Welcome to Our Review of the First Month of 2025
This year was different from the last two years. You can see that new listings are up, and sales are down, and that is across the board when comparing January 2025 to January 2024. Why is this? Rates are about the same; I can’t say that the economic outlook has been any better or worse comparatively. I was at a dinner with colleagues, and someone pointed out how dry this last month has been compared to the last few years, and it clicked. This Jan there has been little to no rain!
I dug in to confirm. Sure enough, according to the National Weather Service website, Oakland saw .5 an inch of rainfall in Jan 2025 compared to 5.84 inches in 2024 and 9.25 inches in 2023. Sometimes the market has nothing to do with buyers' or sellers' desires and everything to do with Mother Nature.
You may also recall that we are closely watching the number of new contracts and how that compares to new listings. We hoped that there would be fewer listings and more contracts so some of that leftover inventory from 2024 could be absorbed. We have seen a big uptick in new listings, and new contracts have fallen behind.
Average sale price continues to slide, and average list-to-sale price ratios are also shrinking. This is a typical trend during the winter months. And it is yet to be determined if there will be enough buyers to take on the new inventory. Keep in mind the market is different depending on price points. We have seen a lot of competition in the million- to 2 million-dollar range, and we have also seen a lot of competition at the lower end of the market, say $600,000 and below. There is definitely some softening in the $600,000 - $950,000 range; if this is you, we are working on gathering programs and services to help bridge the affordability gap.
Month over Month Housing Statistics
Alameda County, Contra Costa County, Oakland, Berkeley, Martinez, and Pleasant Hill
Year over Year Housing Statistics
Alameda County, Contra Costa County, Oakland, Berkeley, Martinez, and Pleasant Hill
