No Sleepy Summer for Home Sales in SF Bay Area

By Alicia Lanier, REALTOR

Generally speaking the Bay Area real estate market has seen a bit of a bounce this summer with sales increasing in all categories—from the entry level homes and condos to the high-end market, says Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker’s San Francisco Bay Area region.

He mentions that national figures showed June with an 11% increase in home sales and the Bay Area seemed to share that trend with July sales up 15% over July 2008.  “As the number of sold units continues an upward trend, price recovery is a bit of a mixed bag depending on the area. The entry level median price is increasing in all counties, due to very little supply against a healthy demand.  The just-under, just-over $1M mark seems to be holding its own, with a few multiple offers out there for the right property in a sought-after community. The higher end properties over $2M have, in the past 30 days, seen more activity than at any time this year, but price remains a critical factor as to which properties seeing this activity actually go into contract.  It seems the higher the price-point, the more critical it is for a very attractive list price.  Sellers who are selling are very realistic about marketing price, and Buyers who are buying are recognizing good value when they see it, and are taking action swiftly. For cash buyers or those with large down payments, this could be a great time to pick up a bargain in the luxury home market.”

This week the National Association of Realtors released its monthly existing home sales report noting “For the first time in five years, existing-home sales have increased for four months in a row, according to the National Association of Realtors®.”  The report went on to note, “Existing home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – rose 7.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.24 million units in July from a level of 4.89 million in June, and are 5.0 percent above the 4.99 million-unit pace in July 2008.  The last time sales rose for four consecutive months was in June 2004, and the last time sales were higher than a year earlier was November 2005.”

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said he was encouraged.  “The housing market has decisively turned for the better.  A combination of first-time buyers taking advantage of the housing stimulus tax credit and greatly improved affordability conditions are contributing to higher sales,” he said. Ultimately these are all very positive signs for our market and are a strong sign that we are moving in the right direction towards a housing recovery.

A few other recent articles of note:

Home Prices On An Upswing In The Second Quarter Of 2009 According To The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices
New Home Sales Blast Past Expectations
The Housing Market: Has It Turned the Corner?
Mortgage Applications Increase In Latest MBA Weekly Survey
Home Market Shows Signs of Life as Declines Slow

TIP: Planning a move – or real estate investment – now or in the near future. Call me at 408-491-1634 or email Alicia.Lanier@cbnorcal.com and ask about my complimentary real estate services to help jumpstart your plans for buying or selling.