East Bay - Intero Real Estate Market Report - January 2016

A Berkshire Hathaway Affiliate

Buy.Sell.Stay.

January 2016 Market Report East Bay Berkeley, Danville, Dublin, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, Newark, Oakland, Pleasanton, San Ramon, San Leandro, Union City

2016 Intero Real Estate Services Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate and a wholly owned subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc. All rights reserved.

Data provided by Trendgraphix February 2016. All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This is not intended as a solicitation if you are listed with another broker.

Executive Insights Introducing Intero Real Estate’s January 2016 East Bay Market Report It’s just the beginning of 2016, the year is new, there are endless possibilities, and we predict the future to be promising! At least that’s how Tom Tognoli, President & CEO of Intero Real Estate Services, Inc. feels. “I know the financial markets have been a bit rocky the last few months, but when you step back and look at the fundamentals of the Bay Area real estate market, it’s strong! Companies like Apple, LinkedIn, Netflix, Facebook, and Google are flush with massive amounts of cash, they are acquiring land and buildings to add more employees, and interest rates are still at ridiculous low levels. Combine that with the Bay Area being one of the nicest places on the planet to live and it makes me optimistic!”

As January rounds out the holiday season, this year we found the Bay Area market started on a somewhat slow note – which was to be expected. As families celebrated the holidays, participated in numerous local Super Bowl events, and endured El Niño, housing sales slowed down. All of which is to be expected at this time of year. So as the weather becomes warmer and the flowers begin to bloom a natural increase in activity should present itself.

Overall, we’re seeing the market to be slightly in favor of sellers. Inventory throughout the Bay Area has been somewhat low, giving buyers less to choose from and sellers more flexibility with higher prices.

This can be largely attributed to the massive job growth throughout the area. California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) projected statewide job growth to be 2.3% in California this year, creating the lowest unemployment rate we’ve seen over the past 5 years. To put it simply, more jobs means more people need houses, so as the year progresses, we will see more homes being built to accommodate new jobs, and more homes being put on the market.

C.A.R. Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton Young echoes these sentiments, and provides a detailed outlook: “The foundation for California’s housing market remains strong, with moderating home prices, signs of credit easing, and the state continuing to lead the nation in economic and job growth,” she stated. “However, the global economic slowdown, financial market volatility, and the anticipation of higher interest rates are some of the challenges that may have an adverse impact on the market’s momentum in 2016. Additionally, as we see more sales shift to inland regions of the state, the changes in mix of sales will keep increases in the statewide median price tempered.”

Okay – that may have been a little bit much and sounded a little confusing, we know. That’s why we’ve taken a much closer look, and broken it down into bite sized, easy to understand pieces for you. The market changes in meaningful ways each month, and we want to make sure that you’re always provided with the most accurate and up to date information possible so you’re always well informed. If you want to buy, sell, or just get a general sense of your neighborhood, this report has you covered.

Market Highlights East Bay

Total Homes for Sale

630

Luxury Homes for Sale*

17

*Homes for sale above $3 million.

Total Homes Sold

Average Days on Market

Average List Price

Average Sold Price

472 $1,016,000

35

$861,000

Inventory East Bay

Total Number Of Homes:

For Sale

Sold

482

472

630

764 772

905

924

906

1130

1282

1257 1023

1232 1190

511

600 499

400

752

768 507

600

785 748

800

826 798

928 963

1000

1055 1017

1200

1145 1174

1400

200 0 14-Nov

14-Dec

15-Jan

15-Feb

15-Mar

15-Apr

15-May

15-Jun

15-Jul

15-Aug

15-Sep

15-Oct

15-Nov

15-Dec

16-Jan

Inventory Insights Similar to last month, January’s market favored sellers.

Total property sales in January followed a seasonally slow trend, as expected, and were slightly down compared to this time last year and the previous month.

This is historically normal, as people tend to put buying and selling on hold due to weather and in favor things like spending time with their families, traveling, enjoying large events like the Super Bowl, and so on.

The total number of homes available for sale in January marginally increased compared to last year, and similarly compared to this time last month. This smaller inventory means that buyers who have been waiting to buy will have fewer homes to choose from, which is great news for sellers! As winter passes and spring begins, we’ll begin to see more homes on the market accompanied by more sales.

The luxury market remained fairly consistent, with almost no change in home sales compared to both last year and the previous month.

As with the non-luxury market, January continued to recover from the winter lull in home sale activity. But as the year progresses and the seasons change, the market will change, too!

Inventory By The Numbers Home Price Range

Homes For Sale

Year Over Year % Difference

< $500K

142

-17%

$500K $1M

285

5.60%

$1M - $3M

189

33.10%

$3M - $5M

13

-7.10%

$5M - $10M

4

-20%

$10M +

0

-100%

Pricing East Bay

Average Prices in $,000:

Active Price

Sold Price

1200

1000

$943

$1,003

$985

$963

800

$1,000

$836 $765

$758

14-Nov

14-Dec

600

$722

$1,048

$1,070 $1,059

$872

$875

$878

15-Apr

15-May

15-Jun

$1,027

$888

$996

$853

$1,010 $1,011

$831

$763

$816

$983

$995

$829

$826

$1,016

$861

400

200

0

15-Jan

15-Feb

15-Mar

15-Jul

15-Aug

15-Sep

15-Oct

15-Nov

15-Dec

16-Jan

Pricing Insights The average “For Sale” price in January was $1,016,000; this difference is pretty small compared to both last year and the previous month with very slight increase.

The average “Sold” price saw a fair increase from this time last year and a slight increase from the previous month, at $861,000. While the difference between the average listing price and the average sold price is a decent chunk of change, it’s still within reason when it comes to home sales. This is great news for both buyers and sellers, and shows that the power of negotiation can make a monumental difference!

Since we are still getting over the fervor of winter and the holidays, it seems that demand has yet to catch up with supply. As the year progresses, however, demand will continue to grow, leading to more competitive pricing.

Pricing By The Numbers

Average Price Per Square Foot.

$456

2.4%

Month over Month

On The Market East Bay

Average Days On Market 45

41

40 35 35 30

31

31

31 28

30 25 25

21

21

15-Apr

15-May

20

20

21

27

23

20 15 10 5 14-Nov

14-Dec

15-Jan

15-Feb

15-Mar

15-Jun

15-Jul

15-Aug

15-Sep

15-Oct

15-Nov

15-Dec

16-Jan

0

Days on Market Insights The Days on Market (DOM) shows, on average, how long properties are on the market before they sell. The amount of time it takes a house to sell can help us determine whether buyers or sellers are having a more favorable month.

This Januaryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DOM was 35 days, just a few days longer than the previous month and a few days shorter than last year. In this sense, it was a great month for buyers; the longer a house is on the market, the more likely it is that there will be room for negotiation, and lowered prices.

Sellers should not be discouraged, though! Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quite common for a house to be on the market for at least a month. And again, demand will continue to grow, eventually causing competitive bidding and much faster sales. Stay tuned, sellers!

DOM By The Numbers Home Price Range

Days on Market

Year Over Year % Difference

< $500K

33

0%

$500K $1M

33

15%

$1M - $3M

37

22%

$3M - $5M

60

53%

$5M - $10M

0

N/A

$10M +

387

0%