The Census Sells

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released data from the once-a-decade count, and the report shows that our share of senior residents expanded significantly from 2010 to 2020 and faster than any decade in more than a century. Meanwhile, birth rates continue to decline as more younger couples delay having children to focus on education and careers. The AP has more on the numbers.

As usual, the Census contains some valuable nuggets of data that sellers can leverage to successfully market their homes. For example, 1 in 6 Americans is 65 and older — up from 1 in 8 in 2010 — and our median age has risen eight years since 1980 to 38.8. That means even the perfect social media post may not reach as many potential buyers as a traditional direct mail campaign.

Additionally, it’s interesting to note that 5% of households included three or more generations, and about 19% of Americans reported living with relatives. Given these numbers, it would be wise to highlight an existing ADU on your property — or the potential for adding one. On the flip side, about 28% of households were solo occupants. That’s 35 million possible buyers who may not care as much about schools and other concerns for families and couples.

Bay Area Luxury Listings

You can learn a lot about a housing market by looking at the high end. In that respect, the Bay Area could be on the rise, as indicated by the top listing prices from Sebastopol to Santa Cruz.

Big bada BOOM!

It’s almost eight billion light years away, ten times brighter than anything in the galaxy, and it’s lasted for three years. AT2021lwx could be the largest explosion ever detected by astronomers, and it happened when the universe was just six billion years old. CNN has more numbers.

Round and round it goes

Over the past 40 years, the Bay Area housing market has seen at least four major booms. Every time, experts said the good times would never end. Every time, they were wrong. Economists call this “irrational exuberance”.

Each of these booms – or upcycles – have been followed by market corrections, sometimes with devastating consequences, such as the Great Recession. Every time, experts predicted an endless downward spiral. Every time, they were wrong.

Like any industry, housing markets run in cycles. But despite all the booms and busts, our local market has always come back stronger than ever.

Whether it’s our status as a financial, innovation, and cultural center, spectacular natural beauty and open space, and diversity, inclusion, and opportunity, Silicon Valley continues to be one of the world’s great metropolitan areas.

March 2023 Market Report

The numbers are in from March, and sales of single family homes remained slow in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties, down as much as 40% year over year, with median prices 13% below what they were a year ago. But properties are spending more time on the market as buyers are still wary of high mortgage interest rates.