Bay Area home prices jumped in

BAY AREA HOME PRICES JUMPED IN MARCH

MOSTLY BEFORE THE LOCKDOWN EMERGENCY

In a normal situation, when the demand for a commodity drops, anyone would expect that the prices would drop as well in order to attract potential clients who maybe were scared by the prices earlier. In the Bay Area, that is not the case when it came to home prices. According to the California Association of Realtors. Bay Area home prices increased substantially in March despite a decline in sales as compared to the same time last year. This was happening before the effects of the coronavirus pandemic came knocking on the doors of the US, forcing leading to a lockdown to control the spread of the virus.

Eric Hooks

The housing market changed drastically since Covid-19 was reported in the US forcing businesses to remain temporarily closed and people to stay in their premises. Data from various real estate dealers for the period when coronavirus arrived in the US show a huge decline in pending sales, new listings, new closings, and a significant rise in homes being pulled off the listing.

A March report by the Statewide Association showed that towards the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the Bay Area housing market was going on well in terms of prices. When Covid-19 was first reported in the US, the average cost for an existing single-family home in Bay Area shot up to $1,009,790 in March, which is an 11% increase from February and 7.4% the same period last year. The number of sales that closed in March in the Bay Area also increased by 30.1% from the previous month, but that was a drop by 12.1% compared to the same period last year. Country-wise, house sales dropped in March by 11.5% from the previous month and 6.1% from the same period last year.

In a news release by the association, Jeanne Radsick, who is the association’s president and a Bakersfield Realtor, explains the sales drop as “only a prelude to what we’ll see in April and May because sales were still modestly strong during the first two weeks of March.” He also states that a 25% decline in pending sales is a suggestion that “the decline could extend beyond the next couple of months.”

The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly slowed down sales, but according to Jeff Tucker, an economist at Zillow, buyers and sellers have retreated from the market at an equal rate. Sellers withdrew their homes from the listing while demand and the prices of the homes remained the same. And according to Jeff, “No sign of a slowdown yet.”

According to Zillow data, new listings towards the end of March fell by 50% from the same period last year in San Francisco and the East Bay. In the San Jose metro area, new listings decreased by 34% from the same period last year. The declines were some of the worst experienced in the country, Jeff stated. “We entered the crisis with pretty much record low inventory,” Jeff said.

In other regions, the story is not much different. In the South Bay region, five counties have recorded a decline in the number of closed sales in March. These counties are San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito. From March 17 onwards, the numbers have declined to 1, 872 from 2,290 the same time last year in the five counties. New listings also fell from 3768 to 2063 the same time last year. Also, according to MLSListings, this year has seen the number of cancelations or withdrawal from listings increase from 670 in last year to 1140 this year.

The housing market has changed significantly since Covid-19 was first reported in the US forcing people to remain locked in their homes. The pandemic brought the closure of most businesses, and only the essential businesses are opening doors to offer their services. Fortunately, real estate was categorized under essential services. Despite this categorization, real estate agents are required to adhere to social distancing strictly. The agents are not allowed to hold one-on-one house showing unless the home is vacant or strictly staged in order to follow the public health measures. To adhere to the social distancing measures, there cannot be more than one agent and two buyers in a house at the same time. Also, everyone must have a mask, and the house commonly touched surfaces are disinfected. However, due to the uncertainties surrounding the current situation, both economically and physical wellbeing, many buyers and sellers have halted their plans unless in a case where the need to buy a house is too pressing.

If you need to know anything about the home prices and the general housing market in Bay Area, feel free to contact Eric Hooks, our VIP Agent from Bay Area. Being a real estate investigator and realtor for California State, Hooks comes with a lot of experience and knowledge. Before being an investigator and realtor, he served as a Consumer Affairs Representative for California Public Utilities Commission. Eric will be just the realtor you need for any Bay Area housing enquiries. You can reach him at https://thepowerisnow.com/erichooks/.

Works cited;

https://www.sfchronicle.com/ business/networth/article/Bay-Areahome-prices-jumped-in-Marchmostly-15206485.php. https://www.nationalmortgagenews. com/articles/even-pandemic-cantslow-bay-area-home-prices.

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