A look at the current buyers in the current market

Real estate article after real estate article talks about how unaffordable homes are in San Francisco. A quick look at home prices will tell you that’s the case. What’s more, ... Read More

A down market is the time to buy, but in the quiet of the new year, activity is slow while people take stock of prospects for themselves and for the wider economy. Photo: Andrew Whitmore

Real Estate

Real estate’s dog days

By Garey De Martini

Typically the real estate market takes a breath in January and February. Very little takes place until after the Super Bowl. It might be because historically we’ve been a footba... Read More

Real Estate

San Francisco’s real estate forecast for 2023

By Garey De Martini

Last January we predicted a relatively hot real estate market for San Francisco, with prices continuing to climb during the year ahead — though we noted at the time some early s... Read More

Real Estate

San Francisco real estate: It’s anybody’s guess

By Garey De Martini

The San Francisco Bay Area led the country in economic growth in 2022, with a 4.8 percent increase in GDP, according to a new report from the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise... Read More

Time to buy or time to bide your time? Photo- Jason Nin-Pixabay

Real Estate

Buyers aren’t buying this buyers market

By Garey De Martini

San Francisco homebuyers have leverage for the first time in 14 years. Ironically, many buyers are shying away from a market that now seems to favor them. Clearly, buying a home i... Read More

Real Estate

The way it once was in real estate

By Garey De Martini

Eileen Mougeot, an agent with Corcoran Global Living in San Francisco, has been in the business a long time. She is a great storyteller, so we thought we’d ask her how things ha... Read More

There might be more expectations of a downturn than there are actual signs of an economic downturn. Photo: Garey de Martini

Real Estate

Context for today’s real estate news

By Garey De Martini

Looking ahead, Zillow recently predicted a sharp slowdown in the nation’s annual home value growth from the current pace of 19.8 percent to 7.8 percent growth through June 2023.... Read More

Mortgage rates and fear of recession have hit housing expectations. Photo: Garey De Martini

Real Estate

Perspective on the housing market’s headwinds

By Garey De Martini

A recent study found that five of the 10 U.S. housing markets that have cooled the fastest this year are in northern California, including San Francisco, San José, Oakland, Sacr... Read More

More homes are on the market, but the number of sellers accepting offers was down by double digits year-over-year. Photo: Garey De Martini

Real Estate

The sky isn’t falling, but …

By Garey De Martini

Over the last several months, we’ve been reporting that while San Francisco’s residential real estate market has been extremely hot, there were some early signs that things mi... Read More

The pricier the home, the happier its sellers might be as the market softens. Photo: Garey De Martini

Real Estate

Buyer caution versus pent-up demand

By Garey De Martini

After an incredibly hot early spring start, San Francisco’s real estate market may be cooling off a bit. But just a bit. “Anecdotally, we are hearing that some buyers are s... Read More

San Francisco's a unique city, and its markets are a bit surprising now. Photo: Gary De Martini

Real Estate

May’s mixed bag of real estate news

By Garey De Martini

Sure, home prices in San Francisco are high, it’s a seller’s market with fierce competition among buyers, and single family homes are more in demand than condos. Blah-blah-bla... Read More

Some glimmer of hope for buyers — but not a lot. Photo: Hsansone17/Pixabay

Real Estate

The real estate market, two years after shelter in place began

By Garey De Martini

A year ago I wrote in this column that it had been a little over 12 months since shelter in place protocols were initiated due to the coronavirus pandemic. I wrote, “At long la... Read More

It’s no longer “location, location, location.” Now it’s “move-in ready, move-in ready, move-in ready.” Photo: Garey De Martini

Real Estate

Affordability is in the eye of the beholder

By Garey De Martini

San Francisco is not the most expensive place to live in the world. In fact, it doesn’t even crack the top 10. Bet you can’t even guess which city is the most expensive place ... Read More

Real Estate

One big real estate mystery solved

By Garey De Martini

The fact that demand for San Francisco real estate remains high is not a mystery. The city is surrounded by water on three sides, so geography alone limits the number of homes tha... Read More

Real Estate

San Francisco real estate in 2022

By Garey De Martini

In short, next year is likely to be a lot like 2021 when it comes to San Francisco real estate. A seller’s delight, and not much fun for buyers — especially if you’re lookin... Read More

Real Estate