Homebuyers Are Willing to Make Big Sacrifices for Top Schools

About 75 percent of homebuyers said that access to excellent schools was important in their search. Nearly 80 percent of buyers gave up some home features to land in their preferred school district, with about one in five sacrificing a garage. Palo Alto is home to the top-ranked school district and high school in California this year and also claims America’s best college. Purchasing a...

Real Estate Roundup: California Remains a Top Destination for International Homebuyers

Here’s a look at recent news of interest to homebuyers, home sellers, and the home-curious. INTERNATIONAL REAL ESTATE INVESTOR ACTIVITY TICKS UP IN THE GOLDEN STATE Although America’s housing inventory shortage caused foreign buyer activity to drop substantially last year, the share of overseas buyers who invested in California moved in the other direction. The National Association of Realtors’ latest Profile of International Transactions in...

Silicon Valley Again Leads the Nation for Home Price Gains, Seller Profits in the Second Quarter

Home prices in the San Jose metropolitan area rose to $1.2 million in the second quarter, a year-over-year gain of 25.0 percent. San Francisco and Santa Rosa are the only two major California housing markets where annual price growth was higher in the second quarter than it was in the first quarter. San Jose and San Francisco home sellers enjoyed the largest returns in the...

San Francisco, San Jose Rank Among the 10 Best American Big Cities

A new study rates San Francisco as the fourth-best American city to call home, with San Jose coming in at No. 8. San Francisco excels in several of the study’s gauges of attractiveness, including income growth, most restaurants and coffee shops per capita, and walkability. San Francisco and San Jose residents also rank among the most educated in the U.S. While people migrate to the...

California’s Median Home Price Hits Another Record High in June

For the second straight month, California’s median single-family home price reached a new peak in June, climbing to $602,760. The median sales price in the nine-county Bay Area was $1,045,000, a year-over-year increase of 16.1 percent. San Mateo County overtook San Francisco as California’s most expensive housing market, with a median sales price of $1,650,500. A lack of homes for sale continued to drive Golden...

How Much Does It Cost to Maintain a Home in California?

California homeowners can expect to spend nearly $17,000 each year to maintain their properties, higher than the national average. Atherton ranks as the most expensive city in California for home upkeep, an average of more than $27,000 per year. Replacing a swimming pool’s filtration system is the most expensive routine home-maintenance task, costing nearly $1,800 and required about every two years. Almost all new homeowners...

Real Estate Roundup: East Bay City Claims the Nation’s Lowest Stress Levels

Here’s a look at recent news of interest to homebuyers, home sellers, and the home-curious. WANT A LOW-STRESS LIFESTYLE? MOVE TO FREMONT. While the Bay Area’s sky-high real estate prices and cost of living — along with its snarled freeways — do not always exactly sound like the most relaxing propositions, residents of one Alameda County city appear to be taking it in stride. In...

Losses of Lower-Paying Jobs Drags Down California’s Employment Growth in June

The Golden State created 800 jobs (seasonally adjusted) in June, which is the lowest number since the recovery began in 2010 and follows an upward revision to 7,200 jobs added in May, according to the latest numbers from the state Employment Development Department. Nevertheless, notable losses in seven California industries dragged down the overall number of jobs added. Interestingly, industries with job losses generally employ...

Video: California June Jobs Report

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