Our Real Estate Market in Belmont and on the SF Peninsula can usually be termed either a “buyer’s market” or a “seller’s market”. What does that mean and why does it have to be either one or the other?
Over the past 30+ years since Len Moore has been selling Belmont real estate and also in surrounding peninsula areas our market typically has either been at one extreme or the other. When the market is strong like now and homes are selling quickly we call it a “seller’s market”, as it favors the seller. This results when there is more demand than the existing supply of homes to sell. High demand causes homes to sell quickly, often at over asking price and since 2012 with multiple offers more often than not. This scenario makes sellers very happy as homes are bid up in price, sale terms are often “as-is” and contingencies (conditions placed in the real estate purchase contract allowing certain information to be found and approved by the buyer) are few if any at all. Many potential buyers have already made several previous offers and just want to buy now. You can imagine losing out on multiple opportunities because you could not afford to overbid by $200,000. or so. It can be very frustrating and tiring.
Our Belmont and peninsula real estate market has rarely been a balanced one. Balanced means the demand for real estate meets or resembles the supply available and the supply of homes available is in the multiple weeks of unsold inventory of homes instead of just days. A balanced real estate market is most common in areas where demand and supply don’t vary much or, in areas where real estate is not in such huge demand like here in San Carlos and in more desirable areas of the San Francisco peninsula.
Our next chapter in this blog will discuss buyer’s market and the dynamics that cause change in the SF peninsula and Belmont real estate markets.
