Overheated Bay Area Home Sales Take a Breather In July

Kelly Zito covers today's Dataquick report on July home sales in SF Gate.

As one astute Craigslist optimist wrongly assumed, prices did not drop 11%... The number of homes sold dropped 11%. Wishful thinking, I know...

"The number of properties that changed hands in July dropped 11.9 percent on a month-to-month basis and 10.8 percent year-over year."

What happened in July was that too many sellers jumped on the speculation bandwagon with the "I'll sell if I get X dollars for my house!" They saw what happened in the spring when there was VERY low inventory. They didn't market properly. They didn't prepare their property. They put it on with a discount real estate broker who put it in the MLS and slapped a lockbox on the front door. Then they were SHOCKED when it didn't sell.

Those folks have all left the market now. They still live in their houses, and they really had no intention of moving... Unless that dream offer came in. Which it never will in this market without proper marketing and the right agent.

The 'real' inventory right now (stuff that people will actually buy) is about 50% of what it was in July. Low inventory equals a seller's market. I bet Dataquick has a different story to tell when we talk about August's numbers...