The 411 on 94010 Blog

From entry-level homes to the luxury estates, the Bay Area’s housing market gained more momentum in March, according to a number of recently released industry reports.

March home sales in the region were at their highest level for that month in five years, the result of lower prices, low interest rates and an improving economy, according to DataQuick, the La Jolla-based real estate research firm.

Some 7,694 new and existing houses and condos sold in the nine-county Bay Area in March, up 34.9 percent from February and 9.1 percent from March 2011, DataQuick reported. Last month’s sales total was the highest for the month of March since 8,317 homes were sold in 2007.

The strongest sales gains were in Solano, Sonoma, San Mateo and San Francisco counties with 13.2 percent, 12.1 percent, 11.4 percent and 11.3 percent increases, respectively, from March 2011.

“This is the time of year when buying patterns usually start to normalize,” said John Walsh, president of the research firm. “And while the changes we’re seeing are incremental, they’re incremental in a positive direction.”

Having said that, DataQuick cautioned that there continue to be potential bumps along the road to a normalized market. Walsh said he’s watching closely the number of distressed properties coming onto the market, as well as the ready availability of mortgage financing – or a lack thereof.

The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos sold in the Bay Area last month was $358,000, according to DataQuick. That’s up 10.2 percent from February, and down fractionally from $360,000 in March 2011. The decline on a year over year basis was the smallest since October 2010.

The luxury end of the market also turned in a strong performance in March:

• In Marin County, both sales and the median sale price of million-dollar homes rose. A total of 48 high-end properties changed hands, up from 44 in February and 33 in January. The median sale price of a luxury home also soared 15.3 percent from the previous month to $1,525,000.
• In Silicon Valley, 110 homes sold for more than $1.5 million in March, nearly double the 58 transactions in February and up from 86 in March 2011.  Of the total sales, there were 50 multi-million-dollar transactions compared to 36 sales over $2 million during the same period a year ago.
• In the East Bay, luxury sales soared 23 percent from a year ago and more than doubled February’s totals. Some 111 million-dollar properties changed hands, up from 49 in February and 90 in March 2011.
• And in San Francisco, a total of 55 homes sold for more than $2 million during the first quarter of 2012 compared to 50 sales during the same period a year ago. At the same time, the median sale price rose 2.7 percent from last year to $2.8 million.

The market will continue to face some headwinds in terms of the economy, distressed properties and even mortgage financing.  And it’s likely that the economies of Europe and China will continue to factor in to our recovery.  But it’s clear that locally, we are headed in the right direction regarding housing. Our biggest challenge isn’t a lack of demand; it’s not enough homes to sell. So if you’ve been thinking about listing your home, there couldn’t be a better time than now.

Below is a market-by-market report from our local offices:

North Bay – In Marin County, the high-end of the market in Central and Southern Marin is going strong with buyers stepping up and sellers willing to negotiate.  Inventory continues to be an issue. Homes coming on the market are getting LOTS of attention, our local manager reports.  One agent put in an offer for $200K over a $1 million property, free three month rent back and all cash.  Sadly, they didn’t get the house!  Buyers are starting to panic a bit and there does seem to be a bit of a frenzy at the moment.  In Sebastopol, the entry-level market remains exceedingly competitive with multiple offers being the norm. There is a lot of cash, which is beating the low down FHA buyers every time.  Agents there are also seeing improved activity in the Previews high-end market with more buyers in the marketplace then good quality homes for sale.

San Francisco – Our Lakeside office manager says the news from agents is very consistent: “I wrote an offer but there were XX other offers and I didn’t get it.”  Some agents are writing five or six offers in a week with buyers who are anxious to settle down and get themselves out of the buying fury.  Occasionally, an agent says, “I dug up a listing for my buyer and we got it.”  It is definitely a time for a buyer to have a close working relationship with their agent and work hard to get the deal done. Similarly, our Lombard manager reports lots of activity, and high open house traffic. Most deals are multiple offers and over asking price – some 25% over. No appraisal problems with this yet, but lot of winners are all cash. The Sunset office also says open houses are extremely busy.  A new Sunset listing priced at $890,000 had approximately 200 people during a three-hour open house.  More than 50% of ratified offers were multiple offer situations.  There are plenty of non-contingent cash offers out there trying to beat out the competition.

SF Peninsula — Huge turnouts at open homes are common, our Burlingame manager reports. Multiple offers are pretty much the norm on the Peninsula. We have seen 20-40 offers fairly frequently and buyers are finding that it takes three-five tries before they succeed in getting an offer accepted. Everybody is pretty tired! There are currently 52 active and 18 pending sales in Hillsborough. The amount of inventory is pretty consistent over the last several months.  Inventory overall is starting to increase but sellers are now becoming a bit unrealistic on price, according to our North Burlingame manager. Well-priced, well-marketed homes are generating multiple offers. Atherton lots are in high demand. Lots from 1 to 2.2 acres have sold up to $9.5 million. Any central Menlo Park house goes out the door with multiple offers or it takes a very big number to buy it off market in a ‘preemptive’ sale. It is an extremely competitive marketplace. Inventory remains extraordinarily low in Palo Alto and the demand high.  Our local office got into contract on a property that had 19 offers. The high end of Woodside is still dormant but agents are seeing movement in Portola Valley. In Redwood City and San Carlos, there still definitely is a lack of inventory. Open houses are busy and well-priced properties are getting multiple offer.

East Bay – The Berkeley market has turned on a dime, but homeowners still seem unaware that it’s a HOT seller’s market.  Hopeful buyers know it and some are writing three to five offers before they get an acceptance.  Most buyers are stepping up to the plate after enough disappointments, even writing pre-emptive offers. Our Danville manager says local inventory is less than one month in some areas.  One home in Pleasant Hill garnered 23 offers.   The market is in dire need of listings. Our Oakland manager says that the heat is on to get offers accepted. Agents are running up against multiple offers in every community and at every price point. Buyers have started writing offers without contingencies again. So far we’ve not run in to any appraisal issues but based on the amount of dollars over asking that she’s seen written it is probably only a matter of time. Some sellers are holding their properties from going on market because they have not been able to purchase another home. The Lamorinda market continues to be strong and buyers are submitting offers. Homes that are appropriately priced go into contract quickly. While inventory is increasing they are still in short supply. The story is echoed in San Mateo – low inventory, plenty of buyers.

Silicon Valley – The market is highly competitive, says our Cupertino manager. There continues to be one winner and 10 losers for most homes. Hopefully the slight uptick in inventory is not an anomaly. Our Los Altos manager reports that the local market is very good in Los Altos, Palo Alto, Mountain View and Sunnyvale. The Previews end of the market is strengthening above $2.5 million. In Los Gatos, our local manager says agents are spending most of their time writing offers, presenting offers and counseling their buyers on creative ways to make their offers shine when competing in multiple offer situations against other buyers. Our San Jose Almaden manager reports that there continues to be multiple offers on everything.  Typical sales prices are 10% over list price. Both inventory and sales activity is also increasing in the Willow Glen area. The Saratoga market is still hot with listings selling very quickly. Our local office just closed a $4.1 million sale.

South County – The South County real estate market certainly reflects that of other Bay Area counties—low inventory, high demand.   With fewer homes from which to select, buyers are finding themselves in multiple offer situations.   One home in Gilroy, listed at $329,000 had 19 offers several days after hitting the MLS.   At the present time there are only 12 homes listed in all of Morgan Hill priced under $500,000.  Agents are reporting record turnouts at their open houses and many potential buyers indicate their ability to purchase without a loan—or are willing to waive appraisal contingencies if a loan is involved.  These are all good signs for sellers as they witness their homes finally showing an increase in value. 

Santa Cruz County ­– Overall, the perception of the market is that it is better than 2011, our Santa Cruz manager says.    In Santa Cruz County, the agent membership is down half of what it was at the market peak, less than 1,000 members.  Like other markets, activity is definitely up, inventory is down about 9% from last year, and agents are seeing the prices in the lower end go up slightly. But it really is too soon to tell if it’s a trend or not.    The average price for SFR in Santa Cruz County started out about 8% lower than Jan. 2011, and by March those numbers had shifted with the edge slightly higher than March 2011.    The number of closed sales through the first three months of the year is up 11% year over year.  These are all great signs for our market and homeowners. 

That’s it for now. Have a great week.

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Here in the Bay Area we’ve seen a recovery in the housing market for some time now. Things began to turn around in earnest last year and really have gained traction in 2012. But now as spring is in full bloom, it seems that other parts of the state and nation are getting in on the act. “Green shoots” are evident in cities that previously were showing little signs of life, creating optimism among many industry observers.

In a recent news report on NPR, reporter Yuki Noguchi said the mild spring has brought buyers out earlier than usual, and real estate agents are busy around the country.

Noguchi interviewed one agent whose clients recently signed a deal on a $1.5 million house in Cape Cod that was notable for several reasons. First, it closed very quickly – “the buyers didn’t hem or haw about the decision,” the agent said. Also, it crossed the million-dollar price threshold, something he hasn’t seen since 2007. The agent says many of his high-end Wall Street clients are back. Sales volume, average sale prices and buyer interest are all increasing.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, told NPR that he is much more encouraged than he was one or two years ago. “The recovery seems much more broad-based,” he said. “Whether one goes East Coast — Boston, [or] to the West Coast — Seattle, sales activity is solidly higher.” And smaller markets like Peoria, Ill., Greenville, S.C., and Chattanooga, Tenn., are also doing better, Yun said.

But the single most telling number on the health of the market, according to Yun, is housing inventory. Home listings are down 26 percent from last year at this time, which the economist said is close to healthy market levels.

While some market followers worry that we could see another wave of foreclosures, depressing home prices, Yun says that so-called shadow inventory of homes in serious delinquency or in the foreclosure process is also down. “So all three buckets of inventory … are falling, which is implying that this is a genuine reduction in inventory across the board,” he told NPR.

Here in the Bay Area we’re experiencing an even sharper decline in housing inventory. From Marin County, San Francisco and the Peninsula down to San Jose and out to parts of the East Bay, the number of homes for sale is down as much as 50 percent. This at a time when the number of well-qualified buyers eager to purchase appears to be higher than it has been in years.

While this rebalancing of supply and demand is good for the overall recovery of the housing market and firming up soft home prices, it is understandably frustrating buyers who are competing for the relatively few good, well-priced homes on the market today.  The strong demand is leading to multiple offers on many if not most homes in certain communities with prices going for much more than the asking price in many cases.

With our local economy continuing to bloom along with the spring flowers, especially in Silicon Valley, there is no end in sight to strong buyer demand. In fact, the latest UCLA Anderson economic forecast noted that growth in the San Francisco Bay Area region continues to outpace the nation, led by the technology sector.  Add to that the recent IPOs and upcoming Facebook offering and you can see where demand is heading.

I think word is gradually starting to get out to sellers that the financial crisis and corresponding housing downturn are finally over and it’s time to jump back into the market. We’re slowing seeing more listings starting to come into our local offices. My hope is that even more savvy homeowners will decide to sell as the spring housing market comes into full bloom. If so, it could turn out to be a beautiful season for the Bay Area market.

Below is a market-by-market report from our local offices:

North Bay – The Marin County market is seeing movement in the luxury segment, our Greenbrae manager reports.  Central Marin is doing both sides of a $6 million deal and a $4 million deal.  Multiple offers are becoming the norm with new properties on the market that are priced well and show well.  We are still not seeing the spring inventory we were hoping for but there are some nice properties coming on the market, which is keeping everyone busy with activity.  The next few weeks will be very telling about the market. Our Sebastopol manager said the local market is down to about a 1.6-month supply of inventory as of now. He hasn’t seen such low inventory and high demand since 2005. Agents are tripping over each other trying to show homes. It is a feeding frenzy for buyers and an incredible opportunity for motivated sellers. The Previews market is waking up after a long slumber. There currently are four of our office’s Previews listings pending, two of which had multiple offers. Homes sold in Mill Valley, Tiburon and Sausalito are up versus a year ago 9%, 25% and 16% respectively, while Belvedere is down 25%. Properties in the Previews upper end of the market are up versus a year ago in Mill Valley, Tiburon and Sausalito, and exactly even in Belvedere.

San Francisco – Virtually every single new transaction discussed at our San Francisco Lakeside office meeting has had multiple offers.  Properties that have languished on the market for some time are selling – and with multiple offers. Similarly, our Lombard office manager said a buyer frenzy is happening on any reasonable listing. There are stories of 23, 31, and even 61 offers. Lots of cash deals are winning out. Heavy open housing and broker traffic is occurring. Our Sunset office manager said they’ve also seen very active open houses.  One Sunset home listed for $599,000 had over 120 groups on Easter Sunday. It received 23 offers three days later and went 10% above asking price.  Half of the office’s ratified offers were multiple offers.  Overall comments from agents:  “If only we have more inventory.”

SF Peninsula — All the agents are chasing too few properties with too many buyers, our Burlingame manager reports. All-cash is the word of the day, and contingent free offers. Recently, a buyer’s offer came in two hours after listing and sight unseen on the property! Easter Sunday opens were generally very busy.  There is a sense among sellers that with the coming IPO’s, their values are going to go way up and this may be the reason for the tight inventory in some areas. The inventory is getting a bit thin in Hillsborough and the buyers are out there. Over $3 million is still a bit slow but $1.5-2.5 million is competitive with Burlingame, San Mateo Park, and the upper end of Millbrae and San Carlos. That makes Hillsborough very attractive at the entry level. Over the hills, our Half Moon Bay manager says the coast is starting to experience multiple offers on all price ranges – inventory is low. The market is still frenetic, especially for $1 to 2.5 homes in good areas, according to our Menlo Park manager. The Palo Alto market remains strong with most sales multiple offers. There have been some “off market” sales in Portola Valley and Woodside. Our Redwood City manager laments the lack of inventory, especially in San Carlos. Agents are farming to try to get new listings as there still are a lot of buyers on the mid-Peninsula in all price ranges. Our San Mateo Downtown manager says almost every offer has been a multiple offer. No inventory, demand side outweighs the supply side.  Appraisers cannot keep up with the rising prices.  Home stagers are extremely busy and our San Mateo-El Camino manager anticipates some increased listing inventory.  In the local market the active listing inventory is down 38% from last year at this time.  March ratified sales are down nearly 8%.  March closed escrows up 38%.

East Bay – Berkeley open houses continue to be jammed with eager visitors, from 80-200 on several properties.   Multiple offers are frequent with 5-10 per listing, and pre-emptive offers have returned. Previews listings are awakening and coming on the market.  There is an especially lively market for properties $1-1.5 million in Berkeley. Active inventory in Livermore is scarce as the city is down to 132 listings.  This time last year there were 240 listings.  This represents a 45% drop in available homes on the market.  New pending sales and closed sales to date in April 2012 are running at the same pace as we experienced in March 2012.  Listings below $650,000 in Livermore are selling quickly and many times with multiple offers.  Multiple offers and two days on the market and then sold is happening everywhere, our Oakland-Piedmont manager says. Several of the Oakland agents are writing three or more offers a week and are not getting into contract. Offer dates are set and being rescinded, new listings are going in the MLS first thing in the morning and by 10 a.m. four disclosure packets are out. Agents are trying to get listings to market but in many cases the owners are unable to find a new property to move in to. The Lamorinda market is full of activity, our Orinda manager reports. Buyers are ready to purchase and are making offers. Most sales are multiple offers. Listing inventory is picking up as sellers are aware the market is very active. Open homes are heavily attended. And in Walnut Creek, FHA and VA buyers are having a tough time competing with cash and conventional offers with such low inventory.  Strong conventional offers can still compete against cash but usually over asking price.  Buyers and sellers actively evaluating the market, making the decision to buy and sell based on reports they are reading and seeing.  Some lenders are asking for extra documentation, which increases approval times.

Silicon Valley – We need more homes to sell, our Cupertino manager laments. At least half of the sales are multiple offers. Similarly in Los Gatos, inventory is down and sale prices are up. Most over bidding is happening under $2.5 million. Over that number, buyers are still negotiating. The message is clear – things are heating up in the high end and it is a good time for buyers to get in while they can still negotiate.  As usual, good properties in good neighborhoods that are priced right receive the most attention. Prices are going up, according to our San Jose Almaden manager.  Since January, prices have increased 10% in some cases, our local manager said.  He didn’t think the market would come back with this much vengeance but it surprisingly has.  A year ago, a home in Saratoga appraised for $1.14 million was polished up and put it on the market in March 2012 for $1.25 million and it sold for $1.32 million. Supply and demand and consumer confidence along with the slight rise in interest rates are the reason. Declining inventory and low interest rates continue to fuel this market, our San Jose Main manager notes. The last time inventory was this low in Santa Clara County was back in 2005. Open houses in all price ranges are extremely active with as many as 50 groups through many properties. The story is echoed by the Willow Glen manager – multiple offers, low inventory, and many buyers. The Saratoga market is still crazy, according to our local manager. Virtually all sales involve multiple offers. Most properties listed below $2.5 million are experiencing multiple offers. This segment of the market is extremely strong.

South County – Our Gilroy manager says there is a huge shortage of inventory in the Gilroy, Morgan Hill, and Hollister markets. They are down 25% in inventory since February. As a result there are many multiple offer situations, with a lot of disappointed buyers. Many sellers (including banks) are asking for appraisal contingencies to be waived. Short sales are closing, but with pricing that was based on the market value four months prior, so comps are not keeping up with the actual market value. There are fewer than 80 homes for sale in Gilroy – an unheard of figure. There are only 101 single-family homes for sale in all of Morgan Hill and only 10 condo/townhomes, our Morgan Hill manager reports.  Statistics also reveal that of the 101 homes for sale, only 72 of them are listed for under $1 million and only 15 are listed under $500,000.  Agents are reporting that there just isn’t enough inventory to satisfy buyer demand.  Morgan Hill has a population of over 41,000 people, but with the current inventory supply just can’t keep up with demand.  Homes that are priced correctly and that show well are garnering multiple offers.  This is great news for sellers and Morgan Hill agents are working very hard to get the word out to those individuals who are contemplating putting their house on the market that their timing could not be better.

 Santa Cruz County ­– The Santa Cruz market, like many others in the Bay Area, is experiencing an all-time low inventory scarcity.  Properties under $700 K (if appropriately priced) are selling quickly with multiple offers in many cases.  Unlike areas in Silicon Valley and up the Peninsula, there may be three or four offers, not 20 on a property.  The closed sales are coming in at list price or over.   However, overall, we are not noticing an overall increase in prices yet in the County from 2011.    The number of closed sales is slightly up over 2011, and as we progress into the Spring/Summer months we are expecting that number to accelerate.  Buyer interest has picked up in the upper end market and open houses are very well attended especially close to the beach.  We are definitely optimistic about the Spring/Summer real estate market in this segment and there are a couple of properties over $1 million in escrow currently.   While the prices are not what they once were, there is interest, activity and some sales in the high end.

 Monterey Peninsula – The market activity on Monterey Peninsula continues to be very good as we head into spring.  With the mild weather, excellent prices and low mortgage rates, we’ve had many potential buyers, mostly from the Silicon Valley area, come to town to check out the feasibility of purchasing a second home here, especially in Carmel or Pacific Grove, and then buy–or tell us they will be returning to buy.  In the lower-priced homes, which generally sell to locals, the inventory has been steadily decreasing so there are more buyers than properties in reasonably good condition, acceptable location and priced right.  In those cases we are seeing multiple offers, even up to 10 or even more.

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When billionaire Warren Buffett talks, people listen. And lately the Oracle of Omaha has been talking a lot about real estate and why now is the right time to be investing in housing. In fact, Buffett went so far in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” as to say that he’d “buy up a couple hundred thousand” single-family homes if it was practical for him to do so.

Buffett said he believes purchasing a home with today’s historically low mortgage interest rates and holding it for the long-term has actually become a better investment than stocks right now. This, from someone who has always put stocks above all other investments. In his annual letter to shareowners, Buffett wrote, “Housing will come back, you can be sure of that.”

In explaining his investment picks and pans, Buffett said he would shy away from gold and treasuries, the latter of which he said will not keep up with inflation, particularly after taxes. Instead he said he prefers to put his money into investments that he considered to be “productive assets.” Within this category are stocks and real estate.

According to the Buffett, real estate and stocks not only boast the greatest upside potential, but also are safer investments in the long run than treasuries and gold.

In a recent interview with the International Business Times, Buffett forecasted an increase in household formations as the economy continues to recover. He believes that more people who moved in with their parents or in-laws during the recession will soon look to move out and get their own home soon.

According to the International Business Times, the annual pace of housing starts in the U.S. last year was just 609,000 – far less than the household formation of 1.14 million. Eventually, this imbalance will absorb the oversupply in the housing market, Buffett said, although how long this process takes could vary widely among various local U.S. housing markets. “Demographics and our market system will restore the needed balance – probably before long,” he said.  No one knows for sure what the future holds, but I agree wholeheartedly that if you’re looking to invest in a home for the long term you couldn’t find a better time.

On a related note, sales of existing single-family homes in the Bay Area increased by 10.7 percent in February compared with a year ago, according to a report released Friday by DataQuick, the La Jolla-based real estate information firm.

This marked the biggest increase for February in five years, according to DataQuick, and the eighth straight month of year-over-year sales increases for the Bay Area.

One last item of interest:  Remember just a year and a half ago when consumption and spending seemed to be at an all-time low?  There were articles appearing about a possible trend in Renting versus Buying.  Well just two weeks ago, The San Francisco Business Times took a poll, asking readers if “renting is the new American Dream.” Despite the challenging housing market in recent years, homeownership still won by a wide margin. Some things never change!

Below is a market-by-market report from our local offices:

North Bay – Multiple offers are the new normal right now, our Greenbrae office reports.  Agents are experiencing an increase in buyer activity there continues to be a severe shortage of inventory – two month’s supply in Marin.  Inventory is half of what it was this time last year and the year before. Our Sebastopol manager can’t remember a time when there was so little inventory available. If it’s in good condition and priced appropriately it will sell and probably with multiple offers. Activity is holding steady at open houses in Southern Marin. Our local manager says agents are seeing about the same number of units sold to date versus year ago in Mill Valley, but a 44% increase in Tiburon and a 38% increase in Sausalito.  A severe lack of inventory is the biggest challenge currently, as there is far more demand than supply.

San Francisco – The weekly broker’s tour volume is about 1/3 of what it was last year, our Lakeside manager reports.  Buyers are frustrated and agents are feeling desperate because for every multiple offer situation there is 1 winner and 6-10 missed sales.  Yet sellers are not responding with new listings; some of them are stuck with no equity and don’t have cash to move even though they want to.  Yet interest rates remain low and home affordability is terrific compared to past years.  Most important is that buyers do everything they can to get the house they want so they don’t have to continue the process. It’s the same story for our Lombard office: everything is dominated by a lack of inventory. Stale listings are selling, sales in one day, 17 offers on a fixer, most probates being overbid, heavy open traffic, frustrated buyers, off-market pre-emptive sales, cash deals winning the bidding. Great time to list! According to our Sunset office, the very few listings on the market are selling quickly and with the majority of them receiving multiple offers.  A condo listing in SOMA that was listed 12 months ago and did not sell came back on the market with a higher listed price (5%) and sold within a week at over asking.

SF Peninsula — Sales activity is on the rise, according to our Burlingame office. There is a definite positive attitude in the buyer’s market. Five to seven offers on Burlingame, San Mateo, Belmont and San Carlos properties are becoming the norm. Buyers are waiving contingencies and appraisals after going through four or five tries to buy a property and losing out. There are also a lot of cash buyers, which adds to the frustration of those trying to buy with conventional financing. The luxury end of the market is also picking up.  We are seeing the early Facebook/tech company etc. buyers coming to Hillsborough and in most cases making cash purchases. Our Half Moon Bay office says agents are enjoying the overflow from the Peninsula with all their multiple offers. This overheated market continues to be short on inventory and long on buyers, our Menlo Park manager reports.  All the buyers who have been ‘sitting on the fence’ for the past 18 months have now all jumped off at the same time.  Our manager compares it to stock market anticipation. “In 3 months, great corporate earnings are coming out, Apple is going to launch their new IPad and great employment numbers are coming out – all anticipation.”  Like the old saying – Buy on rumor and sell on news. In Palo Alto, extraordinarily low inventory is resulting in numerous multiple offers.  It’s a very frustrating market for buyers and agents alike.    Woodside and Portola Valley are not experiencing the frenzied activity that we are seeing in Palo Alto and Menlo Park.  Price points are higher and sales are slower. The higher the price, the more cautious the buyer.  Many younger buyers want more unban, close to town and transportation locales. Our Redwood City manager says the few open houses in the area had had an amazing amount of people through. San Carlos properties are selling very quickly usually with multiple offers. Redwood City seems to take a little longer but if priced correctly in a good location homes are also getting multiple offers but usually not as many. Belmont inventory is also low but again if priced right in a good location they are also selling. The main drive seems to be affordable money and lack of inventory. Our San Mateo manager says inventory levels are dropping lower and lower.  Buyers are out there as multiple offers indicate. The high-end market is also improving.

East Bay – Buyers are out in force in Berkeley and hungry for attractive homes, priced right and in nice neighborhoods.  Our local manager said there were more than 200 visitors to last Sunday’s open house on just this kind of property.   We hope homeowners/sellers begin to notice, she said. The Livermore real estate market in 2012 has been very strong.  Active listings in Livermore are down 42% year over year while pending sales are up 18% compared to the same time last year.  Closed sales in Livermore for February 2012 were up 53% compared to February 2012.  Multiple offers are common, but homes with location issues are still getting multiple offers, although below asking price.  Our Oakland/Piedmont manager says it has been mostly multiple offer situations for the agents in her office both on the listing and the buyer side. More back-up offers are being agreed to due to the lack of inventory in Oakland, Alameda, and Berkeley areas. She doesn’t see any easing any time soon as agents who are attempting to get more listings to market are not always successful in speeding up their client’s timetable. Our Orinda manager reports that buyers are very active and open homes are heavily attended. Most sales are multiple offers with buyers making many concessions (paying transfer tax, paying home warranty, etc.). In Walnut Creek, new listings are flying off the market with double digit multiple offers, which are making final prices over asking.  Inventory is still low.  We are also seeing cash buyers more frequently.  Buyers are ready to go.  Sellers seem to be more ready to list.

Silicon Valley – It is remarkably busy out there, our Cupertino manager reports. Buyers appear to be desperate to get houses. Buyers are snapping up the new listings of single-family homes in good school districts, our Los Altos manager says. And the $2 million-plus market is getting stronger. The Los Gatos area market continues to heat up with multiple offers increasing.  Our office had a $2.1 million dollar property listed on the MLS last year for 90 days that did not sell.  The seller re-listed the property with our office this year and received multiple offers and it will close escrow over list price.  What a difference a year makes! The Saratoga market is red hot. Most properties have anywhere from 5 to 15 offers presented. Many properties with multiple offers are selling well over 10% over the listing price. The winning offers tend to be all cash offers, with no contingencies and with very quick closings.

South County – Morgan Hill is just a little drive south from the booming Silicon Valley.  The expectation of our local agents is that those potential buyers who are seeking more for their “real estate dollar” will venture to South Valley.  This phenomenon has actually started, our Morgan Hill manager says. Agents are reporting that some buyers are being priced out of the market in San Jose, Mt. View, and Sunnyvale and are discovering better value in South Valley.   Recently a Morgan Hill agent listed a Mt. View home for $1.4 million dollars (1400 square feet) and is expecting multiple offers—those sellers will come to Morgan Hill and buy a comparable home for about $600,000.   It seems that “optimism” has replaced pessimism and that a renewed energy is running through our industry.   Inventory remains low and buyer interest is high—all good signs that the recovery is on course.

 Monterey Peninsula – Sales activity continues to improve, our Monterey Peninsula manager says. There have been 42 ratified offers in recent weeks and many multiple offers, especially in the lower price ranges. Sales are also increasing in the upper end of the market.

That’s it for now. Have a great rest of the week!

Call us for all your real estate needs…..