East Bay Real Estate Newsletter

JULY, 2011 STILL GOING STRONG

It’s been a busy spring with volume of sold homes up considerably in most of our local markets.  Inventory is much better than last year with a nice range of options for buyers.  And the buyers are out shopping and buying.  We are seeing lots of them at our open houses, week after week.  Lower interest rates and pent up demand from last year’s shortage of inventory are motivating the demand.  About half of our sales at The Grubb Company receive more than one offer.

Still, prices have softened and buyers are very picky, wanting good condition and good value in a home.   They are very risk averse and want houses with few or no potential market flaws in case they need to sell in a few years.  So sellers can’t take them for granted and do much better if they fully disclose their home’s condition, clean inside and out, paint and stage it and price very, very carefully.

How long will this robust market last?  It is anybody’s guess.  The messages about the future are mixed.  With government debt soaring there is pressure for interest rates to rise and the jumbo conforming loan ceiling to drop, which will definitely have a cooling effect on the market. On the other hand, the economy does seem to be stablizing and in places even making upward strides.  And private lenders assure us that they can take up the slack as the government backs off their home mortgage supports.  In fact, private mortgage insurance is just coming back into the market after a long hiatus, which will allow buyers to put less than 20% down and not have to pay 5 years of mortgage insurance.  And jumbo loan rate are coming down.  So even though it’s summer the market is still going strong!!

Quarterly Report

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Sales Volume <$500K
Sales Volume $500K - $1M
Sales Volume $1M - $2M
Sales Volume $2M+
Total Sales Volume
Median Home Price