New insights.

According to a new report from Freddie Mac, 30-year mortgage rates are projected to gradually decline in coming quarters, which could trigger a surge in buyer demand, primarily from first timers. However, a tight inventory will lead to only moderate sales increases, with prices rising 2.1% in 2024.

Meanwhile, boosted by an “AI boom,” median sales prices in the San José metro area are the first to exceed $2 million, and Silicon Valley’s appreciation rate is among the highest in the nation. Overall, 89% of U.S. metro areas saw year-over-year price gains.

Santa Clara County Rising

The Silicon Valley housing market continues its long rebound, with May seeing year-over-year increases in sales and median prices for both homes and condos in Santa Clara County. But you’ll need to act fast to have a chance at one of these properties because they’re spending less and less time on the block!

Anyone can appreciate this.

If you ever needed a visualization of the rising cost of homeownership, this chart should do the trick. Tracking median house sales price fluctuations by region since 1990, you can see a significant shift to the West and South and away from the Northeast, even as prices have appreciated across the country. Of course, the last spikes we saw in western sales led to the subprime bubble, so it’s good for investors to be cautious.

Is the market about to Spring?

Even in pandemic times, Spring has typically been a time for peaks in luxury home sales, which leads to spikes in median sales prices. As we spring into March, are we on the verge of another bump?

San Francisco Market Update - December 2023

Has the home sales market in San Francisco finally begun to cool off, or is it just the chill of another atmospheric river? Inventory and median sales price were down year over year in December, and properties took a little more time getting scooped up. Meanwhile, condo prices in the City by the Bay saw a 9% increase from the same time in 2022, and opportunities were 10% more plentiful.