How Shelter-in-Place has impacted Bay Area Real Estate

How Shelter-in-Place has impacted Bay Area Real Estate

We’ve now been practicing Shelter in Place (SIP) for over 30 days and I’m sure that your life, like mine, has undergone quite a change!

From the many conversations I’ve had with people, I understand that while we’re all adjusting, some are having a harder time than others; if you know someone who is going through a tough time and needs listening to, and you need a break from providing that, please use me as a resource; I care a lot, have provided assistance to people in the past, and am happy to reach out to those who need it. No one needs to go through this alone.

On the real estate front, through the Multiple Listing System (MLS), we now have enough information to see the near term affects of SIP; every day the MLS forwards information to agents who request it and this week I’m sharing with you three of the charts I found significant. This data reflects all 5 of the MLS counties, not just Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, giving us a bird’s eye view of local real estate (Santa Clara, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, San Benito, and Monterey).

–The biggest change is in new listings which you can see dropped considerably just before SIP started

–Compared to the same period last year, there was a huge 77% difference in Withdrawn listings, 680 vs. 389. Only 26% or 785 listings were outright Cancelled. (Originally real estate was not considered an essential business so the recommendation from California Association of Realtors was to withdraw listings since they couldn’t be shown, so the 77% difference is possibly an artificial number). It’s fair to think these 1,474 listings will be back on the market at some point. The biggest drop was in New listings, from 5,723 in 2019 to 3,975 in 2020, a drop of 31%.

The third chart shows New Homes Listed March & April 2019 vs. 2020

–Here again you can see a huge drop in new listings. However, since real estate has been declared an essential business, there is activity in the market; homes that are vacant are easier to show to buyers; properties that are owner occupied have stringent showing guidelines.

In a nutshell, with real estate considered an essential service, for many it’s business not quite as usual but still happening. With interest rates reasonable, many buyers are taking this as an opportunity to enter the real estate market, or to buy something they couldn’t have afforded a few months back. I think it’s fair to say that never before have we all appreciated our “home” as much as we do now; it’s not only a great investment but also a place of safety.

If you would like more detailed information, please let me know, I’m here to help. Whether you’re a buyer or seller, let’s talk about the best plan of action for you to meet your property goals.

Stay well and strong!