Real estate experts see slowdown in Bay Area housing market
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) -- Though homes across the Bay Area continue to sell for record prices, some real estate experts say the market is beginning to level off.
"I think we're seeing a little bit of leveling right now in the market. There's a little more inventory, there are some price adjustments we haven't seen before," said Tim Yee, a real estate broker and the president of RE/MAX Gold Bay Area. "Properties are staying on the market a little longer, pricing seems to have leveled and we're seeing some price reductions which, six months ago, we never saw."
Home sales in the Bay Area are down 17.2 percent over last year, according to the latest RE/MAX national housing report.
In the California Association of Realtors latest report, the vice president and chief economist Jordan Levine said, "California's housing market is moderating from the 12-year-high levels experienced in 2021 as higher mortgage interest rates and soaring home prices are starting to have an adverse impact on housing demand."
Yee says the interest rates are starting to impact those who are hoping to crack into the market.
"The starter part of the market is definitely impacted by the 1- to 2-percent change in the interest rates," he said. "Of course, the first-time homebuyers feed up to the move-up buyers. So, if there's not someone to buy their house, then the market takes that little shift."
Yee thinks a leveling-off will be beneficial for buyers, many of whom have spent the past year writing offers on homes but, ultimately, haven't been able to compete.
"I think the buyers will have more of an opportunity than they had," Yee said. "We're starting to see a little bit more inventory which is a great thing, because the inventory is still at historically low levels. But the more inventory there is, the more that the buyers will be able to be competitive in the market."
Yee doesn't think the market leveling is indicative of a crash or a major correction.
"I think it was unsustainable, the market, the way it was," he said. "I believe the market is going to level. I think it'll be healthy but not crazy. A 'normal' market is a good thing for all of us."