Finally, More Bay Area Housing Inventory Arrives After 16 Months of Declines
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So many of my clients have been frustrated by the lack of home inventory in our local market. It looks like we’re finally getting a bit of relief. Read the terrific executive summary below from Pacific Union’s Chief Economist and VP of Business Intelligence:
- The Bay Area’s decline in home sales (including single-family and condominiums) improved in July, with only 3 percent less activity year over year after a 13 percent decline in June.
- Compared with last summer (May through July), sales were slower in Santa Clara, Napa, Sonoma, Marin, and San Mateo counties.
- Sales activity declined by 19 percent in Marin County and by 13 percent in Santa Clara County.
- Sales of homes priced above $1 million — and especially those above $3 million — continued to fare better than they did last year.
- Only Marin County saw a decline in sales of homes priced between $2 million and $3 million, down by 7 percent year over year.
- Inventory finally improved, up by 2 percent, after 16 consecutive months of year-over-year declines.
- Most Bay Area counties saw inventory improve in July.
- Inventory above $1 million increased by 17 percent, mostly driven by more homes for sale in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.
- Only Sonoma and Napa counties gained inventory below $1 million, up by 17 percent and by 5 percent respectively
- In contrast, San Francisco still lost inventory across all price ranges in July, declining by 14 percent. Contra Costa County saw inventory drop by 5 percent from July 2017.
- Absorption rates continued to decline in Silicon Valley and Marin County, followed by Sonoma County.
- Fewer homes sold for more than asking price in Silicon Valley, Marin County, and Sonoma County.
- Overall Bay Area absorption rates for homes priced more than $3 million increased by 11 percent points, from 34 percent last July to 45 percent this July.
- The Bay Area’s median home price rose by 12 percent from July 2017.
- We expect median price growth to return to its recent five-year-average of less than 10 percent.
If you would like to read the full report, you can find it here on the Pacific Union site.