Thanksgiving was a blast! This year I ditched the bird and made a Beef Wellington for the family, and it turned out great. My dad pointed out that the dish was named after Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington, who famously defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. While my dad’s nuanced historical knowledge still haunts me as I write, I want to pivot back to our local real estate market where we’ve been closely tracking the ratio of new contracts to active listings.
This last month, we’ve seen some very encouraging signs. (When looking at contract activity in the data below, refer to the "# Sold" metric in the tables.)
For much of this year, new listings were outpacing under-contract properties by nearly 2-to-1. However, this November we finally saw that trend flip. Our hope is for closed sales to continue outpacing new listings through December and January. It is critical for this year's remaining inventory to be absorbed prior to the launch of the Spring market, when we traditionally expect a significant surge of new homes entering the market. If market momentum slows and 2024 inventory lingers into 2025, pricing stability could face downward pressure.
On a positive note, average list and sale prices remain relatively flat across the sampled East Bay areas. This demonstrates remarkable resilience in our local market, even when facing elevated inventory levels and a persistent high-interest-rate environment.
If you have questions about specific neighborhood dynamics or pricing strategies for your home, feel free to reach out anytime!
Eli and Bill
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
