Making It in the Bay

More Supply Met With Less Demand in Bay Area Housing Market

NBC Universal, Inc.

Housing inventory in the Bay Area is finally up, but that hasn’t done anything to keep prices down. 

There are more houses for sale, but the combination of a rise in mortgage rates, and a tumbling stock market, makes the market still out of reach for most people.

"Less phone calls, I'm seeing less offers, less activities with open houses, definitely a cool down,” said Holly Barr, real estate agent with Compass.

She said a combination of still sky-high prices, combined with a rise in interest rates and inflation is leading would be buyers to hesitate, especially in tech-stock rich Silicon Valley.

"Interest rates are high, and my stocks, low ... I can't do that anymore," said Barr.

The real estate giant Re/Max Bay Area says economic conditions have quickly clouded the Bay Area housing picture.

NBC Bay Area's Raj Mathai spoke to Business and Tech Reporter Scott Budman about the increase of home prices in the Bay Area.

"We're definitely seeing a little bit of a change,” said Tim Yee, president of Re/Max Gold Bay Area. “It's not as robust as it was last year."

With prices up 12% from this time last year, Re/Max says local sales are down 17%, largely because only the very well-heeled can afford to buy what's out there.

"The interest rates, the inflation, I think it affects the lower end of the market much more than the middle ends or higher ends of the market,” said Barr.

While predicting real estate prices is a fool's game, people said prices are likely to stay steady for at least a while, unless we see a continued selloff among local tech stocks.

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