Weekly Bay Area Real Estate Market Watch
Rick Turley, President of San Francisco Bay Area Coldwell Banker, (including the mid-peninsula area) writes about the “bounce” that we have seen this summer in home sales. He certainly has the pulse on what is going on in real estate in our broad area. Please read below.
So Much for a Sleepy Summer…..
Generally speaking the Bay Area real estate market has seen a bit of a bounce this summer with sales increasing in all categories—from the entry level homes and condos to the high-end market.
National figures showed June with an 11% increase in home sales and the Bay Area seemed to share that trend with July sales up 15% over July 2008. As the number of sold units continues an upward trend, price recovery is a bit of a mixed bag depending on the area. The entry level median price is increasing in all counties, due to very little supply against a healthy demand. The just-under, just-over $1M mark seems to be holding its own, with a few multiple offers out there for the right property in a sought-after community. The higher end properties over $2M have, in the past 30 days, seen more activity than at any time this year, but price remains a critical factor as to which properties seeing this activity actually go into contract. It seems the higher the price-point, the more critical it is for a very attractive list price. Sellers who are selling are very realistic about marketing price, and Buyers who are buying are recognizing good value when they see it, and are taking action swiftly. For cash buyers or those with large down payments, this could be a great time to pick up a bargain in the luxury home market.
This week the National Association of Realtors released its monthly existing home sales report (http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2009/08/strong_uptrend?LID=RONav0021) noting “For the first time in five years, existing-home sales have increased for four months in a row, according to the National Association of Realtors®.” The report went on to note, “Existing home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – rose 7.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.24 million units in July from a level of 4.89 million in June, and are 5.0 percent above the 4.99 million-unit pace in July 2008. The last time sales rose for four consecutive months was in June 2004, and the last time sales were higher than a year earlier was November 2005.”
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said he was encouraged. “The housing market has decisively turned for the better. A combination of first-time buyers taking advantage of the housing stimulus tax credit and greatly improved affordability conditions are contributing to higher sales,” he said. Ultimately these are all very positive signs for our market and are a strong sign that we are moving in the right direction towards a housing recovery.
A few other interesting articles of note for the week:
· Home Prices On An Upswing In The Second Quarter Of 2009 According To The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices; Case-Shiller
· New Home Sales Blast Past Expectations; CNNMoney.com
· The Housing Market: Has It Turned the Corner?; TIME Magazine
· Mortgage Applications Increase In Latest MBA Weekly Survey; Mortgage Bankers Association
· Home Market Shows Signs of Life as Declines Slow; Bloomberg
Now let’s take a look at this week in real estate:
· Peninsula—Burlingame noted that activity has picked up a lot, many buyers are getting involved in multiple offers and are beginning to understand that the market has changed and they need to step up to the plate when that perfect property comes along. Half Moon Bay reported activity has picked up on the coast as seller’s are pricing their properties to sell within one or two weeks, along with the moving of some stagnate listings requiring many counter offers. Menlo Park Santa Cruz Avenue reported two homes sold last week with multiple offers however neither went over the list price. Open houses were busy averaging 20-25 groups. Palo Alto reported Inventory is slow to come on the market. Listings and sales are seasonally slow. Looking forward to a brisk after Labor Day market. San Mateo reported there has been some more intense movement in the $1.2-1.5 range.
Several offices are talking about a post Labor Day surge in new listings. The Buyers seem to be there, as long as the listings are priced right. Typically August is the slowest of summer months with vacations taking priority, however this month has seen the best Buyer activity all year long for many offices.
Until then,
Make it a good one,
Rick
Rick Turley
President, San Francisco Bay Area
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage