San Francisco Real Estate - Residential

San Francisco Real Estate Market Update for the week ending July 5, 2009

Realtor.com Survey Tells A Lot About Today’s Housing Market

Earlier this week Realtor.com released a survey discussing some of the key factors which are motivating buyers in today’s market. It was an interesting read and I thought I’d share the highlights:

• “Price declines and low interest rates are motivating millions of home buyers to shop for bargains in the most affordable housing market in 28 years, yet at the same time only one in ten of today’s home owners say they have delayed selling their home due to those same market conditions.”
• “Affordability is clearly driving more than two thirds (65.2%) of potential buyers back into today’s housing market. Nearly one of five prospective buyers (19.6%) say foreclosure bargains in their communities would motivate them to purchase a home, the most important reason they’re interested in buying in the near future.”
• “An additional 15.5 percent said they’re motivated to buy soon because they think prices are as low as they will go and another 15.5 percent said they were motivated to buy before interest rates rise. For 14.6 percent of first time home buyers, the Federal $8,000 tax credit is the impetus to purchase a new home in the future.”
• “In the past year, the Housing Affordability Index maintained by the National Association of Realtors has increased 29 percent overall and 19 percent for first-time homebuyers, and is higher now than at any time in the 28 year history of the index.”
• “Value is clearly motivating potential home buyers, and today’s new level of affordability is still an under-appreciated reality that needs to be explored,” said REALTOR.com President, Errol Samuelson. “The variety and quality of homes currently within reach of the average American family is much greater than most people realize. Making credit available to responsible borrowers and building consumer confidence in the economy are now key factors in restoring vitality to the nation’s housing market.”

Now, let’s take a look at this week in real estate: The key takeaways—inventory is low with multiple offers in the lower price ranges, and improved activity in the higher priced markets.

Read the rest of the report here.

posted by SFResidence.com @ 12:25 PM