Read what Rick Turley, President of Coldwell Banker, San Francisco/Peninsula says in his latest weekly report:

The past week was like a snapshot of the entire year as far as San Francisco Bay Area real estate is concerned. I’ve mentioned before that our market is like a patchwork quilt – it’s often stitched together by definition into one large market area, but it’s actually made up of a multitude of different textures and patterns that shift and swirl. There is not only significant variation geographically among cities and communities, but also just a few days make a significant difference in the activity a particular branch experiences. Last week saw some areas entrenched in the end-of-the-year holiday slowdown. Others are seeing a surprisingly heightened level of buyer activity, including some fierce competition with multiple offers in the Peninsula.

San Francisco Van Ness still saw double-digit number of sales for the week, while commenting that activity felt slower. Another office in the City states fewer sales occurring, but prices holding firm. Most offices seem to be gearing up their new listings for January. The Peninsula still has pent-up demand for $1.5 to $1.9 homes in Palo Alto, parts of Menlo Park, Burlingame, and San Mateo. Well-written and presented offers with sound strategy are critical, as witnessed by our Redwood City/San Carlos office – the winner of multiple offers did not go to the Buyer with the highest priced offer. Half Moon Bay saw activity pick up as Buyers are recognizing the value our coastal community has to offer.

Read the entire report here.

- Rick Turley

* For an e-mail alert when this report is updated, send an e-mail to info@SFResidence.com with “weekly market report” in the subject line.

As California home prices keep dropping, it makes us realize how lucky we are to live in the San Francisco Bay Area! Properties continue to sell for over the asking price and may times with multiple offers!

- Janis Stone

• Calif. median home price – November 07: $488,640 (Source: C.A.R.) (note: compared to $497,110 last month)
• Calif. highest median home price by C.A.R. region October 07: Santa Barbara So. Coast $1,075,000 (Source: C.A.R.) (note: compared to $1,325,000 last month)
• Calif. lowest median home price by C.A.R. region October 07: High Desert $262,650 (Source: C.A.R.) (note: compared to $265,880 last month)
• Calif. First-time Buyer Affordability Index – Third Quarter 07: 24 percent (Source: C.A.R.) (note: compared to 07:25 first quarter and 7:24 second quarter)

Mortgage rates – week ending 12/20:

• 30-yr. fixed: 6.14%; Fees/points: 0.4% (note: compared to 6.2% and 0.5% points last report)
• 15-yr. fixed: 5.79%; Fees/points: 0.4% (note: compared to 5.83% and 0.5% points last report)
• 1-yr. adjustable: 5.51%; Fees/points: 0.6% (note: compared to 5.42% and 0.6% points last report)

- California Association of Realtors & Freddie Mac

+1 415 775 1111

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Read what Rick Turley, President of Coldwell Banker, San Francisco/Peninsula says in his latest weekly report:

From Castro Valley to San Francisco, Menlo Park to Walnut Creek, we’re hearing that buyer activity is surprisingly busy for this traditionally slower time of year. In some areas, this can be attributed partly to the great selection of value-priced homes, in other areas it can be due the lack of new inventory on the market combined with strong demand. There are fewer buyers and fewer sellers around during the holiday season – and the ones that are in the market are very serious about buying or selling a home. In San Francisco and the Peninsula, a continued short supply of $1.5M+ new listings are keeping Buyers moving quickly to see the latest new properties in their desired neighborhood. I am hearing our agents comment that December is proving to be an excellent month to bring on a new listing. In areas with more inventory, negotiations between buyers and sellers remain fierce – one office reports that up to five and six counter offers are not uncommon before a deal can be struck. Fortunately, skilled negotiators are commonplace among Coldwell Banker agents and deals are successfully closing.

Read the entire report here.

Attendance at open houses was as scattered as our micro-markets are. Sebastopol reports light attendance at opens, but lots of sales activity on properties near $1 million and over. Buyers haven’t slowed down in the Peninsula. Menlo Park reports that many agents are as busy now as they usually are during more traditionally busy months, and that open houses were “surprisingly well attended.” One listing in Palo Alto had 10 offers and was ratified at approximately 20% over the asking price. “Above average” to brisk open house attendance is also being seen in Half Moon Bay and in San Francisco…

- Rick Turley

* For an e-mail alert when this report is updated, send an e-mail to info@SFResidence.com with “weekly market report” in the subject line.

SFResidence is part of the TRI Coldwell Banker office at 1699 Van Ness in San Francisco which is one of the premier offices in the City and has the market share numbers to prove it. We have some of the top agents selling real estate in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a result, our office posts some impressive numbers.

As the New Year nears, many buyers and sellers are heading out on vacation and preparing for the holidays. TRI Coldwell Banker will not be holding an office meeting for the next couple of weeks, but we are expecting that many of the homes that have been withdrawn for the holiday season will come back on the market and Buyers will bring their focus back into the San Francisco market.

Here are the numbers for this week: 12/19/07:

• 3 new listings (average price $1,593,333)
• 5 ratified sales (pending) (average price $1,428,800 – low $775,000, high $2,475,000)
• 7 closed sales (sold) (average price $1,943,571 – low $1,031,000, high $2,800,000)

- Christine Serventi

Read what Avram Goldman, says in his latest weekly report:

Note: While Avram is no longer with Coldwell Banker, he is still a friend and associate with an excellent handle on San Francisco Real Estate.

The combination of the natural slow down for the holiday market and little positive news on the economic front has down shifted activity both on the listing and selling side of transactions. Multiple offers have disappeared except for San Francisco and a few areas in the East Bay. Many buyers and sellers have gone into hibernation and are waiting for the New Year. Open home activity is dwindling, although first time open homes in the most desirable areas are still attracting good traffic as the four unit TIC in the Marina area of San Francisco had 90 groups through. These open homes are the exceptions rather than the rule.

Most economists are leaning toward recession. However many of them are baffled by strength in some segments of the economy and that unemployment remains steady while we are still experiencing some, albeit small, job growth. The stock market is still behaving like a patient that is trying to stabilize its pulse. Uncertainty is creating unsure times that are creating reluctance on buyers purchasing patterns.

For most Bay Area locations we have now settled into a buyers market. There is a sliver lining certainly for the buyers who have waited until now. Many stories have appeared of buyers who have negotiated very attractive sales. For many years the sellers have been in control and now the buyers are having their day.

Surprisingly prices have held in about half our counties while others have declined. Alameda, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties have held or increased their median prices year to date, while Contra Costa, Napa, Solano and Sonoma have declined…

Read the entire report here.

- Avram Goldman

* For an e-mail alert when this report is updated, send an e-mail to info@SFResidence.com with “weekly market report” in the subject line.

Foster Weeks publishes a weekly mortgage report which is updated every Monday morning. How is this affecting the San Francisco real estate market? Read our weekly and monthly market reports.

“LIFE IS NEVER BORING…BUT SOME PEOPLE CHOOSE TO BE BORED.” Wayne Dyer Yet even if Traders had wanted to be bored last week, the financial markets had other plans. Volatility reigned supreme, with large swings throughout the week in Stocks, Bonds, and home loan rates — and once the smoke cleared, home loan rates were slightly worse than where they began the week.

What caused all the volatility? You name it — continuing concerns on the liquidity and stability of the financial markets; the Federal Reserve at work, cutting the Fed Funds and Discount Rates by .25% and the opening of a new auction facility; a red hot Retail Sales Report; and last but certainly not least, the Producer and Consumer Price Indices both showing inflation to be much higher than expected.

The big mover was the Fed rate cut of .25%, which was a disappointment to the financial markets, as a deeper cut was hoped for. The reaction was very negative for stocks, as the fear of a recession amidst the current credit crunch grows. There are increasing concerns that the Fed is not getting ahead of this problem.

But it is not an easy job for the Fed because they may be fighting a possible recession with a hand tied behind their back…this is due to higher levels of inflation. Surely inflation is still at reasonable levels, but even a little stronger inflation can take a major toll on our lifestyle over time. High levels of inflation have caused unrest, revolt, poverty and wars. It is possible that the Great Inflation of 1920 in Germany eventually led to WWII. During that time, prices rose over an almost unimaginable 1000 times a year! Savings were wiped out and imagine this…the cost of a loaf of bread went from 20 Marks to 20,000 to 20,000,000. And in Mexico, hyperinflation caused a crisis in the peso that has led to extreme levels of poverty. Of course, the US is nowhere close to this type of problem, but inflation is a very serious issue. And with the current rate of inflation in the US ticking higher and towards the upper range of acceptable limits, additional Fed cuts would push inflation even higher. So should the Fed risk a recession to protect against inflation or move to avoid recession and risk inflation? This will likely be one of the hotter economic topics of 2008…

Read the entire report here.

- Foster Weeks

+1 415 974 4000

http://www.moscone.com/

SFResidence is part of the TRI Coldwell Banker office at 1699 Van Ness in San Francisco which is one of the premier offices in the City and has the market share numbers to prove it. We have some of the top agents selling real estate in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a result, our office posts some impressive numbers.

Sellers seem to be waiting until the New Year to put their home on the market. The inventory is low, but these numbers show that sales are still happening.

Here are the numbers for this week: 12/05/07:

• 1 new listing (average price $4,495,000)
• 9 ratified sales (pending) (average price $1,394,889 – low $749,000, high $3,750,000)
• 5 closed sales (sold) (average price $1,200,500 – low $637,500, high $2,210,000)

- Christine Serventi