According to a Global Insight study, the San Francisco real estate market is overvalued by approximately 36% (up from 30% at the beginning of the year). As such, San Francisco is considered to be “extremely overvalued”. What’s that mean? “Study findings indicate that 53 metropolitan areas, representing 31 percent... Read More »

This should come as no surprise to any regular SocketSite readers, but if you haven’t been reading or are new to our community here’s a bit of insight: inventories are up, transactions and selling prices are down, and Bay Area real estate agents are actually having to sell. Some... Read More »

An instant classic! A reader forwards an email they recieved promoting a friend-of-a-friends open house this weekend. The classic excerpt: “I have an open house this Sunday from 2-4 and would greatly appreciate if you stopped by and simply pretend to be interested buyers.” Brilliant. And yes, we have... Read More »

What happens when a venture capitalist and Wall Street executive get together to buy a Broadway producer’s house in the Hamptons for $14 million? According to the Wall Street Journal, they redo the landscaping, wait four months, and then re-list the property for $25 million. That’s $11m in four... Read More »

Inman echo’s our previous observations (and then some) concerning the abrupt slowdown in local open house traffic: All the signs are there: no more double parking to get a sneak peek at an open house showing; no more buyers sweating it out to make the best offer among dozens,... Read More »

For months we’ve been keeping our eyes on the steady uptick of San Francisco listings that have languished in the market and have finally succumbed to the dreaded scarlet “r” (i.e. reduced). We’ve seen nothing, however, to rival what’s starting to happen in New York. Can you believe a... Read More »

Although a 16% increase in the San Francisco for-sale listings is hardly substantial, it is directional (and important to note). According to the New York Times: For-sale listings have also swelled throughout California, according to the California Association of Realtors. In the San Francisco Bay area, they have increased... Read More »

It’s doom and gloom Wednesday. Not only are the economists at UCLA’s Anderson school calling the peak of the California real estate market, they’re putting 50/50 odds on a statewide recession by the end of 2007. California’s housing boom appears to be peaking, and the resultant slowdown is expected... Read More »

A new study by researchers at Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School suggests that housing prices in San Francisco are NOT overvalued. The study, titled “Assessing High Housing Prices: Bubbles, Fundamentals and Misperceptions”, points to “basic economic factors, including low interest rates, strong income growth and... Read More »

Nothing like being labeled a housing “Danger Zone” (as if earthquakes weren’t enough). CNN/Money confirms that the majority of buyers in San Francisco (and 49% of buyers in Oakland) are resorting to “non-traditional” loans. Not new news to our readers (other than the moniker), but the quote from the... Read More »