Written by Kelsey Lane

Let's start with a few statistics and then we'll get to the bigger news.

  • The second quarter 2024 closed out with only 14% of California's homebuyers being able to purchase a median-priced existing single family house in the state. (First quarter end was 17%) To put this in perspective, at the end of 2012 the home buying affordability percentage was 56 percent.
  • Currently more than half of the homeowners in California have a fixed-rate loan with a rate of 4% or lower. Current thought is that this environment helps to stave off a wave of foreclosures.
  • There is talk of the fed lowering rates in September. The industry is holding its breath.
  • Construction activity since the pandemic has resulted in lower rents. This boom saw more multifamily units come to completion in June 2024 than in any month going back 50 years. Median asking rent prices fell for the first time since 2020 in July, but they're still high.
  • Refinance demand is currently at the highest level it has been for two years. The average rate of a 30 year conventional loan is 6.88 percent.
  • The median home price in the San Jose metro area has exceeded 2 Million, a first for any metro area.

Perhaps the biggest news in the real estate industry these days is the implementation of the verdict that came out of the National Association of Realtors settlement concerning Realtors' commissions. Even though commissions have always been negotiable, it was felt that Realtors were not expressing the negotiable nature of commissions accurately or clearly, as well as some commission structures lacking transparency. As a result, commissions offered for buyers' agents will no longer be advertised on the back end of any MLS system nationwide. Sellers will still be able to offer a commission to buyer's agents, and buyers will also be deciding what commission to pay their agents. I need to add some of my own interpretation to the mix - since every property and house is different, it's likely that the commission scenario will look different in each case for a matter of months and possibly years until a new system emerges. Commensurately, agents will also have their own ability to decide whether they want to take on the transactions depending on the commission climate of the particular deal.

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Kelsey Lane has been a Realtor in the Silicon Valley since 2003 and is a Master Certified Negotiation Expert through the Real Estate Negotiation Institute, specializing in listings. She is also coaching certified through the Life Purpose Institute and approaches her real estate business through the eyes of a life coach. Cal-DRE #01390557