An island of good news appeared this week in a sea of negative media regarding weakness in the housing market. The National Association of Realtors’ pending home sales index jumped five percent to 102.4 in June.
The index was created to be a more forward-looking snapshot on home sales than NAR’s existing home sales report, which charts sales at the time of closing. The pending home sales index tracks from when a sales agreement is signed, generally a month or more ahead of closing. The nationwide report is good news in that it indicates that home sales could see an increase in coming months. Now we need a few more media sources to pick up reports such as this. The important message for a Buyer in one of our micro markets where sales activity is slower is that historically as soon as media picks up that sales activity is stronger – Sellers quickly become less negotiable.
There are distinct micro-markets within the Bay Area. San Francisco and the Peninsula continue to experience even more distinction within these two counties when comparing inventory and activity. Several SF offices reported fewer than usual multiples, and a little slower activity – while other spots in the City seemed hot. In San Francisco, a home in the West Portal area listed for $999,000 and received 8 offers. A Mountain View property sold with 26 offers. An office also closed a $16 million sale this week – a walk-in which opened escrow Monday and closed Friday! Menlo Park reported 70% of open sales were in multiples for the week.
Listing inventory remained healthy for the week with 18 of our offices from San Francisco to Los Altos reporting steady inventory. Six offices reported increasing listing inventory and only four reported a decrease. In addition, 17 offices reported steady sales activity. Five offices saw increased sales activity, and only six reported a decrease.
See the table below for activity reported by offices in the listed cities.
