Real Estate Roundup: Bay Area Still Claims the Nation’s Three Hottest Housing Markets

Here’s a look at recent news of interest to homebuyers, home sellers, and the home-curious. TRIFECTA: SAN JOSE, VALLEJO, AND SAN FRANCISCO ARE MOST IN-DEMAND U.S. MARKETS Nationwide, housing inventory is tight this fall, and the homes that are on the market are selling fast. That’s certainly the case here in the Bay Area, which again claims the country’s three most in-demand real e...

Bay Area Pending Home Sales Down for the 12th Consecutive Month

U.S. pending home sales dropped to their lowest level since January 2015 in September. California pending sales declined for the third straight month on an annual basis, while Bay Area pending sales are now on a yearlong slide. About two-thirds of California homes that sold in September received multiple offers. Inventory shortages once again caused Bay Area pending home sales to drop in Sep...

San Francisco Again Named America’s Greenest City

For the second straight year, San Francisco ranks as the most environmentally friendly U.S. city. Seven of America’s top 10 green cities are located in California. San Francisco and Oakland are among the nation’s 10 best cities for green jobs. California dominates the upper rankings of an annual list of environmentally conscious cities, with San Francisco ranking in the top spot...

Tight Inventory Drives Bay Area Prices Up, Sales Down in September

September’s median single-family home price in the nine-county Bay Area was $852,230, up 11.5 percent year over year Bay Area home sales dropped by 14.2 percent from August and 4.2 percent year over year, and future declines are expected for areas affected by wildfires. The months’ supply of inventory fell both statewide and in the Bay Area from September of last year. Despite fe...

Bay Area Unemployment Rates Fall to Lowest Levels Since May

  Hiring bounced back in California in September, with 52,200 jobs created, according to the latest numbers from the state Employment Development Department. August data was revised to 7,700 job losses versus the 8,200 that was previously reported. At 1.7 percent year-over-year job growth, the state again outpaced the national rate of 1.2 percent. Nevertheless, national numbers were impacted...

Real Estate Roundup: Bay Area Housing Bubble Unlikely to Burst, Economist Says

Here’s a look at recent news of interest to homebuyers, home sellers, and the home-curious. STRONG ECONOMY SHOULD CONTINUE TO PUSH UP BAY AREA HOME PRICES Bay Area home prices are already out of reach for many residents, and that appears unlikely to change barring an unforeseen economic catastrophe. That’s according to National Association of Realtors’ Chief Economist Lawrence Yun,...

Buyer Frenzy in San Francisco Intensifies for Homes Priced Between $2 Million and $3 Million

Executive Summary: While overall home sales in San Francisco slowed in September, buyer competition heated up for homes priced between $2 million and $3 million. Eighty-two percent of homes priced between $2 million and $3 million sold for more than asking price, with average premium at 19 percent. Despite the September sales decline, overall sales in 2017 are on par with the same period las...

Pacific Union Quarterly Report: Q3 2017

For the most part, home prices rose and inventory declined in the third quarter from one year earlier throughout the Bay Area and in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee region. Only our Sonoma County and Sonoma Valley regions saw supply conditions improve from the third quarter of 2016. San Francisco and the Mid-Peninsula experienced the region’s biggest annual inventory declines, with the number of...

Moderate California, Bay Area Home Price Gains Forecast for 2018

The California Association of Realtors’ 2018 forecast calls for 4.2 percent single-family home price appreciation next year. Affordability is expected to further diminish, with only about one-quarter of California households able to afford the median-priced home by the end of 2018. The state’s unemployment rate will fall to 4.6 percent, while mortgage rates will rise to 4.3 percen...