What’s Happening in Northern California Real Estate?
Here in Santa Clara County we know that the market is HOT! HOT! HOT! for
sellers and that record low inventory is making it harder for the local Real
Estate market to recover and for Buyers. But what about the rest of the Bay
Area, other counties? Are they experiencing the same thing? CAR (California Association of Realtors®)
wondered the same thing, read on for their report.
Santa Clara County
“Red hot.”
That’s how Carl San Miguel, broker/owner of Highland Properties in Campbell, characterizes the housing market in Santa Clara County. “There’s probably no section of Silicon Valley that hasn’t been affected by the shortage of inventory, which is down about 40-50 percent from what it was a year ago,” he says. One constraint is that sellers are afraid they won’t be able to find their next home since so few properties are for sale. Some sellers take a chance, prepared to rent for a while, if that becomes necessary, San Miguel says. Others decide not to move forward.
Buyers who need a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loan are feeling the most pressure since sellers tend to choose offers that appear to present a stronger financial position. “Buyers who’re trying to get an FHA or VA or 5 percentdown deal are being left out because the competition is driving the price up,” San Miguel says. “They can’t say they’ll pay more because [the appraisal won’t support it].”
Oakland
Buyers are waiving appraisal contingencies in Oakland as well, says Cameron Platt, broker at Harcourts Platt Inc. Real Estate in that city. Investors, all-cash buyers and first-timers priced out of San Francisco are houseshopping, despite rising prices and slim selections, Platt says. At one small residence, 20 people were waiting on the front steps when the agent arrived to hold an Open House. “She didn’t even have time to put a sign up,” Platt says. The biggest drag has been a government mandated inspection of each home’s sewer lateral at the time of sale.
“If the house wasn’t built in the last 10 to 15 years,” Platt says, “it’s probably not going to pass. That adds another $6,000 to $12,000 to a home purchase because the work has to be done within 180 days of closing.” The requirement has had what Platt describes as a “chilling effect” on sales. Still, the mood is upbeat. “We’re hoping more sellers take advantage of the rapidly rising prices and put their home on the market, so we can satisfy the buyer demand,” Platt says.
Marin County
In Marin County, the housing market is “warm and getting warmer,” says Jack Wilkinson, broker-associate at Bradley Commercial in San Rafael. Local trends include shrinking supplies of for-sale homes, increasing multiple offers, rising prices, declining sales of bank-owned homes, and continuing high barriers to new home construction. All that has brought people Wilkinson calls “twofers”—those who are selling their current residence and buying a more costly one—back into the market. “Not in large numbers,” he says, “but for years, we didn’t see any.”
One constraint is financing, which is difficult for many buyers to get because they’re self-employed or not traditionally employed and consequently must submit copious income documentation. “There is so much more paperwork,” Wilkinson says.
*image and information courtesy of CAR.
Santa Clara County
“Red hot.”
That’s how Carl San Miguel, broker/owner of Highland Properties in Campbell, characterizes the housing market in Santa Clara County. “There’s probably no section of Silicon Valley that hasn’t been affected by the shortage of inventory, which is down about 40-50 percent from what it was a year ago,” he says. One constraint is that sellers are afraid they won’t be able to find their next home since so few properties are for sale. Some sellers take a chance, prepared to rent for a while, if that becomes necessary, San Miguel says. Others decide not to move forward.
Buyers who need a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loan are feeling the most pressure since sellers tend to choose offers that appear to present a stronger financial position. “Buyers who’re trying to get an FHA or VA or 5 percentdown deal are being left out because the competition is driving the price up,” San Miguel says. “They can’t say they’ll pay more because [the appraisal won’t support it].”
Oakland
Buyers are waiving appraisal contingencies in Oakland as well, says Cameron Platt, broker at Harcourts Platt Inc. Real Estate in that city. Investors, all-cash buyers and first-timers priced out of San Francisco are houseshopping, despite rising prices and slim selections, Platt says. At one small residence, 20 people were waiting on the front steps when the agent arrived to hold an Open House. “She didn’t even have time to put a sign up,” Platt says. The biggest drag has been a government mandated inspection of each home’s sewer lateral at the time of sale.
“If the house wasn’t built in the last 10 to 15 years,” Platt says, “it’s probably not going to pass. That adds another $6,000 to $12,000 to a home purchase because the work has to be done within 180 days of closing.” The requirement has had what Platt describes as a “chilling effect” on sales. Still, the mood is upbeat. “We’re hoping more sellers take advantage of the rapidly rising prices and put their home on the market, so we can satisfy the buyer demand,” Platt says.
Marin County
In Marin County, the housing market is “warm and getting warmer,” says Jack Wilkinson, broker-associate at Bradley Commercial in San Rafael. Local trends include shrinking supplies of for-sale homes, increasing multiple offers, rising prices, declining sales of bank-owned homes, and continuing high barriers to new home construction. All that has brought people Wilkinson calls “twofers”—those who are selling their current residence and buying a more costly one—back into the market. “Not in large numbers,” he says, “but for years, we didn’t see any.”
One constraint is financing, which is difficult for many buyers to get because they’re self-employed or not traditionally employed and consequently must submit copious income documentation. “There is so much more paperwork,” Wilkinson says.
*image and information courtesy of CAR.
This blog is courtesy of The Dawn Thomas Team who is an
award-winning Real Estate Agent team at Intero Real Estate Services in Los Altos
650-701-7822. We help nice people with selling and buying homes from Palo Alto
to West San Jose!
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