Coldwell Banker Weekly Market Watch
Week of April 22, 2007
You have heard the expression, “It’s not personal. It’s just business.” Well, in real estate, our business is always personal, and the Bay Area market bears witness to that. With the pressures of tax season and spring break over, people have started getting back to the business of investing in the home of their dreams. Most areas saw a sharp increase in serious buyers – not just tire kickers - as well as a welcome influx of fresh inventory from sellers.
Of the more than 615 homes held open during the week, most were well attended by serious buyers. A home in Pleasanton saw 53 groups of people go through, while 300 people packed into a $1.8 million dollar listing in Redwood City. Petaluma reports that open house activity was “phenomenal.” Menlo Park had an open house in the Willows district with over 100 visitors. Berkeley, Oakland/Piedmont, Pleasanton, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Walnut Creek, San Francisco and Orinda all reported exceptional turnout as well.
The higher-end homes continue to do well in many areas. Menlo Park notes brisk sales activity in the $1-3M dollar range. A $4.9M property in San Francisco received an offer immediately upon coming on the market and was ratified. Mind you, this was after excellent leadership from the Coldwell Banker co-listing agents on preparing, staging, pricing, and timing which began several months ago. Southern Marin also notes that the high end remains active.
Multiple offers are still the rule of thumb in many areas – especially in desirable niche markets where sellers are heeding the advice of their real estate professionals and allowing for the proper staging and pricing that helps homes sell more quickly. More than 60 properties were in multiple offer situations. Menlo Park office reports a Palo Alto property listed at $2.5M received seven offers and ratified for quite a bit over list price. In San Francisco, one property in the Sunset received 24 offers while another receive 28! Redwood City, Orinda, Palo Alto and San Mateo also saw many multiple offer situations. The Lombard office in the City reminds us that most of the South of Market condo sales are going solo.
Overall, we are seeing strengthening inventory and good movement in sales in most areas. Listing inventory was reported as increasing by eight offices, decreasing by only three offices, and steady by 17. Sales activity increased for nine offices, decreased for five offices and remained steady for 13, and more than 250 offers were ratified. I have heard reports of some excellent floor calls at the up-desk this past week. Perhaps we’re getting our typical spring season just a little bit later this year. We’ll gladly accept the new listing inventory, as we are selling them a very acceptable pace.
Keep up the great work of making our business personal for buyers and sellers alike!
Rick
Rick Turley
President, San Francisco/Peninsula
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Weekly Market Watch
Coldwell Banker Weekly Market Watch
April 20, 2007
Inventory is picking up a bit - that's a good thing in most of our markets. Open houses are still very well attended. Multiple offers continue to be the norm in the areas with the least available properties for sale.
Among the hot spots, Palo Alto reports that multiple offers exceeding 20% of list price are not unusual. In San Francisco one low priced listing received 51 offers. A home in the Avenues received 20 offers, and the only listing available in St Francis Wood, an upscale neighborhood west of Twin Peaks, was a fixer which hadn't been remodeled in over 50 years. The list price was $1.2M, there were 33 offers, and one of our agents found that writing $300K over asking put his buyers somewhere in the bottom third of offers. San Mateo is seeing multiple offers on at least 80% of all listings. Half Moon Bay reports that, while pricing is still key, they are averaging 20 to 30 groups at open homes.
In the North Bay, some positive signs of sustained activity are being witnessed in Greenbrae with an up-tick in inventory and buyers and sellers meeting at a comfortable level. Petaluma is seeing buyers starting to write offers and Santa Rosa is enjoying generous (but not excessive) inventory levels for their buyers to select from. Sebastopol and Southern Marin/Belvedere are still seeing the upper end homes moving quickly. In fact, a Kentfield property listed at $2.1 million had seven offers.
Inventory was reported as increasing by 12 offices and steady by 14 offices, while decreasing inventory was only reported by four. Sales activity, though sluggish due to the Spring Break and tax deadlines, was reported as increasing by six offices, steady by 17 offices and only decreasing by seven.
Below is a copy of some stats I came up with when rebuffing a poorly reported real estate story in the Chronicle last week. I'll send a copy of my response to that article in another email - but wanted to share these very positive statistics with you in the meanwhile.
Have a great week!
Rick
SF County: Median Price YTD '06 vs '07 up $23,500, or 3.11%
(Jan 759K, Feb 769,500, Mar 789,500 - increasing each month this year)
Month's Supply of Inventory for '07 - declining each month: Jan 2.4 - Feb 2.2 - Mar 1.9
San Mateo County: Median Price YTD '06 vs '07 up $45,000, or 5.84%
(Jan 780K, Feb 792K, Mar 835K - increasing each month this year)
Month's Supply of Inventory for '07 - declining each month: Jan 3.2 - Feb 2.6 - Mar 2.3
Rick Turley
President, San Francisco/Peninsula
April 20, 2007
Inventory is picking up a bit - that's a good thing in most of our markets. Open houses are still very well attended. Multiple offers continue to be the norm in the areas with the least available properties for sale.
Among the hot spots, Palo Alto reports that multiple offers exceeding 20% of list price are not unusual. In San Francisco one low priced listing received 51 offers. A home in the Avenues received 20 offers, and the only listing available in St Francis Wood, an upscale neighborhood west of Twin Peaks, was a fixer which hadn't been remodeled in over 50 years. The list price was $1.2M, there were 33 offers, and one of our agents found that writing $300K over asking put his buyers somewhere in the bottom third of offers. San Mateo is seeing multiple offers on at least 80% of all listings. Half Moon Bay reports that, while pricing is still key, they are averaging 20 to 30 groups at open homes.
In the North Bay, some positive signs of sustained activity are being witnessed in Greenbrae with an up-tick in inventory and buyers and sellers meeting at a comfortable level. Petaluma is seeing buyers starting to write offers and Santa Rosa is enjoying generous (but not excessive) inventory levels for their buyers to select from. Sebastopol and Southern Marin/Belvedere are still seeing the upper end homes moving quickly. In fact, a Kentfield property listed at $2.1 million had seven offers.
Inventory was reported as increasing by 12 offices and steady by 14 offices, while decreasing inventory was only reported by four. Sales activity, though sluggish due to the Spring Break and tax deadlines, was reported as increasing by six offices, steady by 17 offices and only decreasing by seven.
Below is a copy of some stats I came up with when rebuffing a poorly reported real estate story in the Chronicle last week. I'll send a copy of my response to that article in another email - but wanted to share these very positive statistics with you in the meanwhile.
Have a great week!
Rick
SF County: Median Price YTD '06 vs '07 up $23,500, or 3.11%
(Jan 759K, Feb 769,500, Mar 789,500 - increasing each month this year)
Month's Supply of Inventory for '07 - declining each month: Jan 2.4 - Feb 2.2 - Mar 1.9
San Mateo County: Median Price YTD '06 vs '07 up $45,000, or 5.84%
(Jan 780K, Feb 792K, Mar 835K - increasing each month this year)
Month's Supply of Inventory for '07 - declining each month: Jan 3.2 - Feb 2.6 - Mar 2.3
Rick Turley
President, San Francisco/Peninsula
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Weekly Market Watch
Coldwell Banker Weekly Market Watch
April 13, 2007
The Easter and Passover holidays in combination with spring break brought an anticipated cooling of activity in many areas. However, there were a lot of surprises in our markets as well, with hot spots in the communities with the least inventory of new properties.
With the Easter holiday being a notoriously slow one for open houses, the recent influx of groups touring properties was not expected to materialize. But of our more than 240 homes held open, a number of areas saw surprising attendance levels. A $1.9 million listing in Berkeley had a “mob” of people go through. Agents “flocked” to open houses on tour in the Greenbrae area. Redwood City reported an “amazing amount of attendees,” and open houses remain a “hot commodity” in San Francisco. Turnout was also impressive in Burlingame, Palo Alto and Woodside/Portola Valley.
Multiple offers remain highly competitive in a number of areas. An El Cerrito Hills property received nine offers. Larkspur saw a $1.6 million fixer receive four offers and sell well over asking. Palo Alto reports that the majority of their sales are from multiple offer situations. In San Francisco, a Noe Valley home received 26 offers during the week, and the only listing that received only one offer received that pre-emptively. Orinda too is very busy with multiple offer situations.
Listing inventory is still seeing incremental increases in most areas, though not fast enough for the City and much of the Peninsula. Danville actually saw four listings get sold from “coming soon” signs. The Marin market remains “on fire,” with the $2 million range being particularly strong - as one Greenbrae Sales Associate put it, “$2 million is the new $1 million.” I toured new listings in Palo Alto this Friday and felt the very same thing -most of the listings I saw were asking $1.8M to $2.4M. The agents I toured with commented it was the greatest increase for number of new properties on tour in quite some time.
Eight offices saw an increase in listings during the week, while only 5 reported a decrease and 17 indicated steady listing inventory. And while these holidays and the Spring break generally see a slowing in sales, 15 offices maintained steady sales activity, 6 saw an increase and only 9 reported decreased activity.
Buyers would undoubtedly be confused by misleading newspaper articles such as those that appeared in the Chronicle this week. But the reality of Bay Area real estate is that buyers are researching, recognizing and grabbing a good deal when they see one – and are willing to negotiate and fight for properties that are well-priced and in good condition. They continue to recognize the positive value of Bay Area real estate as a long term investment.
Have a great week-
Rick
Rick Turley
President, San Francisco/Peninsula
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
April 13, 2007
The Easter and Passover holidays in combination with spring break brought an anticipated cooling of activity in many areas. However, there were a lot of surprises in our markets as well, with hot spots in the communities with the least inventory of new properties.
With the Easter holiday being a notoriously slow one for open houses, the recent influx of groups touring properties was not expected to materialize. But of our more than 240 homes held open, a number of areas saw surprising attendance levels. A $1.9 million listing in Berkeley had a “mob” of people go through. Agents “flocked” to open houses on tour in the Greenbrae area. Redwood City reported an “amazing amount of attendees,” and open houses remain a “hot commodity” in San Francisco. Turnout was also impressive in Burlingame, Palo Alto and Woodside/Portola Valley.
Multiple offers remain highly competitive in a number of areas. An El Cerrito Hills property received nine offers. Larkspur saw a $1.6 million fixer receive four offers and sell well over asking. Palo Alto reports that the majority of their sales are from multiple offer situations. In San Francisco, a Noe Valley home received 26 offers during the week, and the only listing that received only one offer received that pre-emptively. Orinda too is very busy with multiple offer situations.
Listing inventory is still seeing incremental increases in most areas, though not fast enough for the City and much of the Peninsula. Danville actually saw four listings get sold from “coming soon” signs. The Marin market remains “on fire,” with the $2 million range being particularly strong - as one Greenbrae Sales Associate put it, “$2 million is the new $1 million.” I toured new listings in Palo Alto this Friday and felt the very same thing -most of the listings I saw were asking $1.8M to $2.4M. The agents I toured with commented it was the greatest increase for number of new properties on tour in quite some time.
Eight offices saw an increase in listings during the week, while only 5 reported a decrease and 17 indicated steady listing inventory. And while these holidays and the Spring break generally see a slowing in sales, 15 offices maintained steady sales activity, 6 saw an increase and only 9 reported decreased activity.
Buyers would undoubtedly be confused by misleading newspaper articles such as those that appeared in the Chronicle this week. But the reality of Bay Area real estate is that buyers are researching, recognizing and grabbing a good deal when they see one – and are willing to negotiate and fight for properties that are well-priced and in good condition. They continue to recognize the positive value of Bay Area real estate as a long term investment.
Have a great week-
Rick
Rick Turley
President, San Francisco/Peninsula
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Monday, April 9, 2007
Weekly Market Watch
Coldwell Banker Weekly Market Watch
April 6, 2007
No April fooling around in the Bay Area real estate market for the week. Serious buyers are making serious offers. Inventory continues to trickle in to San Francisco and the Peninsula, but not fast enough for eager buyers. Most areas of the East and North Bay markets, however, remain steady, but without the traditionally expected deluge of spring listings.
Of the more than 550 homes held open, most were well attended - especially in the City and on the Peninsula – and multiple offers among the well-priced offerings and desirable homes continue to be the norm in all areas. In San Francisco, a home in Noe Valley listed at $925,000 received 14 offers. Another in Inner Sunset district had 20 offers and sold for substantially over the asking price.
The mid-high end market saw another week of increased activity in all areas with Novato, Oakland, San Francisco, Menlo Park and Palo Alto all noting that pre-emptive and multiple offers are the rule of thumb on virtually all listings in the $1.5- 3 million range.
Listing inventory increased for 10 offices, remained steady for 14 offices and declined in 5. Sales activity saw a little up-tick from the previous weeks with an increase reported by 10 offices, steady reported by 14 offices and a decline in 5 offices. Over 240 offers were ratified, and nearly 100 multiple offers were reported.
A note of interest comes from Redwood City, and also discussed recently in Menlo Park, where it seems that open house attendees are relying more on Internet sources than on print media to locate homes to tour. Hopefully, it’s an infectious trend as our Coldwell Banker Internet sites and relationships with innovative technology companies continue to provide information that is more accurate and up-to-date than anything found in the newspapers.
Historically we are experiencing our strongest listing month of the year in April. The amount of new property listings taken in April and May will shape the sales activity we can expect for the summer of 2007. Sellers need to seize this incredible opportunity in today's market with pent-up Buyer demand and very low interest rates.
Happy Spring Holidays-
Rick
Rick Turley
President, San Francisco/Peninsula
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
April 6, 2007
No April fooling around in the Bay Area real estate market for the week. Serious buyers are making serious offers. Inventory continues to trickle in to San Francisco and the Peninsula, but not fast enough for eager buyers. Most areas of the East and North Bay markets, however, remain steady, but without the traditionally expected deluge of spring listings.
Of the more than 550 homes held open, most were well attended - especially in the City and on the Peninsula – and multiple offers among the well-priced offerings and desirable homes continue to be the norm in all areas. In San Francisco, a home in Noe Valley listed at $925,000 received 14 offers. Another in Inner Sunset district had 20 offers and sold for substantially over the asking price.
The mid-high end market saw another week of increased activity in all areas with Novato, Oakland, San Francisco, Menlo Park and Palo Alto all noting that pre-emptive and multiple offers are the rule of thumb on virtually all listings in the $1.5- 3 million range.
Listing inventory increased for 10 offices, remained steady for 14 offices and declined in 5. Sales activity saw a little up-tick from the previous weeks with an increase reported by 10 offices, steady reported by 14 offices and a decline in 5 offices. Over 240 offers were ratified, and nearly 100 multiple offers were reported.
A note of interest comes from Redwood City, and also discussed recently in Menlo Park, where it seems that open house attendees are relying more on Internet sources than on print media to locate homes to tour. Hopefully, it’s an infectious trend as our Coldwell Banker Internet sites and relationships with innovative technology companies continue to provide information that is more accurate and up-to-date than anything found in the newspapers.
Historically we are experiencing our strongest listing month of the year in April. The amount of new property listings taken in April and May will shape the sales activity we can expect for the summer of 2007. Sellers need to seize this incredible opportunity in today's market with pent-up Buyer demand and very low interest rates.
Happy Spring Holidays-
Rick
Rick Turley
President, San Francisco/Peninsula
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Monday, April 2, 2007
Coldwell Banker Weekly Market Watch
March 25, 2007
The Bay Area real estate market is in full bloom. Even with negative media focused on subprime issues, most of the Bay Area is seeing a steady, if slow, increase in inventory. Sales activity has seen an escalation in most areas with the number of multiple offer situations dipping.
Inventory is still not coming on fast enough in San Francisco and most of the Peninsula where they are still seeing multiple offer situations. Palo Alto is seeing 53% of listings in multiple offers, and Redwood City and Burlingame noted strong open house attendance even for condos and townhouses. San Francisco is also strong where one home had 114 groups. Even properties on the market for 5 or more months are garnering multiple offers. San Mateo notes 85-90% multiple offers.
The luxury home market – especially in the $2-3 million range - continues to show solid figures in all areas. An Atherton listing for $2.8 million had 4 offers. A San Francisco home garnered 20 offers and went for substantially over the $1.295 million price.
Even with increasing inventories, multiple offers occur on homes that are well-priced and desirably located – especially in the East and North Bay areas. One Berkeley property received 18 offers. Another, listed in the $800 thousand range, sold for $450 thousand over asking. Healthy and stable describe Walnut Creek, Orinda, Danville, Livermore, Pleasanton and Fremont market areas where sales are brisk in all categories and buyers are very competitive for the right homes.
More than 550 homes were held open with most noting heavy attendance. More than 260 offers were ratified, and well over 100 properties were in multiple offer situations.
Overall, listing inventory actually increased for 5 offices, remained steady for 21, and decreased in 4. Sales activity increased for 10 offices, remained steady for 17, and only decreased for 3.
Baseball season is just around the corner, so get those buyers sliding into home!
Rick Turley
President
San Francisco Peninsula
March 25, 2007
The Bay Area real estate market is in full bloom. Even with negative media focused on subprime issues, most of the Bay Area is seeing a steady, if slow, increase in inventory. Sales activity has seen an escalation in most areas with the number of multiple offer situations dipping.
Inventory is still not coming on fast enough in San Francisco and most of the Peninsula where they are still seeing multiple offer situations. Palo Alto is seeing 53% of listings in multiple offers, and Redwood City and Burlingame noted strong open house attendance even for condos and townhouses. San Francisco is also strong where one home had 114 groups. Even properties on the market for 5 or more months are garnering multiple offers. San Mateo notes 85-90% multiple offers.
The luxury home market – especially in the $2-3 million range - continues to show solid figures in all areas. An Atherton listing for $2.8 million had 4 offers. A San Francisco home garnered 20 offers and went for substantially over the $1.295 million price.
Even with increasing inventories, multiple offers occur on homes that are well-priced and desirably located – especially in the East and North Bay areas. One Berkeley property received 18 offers. Another, listed in the $800 thousand range, sold for $450 thousand over asking. Healthy and stable describe Walnut Creek, Orinda, Danville, Livermore, Pleasanton and Fremont market areas where sales are brisk in all categories and buyers are very competitive for the right homes.
More than 550 homes were held open with most noting heavy attendance. More than 260 offers were ratified, and well over 100 properties were in multiple offer situations.
Overall, listing inventory actually increased for 5 offices, remained steady for 21, and decreased in 4. Sales activity increased for 10 offices, remained steady for 17, and only decreased for 3.
Baseball season is just around the corner, so get those buyers sliding into home!
Rick Turley
President
San Francisco Peninsula
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