Ms. San Francisco Real Estate (Janice Lee)

The job market and the economy continue to improve. Mortgage interest rates remain near historic lows. But despite that, the share of first-time homebuyers fell to its lowest point in nearly three decades, according to a new report by the National Association of REALTORS®. NAR blamed the drop on a number of factors, including younger people carrying more student debt, but the trend could be preventing a healthier housing market from reaching its full potential, economists said. The annual consumer survey additionally found that an overwhelming majority of buyers search for homes online and then purchase their home through a real estate agent, a trend that has been growing over the past decade. The 2014 National Association of REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers found that 33 percent of buyers were first-timers, down from 38 percent a year ago and the lowest share since 1987. Since 1981, the average has typically been about 40 percent. NAR’s chief economist Lawrence

 Janice Lee 415-832-9151 International President's Premier Top 3% Nationwide | Top 1% SF Realtor Investment Consultant #1 CB Sunset JaniceFLee@gmail.com www.JaniceLeeHomes.com BRE #01720205

  Agents in the trenches know all too well that if you don’t make an offer quickly when the right home comes along in the hot Bay Area housing market you’ll be left in the dust. But what they may not realize is just how quickly homes are selling here compared to the other hot spots around the country, such as Austin, Texas, Seattle, and Los Angeles. An interesting new report by Realtor.com shows that the San Jose and San Francisco metro areas are tied for second place in the U.S. for fastest sales. Homes in those two cities were only on the market for a median of 36 days in September vs. three months for the national average. To find the number one market for fastest sales in the entire country you don’t have to travel far – just across the Bay Bridge. The Oakland metro area tops the national ranking with a median of 35 days on the market! As the Silicon Valley Business Journal noted in a story this week, Oakland’s rise to the top of hot housing markets may be the result of “sk

CoreLogic® (NYSE: CLGX), a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider, today released its October San Francisco Bay Area homes sales report. The Bay Area housing market posted another modest uptick in sales during October but activity remained below average as cash purchases continued to taper off and buyers faced a limited inventory as well as affordability and mortgage availability challenges. Home prices appear to have plateaued in recent months, although the October median sale price was still about 11 percent higher than a year earlier. A total of 7,693 new and resale houses and condos sold in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area in October 2014. That was up 3.4 percent from 7,443 in September and up 1.3 percent from 7,595 in October 2013, according to CoreLogic DataQuick data.. A small gain in sales from September to October is normal for the season. The October sales count was the highest for that month since 7,902 homes sold in October 2

Buying a home is one of life’s most important decisions and exciting adventures. But there’s much more to finding the right property than picking out the perfect floor plan. Even experienced buyers can find the process complex and a little overwhelming. That’s why the time you spend preparing before you start your search can be the best investment you make in your new home. It’s important to understand the buying process, the decisions you will have to make, and undoubtedly the tradeoffs along your path to homeownership. So here are some things to keep in mind before and during your search: