2023 Q3 Newsletter

Gary F Saydah

DRE# 01488727 Coldwell Banker Realty
‌(415) 505-1999‌

November 2023

The summer was not “The summer of Gary” a line I copped from George Costanza of Seinfeld fame who said that before he broke his leg. In June I broke my left clavicle cycling on Valencia Street on the new center bike lane, so that waylaid my summer plans. I can noticeably see that the days are getting shorter, and the cloud formations are looking to start coalescing into rain, hopefully!

Our Current Situation

The year has been interesting from a sales point of view, the number of listings and sales has been weaker than what we normally see for the same time periods historically. As reported over the summer the number of sales is still down about 40%; prices, after slumping at the beginning of the year, are rebounding and the trend for single family homes is trending up in San Francisco, Marin County and Alameda County. Contra Costa is lagging and dropping still. Persistent high interest rates are either keeping buyers out of the market or discouraging them to enter the market. Investment real estate is experiencing a downturn in prices but the market is actually doing well for investors with deep pockets who are scooping up good deals.

As you will see below, the inflation rate is continuing its slide which is good news for all of us, our dollar is going further than a year ago. The annual core consumer price inflation rate in the United States, which excludes volatile items such as food and energy, fell to 4.1% in September 2023, the lowest since September 2021, down from 4.3% in the prior month.

source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Gary Saydah (CAL BRE #01488727) Coldwell Banker Realty

The Immediate Future

Right now, buyers are having the upper-hand and negotiating good deals for properties of all types. The bidding wars have generally faded away with exceptions of course. The number of listings is growing and turning into a normal market where the principles can negotiate and even makes our job as Realtors more interesting because we can use our strategic and negotiating skills more. Interest rates have continued to rise as evidenced by the graph below.

What I Hope For

That as we enter the holiday season that people will have realized their goals for the year and are happy and healthy going into the new year which is just two months away. And if you have real estate questions or goals for this year or next I would love to hear from you and help you in any way.

On A Personal Note

My daughter, Camryn, started her freshman year at the University of Oregon in Eugene starting the next leg of her journey through life. I am so happy for her because she worked super hard to achieve what she has so far and found herself in the right place to pursue higher academics. She’s even interested in football now, something I could never pique her interest in. Go Ducks!

And as always, please don’t hesitate to contact me with any question or need you may have, real estate-wise or anything else.