Happy Monday with Dean and Crystal…

Hello there Market Watchers… and welcome back after our short holiday break… The New Year is here and so is the future…
Some of the trends I am watching for 2022 and beyond:

• The free-work revolution…first you’re in the office two days a week, then you’re zooming from an Airbnb boathouse in Guam. We’re showing the world that working remote work works.
• Space became a destination… instead of a Hawaiian getaway, we could be hopping on a space shuttle to eat at a restaurant on the international space station.
• and, sadly, Betty White died last Friday, just weeks before her 100th birthday on January 17. To get a sense of her longevity, Babe Ruth hit 552 home runs after Betty White was born…

A New Year…A New Market…

We hit a new record low of inventory this week!!! And… The BIG Question is… Where Does It Stop?

Here’s what the market is telling us right now”:

We ended 2021 and started 2022 with 293,673homes available for sale in the US. This is a NEW-Record low falling below the previous record low set at the end of April of last year. The question is…where does it go next?
Normally, housing inventory hits its low point right after the holidays… kids are getting back to school, there’s snow in parts of the country, families are still traveling and getting delayed — hello? – sometimes it’s the second week of January and it could even be as late as the first week of February before inventory picks up again.
Historically, we see the inventory increase around the first of March, however, last year we didn’t see this happen until May….and this is not to be unexpected because we as consumers are turning more and more properties into investments which mean that fewer of them come available for resale. Each January since 2015, we have had fewer and fewer homes on the market and as recently as January 2015, we had 1,200,000 available for sale on January 1.

Last year we started the year with 420,000 homes in inventory and this year we’re at under 300,000 homes in inventory.

So, will inventory keep falling like last year or will it return to a more normal pattern… THAT is the question, friends?
We always track ‘Immediate Sales’…those properties sold within hours or days of becoming available.
We see no indication of decreased demand as 25% of the new listings are being snapped up almost immediately. Added to that, there are only 24.5% of the inventory taking price reductions, which is lower than previous years, 2021 excepted.
We ended 2021 with a median single-family home price of $365,000 that is approximately a ten percent gainfrom last January.

Shall we get into what is happening right here in our own neighborhoods…?

• Castro Valley: This week the median list price for Castro Valley, CA is $1,274,500 with the market action index hovering around 94. This is an increase over last month’s market action index of 91. Inventory has decreased to 10. Median Days on Market is at 32. Home sales continue to outstrip supply and the Market Action Index has been moving higher for several weeks. This is a seller’s market so watch for upward pricing pressure soon if the trend continues.
• San Lorenzo: This week the median list price for San Lorenzo, CA 94580 is $892,450 with the market action index hovering around 99. This is an increase over last month’s market action index of 90. Inventory has decreased to 2. Median Days on Market is at 18. Home sales continue to outstrip supply and the Market Action Index has been moving higher for several weeks. This is a seller’s market so watch for upward pricing pressure in the near future if the trend continues.
• San Leandro: This week the median list price for San Leandro, CA is $999,900 with the market action index hovering around 92. This is an increase over last month’s market action index of 89. Inventory has decreased to 7. Median Days on Market is at 35. Home sales continue to outstrip supply and the Market Action Index has been moving higher for several weeks. This is a seller’s market so watch for upward pricing pressure if the trend continues.

-Hayward: This week the median list price for Hayward, CA is $875,000 with the market action index hovering around 85. This is less than last month’s market action index of 86. Inventory has decreased to 29. Median Days on Market is 42. The market has started cooling and prices have been flat for several weeks. Since we’re in the Seller’s zone, watch for changes in MAI. If the MAI resumes its climb, prices will likely follow suit. If the MAI drops consistently or falls into the Buyer’s zone, watch for downward pressure on prices.

• Danville: This week the median list price for Danville, CA is $2,850,000 with the market action index hovering around 85. This is less than last month’s market action index of 86. Inventory has decreased to 13. Median Days on Market is 112. The market appears to have begun to cool. As we’re still notably in the Seller’s zone, prices have not yet adjusted. If the market continues to cool, then expect prices to follow lower. It may take a few more weeks of slack demand for prices to reflect and begin to fall. Expect this condition if the index falls to the Buyer’s zone.

If you are a homebuyer, you’re shocked at how few homes are listed for sale…or…you are nervously waiting for the new listings to start coming on the market? And so are other buyers…waiting…waiting and ready to pounce on the next one that comes up.

Never fear… Crystal and I have been successful at getting our client’s offers accepted quickly. It takes market knowledge, reputation, and skill in building rapport with the cooperating agents.

If you are a seller, are you beginning to worry about staying healthy with the question of having visitors in your home? There are solutions for that… as we as an industry successfully navigated the listing and selling process while under careful health and safety protocols last year. If you’re interested in an off-market sale to further protect yourself, we can do that as well. We are in historical times in real estate…with low inventory, low-interest rates, and with new financing options to take the stress out of selling and then frantically trying to find a home to purchase. WE HAVE OPTIONS FOR THAT PART OF THE PROCESS!

Call, text, email, message on social media…as one of my client’s voicemail says…’You know the drill’. TTYL.

Warmly, Dean Souza

Dean & Crystal Souza
Realtor | Broker Associate
Century 21 RE Alliance – Souza Team
homes@souzateam.com
510-881-1761
DRE 00967442 | 01448392
Focused on the Success of Your Move

This is not intended to solicit properties or persons under contract.