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According to SmartAsset, the Bay Area has three of the top five cities wi the highest price-to-rent ratios in the country. Any ratio above 21 means that renting is generally advantageous. San José has a ratio of 42.2; San Francisco is 37.3 and Oakland stands at 32.
Of course, this is only one indicator and individual circumstances vary such as income, available downpayment, and how long one plans on staying in the home.
Millennials – those born between 1981 and 1996 – have long lagged behind other generations in homeownership as only 43 percent owned homes while an average of 65 percent of other generations had purchased a home.
of course, there are many reasons for this: high student debt, slow wage increase, rising home prices, low inventory etc. But that all seems to be changing as millennials have accounted for 43 percent of all home purchases in 2022.
Many used the pandemic to pay down debt and stabilize their financial situation as they move into more job security. Is their time at hand?
While much has been made of the “cooling” of the housing market, the fact is both home prices and rents are still rising, just not at the absurd rate of six months ago.
Continued rising mortgage rates, coupled with high inflation, are keeping many first-time buyers out of the housing market and severely impacting renters.
As a result, applications for mortgages hit a 22-year low in June as many would-be buyers adopt a “wait-and-see” attitude.
It’s certainly not a buyer’s market yet, but there are signs that things may be moving in that direction.
The cooling of home prices in the Bay Area continued in June with the largest monthly drop during this time of the year in at least 30 years. Prices declined 7 percent on average from May to June.
Analysts pointed to the usual reasons for the drop: rising interest rates, homes staying longer on the market along with the uncertain economy.
Alameda County saw the largest decline at 8 percent, while Contra Costa County homes dropped 5 percent.
They say the real estate market is slowing, but don’t tell that to the buyers – or sellers – in the following zipcodes. The percentages are the increases in home values from June 2021 to June 2022
A new housing project in San José, called The Kelsey Ayer Station, has begun construction north of the city’s downtown area in the Ryland district.
The development will amenities to aid those with disabilities with support for low-income residents.
The planned construction is scheduled to take two years to complete.
Ever since the start of the pandemic in 2020, California residents have been hitting the roads and heading for the borders in search of … jobs? Cheaper living? Friendlier business climate?
Regardless, only Illinois has seen more residents moving out in the last 2+ years. For the first time since 2013, San Jose has seen its population dip below 1 million, and San Francisco has seen a 3 percent decline.
And where are they going? Texas is the top destination, fueled, no doubt by the fact that Tesla, oracle and Hewlett Packard have all moved their headquarters there.
According to Redfin, the “fastest cooling housing markets” in the U.S. include: San Jose (1), Sacramento (2), Oakland (3), Stockton (5), and San Francisco (10). All were down significantly in pending sales.
Meanwhile, prices dropped slightly: San Francisco at 0.1 percent, San Jose at0.77 percent.
Rising mortgage rates continue to price many homebuyers out of the market. However, analysts say that low inventory will keep prices from dropping signficantly.
Despite a 10 basis point drop last week – and 24 over the last two weeks, mortgage applications were down 5.4 percent last week. This was down 17 percent from a year ago.
Meanwhile, home inventory increased by 18.7 percent from June 2021 (although there are 53 percent fewer homes on the market than in June 2019.
Finally, the average nationwide home purchase loan declined by $8,000 from the prior week, although still up 21 percent from June 2021.
