Home Buyers on the Peninsula Ignoring the San Francisco Chronicle’s Sage Advice?

June 17, 2007

One of the real estate headlines last week in the San Francisco Chronicle read Would-Be Home Buyers Hesitate. Sufficiently intrigued by the gaping chasm between the headline’s implications and my day-to-day experience on the ground, I read through the article, where I found out:

The Bay Area real estate market has become a giant game of chicken. Just 18 months ago, buyers swarmed open houses waving piles of cash. Now they are staying away in droves, waiting for prices to fall.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

Exhibit 1: Recent transactions and number of offers. (These were transactions in which somebody in my office represented either the buyers or the sellers.) Many homes are still attracting multiple offers.

2007-06-17_22-32-34-953.png
Exhibit 2: Pricing trends in Palo Alto. Looks like a pretty healthy market to me!
Palo Alto All Prices

Exhibit 3: Colleague and fellow number-cruncher Steve TenBroek, a two decade veteran of business in these parts, says the local market is “tighter and hotter than it’s ever been.” His historical view is that inventory tightens in each subsequent up market, partly due to California’s infamous Proposition 13.

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Written by Kevin · Filed Under * Type of Content, Consumer, Industry, Market updates, Palo Alto, Real estate 

Comments

7 Responses to “Home Buyers on the Peninsula Ignoring the San Francisco Chronicle’s Sage Advice?”

  1. Siddharth on June 18th, 2007 5:31 am

    You overlooked reading a statement

    “It is a bifurcated market, with continued brisk sales of homes in desirable neighborhoods, especially in the $750,000-and-up range.”

  2. What does the market look like heading into summer? « Insight into San Carlos Homes on June 18th, 2007 1:29 pm

    [...] What local realtors are saying As we look at Kevin’s 3 Ocean’s Blog, multiple offers are still a common reality of our market. [...]

  3. Not gonna happen! « Luxury Cupertino Homes on June 18th, 2007 1:30 pm

    [...] As Kevin commented in his 3Oceans blog, multiple offers remain the order of the day. [...]

  4. Sock Puppet on June 18th, 2007 3:13 pm

    Welcome back to the fray.

    Also I think it stands for “Where’s The Flash?” for bad photos… :-)

    -Athol

  5. Chris Iverson on June 18th, 2007 3:56 pm

    Another reason the SF Chronicle has declining readership in the South Bay. . . . I actually have the article on my desk, but Kevin beat me to blogging on it!

  6. MLS-2.com on June 18th, 2007 4:14 pm

    Plus you need to give the Chron credit anytime they use a tough word like ” bifurcated “

  7. Mea Culpa: The San Francisco Chronicle Is, In Fact, Partly Right | 3 Oceans -- The San Francisco Bay Area Real Estate Blog on June 18th, 2007 6:36 pm

    [...] In my article yesterday about the San Francisco Chronicle’s Coverage of Bay Area real estate news, I implied I thought they were way off base.  I stand by my assertion that the local markets I serve remain very strong, but as reader Siddharth pointed out in a comment: You overlooked reading a statement [...]

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