Gaming the housing peak

SF Gate played the negative side of a recent Dataquick housing report today, "Although the median price of an existing single-family home in the region was $644,000 last month -- 16.7 percent higher than a year ago -- it was $2,000 below what it was in September, according to a report released Thursday by DataQuick, a La Jolla real estate information firm."

Whew! $2000! Prices and activity ALWAYS drop a little bit in the fall. Every single year. Yes, we have some economic factors that may cause the market to function a little differently in certain locations and price ranges, but don't be fooled. If you read this blog often, you have seen my examples of articles from past Novembers and Decembers calling for the collapse of the housing market. Yet every January or February, it picks right back up again.

This is, of course, my opinion, but I just see nothing but great opportunities for buyers right now. If you're a buyer and you're waiting for the market to drop, I think this is as good of an opportunity as we've seen since post-9/11. Will this continue into next year? I would wager that people who wait till 2006 will be disappointed with a complete lack of inventory in the first few months of the year. Many sellers have not seen their expectations met this Fall and they won't be selling until they see the market strengthen again. This means there will be low inventory and likely lots of buyers.

Like it or not, this is still San Francisco, and many of us really want to live here. And notice how the economy is moving along just fine, job stability is up, salaries are up, and there will be lots of buyers flush with holiday bonuses come January...