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SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Despite the pandemic and a struggling economy, the Bay Area real estate market is red hot, especially in the East Bay.

The competition prompted the Dugan family of San Francisco to take a novel approach, introducing his young family to prospective sellers in Lafayette, via U.S. Mail.

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“We thought taking a more personal approach would probably help,” said Steve Dugan. “There really wasn’t a lot currently on the market in that area and so we thought we might be able to unlock maybe some inventory that wasn’t coming out as quickly as it might’ve otherwise because of the COVID epidemic.”

“We had identified what neighborhoods they wanted to be in,” said the Dugans’ agent Ben Olsen, with Lafayette’s Vanguard Properties.

Olsen said the holiday-style card targeted to about 500-600 addresses in two Lafayette neighborhoods.

“I think there’s definitely more land out there and potential for really good schools, especially in the higher grades,” explained Tyee Dugan. “It just seems like simpler, easier living.”

The youngest Dugans are particularly interested in weather and outdoor activities. “Because I like the trails there and I like to bike ride,” said Audrey Dugan.

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“The weather his hotter there and in San Francisco, the weather is good but usually I’m kind of cool,” added Camille Dugan.
Ultimately, the goal of the mailer is to attract a seller that has yet to put their home on the market.

“Let them know we have an easy process for them and a ready buyer,” said Olsen, “and so we can take away the fear about having too many people in the house, or the process of staging and painting all that kind of stuff, and offer them a simple sale.”

While the Dugans are busy following up on leads already generated by their postcard, they also have a message for any other prospective sellers.

“If you want somebody to move into your house that will love your house and community as much as you do, we’ll be that family,” said Steve Dugan.

“And you can visit anytime, post-COVID,” added Tyee Dugan.

Anyone interested in selling their Lafayette home to the Dugans can contact Ben Olsen with Vanguard Properties at (925) 381-2151.

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Article source: https://abc7news.com/real-estate-bay-area-san-francisco-housing-market/6326258/

CASTRO VALLEY, Calif. (KGO) — It seems that not even the pandemic can drive down Bay Area home prices.

After a small dip in home sales at the start of the stay-at-home order in March, prices have rebounded and continued to climb.

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Single-family homes especially are in high demand as residents sheltering at home look for more space and a back yard.

One house in Castro Valley drew unexpected attention this past month. It has three bedrooms and two baths spaced out in 1,251 square feet. It would be an ideal home, if it wasn’t in such bad shape.

“It needs new floors. It needs new windows. It needs pretty much everything,” said realtor Max Devries as he showed off the home, which has cracked windows, moldy cabinets and wood planks lifting off the floor.

The house was owned by a woman who recently passed away. Devries listed it for $400,000 and expected to sell it for about $475,000. What happened next left him in shock.

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“It ended up north of $650,000,” said Devries, who got dozens of offers for the property. “COVID does not have an effect on home prices. Interest rates are a lot lower than last year, which is really moving the market. And there is no sign of slowing down any day soon.”

A tight supply is also driving up demand. An analysis by Zillow found that home prices in several Bay Area counties went up in May.

Alameda County saw a 7% increase, while home prices in Santa Clara County rose by 6%. Even though some people may be moving out of the area during the pandemic, there are more people wanting to move in.

“We definitely see more people coming in than leaving. The Bay Area is still very desirable. If not for the weather, it is for the employment. It’s still a strong economy,” said Devries.

The Castro Valley home got an astounding 55 offers. Realtor Janice Lee represented one of the potential buyers.

“My client put in an offer. All cash. No contingencies. Five-day close. But apparently our price was not good enough. The competition is pretty fierce for entry level homes,” said Lee, who has been selling homes in the San Francisco area for 15 years.

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She said Chinese investors have pulled back from buying homes in the Bay Area for now, but demand is still up from people wanting to move out of condominiums into homes with more space.

“People want more outdoor space. Studios are taking longer to sell,” said Lee.

Devries said the bidding war over the Castro Valley home was likely caused by investors who are having a hard time finding fixer uppers to buy and remodel.

“They will pay pretty much whatever they need to get their hands on a property and keep their people working,” said Devries.

He speculates that the buyer will probably spend an additional $150,000 to build a two-story home on the property. He expects the remodeled home to sell for more than $900,000.

Article source: https://abc7news.com/bay-area-housing-prices-sf-home-2020-in-california/6307626/

The resort community of Tahoe Donner typically has between 80 and 120 homes on the market, Overall said. Now there are only about a dozen. 

Almost all the deals are all-cash, with few or no contingencies. Overall said that if buyers need financing, they have little chance of getting a home, since sellers prefer quick, all-cash deals.

“I think it’s set a new market here,” he said.

And the numbers show no signs of slowing. Kaili Sanchez, with Sierra Sotheby’s, said the company’s pending sales in June for the Tahoe area totaled $191 million, up from $72 million last year.

July is shaping up to be even better, with $129 million in pending sales between July 1 and July 15 — more than three times last year’s total. She said that while families have long seen Tahoe as a vacation-home market, now many families are planning to stay longer. 

“They’re buying for their primary residence now,” she said. “Maybe it’s for a year, maybe longer. But they want to be outdoors.”

With so few homes for sale, many buyers have taken to buying up empty land and building a home. Local builders and architects say the waiting lists are getting longer for their services. Brokers have also started knocking on doors in hopes of persuading owners to list their homes.

“People who might have sold in a typical season are keeping their homes because they want a place to stay,” Belleci said. “The inventory is getting to the point where we are running out of homes for sale. It’s very limited.”

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/29/were-running-out-of-homes-for-sale-lake-tahoe-brokers-say.html

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  File photo of D.L. Bliss State park cove where recreational boats and paddle boarders can take advantage of secluded coves and sunny beaches.

  File photo of D.L. Bliss State park cove where recreational boats and paddle boarders can take advantage of secluded coves and sunny beaches.

  
  Photo: Michael Marfell/Getty Images
  

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File photo of D.L. Bliss State park cove where recreational boats and paddle boarders can take advantage of secluded coves and sunny beaches.

File photo of D.L. Bliss State park cove where recreational boats and paddle boarders can take advantage of secluded coves and sunny beaches.

Photo: Michael Marfell/Getty Images

Tahoe has always been a refuge for the Bay Area, a haven of ski and lake homes that provide the expansive home footprint we can only dream about in San Francisco.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, especially with no end in sight, real estate agents are reporting a record-breaking year for home sales and an overall change in how the market itself operates. Unlike the Bay Area, sellers weren’t typically presented with multiple offers or bids that were over-asking.

“What people are willing to do now to buy here, they maybe wouldn’t have been willing to do a year ago,” said Jamie Moore, a principal agent for Redfin. “You had homes that sat [on the market] for a year, and all of sudden you have multiple offers. It’s nothing I’ve seen before.”

She added that the offers have also been more aggressive, often coming in without appraisal or inspection contingencies. While this is common in the Bay Area, it’s not something the Tahoe market usually sees.

Inventory is also historically low. In June 2019, there were 817 properties on the market and 127 sold in that month, according to the Tahoe Sierra MLS. In June 2020 there were only 408 on the market, 212 sold.

Redfin had similar findings in its data, with active listings in Tahoe down about 10% in April, 21% in May and 22% in June from 2019.

“The buyer pool feels like its doubled or even tripled, and the seller pool has greatly reduced,” said Katherina Haug, Sales Associate with Sierra Sotheby’s International Realty. “Our inventory is so low right now. Something comes on the market and almost every property is getting multiple offers and at asking or over-asking.”

Google announced last week its workers won’t go back into the office until at least July 2021, while other tech giants like Facebook and Apple said they won’t send employees back until 2021. Coupled with schooling being conducted largely online in the fall, many families have reason to flee to the area.

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While most agents agree there’s a large number of Bay Area tech workers with newly granted remote work environments interested in the area, Susan Lowe, senior vice president and corporate broker for Chase International, said she thinks there’s also a greater proportion of people coming from all throughout California and even from Nevada. “What I see differently is a mindset change,” she said. “I believe people had time to reflect on what’s important in life while they were secluded at home. They want a place to come that’s safe and a better quality of life.”

Lowe said she recently sold a home that had 14 showings in four days and it received five offers. That kind of volume was something she’d never seen before this summer.

“People just want to be here at all costs,” she said. “The world is discovering that Lake Tahoe is one of the most beautiful places in the world.”

Tessa McLean is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email her at tessa.mclean@sfgate.com or follow her on Twitter @mcleantessa.

Article source: https://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/tahoe-real-estate-homes-for-sale-pandemic-15449660.php

Data reported on SocketSite on Monday reveals that a whopping 1,470 houses and condos are listed in the city right now, up 150% from this time last year. The last time the inventory hit that high was 2010.

Typically this time of year sees a dwindling of inventory before a spike again in the fall, but the unprecedented effect of the coronavirus has turned seasonal norms on their head. With downtown office towers sitting empty and ongoing fears of infection spread on public transit and tight living quarters, many residents are selling their city homes and looking elsewhere.

Conversely, real estate in more spacious, less crowded regions outside of the city is surging as people look to a future of working remotely. Lake Tahoe’s inventory is historically low right now — in June 2019, there were 817 properties on the market and 127 sold in that month. In June 2020 there were only 408 on the market, 212 sold.

The details of the abnormally large inventory in San Francisco show that both condominiums and family homes are sitting waiting for new owners, with 370 single-family homes on the market, up 90% over last year, and 1,100 condos listed this week, up 180%.

Andrew Chamings is an editor at SFGATE. Email: Andrew.Chamings@sfgate.com | Twitter: @AndrewChamings

Article source: https://www.sfgate.com/living-in-sf/article/For-sale-homes-in-San-Francisco-hits-15454894.php