5 Takeaways About the State of Bay Area Real Estate
Around this time one year ago, every real estate professional in the Bay Area was viewing 2020 like any other year. There was a lot of optimism due to the fact that both the housing and rental market was on the rise. By March, however, that optimism quickly went away and the market came to a halt. You know the reason why.
As we look back on 2020, though, the market did not behave as we had feared—it just behaved differently than usual. Buyers began seeking places with more space, privacy, and those that were single-family. Furthermore, the demand for suburban housing went up.
There are other takeaways we have about how the current Bay Area real estate market is performing right now. Here are the top 5:
1. You should consider purchasing a condo
Although the market is doing better than expected, there is still a lot of uncertainty. Much of the uncertainty rests on how quickly the vaccine will be rolled out. That being said, now is the right time to consider buying a condo—especially in San Francisco. Many mom and pop landlords may be more likely to sell their properties right now due to how tumultuous things have been. With a greater amount of inventory on the market, prices will inevitably fall. Of course, once more and more people get vaccinated, those prices are going to go up again, so if you’re going to buy a condo, make sure you do it soon!
2. The suburban market is still going strong
Contrary to multi-family dwellings and high-density options in San Francisco and Oakland, the low-density market in the suburbs is hot. Because everyone has moved to remote work and schooling, people are looking for homes that have lots of space—something you can’t find in the big cities.
3. The norms of real estate are all backward
Open houses have traditionally been a huge part of the home buying experience. With pandemic uncertainty, however, there is a good chance that they won’t return until late 2021 at the earliest. What’s interesting is that most realtors have not noticed a major impact on their ability to sell homes without the open house. Furthermore, now home buyers don’t have to dedicate an entire weekend to going to multiple open houses. They can view houses from the comfort of their own home and on their schedule.
4. The market has not hit bottom yet
Although a doomsday scenario has not happened as feared, prices are still going to go down before they go up. Many renters have left the Bay Area and the question of whether they’ll return or not remains. Like many other issues facing the Bay Area real estate market, this one depends on vaccine rollout. With all of that in mind, if you are looking to rent or buy in San Francisco, now is definitely the time to make that happen.
5. Indoor and outdoor space has become critical
More space was a huge factor for both buyers and renters in 2020 and that trend is likely to continue this year. This in turn will continue to drive people moving from the cities to the suburbs. The real estate market can be seen as a pendulum, however, and one could assume that it will eventually swing back in favor of the cities. We are likely to see a lot of people moving this year and it is more than likely that the Bay Area will be at the center of it all.