SF Bay Real Estate Market News

?Residential real estate defied all the negative forecasts the first half of this year but economic pressures threaten the second half.

Most analysts are still chanting??Doom Loop ?mantras about commercial real estate,?forecasting a mid 2024 rebound is considered optimistic . New venues are opening downtown, and?defying the doom loop ?narrative. The mayor wants to try a new?tax break to stimulate? downtown - which seemed to work very well for Ed Lee years ago, combined with an AI boom some hope this will cause?another gold rush . As?Westfield mall's owner turns the property over to the lender , I'm hearing whispers that a wealthy foreign national who married into the political apparatus is well positioned to acquire it.?Credit Bureau firm?Transunion invested in a local ?fintech firm.?UCSF closed their Laurel? Heights Campus. At least one?tech firm is considering a return? to SF.

Berkeley's average price was essentially flat, but down slightly to $1,528,432 in June from $1,528,549?in May. Cal has a green light to?cut acres of trees to decrease fire risks . Berkeley has very little activity, but the individual properties have been able to present fascinating stories such?a colonial built by the infamous architect Julia Morgan . 68?new homes are being planned on Shattuck ?pending review, and the?Bancroft Hotel conversion? is moving forward (115 homes). Housing affordability has exacerbated the?local staffing crisis .?

Oakland's average sales price went up slightly to $1,086,063 in June from $1,043,277 in May.?Evictions are getting easier as the moratorium ends;?harder? as a new law kicks in. Watch for a?new 5 story development? on San Pablo in West Oakland.?PG&E's new Oakland HQ ?is moving forward. Lincoln University is?selling a building downtown .

San Jose's average price went up to $1,490,234?in June from $1,393,759 in May. Amid infighting over it, San Jose passed a budget with?reduced spending on affordable housing .?Downtown is?adding jobs and losing residents .?A BART boom in the Berryessa neighborhood around the new(ish) station should?add hundreds of homes? to it. Lake?Cunningham on the East? Side is slated for restoration.?A?new blight task force ?may make life hard for some business owners as part of a program designed?not?to add costs to the cities budget. We could see another?residential tower by Caltrain downtown . San Jose has been cited as the only city in the Bay?where rents went up . While a Denver builder plans to?force through 75 townhomes ?in West SJ, a $139M joint venture intends to?build 135 affordable ?homes in Downtown. There are plans to connect BART to Downtown, where Caltrain is and the Sharks play.

BART, which has a goal to build 20,000 homes with 55% being affordable, received an?additional $3.5M from the state ?to build affordable housing.?

On the national level?We should watch new construction,?Eviction activity as pandemic era protections end , Inflation & Interest rates. The first two combined?foreshadow a drop in rent ?prices. I certainly agree with Barbara Corcoran when she says?prices could surge if interest rates drop . Another forecast suggests this will?happen by 2025 . When the Fed held rates steady last month the?expectation was mortgage rates would drop . The?housing shortage is a national issue . Foreclosures?are rising . Concern about?AirBnB revenue declines might be misplaced . New home sales?surged in May ?creating confidence in the face of inflation.?With many regretting waiting for?prices to fall as rates rose , the stress this market puts on Buyers can?inspire hatred .?No matter who you talk to they should admit that?prices are still going up .??

On the global level a?macro snapshot ?suggests that while most countries saw appreciation, it does not add up to the declines in the countries where prices fell including Canada and Australia

While?newer ones tend to disagree , most?forecast home prices going down ?the second half of this year, a viewpoint that may?over weight CPI .?Record low supply ?and high demand has kept prices?up in the Bay ?Area . The wealth gap is?widening in Silicon Valley, ?exacerbating our affordability crisis. Insurance companies are shying away from?new construction in risky areas , this decreases future supply while a?density bonus law could increase it .?

Give me a call for a quick update or better yet to help you get a great deal!

Never too busy for you or your referrals,

-Uche

Uche Nchekwube, M.B.A.

REALTOR??

Dre#01750107

415.322.0774

[email protected]

https://www.uche.realtor

Graphs are typically county level data unless otherwise stated. Information contained in this email is a summary and not complete. For information purposes only. Data is sourced from San Francisco MLS and/or related sources, unless otherwise stated or referenced via hyperlink all Data and other information contained, linked or otherwise referenced is for information purposes only. Uche Nchekwube is not an attorney. No legal advice, tax advice or investment advice or offer for sale is being made here in this email information subject to errors, omissions and change at any time. A subscription may be required to access full articles referenced?reporting delays including reporting of unlisted sold homes may cause discrepancies?in price data referenced contact us for more information.??Copyright ? 2023 Uche Nchekwube, M.B.A. Independent Broker, All rights reserved.