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 | 7 Comments