There are two market indicators that don’t often make headlines. Open house traffic and homes for sale that were recently purchased. Think of open houses as the canary in the coal mine. Long before we have closed sales to serve as comparables, to establish value, and even before real estate professionals start sharing information about pending sales, there are the open house numbers. Sales prices have softened over the last couple of years, but activity was robust, and open houses were full of buyers.
Those buyers were hopeful that rates would soon come down. The first week of March, though, brought an audible gasp to the market. Fewer buyers, lower offers, less hysteria. The Bay Area housing market is always associated with a frenetic energy - less than two weeks on market, multiple offers, going hundreds of thousands over asking. But since early March, the open houses have been less busy. Instead of people waiting outside before the open house even starts, I saw people saunter in a few minutes later. The sheer number of open houses has grown as the number of listings has risen. The promise of lower rates, made many times since 2022 when rates began to rise, did not materialize. And the market, since the new administration in Washington kicked off a tariff war, has been erratic. The condo market was stagnating even last year, but now single-family homes are also feeling the slowing of the market.
Out in the real estate front lines, it does not feel like a crash or a burst bubble. But things are slowing and cooling. This can be good news for buyers, as long as they are not expecting a miracle. The door is opening to let more buyers in. Sellers with a home in good condition and well-marketed are still going to do well, as long as they do not expect to match the feverish prices of 2022. In some areas, some property prices have slid back further in real estate history to the late 20-teens. If you have questions about a specific area or a specific property, drop me a text or a call. Happy to help you navigate the market on the buy or the sell side.
