San Francisco Schtuff

In the past several weeks we’ve started to see a change in the San Fran real estate market. While this remains a competitive real estate market, we currently have more homes on the market than at any point in 2005. What does this mean for buyers and sellers — Here are a few thoughts:

For Buyers – What a great time to consider a home purchase. As previously mentioned — there are plenty of options out there for the home buyer. While interest rates have been on the rise in the past few months, they are still historically low — Couple that with the amount of inventory on the market, and suddenly it makes sense to consider purchasing a home. We ask our home buyers to create a list of things they are looking for– typically we push them to prioritize this list into a “Must Have” and a “Wish List.” Examples being — perhaps you’ve decided a Must Have item is parking and some outdoor space — and your Wish List items are a view and a stainless steel kitchen. Earlier this year — if you as a buyer were able to find a property that satisfied your “Must Have” list, it was our advice to write an aggressive offer. In the current market, our home buyers have been able to satisfy their “Must Have” list as well as many items on their “Wish List.” In addition, the number of properties recieving multiple offers has diminished — allowing buyers to achieve many of their goals, within their budget.

For Sellers — Now more than ever, the key for sellers is pricing your home properly from the onset. While many properties still see multiple offers and a jump in price, more and more properties are selling for the list price. Garrett and I have consistently advised our sellers to list their properties for a price they are willing to accept. In my opinion, this is a far more honest approach to real estate. We’ve had great success in this changing market because our sellers, with our professional advice, are appropriately pricing their property. Are multiple offers possible — most certainly they are — but in my opinion, gone are the days of underlisting your house by 10 – 15% and driving the price up with 10 – 12 offers. This has been a tactic widely used by several brokers in the city — we’re starting to see this backfire as home buyers now have options and will not participate in wild overbidding. Again, it’s still a great time to sell a house in San Francisco — just be realistic and price the home appropriately.