Hey there! I'm Nagaraj Annaiah, and I'm here to talk about the Bay Area housing market. It's been hot for years, but now it feels like things are changing. In fact, home prices are dropping by 20% on Zillow—that's a big change!
So what does that mean for YOU? Are you curious about what's happening in your own neighborhood—are houses selling faster or slower than they used to? Maybe you're thinking about buying a house but don't know where to start.
Well, in this episode, I'm going to talk about all of those things! I'll talk about pending home sales falling for the sixth straight month in the US housing market, and how that affects your ability to get a mortgage loan. I'll talk about home prices softening, and also give you sane advice, such as when one housing market in the Bay Area is too pricey, look at another! I'll also talk about new regulations in the US aimed at reducing the price of fire insurance but actually costing citizens more!
Let's get started!
Topic 1: Are house prices in Communications Hill in San Jose slowing down?
How's the market in San Jose? Well, it's a little choppy. It seems like house prices are slowing down in the area—but that doesn't mean you can't find a great deal! If you're looking for an investment property, now is the time to buy.
One of my clients recently bought a house in Communications Hill for 1.37 million dollars. But I got it for 1.26 million dollars! And even that wasn't enough to sell it at that price. People are looking for houses with patios—if your house doesn't have one, its value drops.
I bought one house and sold another in Communications Hill—and I've got more deals lined up right now! If you're interested in buying or selling homes in Communications Hill, call me now!
TOPIC 2: Home prices drop by 20% on Zillow
I'm going to tell you about a really cool thing happening in the real estate market right now. Home prices on Zillow have dropped by 20%.
What does that mean? Well, it means that if you were thinking about buying a house, now is the time to do it. Because home prices are at their lowest in five years, and they're only going to go up from here!
How can I be so sure? Well, I went on Zillow and looked up the price of houses in my neighborhood—and guess what? The average cost of a house has dropped by 20% since last year! That means if you buy a house right now, you're getting way more bang for your buck than if you waited until next year.
So when should you buy? Well, there are two schools of thought on this one: some people think that buying now will lead to an even bigger drop in prices later; others think that now is the time to buy because prices will go up again soon enough. But why is all of this happening in the last two months? Because of inflation, stock market crash, and higher mortgage rates. No wonder, mortgage purchase applications have dropped by 30% and most Americans think there's a recession coming by the end of 2022. All I can say is that the housing market prices are getting more realistic than they did in the last two years. Which is good news for home buyers.
Topic 3: Home prices will soften, say experts
There is more good news for home buyers. The CEO of Redfin, Glenn Kelman, is saying that US home prices are going to soften. He said that there are some "mixed signals" out there when it comes to home prices. On one hand, they're still high in certain areas of the country. On the other hand, they're low in others. So overall, Kelman thinks that we're headed towards a softening market—both nationally and regionally.
It's important for buyers and sellers to understand what this means. If your home has been lingering on the market for a while and you're worried about what it might be worth when you go to sell it later, then you should consider lowering your price now before things get even worse!
Topic 4: Pending Home Sales Fall for Sixth Straight Month in the US housing market
We've seen some big changes over the last few months, including a drop in pending home sales for the sixth straight month. The National Association of Realtors says that this is because of a lack of inventory and rising mortgage rates, both of which are making it harder for would-be buyers to get homes. So what does that mean for you?
If you're thinking about buying a house in the next year or so, you might want to start looking now, before prices go up even more and before your chances of finding one dwindle. And if you're already out shopping for a home, expect to pay more than you were planning on!
Topic 5: When one housing market in the Bay Area is too pricey, look at another
You might have heard of the Bay Area housing market, and you might have wondered whether it's too pricey. Well, the median sale price for a Bay Area home last month was $1.54 million, which is almost a 16% increase over last April. Now, I will tell you how you can buy a home without breaking the bank.
So let's say you're looking for a house in the San Francisco area. And let's say that there are tons of homes for sale, but none of them are affordable for you. What should you do?
Well, look at another city! According to data by Apartment List, the expensive neighborhoods in San Francisco are Pacific Heights ($3,799), Mission Bay ($3,708), and Northern Waterfront ($3,606). So avoid them. However, the most affordable regions in San Francisco are Nob Hill ($3,393), Lower Nob Hill ($2,892), and Tenderloin ($2,515). What's more, you can find even more affordable homes if you move away from urban and upscale areas. So if you buy now in these suburban areas, when prices are low and competition is less intense, your home will be worth more later when prices and demand shoot up!
Topic 6: New regulations in the US aim to reduce the price of fire insurance, but they are actually costing me more!
I just wanted to give you some information about new regulations in the US that are going to make it harder for you to get fire insurance. These regulations have been implemented to reduce the cost of fire insurance, but they're doing the opposite. Here's what's happening:
A few months ago, I had a house in San Jose that was never in a fire hazard zone. But then, recently, my home was upgraded from a non-hazardous zone to a bushfire zone. This change meant that all my insurance fees went up—and not just by a little bit! It looks like I'm going to be paying twice as much as before.
The problem is that major insurance providers aren't willing to sell me any insurance because their calculations say there's too much risk associated with insuring me and my property. While there are still some good insurance providers out there who will help me get coverage, there aren't many—and if I find some more, I'll let you know! One of them is General Insurance.
Conclusion
I hope you've enjoyed this video. If you're thinking about selling your home, I highly recommend that you take the time to watch my other video on things to watch out for before listing your home. Watch it before you sell your home—and then get in touch with a real estate agent like me who's looking out for your best interests! If you'd like to talk more about selling your home, call me now.