Compare San Francisco Quotes
National Mortgage Rates 21 May 2012
| Loan Type | Today | +/- | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 yr fixed | 3.00 | - | N/A |
| 30 yr fixed | 3.69 | - | N/A |
| 5/1 ARM | 2.69 | - | N/A |
Rates may contain points
Fall Popular Season for San Francisco Homebuyers
Get widgets
Print
Facebook
RSS- By:
- Kirk Haverkamp - MortgageLoan.com
Fall is in the air. Time for football, pumpkins, hayrides and – at least in the San Francisco area – shopping for a home.
“This time of year is when the market takes off,” said Alex Clark, a San Francisco real estate agent. “San Francisco is kind of opposite the rest of the country. Elsewhere, summer is the popular time to buy a home.”
Clark, who edits the popular Front Steps real estate blog, said Bay area listings typically jump right after Labor Day. New listings on the MLS jumped to 225 the Friday after Labor Day, after running around 30-45 a day for Fridays in July and August; new listings typically appear toward the end of the week.
Lack of school pressure a factor
One of the reasons the city goes against the national norm, Clark said, is that the neighborhood you live in really doesn’t affect where your children go to school for most San Francisco homeowners. In other parts of the country, parents often seek to buy in late spring or early summer, so they’re established in the new home by the time the school year starts.
Clark also suggested the weather and summer vacations might play a role in boosting the popularity of fall home purchases in the Bay area.
It’s hard to say what this fall’s housing market will be like, after sales plummeted nationwide in July following the expiration of the federal homebuyer tax credit. More recently, there have been signs that buyers are slowly coming back to the market, with the Mortgage Bankers Association reporting that national applications for home purchase mortgages increased an average of 2 percent a week over the past four weeks.
Strong gains still overshadowed by previous declines
Home prices in San Francisco and other major California markets have posted some of the strongest gains in the nation over the past year, but that’s after previously suffering some of the biggest declines. Average prices in the San Francisco metro area are up about 10 percent over the past 12 months, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, but that's after a 40 percent decline beginning in 2005.
“What’s starting to change here is that people are starting to feel a bit more secure about their employment,” Clark said, attributing the rise to buyers coming back into the market as worries ease about their job situations.
Don't expect bargains everywhere
Buyers looking for bargains in the current market can’t necessarily expect huge bargains, said Clark. Prices in some of the more unique neighborhoods with highly desirable properties may be down only 5 percent, he said, while others have seen steeper declines.
Oddly enough, demand seems to be concentrated at opposite ends of the market, said Clark, who also co-founded the new Pocketlistings.net off-market listing service. The properties that are moving fastest and get multiple bids these days are usually high-end homes with lots of amenities, or homes in disrepair that offer fixer-upper potential.
Rates down, but credit tight
If you are home shopping, lining up a mortgage may be a challenge. Clark said credit seems to be even tighter this year than it was a year ago, despite the current low rates. With $700,000 -$900,000 homes considered the lower end of the range in the San Francisco market, many buyers will likely face the hurdle of trying to arrange for jumbo loans to finance their purchases, unless they can put up enough of a down payment to bring the loan amount below the $729,750 upper limit for loans that can be insured by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
Low Mortgage rates is our mission
Bringing the best rates on the market to
you is our primary focus. Fill the form to get a quote based on your conditions.
/Mortgageloan.com
-
New Home
Looking to get on the property ladder? Discover your spending power. Get a rate quote today.
-
Debt Consolidation
Are your debt woes getting you down? Explore your options now by filling out our form.
-
Home Equity
Is fluctuating home value a constant cause for concern? Our advice - take out a new loan today.
-
Mortgage Calculators
Need help getting a grip on your expenses and finances. Try one of our 137 multipurpose calculators.
Call For Rates
800-419-1494
Speak to a lender now.
We will match calls to our toll free number with our network of lenders.See Today's Rates
National Rates
| Loan Type | Today | +/- |
|---|---|---|
| 30 yr fixed | 3.69 |
|
| 15 yr fixed | 3.00 |
|
| 5/1 ARM | 2.69 |
|
Rates may contain points
Browse Mortgage Rates
Featured Guides
Browse our comprehensive guides to popular topics related to mortgage and personal finance.