December 2024 Market Update

Hi everyone!

Let’s take a look at some fascinating market data. The most interesting data point - not pictured in the slides below - is that San Mateo County last year had the fewest number of sales in the last 23 years. This year, if you can believe it, we’ve had YTD even fewer sales, which is almost mind-boggling. The good news is that the market has been overall strong this year, and much of that is due to the gains in the stock market that began in Q1, which injected a lot more liquidity into our local housing market. With a meaningful percentage of buyers working in industries where part of their compensation is earned via restricted stock units (RSUs), as the stock market has increased, the value of RSUs has also increased. And since that happened, I personally saw a lot more people get into the market this year who seemed like were on the sidelines the last couple of years. What is also very interesting about this too is that interest rates this year have not meaningfully decreased either - they’re still hovering around 6%, which is where they’ve been since summer 2022. So if we didn’t see such a huge spike in the stock market this year, I’m not sure we’d be seeing the pop that we’ve had this year. I also can’t say that price increases though have happened across the board - anecdotally, it feels to me like only the best real estate, properties that I’d give an “A” or “A-” to, are the ones that are the hottest. However, in dozens of transactions I’ve participated in this year, about three quarters have been competitive with multiple offers.

If you’re thinking about making a move within or to San Mateo County, I’d love to be a part of your conversation. Please visit the Contact page on my website here to reach out!

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