Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Real Estate Market Post Shelter-In-Place

I have been conducting Zoom Webinar’s with a data-driven presentation giving insights into the current market, post Shelter-In-Place, comparing the scenario with 2008 and outlook for the future. I will be thrilled to have a one-on-one or group Zoom sessions with you and your friends and family, and it should take 45 – 60 mins and I will ensure that your time is well spent. Please reply to this email if you are interested so that I can schedule one for you.

Below is a graph of what’s happening in Contra Costa and Alameda counties Real Estate market combined, this is a graph of Supply (New Listings) and Demand (Pending sales), each data set is for two weeks starting with two weeks before Shelter-In-Place became effective, followed by Weeks 1-2, 3-4, 5-6 and 7-8 after Shelter-In-Place became effective. The following are the salient points that can be interpreted from the graph.

  1. Both Supply and Demand came down significantly in the immediate two-week period post Shelter-In-Place, showing that the dramatic change in their lifestyle rattled buyers and sellers and anxious about the future
  2. Supply started to go up immediately after the first two weeks and has continued to do so, indicating that Seller’s have overcome the initial anxiety and re-adjusted to the new situation, both personal and professional.
  3. Though demand went down for a second consecutive two-week period, it jumped up significantly in the subsequent two two-week periods.
  4. Both Supply and Demand are now inching up to the pre Shelter-In-Place numbers.

Many of you might have been aware that January and February of 2020 were brutal for buyers, with Supply being meager and buyers clamoring to buy the limited inventory, leading to a bidding war and significant overbidding. On average, during Jan-Feb of this year, I had a 20% acceptance rate of offers, multiple offers on all properties that I had submitted on behalf of my buyers (average of 10 offers per property), with a couple of homes getting 40+ offers. Properties that did not sell in 2019, subsequently taken off-market and then re-listed in Jan-Feb, were getting sold within a week. Overall, it was a tight market for buyers. With inventory still way low in Bay Area (2 months or less Supply where less than six months supply is considered a Seller’s market) and buyers coming back to the market as seen in the graph below, it is going to be very competitive for buyers if the trend continues.

I hope the above summary and the graph below gives you a proper perspective of today’s market. If you have any further questions or would like to set up a Zoom call on the complete market presentation, you may reply to this email, and I will be delighted to talk to you.


Thursday, May 16, 2019

Bay Area RE Market Update - May 2019

Hello Friends,

My May market update is the blog post from Tom Tognoli, who is the co-founder and former CEO of Intero. Tom has gracefully consented to post his blog on mine and it aptly fits into my bi-monthly RE market update. A link is provided at the end of the article to Tom's own blog. Happy Reading. As always call me, text me or email me if you or anyone you know are in the market to buy or sell a property. Thank You!

Don't Freak: San Francisco Bay Area home prices fall for the first time in 7 years

May 16, 2019

First, don't freak out...it's old news. In Q1 of last year (2018) the Bay Area housing market went a bit crazy. Depending on where you live, it's like the real estate market got a jolt of adrenaline at the end of Q1 last year. Property values literally shot up 10% to 15% in 90 days. It was stupid and unsustainable.

In Q2 of 2018, reality set in and property values gave most of that 90-day gain back in what seemed like a week. It needed to happen. It literally all happened in weeks, not months or years. It happened so quickly most people didn't even notice.

Over the last year, property values have slowly ground their way up. Just not to those stupid prices of Q1 last year...yet. It was unhealthy.

I will warn you now, you may see property values are down year over year again this month and maybe even again next month as well. Next, I predict we will see values flatten out year over year going into the summer. Then, we will see property values climb slowly in the second half of 2019. Again...don't freak...it's all normal. Well...Bay Area normal :)

This is part of the reason I think last year was slower than some had hoped. We needed to get owners/sellers to come back to reality and that does not happen overnight. They held on to what their property was worth for a week or two in Q1 of 2018. That was not reality and if you were lucky enough to sell them, good for you.

On the other hand, if you bought in that week, don't freak out. Real estate is all about the long game, not the short game. You will be fine and happy you purchased and own a home. Just think about that ridiculously low-interest rate you got! Better than the 12% I had to pay on my first loan back in '89.
So, now what everyone wants to know...where do we go from here?

I am blessed to be able to spend time with some pretty smart and amazing people. I use that opportunity to pick their brains and then mix it with what I know. Most people feel solid about the economy and the prospects for Bay Area real estate. I'm putting my money where my mouth is and have been putting my money to work in real estate with my business partners.

It's hard to wrap your head around, but with all of the IPO's, the tech boom, low-interest rates, housing shortage, stock market grinding to new highs, commute traffic and more, I am still a buyer of Bay Area real estate. I don't see any significant changes in our market anytime soon. Ping me if you or anyone you know needs help, I know people :)
And don't freak out!

- Tom Tognoli

Link to original Post: http://bit.ly/30mHZAm