2019 Housing Round-Up Let Down

2019 Housing Round-Up

We’re just stepping into the 2020 housing market and it’s too early to tell how the housing it will play out this year. That data typically starts to develop in February-May, as buyers come out of winter hibernation and begin looking at homes in earnest. And with the better weather on the horizon, sellers are more inclined to put their home on the market.

These two forces converge each year to dictate the supply and demand balance, thus determining the strength of the market for sellers, or advantages for buyers. A shortage of supply could continue to drive up values, while a shortage in demand would have just the opposite effect.

We had been indicating this trend may be on the horizon with this very blog back in 2018 with this post about lower returns.

San Mateo County results which provides a more macro-scale, illustrate this.

SAN MATEO COUNTY REPORT

The median home value dropped 1.3 percentage points YOY, which, in and of itself is not an earth-shattering indicator, but the amount sellers received of their asking price is—it dropped 5% YOY.

The leftover inventory of homes for sale at year-end grew 22%, while the number of new listings YOY dropped 6.24% and sales dropped 3.1%. It also took six more days to sell the average home.

BELMONT HOME REPORT

Being a much smaller market sample, the data is less reliable than looking at the entire county, but by examining the entire year—rather than an isolated YOY comparison for each month, the data spikes and troughs tend to somewhat smooth out.

In Belmont, home sales dropped 6.35%, new listings dropped by 10.65%, the percent a seller received down 6%, the median sale price—dropping 4.26%, and the DOM, or time it took to sell a home, up, 30%.

The housing market had a tumultuous end in 2018, and yet comparing the year-end results for 2018 and 2019, we can see that this balance shifted even further away from the unsustainable and feverish seller’s market of the past seven-year bull run, to a more normal, balanced market. We’re seeing the pendulum move from that of a seller’s market, to a more evenly balanced market in full swing.

If you want to know what we believe may very well be in store for us in 2020, read our newest blog post on Election Year Jitters—How it will Effect the Market.

Drew & Christine Morgan are REALTORS/NOTARY PUBLIC in Belmont, CA. with more than 25 years of experience in helping sellers and buyers in their community. As Diamond recipients, Drew and Christine are ranked in the top 50 RE/MAX agents nationwide and the top 3 in Northern California.  They may be reached at (650) 508.1441 or emailed at info@morganhomes.com.

For all you need to know about Belmont, subscribe to this blog right here. You can also follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Morganhomesand on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/morganhomes

The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax, insurance or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.

Belmont Home Values in State of Flux

Looking at homes sales statistics is always more interesting when there’s movement in the market.

As seen in the graph below for San Mateo County, the median home price dropped from the peak in April of 2018, and it took over a year to finally rebound which wasn’t until May of 2019 when the median price just barely eclipsed the previous year’s high.

A screenshot of a social media post Description automatically generated

But that’s not the end of the story, already we’re back down to a median home price matching that seen in October of 2018—when the market began a four-month decline.

Belmont has seen a similar pattern recently, although perhaps with swings more magnified due to the smaller transaction sample size.

This is the year-over-year comparison for Belmont:

SALES

Down by 5 over 2018 to 18—27% decrease

MEDIAN HOME PRICE

Down by $100,000 to $1,700,000 in 2019—down ~6%

DAYS ON MARKET

Down to only 16 on average, from 28 in 2018

CURRENT INVENTORY

Four more homes are currently available than in 2018—a 25% increase

NEW LISTINGS

Eight more listings in June of this year than last—44% increase

MONTHS OF INVENTORY [The time it would take to sell the current inventory at the current pace of sales.]

Up from less than a month of inventory in 2018 to 1.3 months.

What this is telling us is what we are also feeling from our own business and the sentiments of our colleagues—that the market is not as sizzling hot as it was just a year ago. It’s still a seller’s market, but the inevitable swing of the pendulum back to center before heading the other direction may be upon us.

Drew & Christine Morgan are REALTORS/NOTARY PUBLIC in Belmont, CA. with more than 25 years of experience in helping sellers and buyers in their community. As Diamond recipients, Drew and Christine are ranked in the top 50 RE/MAX agents nationwide and the top 3 in Northern California.  They may be reached at (650) 508.1441 or emailed at info@morganhomes.com.

For all you need to know about Belmont, subscribe to this blog right here. You can also follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Morganhomesand on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/morganhomes

The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax, insurance or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.

Nothing Remains the Same, Except Change

Nothing remains the same, except change—with each change being slightly different than the one before…

By The Numbers

Now that the waning dog days of summer are upon us, we felt it was time to summarize the second quarter sales for the year. I mean, doesn’t everyone want to know, “How is the Market”? It’s the question posed to us most frequently, and I guess rightly so. After all, for many, ok, I’ll expand that for most people, their Bay Area home is their largest asset—their nest egg. It’s akin to people in other areas of the country, where home prices are more understandable, tracking their 401k’s, stock performance, or their own bank accounts on a daily basis.

When the market takes a nose dive again, and it will, if you’re anywhere near retirement, you had better have a plan “A” now, or you’ll invariably be implementing the alternative, plan “B”, which means you might just get stuck in retirement purgatory waiting for the values to come back so you can cash-out on all of that equity you once had.

This is also the time of year when many of my colleagues come to me in hushed voices wearing ghastly, pasty facial expressions contorted into the most unpleasant sight and reeking of fear, asking me if I noticed that the market is down…that there’s been a shift, and did I notice it, and do I feel the same way. I don’t. I’ve been tracking home sales statistics for my entire career, and it’s normal, heck it’s expected that in the summer the market slows. In typical fashion, agents will post these dire statistics from summer to what amounts to nothing more than fear mongering. Of course the market has slowed down, its summer!

Why? Because people have lives—and they go live them. It’s interesting to observe that the better the economy, the more pronounced how this housing hiatus manifests itself—more money, more market confidence, means you might as well pack up the family and head off for an extended vacation to some romantic or adventures place, like Disneyland. Because let’s face it, once the kids are out of school, parents have to do something to burn off that pent-up energy and it’s certainly not going to be tamed traipsing around open houses every weekend.

Then there’s the inarguable fact that the high bidders for homes in the spring market have already won. They’ve got the home they want, and now they’re leaving the housing hunt rat race in the dust and soaking up all of the equity future buyers will be serving up to them on a silver platter.

So instead of looking back at the spring market and wishing our business was just as brisk and our pipeline as full, we do what one should do and that is to compare and contrast the same period year-over-year to better understand, without hyperbole, pre-conceived notions, or hysteria, what the heck is really going on.

To this we look at the entire market of San Mateo County. It gives us a better more macro view of home trends than say limiting our analyses to a small town like Belmont, however charming it is, but also highly susceptible to wild swings in its small market sample size.

Here we see a different story emanating from the lines of a spreadsheet. The market isn’t down, any more than it should be for this time of the year, and in fact it’s quite strong.

The median home price for San Mateo County in Q2 rose $185,000 YOY or 13%, while sellers also enjoyed receiving 3% more over their asking price.

The number of new listings was up 9%, while sales were down 4%, causing the housing inventory to rise an aggregate 19%.


So the sky isn’t falling. The activity in the market is not quite as brisk, but with all that meddling in people’s mortgage tax deductions that’s to be expected. Now, everyone can go back into their happy place imagining that home values will always go up in the Bay Area with the trajectory of a missile launch, until that missile misfires and lands right back from where it took off.

Drew & Christine Morgan are REALTORS/NOTARY PUBLIC in Belmont, CA. with more than 20 years of experience in helping sellers and buyers in their community. As Diamond recipients, Drew and Christine are ranked in the top 50 RE/MAX agents nationwide and the top 3 in Northern California.  They may be reached at (650) 508.1441 or emailed at info@morganhomes.com.

For all you need to know about Belmont, subscribe to this blog right here. You can also follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Morganhomes and on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/morganhomes

The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario

 

 

 

1812 El Verano Way, Belmont OPEN SAT & SUN 8/4 & 8/5

1812 El Verano Way, Belmont LISTED FOR $1,598,000

  • Remodeled and enhanced with contemporary finishes
  • Three generous bedrooms
  • Two full taupe-tiled baths
  • Rich Oak hardwood flooring
  • Owners ensuite with walk-in shower, dual pane windows and recessed lighting
  • Freshly updated kitchen with newer sleek modern Samsung® appliances including silent-style dishwasher, five burner gas stove, microwave, stainless basin sink—granite counters
  • Large open communal living room with gas insert fireplace, recessed lighting, and new hardwood floors
  • New electrical panel
  • New front and rear landscaping
  • Multiple outdoor dining and entertainment patio areas—grass play area
  • Two car attached garage with new modern garage door
  • Approximately ~1,220 sq. ft.
  • Substantial ~7,102 sq. ft. lot
  • Built in 1955– and updated by current owners
  • Freshly painted interior with designer colors
  • Award winning Belmont schools, near Carlmont High School
  • Sought after Central Belmont location, nearby Carlmont Village Shopping Center
  • Several blocks from Barrett Park Community Center with its many recreational activities, childcare, dog park and socializing
  • Conveniently close to San Francisco International Airport, Half Moon Bay and Coastal towns, major commute arteries, nearby parks and plenty of excellent shopping and dining options

Reports available to qualified parties

1812 El Verano Way, Belmont

HANDSOME REMODELED CALIFORNIA RANCH | COVETED BELMONT HILLS AREA | INCREDIBLE BACKYARD

Designed and constructed by famed engineer and builder, ‘Andy’ Oddstad, this rolling hills location was chosen for its idyllic surroundings and its warmer microclimate—insulated from the cooler western hills exposure–hence the name El Verano, meaning “The Summer”. This post-WWII enclave of modest homes offer spacious lots, wide streets and community friendly sidewalks—rare for Belmont’s rural surroundings.

This single level home resides upon a bluff and enjoys level topography on an oversized lot. The home has undergone extensive enhancements and has been nicely updated with contemporary finishes. New hardwood flooring is throughout the home, along with the generous use of LED recessed lighting.

The nicely updated kitchen features Maple colored soft-close style drawers, granite counters, all new Samsung®stainless appliances including a quiet style dishwasher, five burner gas stove with self-cleaning oven, and French door stainless refrigerator.

Conveniently located in the galley kitchen is a dinette area for casual meals, and the adjacent more formal dining area opens to the spacious living room, augmented by a centerpiece wood burning fireplace, and highlighted by LED recessed lighting. Access to the expansive entertainment patio and newly sodded sunny flat grassy backyard is also available from this room. The amazing rear yard is perfect for evening get-togethers and outdoor enjoyment.

The two-car garage has fresh Shield-Crete epoxy slurry flooring, and new modern roll-up garage door with sidelights and Wi-Fi compatible belt drive Lift Master opener.

It’s coveted location also benefits from its proximity to both downtown areas of Belmont, as well as convenient travel corridors. Located near the Carlmont Village Shopping Center with a variety of retailers, restaurants and popular gathering spots, such as Starbucks, Vivace and Waterdog Tavern with pet friendly outdoor dining. Other businesses include ACE Hardware, and the upscale Lunardi’s Grocery.

For shopping, Hillsdale Mall is a short drive away and is undergoing a complete renovation, with stores such as Nordstrom, Macy’s, Williams-Sonoma, Sephora and Trader Joe’s. Enjoy dining options like Paul Martin’s American Grill, The Cheesecake Factory, California Pizza Kitchen, and The Counter.

Belmont is ideally located on the Peninsula between the Silicon Valley and San Francisco. It’s popular because of its close proximity to major travel arteries—Highways 101, 280, 92. Caltrain and San Francisco International Airport is also conveniently nearby.

Contact us to find out why more people are moving to the Mid-Peninsula. 650-508-1441

OFF-MARKET OPPORTUNITY 1926 Oak Knoll Drive, Belmont

Every so often, there’s a home so special that words cannot do it justice. We could describe it as chic, modern, high-tech, luxurious, inviting and comfortable, but one really must see this home in person to appreciate the complete experience.

This nine-year new classically crafted home has been designed in a contemporary style best described as offering clean lines, proportions, open layouts and abundant natural light. Additional characteristics include flat and shallow-pitched roofs, large expanses of glass, clean unencumbered walls, and an intrinsic connection between the indoor and outdoor space. The result? Gracious, streamlined spaces that radiate harmony.

The entire main floor is thoughtfully laid out with a ground level bedroom, full bath, great room, grand dining area, and kitchen combination. The great room on the main level, encompasses a professional styled kitchen, impressive communal dining area, and an eat-at bar and separate enclave for casual meals or conversations. Functionality includes a six burner Viking® stainless stove and oven combination, warming drawer, deep soft-close drawers while industrial-styled custom concrete countertops complete the chic feel. With a separate stainless prep sink and custom metro shelved pantry, this kitchen remains deeply functional while staying true to the minimalist aesthetic.

Rooms are naturally illuminated with a combination of celestial skylights and transom room transitions. Floor–to-ceiling windows feature expansive views of San Francisco City, the Bay, Mt. Diablo as well as 180º views from the pronounced view deck—harmoniously integrating the indoors with the world.

Bamboo hardwood flooring and stainless cabled railings flow gracefully throughout the home and the inverted layout with the bedrooms below, exemplifies the views from the upstairs main living area.

Down the naturally illuminated open stairwell, we find the lower level bedrooms—perfectly located for warm summer nights. The lower area consists of a main hall with nine foot ceilings leading to the laundry area, two bedrooms serviced by a central hall bath, and a bonus room or 5thbedroom. Also on this level is the owner’s ensuite, which enjoys its own private deck access with spa overlooking the bay. A dual floating sink vanity is in the owner’s suite bath along with a seamless separate shower enclosure and oversized soaking tub and a walk-in closet is nearby.

To visit 1926 Oak Knoll is to realize the passion that went into creating this unique home. We are excited to proudly present this enchanting retreat— welcome home!

FEATURES:

HOME

  • Nine-year new construction with ~68 posts and piers
  • Quiet cul-de-sac
  • Protected micro-climate location
  • Street level entry main living area-reverse floor plan
  • Hardwood Bamboo floors
  • Smooth stucco & sheetrock wall finish
  • Contemporary styling
  • Transom windows
  • Solid core doors
  • Led recessed lighting
  • Stainless cabled railings
  • Dual pane Anderson windows
  • Tankless water heater

MAIN LEVEL

  • Great room with ~11’ gradient ceilings
  • Large communal dining area
  • Celestial windows with automated opening system
  • Open style great room floor plan with pitched ceilings and stunning views
  • Corner low-heat glass fireplace
  • Office, Media room or additional bedroom
  • Two car garage—S.F. views, and plumbed for H&C convenient car washing

CHEF’S KITCHEN

  • Six burner Viking® stove & stainless hood
  • Built-in Viking® microwave
  • Side prep sink
  • Deep cabinetry drawer for professional cooking vessels
  • Walk-in pantry includes custom metro shelving
  • Appliance garage
  • Built-in warming drawer
  • Stainless basin sinks
  • Stainless floating hood
  • Custom concrete counters

FUNCTIONAL VIEW DECKS

  • Multiple private view decks with spa—plumbed for natural gas outdoor grill
  • 180º  bay views of San Francisco downtown & Bay, Mt. Diablo to the south bay
  • Eastern profile for dramatic sunrises year round

GROUNDS

  • Level lower area with large flat paved space suitable for basketball (hoop installed w/lighting), play area or entertaining
  • Gardening beds
  • Mature plantings on almost ¼ acre includes chicken coop and run

OWNER’S SUITE

  • Expansive walk-in closet, soaking tub and separate seamless shower enclosure,
  • Dual raised sinks on floating cabinetry
  • Access to private second level decks and spa
  • ~9’ ceilings

LOWER LEVEL

  • Owner’s Suite and three additional bedrooms
  • Amazing lower level storage areas with ideal wine storage capacity
  • 2nd level room could be 5th bedroom
  • 9’ ceilings

Possible Tax Hike Looming

1 Month Left to Sell Before Possible Tax Hike

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2017

Some home sellers would need a sale contract inked before the end of 2017 in order to avoid a big tax bill that would be imposed if the GOP tax reform proposals become law. Both the House and Senate bills would require sellers to have lived in their residence for a longer period of time before qualifying for the capital gains tax exclusion on the sale of a primary home. They would have to live in their house at least five years out of the last eight; right now, the requirement is two years out of the last five.

The Senate version, however, includes an exception for transactions in which a contract is written before Jan. 1, even if the closing occurs in 2018. The bill passed by the House includes no such exception. Therefore, homeowners who are currently thinking about selling have only one month left to complete a deal before proposed tax changes would take effect. Should tax reform be enacted, some homeowners who sell in 2018 may no longer qualify for the capital gains exclusion, which covers up to $250,000 for an individual and $500,000 for a married couple. As a result, the difference between your client’s tax bill pre- and post-tax reform could be huge.

https://youtu.be/jbGfwJBwslk

It won’t be known whether the House or Senate version of tax reform is adopted until the bill is finalized, which could happen in a few weeks. But sellers who haven’t lived in their house for more than five of the last eight years will want to act quickly regardless of the version that is approved.

______________________

Drew & Christine Morgan are REALTORS/NOTARY PUBLIC in Belmont, CA. with more than 20 years of experience in helping sellers and buyers in their community. As Diamond recipients, Drew and Christine are ranked in the top 50 RE/MAX agents nationwide and the top 3 in Northern California.  They may be reached at (650) 508.1441 or emailed at info@morganhomes.com.

For all you need to know about Belmont, subscribe to this blog right here. You can also follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Morganhomes and on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/morganhomes

The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario

What a Mortgage Deduction Reduction Could Do to Home Values

That’s literally the million dollar question. Many of our colleagues think that it will not be passed as the House version did this week. Some have good points and others just wishful thinking.
Many agents have voiced an opinion  that the mortgage deduction will be indexed for the higher cost coastal states, but we feel that’s exactly the targeted group this limitation is designed to hit—so we doubt we’ll see relief their. The senate bill may uphold the million dollar cap on mortgage interest—we’ll see.
We’d be surprised if in this administration, a dramatic negative shift in policy towards homeownership would emerge, but then this administration has been anything but predictive.
If it does pass as the House version stands, we’re not as worried about future homeowners—they’ll get over it and only the ones currently looking into buying a home will even know what’s going on. But for the millions of homeowners who bought their homes counting on the tax relief as the only way they can sustain their payments—therein lies the problem.
Assuming our homes are hovering around a median home price of $1,600,000. A buyer today could write down up to $1,000,000 in mortgage interest, which would be $42,174 in interest the first year. With the new proposed plan, that deduction drops in half to $21,087—resulting in an additional tax liability of around $7,380.50 a year, and that equates to as if they purchased a home for $125,000 more than what they had bargained for. Or another way to look at it. Is home prices (not values) on the Peninsula just went up over $125,000 overnight—so much for making more affordable housing.
Most regular folks are still purchasing homes with mortgages, and most mortgages are higher than in the above example. Obviously, the higher the mortgage, the more of a disparity this system creates in the allowable deduction.
What will real home values do? Probably not much since demand still outstrips supply in today’s market (locally). But the market for vacation homes—a huge segment in San Francisco for example—could drop precipitously since there will be NO deduction for second home mortgage interest. So a silver lining exists for the rich, and they could have a great opportunity to buy into vacation homes at diminished prices—all cash of course.

Drew & Christine Morgan are REALTORS/NOTARY PUBLIC in Belmont, CA. with more than 20 years of experience in helping sellers and buyers in their community. They may be reached at (650) 508.1441 or emailed at info@morganhomes.com.

For all you need to know about Belmont, subscribe to this blog right here. You can also follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Morganhomesand on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/morganhomes

The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.

 

How Much Should I Bid to Win the Home?

How Much Should I Bid to Win the Home? You’ve found the ideal home, and now it’s time to make that offer. The offer to beat the other five offers you hear the sellers may be receiving.

When trying to determine an offer price, where do you start, or stop? Of course, your agent should be armed with the recent sales in the area to help you understand at what price the home you’re interested in could sell for.

Remember that in most cases, the buyer that was willing to pay more for the home than any other buyer is the one that typically wins the bid. So, you can forget about saying you don’t want to overpay in this market. By definition, if you won the home in a multiple bidding situation, you probably overpaid. But relax, now your home will be the sales comparable for the next buyers, that likely will now have to pay more than you did. Think of it to some degree like musical chairs, get your home before the music stops. The sooner you get into an appreciating market, the sooner you get to begin enjoying the appreciation, instead of bidding against it.

How to Set a Fair Price

Deciding what to offer can be a nail biting experience. You don’t want to lose the home, but you also don’t want to be blindly bidding against yourself. How much is too much? When you can’t afford anymore is one good threshold. But assuming you’ve looked at what the market bears for like properties, it’s likely that you’ll already know where you think the home should sell. So, pick a price and stick to it. Ask yourself, at what price am I willing to let go of this home? That way, if you win the bid, you’ll be happy and if you lose, you’ll at least know that going any higher just didn’t make sense. Remember, you have to sleep at night so you’ll have to live with whatever decision you make—choose wisely, and remember, sometimes you just have to let a home go if you are up against an overzealous buyer.
How Much Does the Home Need to Appraise For?

Lenders typically want you to put down 20% to have some skin in the game so to speak. Though as lending trends are beginning to loosen, some 10% loans are available.

Let’s say the offer you are going to make on the home you like is for $1,000,000. If you were putting down 20% that would be a $200,000 down payment and the lender would put up the remaining $800,000. Now the home must appraise for full value-—$1,000,000, as the lender will only lend 80% of wherever the home appraises. And that’s what makes sellers nervous—especially if your offer price is a new high water mark for the neighborhood. But if you could put down 25%, the home would only need to appraise for $937,500, giving both you and the seller some breathing room and peace of mind.

Here’s how the calculation works:

“X” = ((Offer price – Down Payment) ÷ .8) or (80%)
Where “X” is what the home must appraise for given the Down Payment.

So in our above example,

$1,000,000 — $250,000 = (25%)= ($750,000 ÷ 80% ) = $937,500.

 

We also wrote an article about Contingencies, which explains what happens when a home doesn’t appraise

 

Drew & Christine Morgan are REALTORS/NOTARY PUBLIC in Belmont, CA. with more than 20 years of experience in helping sellers and buyers in their community. As Diamond recipients, Drew and Christine are ranked in the top 50 RE/MAX agents nationwide and the top 3 in Northern California  They may be reached at (650) 508.1441 or emailed at info@morganhomes.com.

For all you need to know about Belmont, subscribe to this blog right here. You can also follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Morganhomesand on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/morganhomes

The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario

Will There Be an End to Home Bidding Wars?

With unusually low home inventory levels, many buyers are feeling frustrated and overwhelmed at the prospect of ever getting their ideal home, or have first-hand experience at losing the home of their dreams in a bidding frenzy.

Yet not all homes sell for over their asking price. In fact many sell below. Granted, they may seem far and few between, but they are out there. In fact, so far in 2017, 25% of San Mateo County home sales sold for less than what the sellers were asking. Many wouldn’t think that’s true, and we’d be willing to bet that if asked, many would say that it’s a lot less, like 1%, but they’d be wrong. Perception is not always reality. The media’s constant coverage of how “crazy” the housing market is, has been drummed into the minds of buyers—and sellers. And the homes that people see closing well above the asking price, only serve to validate the overall impression that the market is overzealous. And that emboldens people’s impressions, but it’s more of an emotional response, than one of accuracy. It is however, what people talk about and what they remember.

We sold a home just last month at 534 Wellington Avenue to a buyer of ours. The sellers expected six offers and received none. We stepped in and delivered a full price offer and it was accepted. It’s the second lowest 3 bedroom sale in San Carlos on the west side this year.

One way to get a good deal is to focus on homes which have been initially overpriced. Any home which is still on the market after 14 days is probably one that will need a price reduction, or may be willing to take a lower offer. These are opportunities that buyers may want to focus on if the multiple bids are giving rise to second thoughts about buying a home.

As for timing the market, there are times of the year that homes get more attention and more multiple offers. We just went through that period—February, March, April and now May. A lot of “why” homes sell with more offers and at a higher percentage of the sellers asking price has to do with several factors.

[Click on the graph below for a larger image]

 

 

 

 

 

As the new year begins, buyers and sellers are slow to come out of their market hibernation, but buyers seem to thaw out first. Many buyers have just received their end-of-year bonus, which they had been waiting for to jump into the housing market.

Some buyers with children are desperately trying to get a home in order to get their kids registered into a new school before the vacancies fill up—most first enrollment periods end within the first month or two of the start of the school year.

Another influence is that buyers who had lost out on homes in the prior year now focus more than ever on not losing out again, and they bid more aggressively than other buyers who may be just dipping their toes into the waters. And by June, these more aggressive buyers have all won—they have their home and the buyers that are left are the less aggressive buyers and overbids begin to wane. This typically happens around June, as this graph above of San Mateo County home sales since the turnaround in 2012 illustrates. It’s important to note however, that while the percentage a seller receives, and the number of overbids may be fewer, that doesn’t mean that prices decline. A high home price bar has already been established in the spring and it typically carries through until the end of the year. [Note: These statistics typically lag the market by a month—the typical escrow period. So a high sale percentage in May, was likely consummated in April].

Then of course there’s the competitive spirit. Buyers want what other buyers want and often a bidding frenzy ensues, pushing prices perhaps higher than they otherwise would be. It’s important to note that the aggressive buyer gets the home—the buyer that was willing to pay more than any other buyer at that moment in time. Did they overpay? Perhaps. But now they are a comparable sale for the next home, which invariably will sell for more, and so on and so forth until at the end of the year we have “appreciation”.

Drew & Christine Morgan are REALTORS/NOTARY PUBLIC in Belmont, CA. with more than 20 years of experience in helping sellers and buyers in their community. As Diamond recipients, Drew and Christine are ranked in the top 50 RE/MAX agents nationwide and 3rd in Northern California. They may be reached at (650) 508.1441 or emailed at info@morganhomes.com.

For all you need to know about Belmont, subscribe to this blog right here. You can also follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Morganhomesand on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/morganhomes

The information contained in this article is educational and intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute real estate, tax or legal advice, nor does it substitute for advice specific to your situation. Always consult an appropriate professional familiar with your scenario.