Real Estate Archives - Green Escrow Services, Inc

Millennials are saving up

November 19, 2019 By Geoffrey Disch Leave a Comment

With the price of a “starter home” in the East Bay at a cool $547,000 (in the South Bay it’s $736,000!) millennials – those between 22 and 38 – who want to buy are spending less in traditional ways: cutting back on entertainment and dining out, working extra, and postponing vacations. But some millennials are taking saving a step further by contributing less to retirement savings, delaying doctor visits, and even reducing or canceling health insurance completely.

How difficult is it to purchase a home these days in the Bay Area? In 1960, the average Bay Area family paid twice their annual family income for a home. These days, it’s NINE times their annual income.

Real estate trends in 2020

November 12, 2019 By Geoffrey Disch Leave a Comment

It’s that time of year again – looking ahead to 2020 and trying to forecast what’s to come.

Home values have increased in the United States by 5.2 percent over a one year period and many experts expect prices to rise by 2.2 percent in 2020. This is based on the fact that prices have slowed considerably in their percent of increase.

Analysts agree that this could be a good thing as it will give more prospective buyers a chance to purchase than has been possible in years past.

Certainly, more to come…

To stage or not to stage

October 24, 2019 By Geoffrey Disch Leave a Comment

Staging is an effort to maximize a home’s sale potential by showing it’s full potential. Many realtors insist it helps potential buyers to visualize actually living there.

These days, staging is almost a requirement in the Bay Area. According to a 2019 study by the National Association of Realtors, staging helps a home sell faster and for more money than a vacant one.

For those times when staging is not an option, it is recommended to market the home privately, before the MLS listing, to give it an air of exclusivity.

Hispanic homeownership rate climbing

October 10, 2019 By Geoffrey Disch Leave a Comment

Despite ongoing affordability and discrimination issues, the homeownership rate of Hispanics is climbing. Currently, Latinos are buying homes at a higher rate than the overall U.S. population according to a recent Zillow analysis.

The good news is that mortgage denial rates for Latinos have dropped considerably from 31.3 percent in 2008 to 15.5 percent in 2016.

Want to get some sleep? Move to SF

October 7, 2019 By Geoffrey Disch Leave a Comment

According to a nationwide study based on light and noise pollution, San Francisco is the city second-most conducive to a good night’s sleep. Only San Antonio, Texas scored higher.

The study also featured a survey and 45 percent of San Franciscans said they got more than 7 hours of sleep; 56 percent reported high-quality sleep, and 82 percent believe they live “in a peaceful environment.”

Conversely, San Jose came in 17th place, one sport lower than New York, the city that never sleeps.

Bay Area real estate prices continue to decline

September 30, 2019 By Geoffrey Disch Leave a Comment

For the sixth straight month, Bay Area real estate prices declined according to the most recent report by CoreLogic. The median price for a new or existing home or condo in the Bay Area in August was $810,000, down 0.7 percent from July and down 2.4 percent from August 2018.

In addition, the total number of sales in August also declined with 7,247 transactions down 2.3 percent from July and down 5.7 percent from August 2018.

Still, affordability remains a big problem in the Bay Area.

Is early fall the best time to buy?

September 24, 2019 By Geoffrey Disch Leave a Comment

Good selection, less competition, and sellers anxious to make a deal. Is early fall the best time to buy a home? Realtor.com thinks so; in fact, in 41 of 53 metropolitan areas they tracked, this week – the last week of September – may have the most favorable conditions of the entire year.

The numbers seem to bear this out: competition is down 26 percent, yet there are 6 percent more homes on the market. Moreover, 6 percent of the homes have had a price reduction and overall are 2 percent less than their peak pricing.

Many analysts agree that while it’s not a buyers market yet, it isn’t a sellers market either.

Millennials aren’t buying, they’re investing in real estate

September 19, 2019 By Geoffrey Disch Leave a Comment

While many millennials find themselves priced out of the real estate market, many are investing in real estate in other parts of the country. Using online platforms such as Roofstock, they are able to pick properties on risk factors and various returns.

Generally smaller cities offer the best opportunities for consistent monthly returns. In some markets, appreciation of the real estate asset outpaces the monthly cash flow.

According to CoreLogic, 11 percent of single-family homes sold in 2018 were bought by investors, the highest percentage on record.

Bay Area Apartment Construction Increasing

September 16, 2019 By Geoffrey Disch Leave a Comment

The good news is that major metropolitan areas in the Bay Area – San Jose, Oakland, and San Francisco – are seeing a significant increase in multi-family/apartment construction. For example, the San Jose metro area is seeing an increase of 283 percent – 1,579 units last year to 6,044 this year. Oakland is adding 1850 units and San Francisco, 1204.

The not-so-good news is that other cities such as Seattle and Miami are adding twice the number of units. The Dallas-Fort Worth area is adding 22,000 this year alone!

Although there is still much to be done, experts agreed that the Bay Area is heading in the right direction and noted that building in California is more difficult – and expensive – due to the state’s environmental regulations and the high cost of construction materials.

Yes, your commute is getting worse

September 12, 2019 By Geoffrey Disch Leave a Comment

If you commute to work in the Bay Area you don’t need to be told that your commute is getting worse. According to a recent analysis, the number of “super commuters” – those whose commute is 90 minutes or longer – increased by 102 percent in Contra Costa County from 2009 to 2017. Cities such as Antioch are literally full of super commuters with the average commute taking 92.2 minutes each way, up from 73 minutes in 2008.

According to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, traffic congestion – freeway driving at 35 miles per hour or slower – increased by 80 percent from 2010 to 2017. Nearly one-third of all workers cross at least one county line to get to their jobs.

One possible way to ease the travel time would be a regional express bus network that could travel in toll lanes.