What to Do When an Earthquake Strikes? Drop, Cover, and Hold On.

There’s nothing like an earthquake in the middle of the night to make you jump out of bed. Once you realize that nothing is damaged and everyone is safe, you then start to reassess your emergency-preparedness plans. Thursday’s 4.4 temblor in Berkeley was another reminder that earthquakes are a fact of life in California. So what should you do during those scary moments when a sig...

California, Bay Area Home Price Growth Continues to Outpace U.S. Rate

Home prices in the San Francisco metropolitan area and California grew by a respective 8.9 percent and 8.0 percent in November on an annual basis. California home prices are projected to increase by 8.4 percent year over year by November 2018, compared with a forecast of 4.2 percent appreciation nationwide. Affordability is not projected to improve in the coming year barring a significant u...

Pacific Union Rebrands a Trio of Los Angeles Brokerages

Pacific Union is proud to announce that we have launched our brand in the greater Los Angeles region, making us the No. 1 independent residential real estate brokerage in the state and the ultimate California real estate company. The move unites 900 real estate professionals from John Aaroe Group, Partners Trust, and Gibson International under the Pacific Union name. Our firm now has more th...

Real Estate Roundup: Bay Area Home Prices Again Reach New All-Time High

Here’s a look at recent news of interest to homebuyers, home sellers, and the home-curious. SANTA CLARA COUNTY POSTS BIG YEAR-OVER-YEAR HOME PRICE GAIN IN NOVEMBER Bay Area home prices rose for the 68th consecutive month on an annual basis in November, as the region’s inventory woes continued, particularly at more affordable price points. Citing CoreLogic data, The Mercury News reports...

Pacific Union Wishes You a Happy New Year 2018

All of your friends at Pacific Union would like to wish you a very happy new year. Whether you welcomed in 2018 with a night on the town or simply spent a relaxing evening at home, we hope that the coming year brings you nothing but the best. And if you have a new year’s real estate resolution, we wish you much success in achieving your goal. We’ll return tomorrow with more news,...

Earthquake Insurance in California: The Basics

A cluster of small earthquakes that rattled the Bay Area earlier this week helped remind us that we live on unstable ground. And yet, it’s a curious fact that very few California homeowners have earthquake insurance — barely 10 percent, according to the state Department of Insurance, and only 5 percent of renters. It’s anyone’s guess whether these low numbers refle...

Silicon Valley Leads the U.S. for Monthly and Annual Home Price Growth

Home prices in the San Jose and San Francisco metropolitan areas reached new highs in October, a respective $1,055,000 and $859,000. Prices in San Jose and San Francisco are up more than 100 percent from the trough, making them the nation’s most recovered. California and the Bay Area posted solid job gains last month, which will continue to drive demand for homes in the state and the...

Eight Housing Market Predictions for 2018

Below, Pacific Union offers our perspective on some key U.S. economic and housing market trends that we believe will play out in the coming year. For a longer-term forecast for Bay Area housing markets over the next three years, read our recap of Pacific Union’s Real Estate and Economic Forecast to 2020, which was held in mid-November in San Francisco. You can also view a webcast of t...

Real Estate Roundup: California Dominates 2017 List of Top-Performing Housing Markets

Here’s a look at recent news of interest to homebuyers, home sellers, and the home-curious. BAY AREA CITIES RANK AS THE YEAR’S THREE HOTTEST REAL ESTATE MARKETS Bay Area cities have topped the monthly rankings of the nation’s most in-demand places to buy real estate every month of this year, so it comes as little surprise that these same communities have been named as the country...