Table of Content
- A California coastal town grapples with losing its beach
- Real Estate |
- San Francisco's Real Estate Appreciation Rate is High
- Report: $117,000 a year considered 'low income' in some Bay Area counties
- Most Common Home Bay Area Home Buyer Questions
- Buying a house in Bay area
- Step 6: Get the Right Mortgage for Your Situation
Alan Barbic, an agent and president of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors, said some sellers are still yearning for last year’s peak prices. Many are finding the reality of this year’s market quite different, he said. But buyers had less sticker shock in Contra Costa, San Mateo and San Francisco counties.
Their “2020 Urban-Suburban Market Report” reveals that inventory has risen a whopping 96% year on year, as empty homes in the city flood the market like nowhere else in the country. If you can afford it, then it’s an investment that will continue to increase in value over time. Once you have the right mortgage lender, make sure you at least get a pre-approval.
A California coastal town grapples with losing its beach
Despite the recent doldrums, Barbic says homebuyers must be prepared for a competitive market, getting pre-approved for a loan and willing to bid quickly on a property they like. Condo sales in the region fell 10 percent, and the median sale price dropped about 6 percent to $720,000, according to CoreLogic. But Wang has seen buyers avoiding townhomes and condos in favor of single-family homes, even if they have to stretch their budgets and mow their own lawns. Homeowner association dues can add significant monthly costs to the properties, he said. Median sale prices in June for existing homes dropped 2.2 percent in the nine-county Bay Area from the previous year, the biggest dip since February 2012, according to CoreLogic.
Remember to ask your mortgage lender or mortgage banker lots of questions about which mortgage is right for you and your situation. Before getting a mortgage or any kind of loan, you should always check your credit. According to the law, you're allowed to receive one free copy of your credit report per year. Scores range from approximately 300 to 850; generally, the higher your score, the better loan you'll qualify for. Bucking the trend, Anna Machado-Wang sold her Almaden Valley home three days after it went on the market. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Real Estate |
This is one of the situations where spending more money on a house may actually yield a better return. Owning a home is one of the major milestones in achieving the American dream. But what about owning a home in the Bay Area where a decent townhome can cost $1.4M and a decent single-family home will cost $1.8M? In this article, I'll break down how I ran the numbers and decided that it was not financially worth it to buy a house in the Bay Area, in 2019.

Because of our strong economy, experts say those who are looking for a home should buy as soon as they feel comfortable to do so. Ultimately, the price of homes have an extremely low chance of appreciating 7% every year. If it did, the home value will double every 10 years—an improbable outcome. Also, the appreciation of a single-family home is generally higher than a townhouse or condo.
San Francisco's Real Estate Appreciation Rate is High
Some experts believe they could go down to 2020 or maybe even 2019 levels. Buying a home in Silicon Valley is worth it if the home value appreciates at a 7% annual rate for 30 years. When new grads can afford 1M to 1.5M and people with 3 to 4 yoe can easily afford a starter home, there is no bubble.

You can still pay principal when you wish, but don't have to if your budget is tight. There is a myth that with interest-only mortgages, you don't build equity. This is not necessarily true, since you can build equity through home appreciation.
Report: $117,000 a year considered 'low income' in some Bay Area counties
Many homebuyers are willing to assume more risk because they believe in the upside of the market. If a home or condo has some issues, they’re willing to foot the cost. However, if you don’t feel right about a certain home, we counsel people to go with their gut in those situations.
You may have priorities, such as commute time to work and a good school district, which will narrow your search somewhat. But there are hundreds of neighborhoods in the greater Bay Area that have a lot to offer and will meet your needs. Up and coming neighborhoods can offer some of the best upside opportunities as well as being personally rewarding.
Tony Ngai, an agent with Maxreal in Cupertino, said he sees young couples coming in more prepared, doing much research online before taking a house tour. But high prices force many to settle for a starter house rather than a long-term home, he said. Felicia counsels her clients to be prepared to make things easy on the seller. “For example, pay for your own home warranty instead of asking the seller to cover the costs , or be flexible with your timeline, depending on the seller’s needs,” she says. First-time homebuyers, no matter where they are searching, are bound to make a few mistakes. But here in the hyper-competitive Bay Area, where even tear-downs attract multiple over-asking offers, just one small misstep can knock an inexperienced buyer out of the race.
Online real estate company Zillow released new statistics shining a stark light on the issue this week. This page has been updated to reflect the most recent trends in theBay Area housing market. Even though homes in the Bay Area housing market continue to sell for record prices, the market is leveling out.
San Francisco real estate market is perpetually constrained in terms of inventory. Several factors contribute to this, but principally the strict zoning laws prevent new development and high-rise construction throughout the city. The strict zoning laws, coupled with the fact that the SF is only seven by seven miles, make it a very constrained market and keep supply perpetually low.
This is why George Lucas had to threaten to build hundreds of homes on Skywalker Ranch when they wouldn’t let him expand his studios there. This also explains why the San Francisco real estate market cannot solve its affordable housing crisis by building in relatively open lands in Marin County. This compares with an unadjusted unemployment rate of 3.7 percent for California and 3.4 percent for the nation during the same period. An upcoming recession is likely to have a limited effect on the SF Bay Area’s housing market. It will only temper housing price appreciation but not reduce it.