News — Headlines

San Francisco Is the No. 1 U.S. Housing Market for Millionaire Buyers

Households that earn $1 million-plus per year bought more homes in the San Francisco metropolitan area than anywhere else in America in 2016, accounting for nearly 2 percent of transactions. San Rafael ranks as the third most-popular U.S. housing market for millionaires, who purchased 1.34 percent of homes in the region. Other top housing markets for $1 million-plus earners include Los Angeles, Anaheim, Salinas, San...

East Bay City Again Claims America’s Happiest Residents in 2018

Eight of the top 20 U.S. cities where residents are happiest are in California. For the second year in a row, Alameda County’s Fremont is home to the happiest people in the nation. San Jose ranks as the third most content city in America. California cities account for nearly half of the nation’s happiest 20 places to call home, with an Alameda County community taking...

Pacific Union’s February 2018 Real Estate Update

February’s median sales price rose by double-digit percentage points year over year in five of Pacific Union’s Bay Area regions, with appreciation topping 30 percent for single-family homes in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. Click on the image accompanying each of our regions below for an expanded look at local real estate activity in February. For a more detailed examination of current Bay Area housing...

Video: February Bay Area Home Sales Report

Check out this short animation on Bay Area February home sales activity. To read the full analysis by Pacific Union Chief Economist Selma Hepp, click here.  

Bay Area Luxury Home Sales Doubled in February

Executive Summary: Sales of Bay Area homes priced above $3 million doubled in February, with most local regions posting large gains. Sales of homes priced higher than $1 million also continued to grow. Regionally, East Bay sales slowed, while Silicon Valley and the Wine Country saw more sales this February. The Bay Area median price jumped another 16 percent year over year, though high-end sales...

Video: California’s January Jobs Report

Check out this short animation on California’s January employment report. To read the full analysis by Pacific Union Chief Economist Selma Hepp, click here.

California Added Jobs at The Fastest Rate in 2017

Job reports for both California and the U.S. show strong growth so far in 2018. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, America added 313,000 jobs in February, the strongest monthly gain since July 2016. Over the last three months, there were an average of 242,000 jobs added per month, and the annual total reached 2.281 million in February. Some experts warn...

Tax Changes to Impact Coastal California Homeowners the Most, Another Study Says

Nine of the 10 American housing markets that will lose the most in deductions over the first year of the tax-reform package are located on the West and East Coasts. Homeowners in the San Jose and San Francisco metropolitan areas stand to lose the most in deductions over the course of a 30-year mortgage — more than $100,000 in total. Owners in five affluent Silicon...

Bay Area, California Workers Must Earn the Nation’s Biggest Bucks to Afford a Home

Buyers in San Francisco are the only ones in the country that need six-figure annual household incomes to afford the median-valued home. San Jose, Los Angeles, and San Diego also rank in the top five in the U.S. for highest incomes necessary to pay the mortgage. Renters in San Francisco require even larger annual incomes than homebuyers. Bay Area employees — particularly tech workers —...

Los Angeles Business Journal Ranks Pacific Union No. 1 Independent Brokerage

The Los Angeles Business Journal just published its 2018 list of the top residential real estate brokerages in Los Angeles County, and in a top 10 heavy with national corporations, Pacific Union International was not only the No. 1 independent brokerage but No. 2 overall in the county by sales volume. As the publication reports, Pacific Union’s 900 Los Angeles County-based real estate professionals closed...