Where has the spring gone! We are entering June, and the real estate market has acted just the way we predicted in the early spring. Condo sales are flat while single family homes prices are on the rise because of low inventory and the need for buyers who are seeking singularity in ownership.

Year to-date Market Summary

Mortgage rates remain high in comparison to where they once were a few years ago and homeowners who have a 2.5% fixed rate loan are holding on to them with a death grip. In the 1950’s and 1960’s mortgage loan rates hovered around 4.3%-5.1% and people could rely on those rates to remain constant through the years engendering confidence in the market. I was speaking to my father who was a real estate broker for 40 years in New Jersey and he once bought a building when the interest rate was over 18% because he knew it was a good deal and that rates would eventually come down.

Core inflation is remaining persistently higher than any of us would like, it’s a hangover from the COVID stimulus as well as good old fashion profit taking, got to get it while you can. They are slowly lowering though.

Our Current Situation Re: The Case-Shiller Housing Index for the Bay Area

What the Case-Shiller Index means. To determine whether or not you are likely to make money by selling your home, look at the Case-Shiller value for the quarter in which you purchased your home. Let’s say that value is 110. That means when you purchased your home it was worth 10% more than it was in 2000.

We Are Very Local

Same as last newsletter. The employment picture remains good for San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA and the environs with solid jobs and according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics the unemployment rate still stands at about 4% which by any measure and excellent statistic. There have been tech layoffs, but the employment picture still looks good!

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

The Next Few Months

I’m not sure why condos are not selling so well these days other than buyers are waiting for rates to go down and most are also confronted by high HOA fees which give the buyer the services of a building but no real tax benefits. Now is a fantastic time to buy a condo, sellers are begging for offers and the prices are better now than they have been in a long while.

What I Hope For

There was an interesting article in the NY Times by Peter Coy about mortgage portability to new properties, it would take a literal act of Congress for this to happen but it’s worth dreaming about, here is a link to the article.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/06/opinion/portable-mortgage-loans-housing.html?smid=url-share

On A Personal Note

Thanks for reading my newsletter, I hope it is informative and useful as I try to bring information to my readers with their interests at heart. My daughter Camryn is just finishing her freshman year at The University of Oregon and will be spending the summer home working as a junior paralegal. She hopes to become a lawyer some day.

And as always, please don’t hesitate to contact me with any question have about real estate or anything else that’s on your mind.

All the best,

Gary F. Saydah

415-505-1999 | gary.saydah@cbrealty.com | www.garysaydah.com

Cal DRE #01488727 | 1560 Van Ness Avenue 2^nd Flr., San Francisco, CA 94109

June 2024 Newsletter

San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA