Real Estate Roundup: U.S. Homebuyers Love Their Patios

Here’s a look at recent news of interest to homebuyers, home sellers, and the home-curious. MOST NEW AMERICAN HOMES COME WITH A PATIO Home shoppers who are eyeing a newly constructed property have a pretty good chance of scoring a place to relax outside, as builders are increasingly incorporating patios in their projects. Citing data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction, the National...

California Housing Affordability Inches Up in the Third Quarter

A new report form the California Association of Realtors puts the number of households who can afford a single-family home in the state at 27 percent in the third quarter, a slight increase from the previous quarter. Affordability conditions in the nine-county Bay Area improved from the second quarter, rising to 21 percent, but were down on an annual basis. In Los Angeles County, 22...

Bay Area Cities Rank Among the Nation’s Best Small and Midsize U.S. Places to Live in 2018

Santa Clara and Hayward rank among the top 10 most livable medium-sized American cities this year. Hayward’s median home value has shot up by 95 percent over the past five years. A separate analysis ranks Los Altos as the country’s seventh-best small U.S. city to call home. A street scene in the city of Santa Clara. Despite the Bay Area’s top-dollar cost of living, the...

Down Payments Rise, First-Time Homebuyer Activity Falls in 2018

First-time homebuyers have accounted for 33 percent of transactions in 2018, down slightly from last year. U.S. homebuyers are making median down payments of 13 percent, up from 10 percent in 2017. Like last year, 95 percent of Americans started their home hunt online and 87 percent used a real estate professional during the purchase process. U.S. homebuyers are dropping the largest down payments in...

Bay Area Housing Markets Got Spooked in September

Executive Summary: Bay Area home sales declined by 20 percent year over year in September, with all counties posting drops, led by Sonoma and Contra Costa. In 2018, the region’s housing market activity is trending 4 percent lower year to date. Santa Clara County posted sales declines across all price ranges. Bay Area inventory increased by 14 percent year over year in September — about...

Video: September Bay Area Home Sales Report

Check out this short animation, which offers highlights from September’s Bay Area home sales report. To read the full analysis by Pacific Union Chief Economist Selma Hepp, click here.  

Real Estate Roundup: Most Americans Like Their Neighbors

Here’s a look at recent news of interest to homebuyers, home sellers, and the home-curious. THREE-QUARTERS OF HOMEOWNERS SAY THEY HAVE GOOD NEIGHBORS Here is some promising news for anyone who is planning a move: There’s a better-than-average change that you’ll like your new neighbors. Realtor.com’s 2018 Good Neighbors Report found that 77 percent of Americans think that they have good neighbors, compared with just...

San Jose, San Francisco Home Price Gains Accelerate in the Third Quarter

Home prices in San Jose and San Francisco were up by a respective 16.9 percent and 11.6 percent year over year in the third quarter, ranking them among the 51 percent of U.S. housing markets where price growth is accelerating. Los Angeles, Santa Rosa, and Vallejo saw home price growth cool from the same period last year. Home prices in San Jose are nearly 60...

Americans’ Credit Scores Improve as They Age

Millennials have the lowest average credit score of any age group (634) while members of the silent generation have the highest (734). Homebuyers with fair credit scores will pay nearly $30,000 more over the life of a mortgage than those with very good ratings. Older Americans have better credit scores in part because of lower child-care costs and student debt, and many may not have...