Oct 2020 market report for national and SF Bay Area. Hello Sellers! If you were waiting for that time that you wished. you had taken advantage of last time and WISHED you had got the most out of your money before it went down – well, maybe this is your time. Here’s Oct housing trend and we take a look at what the economy has done nationally and what’s happening now locally in the SF Bay Area. We learn how the economist forecasters change their home price appreciation predictions. We discuss why the average U.S. citizen (not home buyers) have improved their FICO scores and proof that the American entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well during times of economic distress. And lastly, we learn why being a seller in this market is a fantastic opportunity (with existing home sales up 34% YTY and listings down -32% in the Bay Area).

Does the home I’m currently in meet my needs for the next decade?

Lynne Watanabe MacFarlane, MCDM, SRES | Realtor

Intero Real Estate Services 831-246-2743 text anytime

What’s My Home Worth? https://sfbay.areahomevalues.net/

I like to educate my clients and friends about what’s going on in the real estate market and depending on whether you’re a seller or buyer (or investor) I’ll give you the facts so you can make informed decisions. Give me a call, let’s have a cup of coffee to discuss your real estate goals, I want to help you achieve them. 831-346-2743 Lynne Please LIKE and Subscribe I’m happy to help and educate. If you know of someone who needs assistance, I’m also a PFAC affiliate (Professional Fiduciary Assoc. California- Silicon Valley) I have a great network of specialist who can assist with special needs, disabilities and seniors. I also have an advance certificate in SRES (Senior Real Estate Specialist) I partner with Intero | Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, the top brokerage network in the SF Bay Area, offering off-MLS listings, Pinnacle concierge services, lending and title to bring my clients a smooth and seamless transaction experience.

Today  we feature three properties in Redwood Estates, Ben Lomond, and Los Gatos mountains that allow multi-generational housing, acreage for spreading out and the proximity of being near major tech hubs and headquarters. The properties in Santa Cruz Mountains offer exceptional views, peace & tranquility – what better place to gather family with a sprawling compound and room to play!

21399 Lee Dr Los Gatos, CA 95033 3 bedroom/ 3 bath 2,535 SqFt, 1 acre lot Listed by Compass at 1.45M

For more info: https://bit.ly/340XLDv

Wonderful neighbors, great community and excellent Los Gatos schools.

Coming Soon – Ben Lomond 3 bedroom / 5 Bath 5,656 SqFt 200+ acres Listed at 4,250,000.

Call me for more details: 831.346.2743

485 Cresci Road Los Gatos, CA 95033

4 bedrooms / 3 bath 3,263 SqFt, 4.5 acres Listed at 1.249 by Coldwell Realty

For more info: https://bit.ly/331c9ws

This property at the time of recording has been on the market for 138 days, but don’t let the days on market worry you about the stigma of ‘something must be wrong with the property’!

Often these mountain properties have longer days on market but also remember we had the CZU fires (Here’s my vlog post https://youtu.be/gLbKNZ9SX9I ) and sometimes new buyers who aren’t used to the features of country living (such as living with septic, well water, foundation inspection, just to name a few) all these new systems can be a bit alarming to ‘city folks’! Having an inspection and becoming familiar with reports is important so buyer and seller know how to proceed.

If you’re interested in any of these listings or interested in discussing what your home is worth, give me a call 831-346-2743 text or voice.

I’ll help you get through any new transitions you’d like to make with ease and confidence so you can focus on what’s important in your life. 

831-346-2743 text anytime!

Lynne Watanabe MacFarlane, MCDM, SRES | Realtor

PFAC Silicon Valley affiliate

Intero | A Berkshire Hathaway Affiliate

Text/voice: 831-346-2743

DRE# 02066698

www.lynnemacfarlane.com

Last May, the Brookings Institution wrote about the post-Covid19 recovery as having several possible shapes of recovery (Z-shaped, V-shaped, U-shaped, W-shaped, L-shaped, and even the Nike Swoosh) but here are four major financial institutions predictions for recovery (below image).

In a Realtor.com study-  we have seen a similar V-Shape recovery, but recently there’s been a deceleration as potential sellers found it harder to list and show their home as wildfires spread through the West coast.

Housing Market Recovery Index Highlights – Week Ending September 12

California has shown that social distancing and economic resilience continue to be key factors driving local differences in the housing recovery. Per Realtor.com’s research, the spread of COVID-19 is closely linked to the housing slowdown, with markets with higher cases per capita more likely to see a bigger impact on supply and the pace of sales. The speed and sustainability of the reopening, and each market’s ability to contain COVID-19, are dictating the speed of recovery across the regions. Finally, resilient economies may have an edge in the housing recovery, and areas with strong job markets before COVID-19, especially those with thriving tech sectors (such as in the SF Bay Area), are seeing buyers and sellers reconnect faster than the rest of the country.

Below are the V-shaped curved found in the northern California communities. Notice the downward trend in Aug – Sept due to the numerous wildfires.

The higher the index value, the higher the level of recovery. The lower the index value, the lower the level of recovery.

Recovery of Roseville, Sacramento, Arden, Arcada, California from Feb 1, 2020 – Sept 1, 2020

Recovery of San Francisco, Oakland, Hayward California from Feb 1, 2020 – Sept 1, 2020

These are photos taken as my husband and our Chihuahua, Angel, crossed the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Sept 9th, 2020 –  11AM Smoke and fog

Recovery of Recovery of SJ, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara California from Feb 1, 2020 – Sept 1, 2020

Thank you to the brave California Fire Department for coordinating a fantastic job containing many of the fires in California, we applaud their heroic service as many sacrificed their time, energy away from their families to protect people and properties throughout California.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/california-fire-map/

https://www.fire.ca.gov/

How is your family and how are you handling the aftermath of the fires? I hope you and your family are doing well, but just know that it has effected everyone. It’s been a very rough few weeks here in northern California and the housing market certainly has been effected by the enormity and tragedies around us. Be safe & let me know if there’s anything we can do to assist.

Lynne Watanabe MacFarlane, MCDM, SRES | Realtor

PFAC Silicon Valley affiliate

Intero | A Berkshire Hathaway Affiliate

phone 831.346.2743

DRE# 02066698

Here’s the latest from MLSListings Silicon Valley and Coastal Regions

– Single-Family Homes Market Overview

The SF Bay Area real estate market continued to show its strength during July, even in the midst of the COVID19 pandemic.

Median prices again rose across all five MLSListings counties compared to July 2019; the lowest gain was 7% in Santa Clara County, and the highest increase in median price was 19% in San Benito County.

Closed sales remained robust across the board, both month-over-month and year-over year.

Further displaying this resilience, median days on market dropped in every county except for San Benito and new listings coming on the market grew versus last year in all counties except for Santa Cruz.

Inventory stayed problematic in all counties, with 4 out of five counties showing year-over-year decreases.

Santa Clara’s inventory is 1/3 less than this time last year and Santa Cruz inventory is down by 35%.

While San Mateo showed a modest 12% gain in inventory, it is still at historically low levels.

Even with the strong demand, premiums paid (amount paid over asking) is close to 100% in all counties and steady with both last month and last year in all counties except for San Mateo, which saw a 4% drop in average premium paid, from 105% of list last year to 101% of list this year.

In recent years co-living has gained popularity not only in younger 20’s demographics, but attracting popularity for 50+ Boomer generation. Typically, seniors who opt for the co-living lifestyle as homeowners enjoy additional income from roommates and companionship!

What’s the difference between Co-Living versus Co-Housing?

In co-living people without family ties choose to cohabitate in a single dwelling. Typically, each resident has a private bedroom but other rooms (such as kitchen, laundry room, family room) are considered shared common spaces. In a co-housing community, each individual or family has an independent living unit (single family home, condo or apt) and they might share common facilities such as pools, a library, conference or fitness space.

Silver Tsunami

In the SF Bay Area we know that the lack of affordable housing is difficult as it can hit the senior population hard. As the ‘Silver Tsunami’ and senior households continues to expand over the next two decades, households in their 80’s will be the fastest-growing age group according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. Many of those households already face cost burdens.

Santa Cruz – Watsonville Share of Households age 65+ www.jchs.harvard.edu

As the cost of senior communities continue to rise, along with visitation restrictions which COVID19 has placed on family members not being allowed into these senior communities, the desire for multi-generational housing continues to escalate. These are hard questions all families must decided what is important to them. Families are looking for more options as our lifestyle has shifted during these stressful health crisis times our community and family interdependence has become of greater necessity.

What are Co-Living Advantages?

1. Sharing household responsibilities can lessen the load and housemates can have complimentary benefits such as one roommate’s ability to drive to the store and another can prep food and cook. This might allow individuals to live independent and active lives.
2. Fewer seniors own their own homes these days, more are likely to have a mortgage or even a second mortgage. Co-living can help homeowners afford to stay in their home but creating passive income with rent. Sharing space means dividing up utility costs and home maintenance expenses too.
3. Loneliness is one aspect of aging-in-place that co-living can help remedy. A sense of belonging and community can be nurtured with scheduled co-living events such as “Italian Night!” and plan cooking a dinner while playing Italian opera and watch a favorite Italian movie!

Preventing Co-Living Conflicts

Create a written agreement outlining who pays for what and when. Housemates with declining cognitive abilities and/or mobility issues can make living together difficult so a mutually agreed upon rental contract will help avoid co-living conflicts.

Make sure to interview to find the right fit housemate. Look for someone who is financially stable, and shares your interest, values and lifestyle. Always discuss privacy expectations and do consider looking outside an age range. When meeting with a prospective roommate for the first time, always meet in a neutral public location for safety reasons. Get references from previous roommates and consider a background check and credit check; protect oneself.

Consider a trial period and see if all personalities get along! Will pets or habits become irritating after two weeks? Will you need to consider ‘overnight guests’ and does each roommate need to seek permission and could this be considered an invasion of privacy for some? Some people need more privacy than others and having a written agreement can help communication and expectation.

It can be a wonderful experience co-living with others. Co-living can be multi-generational or the same age, but whatever one decides to do I hope you’ll enjoy the company and appreciate your differences!

** Looking for a Multi-Family Home? Click here for a Search for Single Family Homes with 5+ bedrooms, CA

If you’re interested in other cities, let me know, I can set-up your customized search to assist your needs.

1. Housing Demand – Growth in online search activity
2. Home Price – Growth in asking prices
3. Housing Supply – Growth of new listings
4. Pace of Sales – Difference in time-on-market

The index then compares the current status “to the last week of January 2020 market trend, as a baseline for pre-COVID market growth. The overall index is set to 100 in this baseline period. The higher a market’s index value, the higher its recovery and vice versa.”

The graph below charts the index by showing how the real estate market started out strong in early 2020, and then dropped dramatically at the beginning of March when the pandemic paused the economy. It also shows the strength of the recovery since the beginning of May.It’s clear to see that the housing market is showing promising signs of recovery from the deep economic cuts we experienced earlier this spring. As noted by Dean Mon, Chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB):

“As the nation reopens, housing is well-positioned to lead the economy forward.”

The data today indicates the housing market is already on the way up.

Bottom Line

Staying connected to the housing market’s performance over the coming months will be essential, as we continue to evaluate exactly how the housing market is doing in this uncharted time ahead.

Looking at today’s Santa Clara County inventory we’re seeing some ‘normalization’ as we are approaching mid-June.

Looking locally at Santa Clara County, here’s a comparison of the last two years with this year’s Active and Pending listings. Blue indicates 2918 (which was a banner year, partially due to the low inventory), Orange indicated last year 2019 and today 2020 in Red.

Pendings in Santa Clara County SFR took a big dip, pandemic related but the good news is that in June we’re quickly rising and catching up to 2019 and 2018 numbers. (See below)

From MLS/Aculist I pulled the latest data (June 16th) taken from the 5 Bay Area counties (San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito) for New Listings (yellow) & Sold Homes (blue) from March 16 – June 15th.

As indicated, once we could begin showing properties the listings increased. (See below graph)

Here is a market snapshot from May 2020 comparison to last year’s May 2019 for single family homes and condo and townhouses.

**If you are interested in receiving market data in your neighborhood, let me know, I’m here to assist you with explaining what’s going on in your community. 

Lynne MacFarlane, MCDM, SRES

Your Link Between SF Bay to Monterey Bay

PFAC Silicon Valley affiliate

831.346.2743 text/cell

Lmacfarlane @ intero . com

Congratulations to first time homeowners, Viv and Steve!

~ Welcome, welcome, welcome to beautiful San Jose, California! ~

I admired their fortitude during multiple offers in a fierce competitive market and wanting to own a single family home (vs. condo/townhouse). They knew that a single family home would appreciate more, they had to jump into the real estate market, and after discussing their desire to put in ‘sweaty equity’ by doing their own remodeling and cosmetic fixes rather than buying a home that was ‘turn-key’ they had to make difficult decisions that was within their budget. They ultimately found a home with unique character, attractive curb appeal, and with a detached garage which could be used as a workshop or possibly an ADU (granny unit) for passive income. The larger lot is big enough to build an addition…their options are there for future use.

Congratulations again to Viv and Steve on making an offer to a home that will forever be remembered as the Valentine’s Day, gift of love, a cozy home!

Built-in cabinets, wide baseboard, casement windows from every room.