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 —...

Homeowners Boosting Curb Appeal With Unique Front Yards

The spring is the most popular time of year to undertake a home landscaping project, as winter storms fade and the weather gets warmer. And while the backyard remains the most popular location for outdoor renovation products, most homeowners who are tackling front-yard jobs want to make sure that their property stands out from the crowd. In its 2017 U.S. Landscape Trends Survey, Houzz found...

Bay Area Suburb Remains Hottest U.S. Housing Market as Spring Arrives

In the midst of the busiest spring real estate season on record, Bay Area and California markets are still the most sought-after in America. Realtor.com’s latest monthly analysis of the 20 hottest U.S. real estate markets — as judged by the most listing views on its website and the quickest pace of sales — says that homes sold in an average of 69 days in...

Real Estate Roundup: San Francisco Housing Affordability Improves in the First Quarter

Here’s a look at recent news of interest to homebuyers, home sellers, and the home-curious. ALL BAY AREA COUNTIES EXCEED MAXIMUM MORTGAGE DEBT-TO-INCOME THRESHOLD San Francisco was California’s least-affordable housing market in the fourth quarter of 2016, with just 13 percent of the county’s population able to swing a mortgage on the median-priced home. And while San Francisco was one of the few U.S. counties...

Pacific Union Moves Up the List of Largest U.S. Real Estate Brokerages

Pacific Union is pleased to share the news that we’ve again moved up the rankings of the largest residential real estate brokerages in the country, an accomplishment made possible by the diligence of our talented team of real estate professionals in both Northern and Southern California. In its annual list of the 500 largest U.S. residential real estate brokerages, noted industry publications REAL Trends and...

Americans Are Upbeat About Housing and the Economy as the First Quarter Ends

The first quarter of 2017 officially wraps up tomorrow, and consumers are feeling good about the state of the economy and the housing market, even as more mortgage-rate hikes loom. The National Association of Realtors’ first-quarter Housing Opportunities and Market Experience (HOME) Survey found that 62 percent of Americans believe that the economy is improving, compared with 48 percent who said the same thing one...

Top Mortgage Closing Complaint: Paperwork Is Lengthy, Rushed, Confusing

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Bay Area Job Growth Keeps on Truckin’

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