earlier, likely a result of October’s wildfires. A thriving economy and rising home...

The Bay Area’s Median Home Price Climbs to $1 Million in May

Executive Summary: The Bay Area’s median home price reached $1 million in May, a 17 percent year-over-year increase, with Silicon Valley continuing to post 30 percent appreciation. Homes sales activity matched last May, with San Francisco showing the strongest gain, up by 7 percent year over year. Napa County sales were slower than last year. Higher-priced sales rose up by about 30 percent. Activity in...

Video: May Bay Area Home Sales

Check out this short animation that highlights May real estate activity in the Bay Area. To read the full analysis by Pacific Union Chief Economist Selma Hepp, click here.  

Real Estate Roundup: California Posts the Nation’s Largest First-Quarter Home-Equity Gain

Here’s a look at recent news of interest to homebuyers, home sellers, and the home-curious. GOLDEN STATE HOMEOWNERS ADD MORE THAN $50,000 IN HOME EQUITY Sustained home price appreciation pushed home-equity gains up significantly in Western states in the first quarter, with California at the front of the pack. That’s according to CoreLogic’s latest Homeowner Equity Insights report, which says that the average California homeowner...

Pacific Union's May 2018 Real Estate Update

Homebuyer demand remained strong in May, with properties selling faster than they did one year ago in every Northern California region in which Pacific Union operates except for Sonoma Valley. Homes sold in less than three weeks in the East Bay, Contra Costa County, Silicon Valley, and the Mid-Peninsula. Click on the image accompanying each of our regions below for an expanded look at local...