Home Prices Slip as Market Frenzy Cools

Bay Area market is slowing down as homes are seeing fewer offers. According to Redfin, many Bay Area residents pay for houses with stock, so that willingness to bid $300k over asking price is being limited by the volatility of the stock market. 

"The spring frenzy has been so frenzied for the last three years that there is a certain exhaustion that enters into buyer mentality. They're tired of not winning. There's fatigue on buyers' part and it lessens the competitive environment," Glen Kelman, the CEO of Redfin said. Instead of the bidding wars of 15-20 offers on each property we were seeing only a few months ago, homes are getting 3-5 offers instead. While still undoubtedly a competitive market, the buyers' odds just got a whole lot better.

Kelman also added, "The market has gotten frothy so there will be a period of softening. We always say San Francisco defies the laws of physics. In other markets, what goes up must come down. Here, it just flattens out." The same goes for Oakland where there is still so much job creation and high housing demand that we will most likely not see home values drastically decline anytime soon. ​