GOING GREEN!

At the beginning of September, I suggested how telling the first few weeks of this month would be. As I write, inventory in San Francisco has spiked up over 30%, at 1,479 residential units - a high point for 2022. Similarly, in Marin, inventory is up 33% from 2-weeks ago and resembles the number of properties we were seeing prior to Spring of 2020.

Now is presenting itself as an opportune time for Buyers to get in: With more inventory on the market than just a few months ago, and many more coming on later this Autumn season..it will inevitably lead to a softening of prices and less competition at the offer table. If you can get your head around the interest rate challenges and take a strategic approach to that - I think you can successfully buy a house and maybe get to negotiate a bit more than you could have a couple of years ago. Because there is a bit more room in the market to negotiate, you can get in now with an easier price point and maybe a little bit more leverage. With financing, you can take an adjustable rate mortgage, or ask the Seller to Buy-down the rate, or even get credit from the Seller at the closing table = Win Win for both sides.

Perhaps you’ve heard of “paying” points in the lending world? Buyers & Sellers are coming together on purchase price more frequently these days; when the Buyer requests that the Seller pay down the buyer’s interest rate on their loan- this happens in the closing costs. Expect to see more of this tactic in the coming months ahead. In some cases, it is cheaper to buy a home at today's prices and current rates than it would have been to purchase early Spring paying 20% over asking price (given that property taxes are based on the purchase price).
The key for SELLERS to succeed in a transitioning market is to develop a plan and tailor the presentation of the property that results in attracting the targeted buyers. Staging emphasizes potential, and you want to market your home as complete and livable. Align the preparations to appeal directly to your target market. Under pricing is not always the answer, in fact, your pricing strategy can evolve depending upon the time of year you plan to sell.
I customize an innovative marketing plan for every property and have a team of 5-star professionals ready to assist!

Moving forward, climate will be the biggest driver of housing market dynamics in the future - as we experience extreme heat, sea levels rise, conflagration, drought, floods. Hats off to Patagonia's founder for "going purpose" this week!

I'll conclude with a quote by Yvon Chouinard

"Instead of “going public,” you could say we’re “going purpose.” Instead of extracting value from nature and transforming it into wealth for investors, we’ll use the wealth Patagonia creates to protect the source of all wealth."

myTheo's Market Snapshot!

Have you utilized the "myTheo" platform yet? If not, it's a great way to search property - and - track the market. They have a great weekly market snapshot that is sent out by email that shows the market trend on a weekly basis, and covers every local county in the Bay Area!

SF & MARIN COUNTY MARKET UPDATE AUGUST 2022

Home-price appreciation rates and overbidding statistics continue to drop across the Bay Area and the rest of the world. Bloomberg reported soaring borrowing costs and mounting financial pressure are causing double-digit price declines from Sydney to Stockholm to Seattle.

September typically sees a boost of activity and agents are reporting anecdotally that buyer-demand has increased in the previous weeks. Next month’s report will shed light on the sales occurring now.

National mortgage rates maintained their ascent this week. FreddieMac reported, ‘Mortgage rates continued to rise alongside hotter-than-expected inflation numbers this week, exceeding six percent for the first time since late 2008. Although the increase in rates will continue to dampen demand and put downward pressure on home prices, inventory remains inadequate. This indicates that while home price declines will likely continue, they should not be large.’

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