Pat Kitano

The latest word on the Bay Area housing market - bifurcation - def: forked or divided into two parts or branches

The current market obeys classic supply and demand - the limited supply of higher priced housing ($1mm+) in demand cities like San Francisco, Burlingame and Palo Alto maintain a seller's market where multiple offers (we've heard instances of up to 40 on the Peninsula) are still common. The large supply of entry level housing ($700k and lower) in counties like Solano and those in the Central Valley were being bought by folks priced out of that San Rafael to Cupertino corridor (trace a thick line between the two cities). Demand has softened now that buying a home has been portrayed as risky by the media, along with the fact that it's harder to get an entry level loan due to credit tightening.

Bifurcation is happening where there is a high demand area (often supported by a strong economy) with limited housing supply (Silicon Valley, New York City, London, Maui) and a suburban / exurban ring built around the city.

Please click on the web reference to see a Bay Area housing map with commentary on the state of the housing market... - Wed Jul 18 2007, 22:52

flipping padand a review of two real estate investing blogs - Tue May 22 2007, 20:55

Bigger Pockets! - Tue May 15 2007, 20:45

Here's a house in the Haight that sold for 34% over asking... Socketsite talks about a lot of houses getting multiple offers - Tue May 22 2007, 20:49