The Bay Area Has the Fewest Underwater Homes in the U.S. in 2018

A WalletHub study ranks the city of Santa Clara as the nation’s fourth best housing market this year. Santa Clara, Berkeley, San Mateo, Sunnyvale, and San Jose have the smallest percentages of homes with negative equity in the U.S. The Contra Costa County city of Richmond ranks as America’s fastest-appreciating housing market. Homeowners in five Bay Area cities are doing the best in America when...

Video: August 2018 U.S. Jobs Report

Check out this short animation of highlights from the August U.S. jobs report. To read the full analysis by Pacific Union Chief Economist Selma Hepp, click here.   

Strong August U.S. Jobs Growth Suggests That Higher Interest Rates Are Coming

Today’s national employment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics offers continued support for strong economic growth, with an increase of 201,000 jobs in August. Over the last 12 months, the U.S. economy has added 2.33 million jobs. After downward revisions of June and July data, job gains have averaged 185,000 per month over the last three months. The current economic cycle is the...

Generation Z Is Poised to Make a Splash in the Housing Market

More than 80 percent of Generation Z who are older than 18 say that they plan to buy a home in the next five years. About one-third of Generation Z cite student debt as the largest obstacle to homeownership, followed closely by saving for a down payment. The Bay Area, Los Angeles, and San Diego are among the top 10 places in America to purchase...

Confident of More Price Growth, Homeowners Are Waiting to Sell

CoreLogic’s most recent Home Price Index rose by 6.2 percent on an annual basis in July, with year-over-year appreciation projected to slow to 5.1 percent by next summer. The San Francisco metropolitan area posted an 11.0 percent annual price gain, the second highest of the 10 major regions for which CoreLogic tracks data. In the Bay Area, the San Francisco, Oakland, Napa, and Vallejo housing...

Real Estate Roundup: Most New California Homes Have Smart Features

Here’s a look at recent news of interest to homebuyers, home sellers, and the home-curious. SIXTY PERCENT OF HOMEBUYERS WILL PAY EXTRA FOR SMART AMENITIES Anyone buying a newly constructed home in the Golden State is likely to get the latest technologies as part of the deal, which could be good news should they ever decide to sell. Research from John Burns Real Estate Consulting...

Happy Labor Day From Pacific Union

All of your friends at Pacific Union would like to wish you a wonderful Labor Day. Whether you hit the road for a final summer trip or are just kicking around the Bay Area, we hope your well-earned holiday is safe and relaxing. We will return tomorrow with more market data, news, and expert analyses from the never-boring world of California real estate.

First-Time Buyers Score Nearly 1 Million Homes in 2018

New buyers purchased 985,000 homes in the first six months of 2018, the highest such activity since 2005. First-time homebuyers accounted for 2.1 million home sales in 2017, higher than the historical annual average of 1.8 million. Given rising mortgage rates, first-time buyers who entered the market in June 2018 paid 67 percent more for a home than they would have five-and-a-half years ago. Though...

Survey: Most Homebuyers Want an All-Digital Mortgage Process

A poll of recent homebuyers found that excessive paperwork is the biggest pain point in applying for and closing on a loan. Sixty-six percent of homebuyers would prefer a mortgage process that was conducted entirely online. Homebuyers still need human contact throughout the mortgage process, with 65 percent saying that they want a person to explain options and terms. Most people shopping for a home...