I and my Realtor cohorts are baffled as to what is going on in the San Francisco real estate market.

• On one hand, I see sellers in all price ranges and property types getting realistic and reducing their prices SIGNIFICANTLY. That’s great news for buyers and the market in general.
• And yet buyer behavior isn’t responding. For example, we see a house for sale at $799,000 needing tons of work (which means lots of money for the new buyer), and it gets multiple offers. Meanwhile the house down the street, all fixed up for $135,000 more (or approximately $725 more per month in mortgage payments), gets no offers.

I realize it’s summer and things typically slow down at this time of the year, but this erratic behavior is making it hard for buyers, sellers, Realtors and the the industry in general to get a handle on a singular direction for the market as a whole.

It is clear that job creation is an important piece to this puzzle, but statistics don’t tend to tell the real story on the street. I would love it if I heard directly from you, the buyer, as to what obstacles or fears you are facing today.

Feel free to add comments or send me an email via the form on this page. I look forward to solving this mystery with you.