Coldwell Banker Weekly Market Watch
Week of March 16, 2008
Gold prices are dropping. Oil prices are dropping. Mortgage rates are dropping! For the first time since January, the rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage hit 5.75%. Reports this week also indicated that foreclosure rates statewide dropped in February for the first time since last summer. The Feds slashed short term lending rates again, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were given the green light to pour an additional $200 billion dollars into mortgage loans. That, combined with the temporary increase in conforming loan limits for Fannie, Freddie and the FHA, is all good news for fast acting buyers and smart sellers. One other bright spot – our offices are reporting that investors are starting to come back into the market and most economists agree that the return of investor purchasing is an early indicator of a market that is ready to bounce back.
The hot-and-cold-running microclimates of the past months have apparently started to temper. Of the offices reporting, an overwhelming majority of them indicate that sales activity is increasing or steady. Buyers are still cautious – ensuring that they are getting a value – but they are buying, and doing so competitively considering the number of multiple offer situations that occurred last week. A new listing in San Ramon had 16 offers and looks to close at approximately $100,000 over asking. A Rockridge home listed in the $700,000 range had 17 offers and sold for $135,000 over the asking price. The Petaluma office was involved in 12 different multiple offer situations. Pleasanton, Santa Rosa, Walnut Creek, Sebastopol, San Carlos and San Francisco all reported an increase in multiple offer situations. Much of the influx in multiple offers are on homes with entry-level price ranges and REO properties due to the bargain factor, but many others are simply well-priced and well-staged and in desirable neighborhoods – these are homes that show their value well. In fact, according to San Francisco office reports, at least half of the ratified offers are multiple in all price points.
Our more than 500 open houses continued to be incredibly well attended in virtually every market. We can assume that, as always, lookie-loo's account for a portion of the visiting numbers, but a large majority of the open house attendees are serious, qualified buyers. Open homes in attractive Berkeley neighborhoods are receiving 50 to 80 visitors. A Rockridge listing had more than 100 groups go through. San Francisco and Peninsula open homes are very well attended. It’s becoming more common to see Open House signs out on Thursday evenings again.
As the Month’s Supply of Inventory seems to be holding steady, even dropping in some communities, it may be the perfect time for the move-up Buyer to list their home. With interest rates being very favorable, and fewer multiple offers on the move-up home than we’ve seen in years, this may be the opportunity they’ve been waiting for.
Have a great week!
Rick
Rick Turley
President, San Francisco/Peninsula
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Weekly Market Watch
Weekly Market Watch
Week of March 9, 2008
DataQuick, the real estate information service that the media drools over every month, issued yet another gloomy report on Thursday. Frankly, I think the reports received from our offices each week, and from talking to all of those hardworking Coldwell Banker Sales Associates in the field, should be what’s making the headlines in our newspapers instead of DataQuick’s latest monthly statistics. We are actually working with buyers and sellers and understand our local markets. We comprehend the intricacies of the various communities and neighborhoods we work with, and we actually know what’s happening out there. Quite simply, they don’t know what we know about the market TODAY. They can only report on what closed last month based on transactions that began 30 to 90 days prior. We need to continue to remind our buyers and our sellers that what they see in the newspaper today is a reflection of the recent past – not necessarily a snapshot of the current market. Yes – it’s been a challenging market overall as of late, but we see definite signs of improvement now that just aren’t reported anywhere else.
Here’s something current that I haven’t read about – we’re seeing a drop in month’s supply of inventory in virtually every county in our area. We’re seeing an increasing number of homes going into contract. We’re seeing open houses in most areas that continue to teem with buyers anxious to take advantage of the low rates and plentiful selection. We’re seeing a boost in the number of first-time buyers who don’t have to sell an existing home in order to make their purchase. We’re seeing high-end homes selling off-market - meaning that they sell without ever hitting the MLS - often with multiple offers and well over the asking price, (this also means that DataQuick won’t account for those homes in its statistics for sales and median prices next month).
In Petaluma, six different open houses received more than 30 attending groups apiece. Pleasanton and Fremont have begun offering Bank Owned Property Tours and they are being met with huge success. Open house attendance is up for the third consecutive week in Santa Rosa and Sebastopol. In Pleasant Hill a broker’s open that was supposed to close at 2:30pm stayed open until 7pm in order to accommodate the vast amount of walk-in traffic. A Noe Valley listing had over 100 groups pass through it.
A Portola Valley home listed at $2.5 million had more than 100 groups through its open house and sold with three offers. 80% of Menlo Park sales were multiple offers. In San Francisco a fixer in Hayes Valley sold for 20% over asking and multiple offer situations are once again becoming the norm for many properties. The Market Street office notes busy opens on Sundays and on Thursday nights, and that homes that have been on the market for months are selling now.
Clearly, our government is taking the essential steps to allow the markets to recover in a way that stimulates the economy, keeps interest rates affordable, and helps buyers, sellers and investors alike. And again, we see the beginnings of the positive aspects in our San Francisco Bay Area markets on a daily basis. Our continued optimism is grounded in what we see today, and in the eager eyes of our buyers and sellers.
Have a great week!
Rick
Rick Turley
President, San Francisco/Peninsula
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Week of March 9, 2008
DataQuick, the real estate information service that the media drools over every month, issued yet another gloomy report on Thursday. Frankly, I think the reports received from our offices each week, and from talking to all of those hardworking Coldwell Banker Sales Associates in the field, should be what’s making the headlines in our newspapers instead of DataQuick’s latest monthly statistics. We are actually working with buyers and sellers and understand our local markets. We comprehend the intricacies of the various communities and neighborhoods we work with, and we actually know what’s happening out there. Quite simply, they don’t know what we know about the market TODAY. They can only report on what closed last month based on transactions that began 30 to 90 days prior. We need to continue to remind our buyers and our sellers that what they see in the newspaper today is a reflection of the recent past – not necessarily a snapshot of the current market. Yes – it’s been a challenging market overall as of late, but we see definite signs of improvement now that just aren’t reported anywhere else.
Here’s something current that I haven’t read about – we’re seeing a drop in month’s supply of inventory in virtually every county in our area. We’re seeing an increasing number of homes going into contract. We’re seeing open houses in most areas that continue to teem with buyers anxious to take advantage of the low rates and plentiful selection. We’re seeing a boost in the number of first-time buyers who don’t have to sell an existing home in order to make their purchase. We’re seeing high-end homes selling off-market - meaning that they sell without ever hitting the MLS - often with multiple offers and well over the asking price, (this also means that DataQuick won’t account for those homes in its statistics for sales and median prices next month).
In Petaluma, six different open houses received more than 30 attending groups apiece. Pleasanton and Fremont have begun offering Bank Owned Property Tours and they are being met with huge success. Open house attendance is up for the third consecutive week in Santa Rosa and Sebastopol. In Pleasant Hill a broker’s open that was supposed to close at 2:30pm stayed open until 7pm in order to accommodate the vast amount of walk-in traffic. A Noe Valley listing had over 100 groups pass through it.
A Portola Valley home listed at $2.5 million had more than 100 groups through its open house and sold with three offers. 80% of Menlo Park sales were multiple offers. In San Francisco a fixer in Hayes Valley sold for 20% over asking and multiple offer situations are once again becoming the norm for many properties. The Market Street office notes busy opens on Sundays and on Thursday nights, and that homes that have been on the market for months are selling now.
Clearly, our government is taking the essential steps to allow the markets to recover in a way that stimulates the economy, keeps interest rates affordable, and helps buyers, sellers and investors alike. And again, we see the beginnings of the positive aspects in our San Francisco Bay Area markets on a daily basis. Our continued optimism is grounded in what we see today, and in the eager eyes of our buyers and sellers.
Have a great week!
Rick
Rick Turley
President, San Francisco/Peninsula
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Weekly Market Watch
Coldwell Banker Weekly Market Watch
Week ending February 24, 2008
While listening to the radio the other day, I heard a news report stating that consumer confidence has plummeted in February to a 17-year low. The reporter went on to discuss how fears about the housing market and its impact on the economy are major factors in the increasing pessimism of the American consumer. Later, however, I found the actual consumer confidence index report online and, upon reading it, discovered this little nugget: Those with plans to buy a home rose in February from 2.5% to 2.7%. It was actually one of the few areas of the report that had improved month over month. I’m still trying to figure out how that news reporter wound up blaming the country’s real estate market for a decline in consumer confidence when the index clearly states that confidence in home buying is improving. The index also notes that consumers with plans to buy major appliances increased from 30.6% to 30.9% - maybe those new appliances will be installed in their new homes?
During a rainy holiday weekend, it became apparent that there are an increasing number of buyers who are getting serious about hopping off the fence. Though many seem to be waiting for the conforming loan limit increase in the economic stimulus package to take effect, there are also many who are taking advantage of the affordability existing in many of our markets right now. Buyers that are waiting to see a bottom would be best served by jumping in now. Typically, by the time we can see a bottom in the charts we are well past it and on the way back up. In areas with higher levels of inventory, price, condition and location continue to be crucial factors in home sales at virtually every price point. When those elements are balanced, we are seeing multiple offers. We are also starting to see inventory levels stabilizing in many areas – Danville being a case in point where inventory remain unchanged week over week, but new pending sales increased by 67%!
Open houses continued to sizzle with activity in most of our market areas. Buyers are “out everywhere” in Castro Valley. Petaluma reports its third straight week of double digit attendance at open houses, and multiple offers on well-priced homes. Santa Rosa also saw open houses with 20 groups or more. A new Burlingame Hills listing received more than 80 groups of visitors, and in Portola Valley, the listing agent stopped counting after 70 groups had already passed through the property.
San Francisco and the Peninsula markets continue to suffer from a lack of saleable inventory – and that has a greater impact on sales declines than much of what the news headlines report. There are still fewer than 40 active listings on the MLS in Palo Alto. In San Francisco, a listing in the $1.4 million range sold preemptively for 20% over asking. Redwood City – San Carlos reports incredible attendance at open houses and notes that more than 50% of homes sold had been on the market for fewer than ten days.
Week ending February 24, 2008
While listening to the radio the other day, I heard a news report stating that consumer confidence has plummeted in February to a 17-year low. The reporter went on to discuss how fears about the housing market and its impact on the economy are major factors in the increasing pessimism of the American consumer. Later, however, I found the actual consumer confidence index report online and, upon reading it, discovered this little nugget: Those with plans to buy a home rose in February from 2.5% to 2.7%. It was actually one of the few areas of the report that had improved month over month. I’m still trying to figure out how that news reporter wound up blaming the country’s real estate market for a decline in consumer confidence when the index clearly states that confidence in home buying is improving. The index also notes that consumers with plans to buy major appliances increased from 30.6% to 30.9% - maybe those new appliances will be installed in their new homes?
During a rainy holiday weekend, it became apparent that there are an increasing number of buyers who are getting serious about hopping off the fence. Though many seem to be waiting for the conforming loan limit increase in the economic stimulus package to take effect, there are also many who are taking advantage of the affordability existing in many of our markets right now. Buyers that are waiting to see a bottom would be best served by jumping in now. Typically, by the time we can see a bottom in the charts we are well past it and on the way back up. In areas with higher levels of inventory, price, condition and location continue to be crucial factors in home sales at virtually every price point. When those elements are balanced, we are seeing multiple offers. We are also starting to see inventory levels stabilizing in many areas – Danville being a case in point where inventory remain unchanged week over week, but new pending sales increased by 67%!
Open houses continued to sizzle with activity in most of our market areas. Buyers are “out everywhere” in Castro Valley. Petaluma reports its third straight week of double digit attendance at open houses, and multiple offers on well-priced homes. Santa Rosa also saw open houses with 20 groups or more. A new Burlingame Hills listing received more than 80 groups of visitors, and in Portola Valley, the listing agent stopped counting after 70 groups had already passed through the property.
San Francisco and the Peninsula markets continue to suffer from a lack of saleable inventory – and that has a greater impact on sales declines than much of what the news headlines report. There are still fewer than 40 active listings on the MLS in Palo Alto. In San Francisco, a listing in the $1.4 million range sold preemptively for 20% over asking. Redwood City – San Carlos reports incredible attendance at open houses and notes that more than 50% of homes sold had been on the market for fewer than ten days.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)