Looking at the overall Bay Area, buyer demand has continued to rebound from its late 2022 nadir. Though mortgage applications are still well down year over year, many buyers have accepted higher interest rates as the new normal and decided to move forward – and rates have recently been trending downward.

The Market Continues to Recover, But with Many Dynamics at Play. Buyer demand continued to rebound from the depths of the mid-winter slowdown: The number and percentage of listings going into contract, and overbidding percentages continued to climb, and days-on-market to drop as the spring selling season gained traction.            … View Article

2023 Market Indicators Turn Positive (But Interest Rates Climb Again). After the acute decline in market activity occurring in the 2nd half of 2022, buyer demand rebounded dramatically and most market indicators turned positive in early 2023: Open house traffic, number of offers, and overbidding and absorption rates all saw improvement.      

Early 2023 Data Suggests Buyers Are Beginning to Jump Back In. December is typically the month that sees the year’s lowest level of deal-making activity – i.e. listings accepting offers (going into contract) – which leads to January usually posting the lowest monthly number of closed sales. (Sales typically close 3 to 6 weeks after… View Article

In 2022, the market saw a dramatic shift from Q2 (spring), at which time the market peaked after a dramatic 10-year upcycle supercharged at its end by the pandemic boom, through the 2nd half of the year, when the market cooled significantly. Prompted by a number of economic factors – especially inflation and interest rates,… View Article

The changes in market dynamics that began in late spring/early summer 2022 generally continued in autumn due to the ongoing economic headwinds, including high inflation and interest rates, reduced consumer confidence, and volatile stock markets, though all have fluctuated significantly over the period, and some readings have recently improved.  

After a brief rebound in market activity in August, pursuant to what turned out to be a very temporary decline in interest rates and an associated rebound in financial markets, macroeconomic conditions shifted again – with interest rates climbing rapidly to a 20-year high – which took a toll on early autumn, Bay Area real… View Article

Virtually across the Bay Area, Q3 median sales prices retreated dramatically from their spring peaks, and SF was hit harder than most area markets. Part of this was due to seasonal trends – median sales prices often peak for the calendar year in Q2, then drop in summer – but part of the decline was… View Article

In early August, we mentioned agents reporting that buyer activity – renewed interest in getting back into the market, visits to open houses, and so on – was picking up due to a number of issues: Price reductions, less competition, the drop in interest rates, and the dramatic recovery in stock markets. And a small… View Article