Both Younger and Older Americans Prefer Walkable Neighborhoods

About 60 percent of both millennials and Americans aged 73 and older prefer living in communities in which they can walk to amenities. More than half of those surveyed believe that living in a walkable neighborhood is key to their satisfaction. Regardless of age bracket, one-third of Americans believe that living near public transportation is important. More than half of millennials and older adults prefer...

Bay Area Housing Inventory Further Tightens in November

The median sales price for a single-family home in the nine-county Bay Area increased by 12.5 percent year over year in November to $910,350. Home prices rose from November of last year in all nine Bay Area counties, with six seeing double-digit percentage point appreciation. Seven Bay Area counties have the state’s most severe inventory shortages, with less than two months of supply. Stubbornly low...

Real Estate Roundup: Silicon Valley Tech Giants Named Among Best Workplaces 10 Years Running

Here’s a look at recent news of interest to homebuyers, home sellers, and the home-curious. GOOGLE, APPLE MARK DECADE-LONG STINT ON LIST OF BEST U.S. PLACES TO WORK While big paychecks and healthy work-life balances make Silicon Valley companies highly attractive to talented tech workers, shaping innovative products with exceptionally bright colleagues cannot be underestimated when it comes to overall employee satisfaction. For the 10th...

Final Version of Tax Reform Is Still Detrimental for California Housing Markets

Republicans in Congress reconciled their different versions of the tax reform and offered their final version of the so-called Tax Cuts and Jobs Act today. Congress will vote on the final version next week, which is only slightly more favorable than the initial House of Representatives bill but still highly detrimental for most of California’s coastal housing markets. Below are some relevant details. Changes in...

Bay Area Homebuyers Still Lead the Nation for Down-Payment Size

The average U.S. down payment was $20,000 in the third quarter, a 17-year high. Buyers in the San Jose and San Francisco metropolitan areas again made the largest down payments in the country, a respective $247,000 and $170,000. San Jose has the nation’s largest number of co-borrowers, with more than half of loans involving multiple mortgage holders. The average U.S. down-payment size reached a new...

California, Bay Area Mortgage Delinquencies Continue to Drop

The number of U.S. borrowers who were 30 days or more late on their mortgage payments fell to 5.0 percent in September, the lowest level in 10 years. California’s 30-day delinquency rate dropped to 2.8 percent, while the state foreclosure rate fell to 0.2 percent. Delinquency rates in the San Jose, San Francisco, Santa Rosa, and Napa metropolitan areas are lower than both the national...

Wine Country Home Sales Show Strength in November

Executive Summary: Following the Wine Country wildfires, home sales activity increased notably year over year in November, up by 13 percent in Sonoma County and by 24 percent in Marin County but down by 11 percent in Napa County. Also, sales were markedly up from October with 16 percent, 17 percent, and 23 percent increases in Marin, Napa, and Sonoma counties respectively. Typically, sales activity...

Bay Area Home Prices Soar in November

Executive Summary: The Bay Area’s median home price increased 14 percent year over year in November, driven by strong appreciation in Silicon Valley. Sales of homes priced above $2 million grew by 72 percent in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, 95 percent in Marin County, and 81 percent in Alameda County. These higher-priced sales were a big driver of the home price surge. General...

Real Estate Roundup: A Bay Area Home for Less Than $100,000?

 Here’s a look at recent news of interest to homebuyers, home sellers, and the home-curious. STICKER SHOCK: BAY AREA HOME LISTS FOR $99,000 An East Bay home recently commanded plenty of attention due to its astonishingly low price tag, although it ended up selling for more than five times more than its list price. The most popular home on realtor.com’s website last week was a...