Note that there is a time lag – usually 3 to 6+ weeks – between a new listing coming on market, an offer being negotiated and accepted, and when the transaction actually closes sale. This means that almost all of the sales price data we have, as of the first week of April, still reflects the market BEFORE the shelter-in-place rules went into effect. In virtually all Bay Area counties, March median home sales prices were quite strong.
This report will look at the effects of the crisis on supply and demand by reviewing week by week statistics through April 5. The spring selling season is usually the most active of the year and, typically, the standard market indicators – new listings coming on market, total listings for sale, listings going into contract, sales closing escrow – all climb steadily from the mid-winter slowdown until peaking in late spring (or in a few markets, in summer). Since the coronavirus really began to impact the public consciousness locally in early March, and especially when the shelter in place rules came into effect, all these standard indicators have seen very significant declines. At the same time, the number of listings pulled off the market has spiked. Though the numbers are much reduced, some listings continue to go into contract.
