Fewer buyers, and also fewer homes for sale in San Mateo County

“We definitely have been in an overheated one-sided seller’s market for years. It is finally starting to move away from that, which is what we have seen slowly for the last four to six months,” said Ungar.

Another factor that plays into the low housing stock is there are fewer opportunities for people to upgrade to a larger home at a reasonable price, so those potential buyers and sellers are left on the sidelines until interest rates fall because most likely their current home is at a better interest rate than what they can get now, said Ungar.

As of Nov. 10, interest rates peaked to 7.08% for a 30-year fixed mortgage, according to Freddie Mac.

Ruba Kalieh, a Realtor for Sotheby’s International Realty, believes the decrease in sales can be correlated to the rise of interest rates and stock market woes which lowers buyers’ purchasing power. Kalieh added the rate increase is making it hard for some sellers to justify leaving their place.

“Marry the house and date the mortgage,” said Kalieh, adding she is seeing more clients considering adjustable rate mortgages or taking the rate hike and refinancing whenever the rate does drop.

For years, the Bay Area housing market was primarily a seller’s market because many homes were quickly selling and over asking prices. However, Kalieh says the leverage is now with the home buyer. Many prospective buyers have been priced out recently and will have to sit on the sidelines until the stock market goes back up and interest rates fall down which means for the people who are still in the market they will have their choice over properties, she added.

“These buyers are looking for turnkey homes, they don’t want fixer uppers, they are selective, take their time, and are adding more contingencies to the sale,” said Kalieh.

County homes have stayed on the market an average of 27 days before selling which Kalieh says is nothing out of the ordinary. If anything, the market is leveling out and she believes the market in April was abnormal but it lasted for so long sellers expected it. Now, some sellers are feeling like they missed an opportunity or are stuck believing they can still get prices from six months ago but Kalieh said that is just not the case right now.

However, she said her clients are seeing multiple offers for their fully renovated homes if it is priced correctly.

nick@smdailyjournal.com

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