Tom LeMieux
How to Price Your Home in 2024

Across the Bay Area, overpricing leads to much lower sales-price-to-original-list-price percentages and much longer days on market (of course), but also an approximate 5% - 9% drop in the average dollar per square foot value. (Which doesn't include expired/withdrawn listings that don't sell at all.) These numbers are generalities: details will vary between listings - price segment, how much they're overpriced, how soon and how much they reduce their prices.

How to Price Your Home in 2024
Tom LeMieux
What is the Compass Concierge Service?

Maximize the value of your home.

Compass Concierge is the hassle-free way to sell your home faster and for a higher price. From painting to flooring and everything in between, Concierge transforms your home with zero upfront costs and no interest - ever.

Exclusive to Compass, our Concierge program is among a suite of services designed to prepare your home for the market. Whether it’s roofing repairs, moving and storage costs, or additional needs, we will work with you to assess every opportunity to elevate your home’s value and improve your selling experience.

With Concierge, you don't have to pay the initial out-of-pocket costs for home improvement services. When your home sells, simply pay back the funds that the program provided and nothing more. Funds will be advanced to you for the home improvement services with no interest cost. When your home sells, you’ll pay the costs of services rendered and nothing more. By helping you invest in your home's potential, we aim to provide a faster and more profitable sale.

What is the Compass Concierge Service?
Jolene Lasaga
Bay Area housing market shifting in ...

Executive Summary:

  • IPO expectations are already showing up in home sales activity, particularly in San Francisco and San Mateo 

  • Sales of homes in San Francisco, San Mateo and Alameda have solidly exceeded last year – up 7 percent, 4 percent and 2 percent respectively year-over-year in April

  • Santa Clara, Wine Country and Contra Costa remain slower compared to last year

  • Homes priced between $1 million and $2 million continue to struggle, except in San Francisco and San Mateo, likely a result of tax reform changes and reduced state and local tax (SALT) and mortgage interest deductions

  • Nevertheless, sales of homes priced above $3 million have surged again, posting a 5 percent year-over-year increase, matching last year’s peaks 

  • While growth in inventory of homes for sales is broad based, availability of homes priced above $3 million accelerated again to a 26 percent annual growth in April

  • While price growth remains flat in most regions, San Francisco median prices up 2 percent year-over-year in April

  • A 9 percent annual increase in homes under contract suggests buyers are back in droves, especially for homes priced over $3 million, up 44 percent year-over-year

Bay Area housing market shifting in anticipation of IPO demand
Jolene Lasaga
April U.S. Jobs Report: Are we in a Goldilocks ...

A Goldilocks Economy is an economy that is neither too hot or cold, in other words, it sustains moderate economic growth and has low inflation, which allows a market-friendly monetary policy.

·      Today’s national employment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics once again outpaced expectations by posting a 263,000 increase in jobs added in April. The strong gain adds to the upward revisions of the two previous months, bringing the year-to-date monthly average to 205,000 jobs added, only slightly below the 223,000-monthly average in 2018.

April U.S. Jobs Report: Are we in a Goldilocks Economy?
Jolene Lasaga
U.S., Golden State Home Price Growth Is ...


U.S. home prices are expected to increase by 4.8 percent year over year by November 2019.

  1. November home prices were up on an annual basis in the San Francisco and Los Angeles metropolitan areas by a respective 5.9 percent and 5.3 percent. 

  2. Prices appreciation for new homes is projected to slow in 2019 in all four major Bay Area housing markets, while new-home prices in Los Angeles are forecast to begin depreciating.

U.S., Golden State Home Price Growth Is Expected to Slow in 2019

Risk of Bubble for California, Bay Area Housing Markets Is Minimal, Report Says

  • Analysts at Arch MI do not believe that home prices are overvalued, nor do they foresee a looming bubble.
  • The chances of home prices declining in California over the next two years is 3 percent, making it a minimal-risk market.
  • All 12 California metropolitan areas that the report tracks have minimal risk of price depreciation by the end of the decade.

Although home prices should continue to increase for the rest of the decade, a bubble does not appear imminent nationwide, in California, or in the Bay Area.

That’s according to Arch MI’s latest Housing and Mortgage Market Review report, in which company analysts wrote “Home prices in the U.S. currently do not appear to be overvalued based on the historical relationship between home prices and incomes.” Before the housing crisis, U.S. home prices were 22 percent overvalued, then fell to levels that were 12 percent undervalued in 2012. Currently, Arch MI estimates that home prices are now 10 percent to 15 percent undervalued because of mortgage rates that remain near record lows.

The company does not foresee a housing bubble on the horizon across the U.S. or most cities. Warning signs of a housing-market bust — including too much buyer debt, inferior-quality loans, and overly rapid price appreciation — do not currently exist. The forecast echoes findings from a Freddie Mac report published last fall that also downplayed the possibility of another bubble.

Using data from the third quarter of last year, Arch MI’s Risk Index puts only three states at moderate risk for price deprecation by the end of 2019: Alaska, North Dakota, and Wyoming. California is one of 41 states that the company’s metric rates as minimal risk, with just a 3 percent chance of prices falling over the next two years. Golden State home prices increased by 7.9 percent year over year in the third quarter of 2017.

All 12 twelve California metropolitan areas for which Arch MI estimates risk are rated as minimal. The chances of price deceleration in San Jose, Oakland, and Los Angeles is 2 percent, while the likelihood of a decline in San Francisco is 3 percent. Year over year, third-quarter home prices grew by 8.5 percent in Oakland and Los Angeles, 6.8 percent in San Jose, and 6.4 percent in San Francisco.

Nationwide, the company expects home price appreciation of 2 percent to 6 percent over the next couple of years due to buyer demand that will continue to exceed tight supply conditions. Strong job growth and the aforementioned low mortgage rates should also fuel price gains.

Other housing predictions found in Arch MI’s report: the recent tax changes will impact high-priced markets like California the most; affordability will continue to deteriorate due to rising interest rates and home prices; and fewer homeowners will decide to move.

California Added Jobs at The Fastest Rate in 2017

California Added Jobs at The Fastest Rate in 2017
  • Job reports for both California and the U.S. show strong growth so far in 2018.
  • According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, America added 313,000 jobs in February, the strongest monthly gain since July 2016. Over the last three months, there were an average of 242,000 jobs added per month, and the annual total reached 2.281 million in February. Some experts warn that mild February weather could have helped boost employment and that the country’s labor market will see a pullback in March.
  • Job gains were broad-based across many sectors, including professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, trade and transportation, and education and health services. The

Bay Area Luxury Home Sales Doubled in February

Bay Area Luxury Home Sales Doubled in February

Executive Summary:

  • Sales of Bay Area homes priced above $3 million doubled in February, with most local regions posting large gains.
  • Sales of homes priced higher than $1 million also continued to grow.
  • Regionally, East Bay sales slowed, while Silicon Valley and the Wine Country saw more sales this February.
  • The Bay Area median price jumped another 16 percent year over year, though high-end sales drove a large part of the increase.
  • Buyer demand is not abating amid market challenges. Seven in 10 Bay Area homes sold for more than asking price, with the average premium increasing to 12 percent, up from 8 percent premiums observed in the last two Februarys.
  • Thirty-year, fixed-rate mortgages reached 4.46 percent as of March 8, 2018 according to a Freddie Mac survey, the highest since the spring of 2014.

Bay Area Companies Dominate List of 2018’s Best Tech Workplaces

Bay Area Companies Dominate List of 2018’s Best Tech Workplaces

 

  • Nearly 75 percent of the best tech companies to work for in 2018 are headquartered in the Bay Area.
  • San Francisco-based Salesforce.com tops the list after also ranking No. 1 on a list of 2017’s best overall workplaces.
  • Adobe, Facebook, and Google also rank in the top five for best tech work environments.

Bay Area tech heavyweights not only create innovative products that change the world, they also provide their employees with an overwhelming sense of satisfaction.

That’s according to job portal Indeed’s list of the 15 top tech companies to work for in 2018, based on nearly 18 million employer reviews on its website. Perhaps not surprisingly, 11 of those tech firms are headquartered in the Bay Area — the vast majority in Silicon Valley.

Real Estate Roundup: Silicon Valley Home Prices Soar in the Fourth Quarter

Real Estate Roundup: Silicon Valley Home Prices Soar in the Fourth Quarter

HOME PRICES HIT NEW PEAKS IN TWO-THIRDS OF U.S. REAL ESTATE MARKETS
More than 90 percent of U.S. housing markets saw annual price growth in the fourth quarter, with the San Jose metropolitan area leading the country for appreciation.

That’s according to the National Association of Realtors’ latest quarterly report, which puts the median sales price for an existing U.S. single-family home at $247,800 in the fourth quarter, up 5.3 percent on an annual basis. Prices rose year over year in 92 percent of measured markets, and 64 percent reached new all-time highs in the fourth quarter.

Silicon Valley Earns High Marks for Education in 2018

Silicon Valley Earns High Marks for Education in 2018

While high-paying and plentiful tech jobs are fueling buyer demand for Silicon Valley homes, the fact that the region’s public schools consistently rank among the best in the state is also a big draw for families.

That’s according to Niche.com’s annual rankings of the best public-school districts in California. The company gauges school quality using 10 criteria — including academics, teachers, extracurricular activities, and sports  — then assigns each school district a grade. Niche.com also factors in parent and student reviews on its website when ranking school districts.

As in last year’s rankings, three Silicon Valley school districts are at the head of the class, all receiving overall A-plus grades. 

Bay Area Claims Four of the Five Priciest U.S. Real Estate Markets in 2017

Bay Area Claims Four of the Five Priciest U.S. Real Estate Markets in 2017

In what will come as little surprise to anyone who regularly follows Bay Area real estate, four local communities rank among the most expensive real estate markets in the country this year.

That’s according to Forbes’ annual list of America’s most expensive ZIP codes, which uses a 90-day rolling average for the period ended Oct. 27 and includes both single-family homes and condominiums. Atherton‘s 94027 is once again the nation’s most expensive place in the U.S. to buy a home, with a median sales price of $9,686,154. The San Mateo County city had held that title for several years running before losing it to Manalapan, Florida last year, which took the No. 2 spot on this year’s list.

Why Do Bay Area Homeowners Sell, and Where Do They Move?

Why Do Bay Area Homeowners Sell, and Where Do They Move?

A lack of homes for sale is the Achilles’ heel of Bay Area housing markets. Industry experts and economists have consistently discussed falling inventory levels since 2012, when most of the region’s distressed inventory was absorbed. Since then, inventory levels, while fluctuating, have been on an almost constant decline. Over the last year, the monthly year-over-year supply decrease averaged 7 percent in the Bay Area. More importantly, affordable homes are disappearing at double that rate.

Luxury Segment Heats Up Bay Area Housing Markets

Luxury Segment Heats Up Bay Area Housing Markets

The first half of the year ended on a strong note for Bay Area housing markets, with 2 percent more sales in the first six months of the year when compared with last year. The East Bay saw the largest increase in sales activity, up 4 percent, while San Francisco followed with a 3 percent increase. San Francisco’s improving housing market conditions are particularly encouraging given the lull that the city faced last year.

Sizing Up the Competition: How Many Offers Are You Betting Against?

Sizing Up the Competition: How Many Offers Are You Betting Against?

Pacific Union’s recent second-quarter real estate reports showed that Bay Area housing markets are sizzling again, and buyers are facing tough competition. Overall in the Bay Area, 6 in 10 homes sold over the asking price in the second quarter, while in Alameda and San Mateo counties, almost 8 in 10 homes sold over the asking price. Naturally, some price ranges were in greater demand than others. For example, in the East Bay, competition increased for homes priced up to $2 million but cooled off for higher-priced homes.

Changing of the Tide?

Palo Alto has always been fashion-forward when it comes to real estate trends. Having worked in residential real estate in this area for 8 years, I have found that the Palo Alto housing market serves as a compass when it comes to trying to predict the next real estate pattern. Over time the neighboring cities, Menlo Park, Los Altos, Redwood City and San Carlos, will often mirror the market ebbs and flows experienced in Palo Alto.