August Was a Mixed Month for Job Creation in California

  Following incredible job growth in July, which was revised upward to 84,500 positions, the August data release from the California Employment Development Department was a mixed bag, showing a decline of 8,200 jobs. However, the overall state number carries some discrepancies with California’s combined metropolitan area numbers, which showed an increase of about 15,800 jobs in August. Over the last 12 months, California has added...

Real Estate Roundup: Bay Area Workers Are America’s Happiest

Here’s a look at recent news of interest to homebuyers, home sellers, and the home-curious. SAN FRANCISCO, SAN JOSE EMPLOYEES ARE NATION’S MOST SATISFIED Bay Area workers earn the highest salaries in the nation and have the opportunity to work at some of the world’s most innovative companies, so it makes sense that employees here are more satisfied than they are anywhere else in America....

U.S. Foreclosure Rate Falls to 10-Year Low

The U.S. foreclosure rate fell to 0.7 percent of properties with a mortgage as of June, with 4.5 percent of borrowers more than 30 days delinquent on payments. California’s foreclosure rate was 0.2 percent, with 2.8 percent of borrowers more than 30 days delinquent. Foreclosure rates in the Bay Area ranged from 0.2 percent in San Francisco, Santa Rosa, and Napa to 0.4 percent in...

Warriors’ Draymond Green Runs a Pacific Union Open House

What happens when a six-foot-seven-inch NBA All-Star goes undercover as a real estate professional? That’s the premise of this four-minute video clip, the latest component of realtor.com’s “My Home Court” collaboration with the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. In the clip, Warriors forward Draymond Green gets home sales tips from Pacific Union real estate professional Teresa Baum before leading a tour of one of her recent...

Home Prices in Four Bay Area Counties Are Still Short of Previous Highs

Despite the healthy rate of appreciation recorded over the past several years, California’s median sales price in February was still more than 20 percent short of its 2007 peak. The median sales price for a single-family home in the nine-county Bay Area eclipsed its previous high in April of last year, when it climbed to $831,180. But not all local counties have seen home prices...

Real Estate Roundup: Many Bay Area Tech Workers Are Seeking Jobs Elsewhere

Here’s a look at recent news of interest to homebuyers, home sellers, and the home-curious. BAY AREA TECHIES: ARE THEY MOVING OUT? A recent survey found that about 40 percent of Bay Area residents are thinking about leaving the region over the next few years. Now comes more sobering news for the Bay Area’s tech economy: Nearly as many tech workers are looking for jobs...

March Job Growth Slows, but There Is a Silver Lining

Executive Summary: Following a strong start to 2017, with an average of 217,000 jobs added in the first two months, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that March job growth slowed to 98,000. The slowdown is largely attributed to milder weather conditions in the first two months of the year, which led to more early hiring, but that is arguable considering that weather patterns varied...

California, Bay Area Property-Tax Rates Are Lower Than the National Average

Bay Area residents are no stranger to exorbitant housing prices and a generally high cost of living, so prospective homebuyers will be relieved to learn that the region’s property-tax rates aren’t nearly as large as they are in many other parts of the country. In an analysis of 2016 property-tax data, ATTOM Data Solutions found that U.S. single-family homeowners paid a total of $277.7 billion...

What Neighborhood Attributes Add Value to a Home? You May Be Surprised.

File this under the “Wow, really?” subject heading: Researchers at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey found that being located within a mile of a surf break adds about $106,000 to a home’s value. And this: Living within a mile of a Walmart store adds 1 percent to 2 percent to a home’s value, but living near a desirable public park or outdoor recreation space boosts it significantly higher —...