Bay Area Life + Real Estate by Jenny Linde

06/21/2022

Here is why this time is different!

The housing market has cooled off a bit after an incredibly hot stretch fueled by the pandemic. That doesn't mean it's about to be 2007 all over again.

06/09/2022

Want to make Los Altos your home?

05/28/2022

Good morning Bay Area!
Test yourself with this real estate trivia. Have Fun!

05/22/2022

A beautiful day for open house!

05/18/2022

Home prices in ten communities in Contra Costa and Alameda counties have risen 25% in a year, indicating that the hot Bay Area real estate market is heating up.

Homebuyers have flocked to the East Bay suburbs, where bidding wars have resulted in record price growth, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

According to a Zillow analysis of typical home prices in 99 communities in the Bay Area for a 12-month period ending on February 28, home prices grew the highest in Union City, Dublin, Pleasanton, San Ramon, and Danville.

Compass Realtor® DRE: 02150774

05/13/2022

Really?! Happy Friday the 13th!

05/11/2022

The historic Country Club Bowl in San Rafael will be razed in favor of townhouses, according to a revised proposal.

On Vivian Street in the Canal district, the project would contain 70 homes for sale in 14 three-story structures. Extra landscaping, more park space, and a play structure are among the improvements, which were made in response to suggestions from the Design Review Board in December.

On Tuesday, the board voted 5-0 to conditionally approve the 2.4-acre property project.

Compass Realtor® DRE: 02150774

05/05/2022

In an area known for exorbitantly priced homes and apartments, the Bay Area now stands out in a new way: San Jose, San Francisco, and Oakland are among the few major cities in the United States where monthly rentals remain below pre-pandemic levels.

According to a Zumper analysis, after two years of COVID-19 interruptions, median rents for a one-bedroom in San Jose are down 5% from March 2020, Oakland is down nearly 14%, and San Francisco is down nearly 17%. Simultaneously, the typical U.S. rent for a one-bedroom apartment increased by about 15%, led by higher costs in the Southeast and Southwest.

The rise of remote employment, flight to the suburbs, and COVID limits have reduced demand and prices in the central cities, however, some suburban rents in the Bay Area have returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Throughout the crisis, the region has also had some of the most restrictive COVID standards, limiting the arts, entertainment, and restaurant activity that make city life enticing to many renters.

Compass Realtor® DRE: 02150774

05/04/2022

A state appeals court has affirmed San Francisco's real estate transfer tax, which is higher than the statewide rate and applies to more transactions.

In a 1967 law, California imposed a 55-cent transfer tax on each $500 in real estate transactions but allowed higher taxes by the state's 121 charter cities and any "city and county" — a description that applies only to San Francisco, both factually and legally, as the courts affirmed in the current case. The current form of San Francisco's tax, which was passed by local voters in 2008 and 2016, varies from $2.50 to $12.50 for every $500 that changes hands.

The owner's contention that San Francisco was obligated to follow the state's tax rates was rejected by the First District Court of Appeal on Thursday. The court agreed with Superior Court Judge Ethan Schulman's judgment in the case in 2020 that "a local transfer tax is a municipal matter that does not touch important state interests."

Compass Realtor® DRE: 02150774

04/27/2022

The Bay Area's total percentage of investor purchases decreased slightly in 2020 and 2021 after years of steady growth, while investor purchases surged dramatically in several locations.
According to statistics collected by The Chronicle from real estate listing site Redfin, downtown neighborhoods in the region's main towns witnessed significant increases, as did remote places like Hollister, Pacifica, and Bethel Island.

When comparing the percentage rise in investor purchases during the pandemic to 2018 and 2019, ZIP codes in uptown Oakland, Portola Valley, and downtown San Jose came out on top, with a 3 percent to 4% increase in investor activity in 2020 and 2021. Bethel Island in Contra Costa County, as well as portions of Richmond, West Berkeley, San Pablo, and San Francisco's condo-heavy financial sector, all recorded 3 percent increases.

During the pandemic, suburban and rural regions surrounding Walnut Creek, Hollister, and Pacifica were among the top 20 ZIP codes for increased investor house buying. Investors bought only 17 properties in Hollister's 95023 ZIP code in 2018 and 2019, but that number more than doubled to 36 residences in 2020 and 2021, according to the city.

04/21/2022

The largest home construction in Portola in 50 years does not tower over its neighbors or draw attention to itself with flashy metal cladding or a sophisticated glass exterior.

The Lofton at Portola development takes up the majority of the block, with three additional buildings set back on Yale Street in the middle. The 86,000-square-foot site, which is slightly under 2 acres, was previously part of the Cornerstone Academy campus, a Christian school located immediately south of the new homes.

The neighborhood hasn't experienced the kind of growth that has begun to produce more housing in the adjacent Excelsior neighborhood, where roughly 600 units are being built.

04/20/2022

The latest data is good news for office owners, as the proportion of individuals who work from home has dropped to 10% from 13% in February. This is fantastic news for lenders and investors in commercial real estate.

Retailers employed 49,000 individuals in March, bringing the total number of employees to 278,000, up from February 2020. After recruiting 19,000 people, the construction sector returned to pre-pandemic levels, and another 22,000 were hired to supply building services.

In March, real estate rental and leasing added 14,000 jobs, but warehousing hiring remained steady, despite already being above pre-pandemic levels.