Are These West Coast Cities Finally Leveling Out?

Over the last year or so, there has been a lot of back and forth discussion about the state of the housing market. While many people are predicting an inevitable crash due to the housing bubble in many cities across the country, experts are saying that the numbers aren’t as bad as they seem. As a real estate agent, it’s important to always keep your eye on these trends, so that you can be somewhat prepared for what may or may not come. And, for those that work on the west coast, a lot of these things have been up in the air for quite some time. 

But, as recent data was just released by Realtor.com, it seems that prices are going back to where they more or less should be: 

Adjustments in Seven West Coast Cities 

According to Realtor.com, there are seven cities on the west coast (eight if you count Hawaii), that are showing signs of having a major housing adjustment. While this may not necessarily be great news for individual sellers or agents working in the area, it is certainly good news for buyers. And, usually, when there’s good news for buyers — and, we aren’t talking about Detroit — then, that’s good news for everyone.  

These cities are: 

• Seattle: A 12.1% change in list price 
• Portland: A 22.1% change in inventory 
• San Francisco: A 56.3% increase in listing price reductions 
• Stockton: A whopping 299.2% increase in listing price reductions 
• San Jose: A 110.6% increase in listing price reductions 
• Oxnard: The median listing price is $685,000 
• San Diego: A 28.5% increase in listing price reductions 

Even if you don’t work on the west coast, most people are familiar with the mind-blowing trends of the housing market there. For instance, in February this year, the cheapest one-bedroom home in San Francisco was predicted to sell at $520,000 — for an extremely small piece of property. The competition was so intense, that getting this house was like winning the lottery. But, looking at the numbers, there’s been a major decrease in housing prices overall. And, in the near future, looking for an affordable home in the Bay Area won’t be like finding a needle in a haystack. Are homes still expensive? Yes. But, at least they are coming back down. 

While San Francisco is notorious for having high-earning Silicon Valley workers living in vans just to be able to save up for a down payment, other cities are known for quite the opposite. For example, Stockton was the foreclosure capital of the United States back in 2008 when the crash came. Even though housing prices have gone up 8.2% overall, there’s no denying that there’s something going on, due to massive increase in listing prices at nearly 300%.  

This is because many sellers in Stockton were likely feeling hopeful after the foreclosures. When they got their hands on a property, they charged a pretty penny for who they hoped would be uninformed buyers. The problem is, these sellers were going in too much too soon, and people simply weren’t able to move back into the city and buy up those properties. After all, Stockton is still known for having a lot of crime and poverty.  

But, now, after looking at the numbers, like with San Francisco and these other cities, we are starting to see it level out. Sellers in Stockton have come to their senses.  

The Bottom Line 

Based on what we can see, some housing prices are going up. Some are going down. In some cities, the amount of homes available to buy are increasing, and the number of days homes are on the market is balancing itself out as well. This is all indicative of the market is correcting itself, or at least, slowing down a little bit. 

Remember that the housing market can be understood on a micro or macro level. Just by looking at one city or one state, isn’t going to give you answers about the entire housing market, and vice versa. And, while these statistics are focusing in on west coast cities, a glimpse at the trends in prices and housing inventory (increase and decrease in listing prices, the number of days houses tend to stay on the market, etc.) you can get a good idea of what’s happening in your neighborhood.  

Are you an agent working in one of these west coast cities? Have you been noticing these trends? Let us know in the comments below!