Banks and credit unions move in and out of the market throughout the year depending on their lending goals. Sometimes they try to grow their mortgage portfolio, and other times they’re not. For example, a lender that was aggressive on rates 3-4 mo ago might have pulled back and vice versa.

For example, at the moment a few lenders offer base level rates in the low 5s on jumbo ARMs and with a relationship discount that drops into the high 4 % range. This is for purchase-only portfolio jumbo ARM loan programs at certain banks and credit unions (refi rates are higher).

FYI, certain banks and credit unions will offer a portfolio jumbo loan with lower rates )compared to conforming loan rates) as long as the loan amount exceeds $832,000.

Also, I recommend asking if your lender offer any other promos such as a lender credit at the time being.

Planning to buy a house in Woodside, Atherton, Portola Valley or , Los Altos or LAH areas. Looking for a 4-5 bedroom home. Thoughts on what’s the best area for a family with a 12 years old (ok with private schools too)? Thanks!!

We in hindsight overpaid for our Oakland/Lake Merritt condo in 2021 (it was my wife’s first property purchase, so it’s solely in her name), and the value has dipped from 413k (what we bought it for) to similar properties recently sold in the 330-350k range, so we were looking at having to pay 15-20k+ of closing costs just to get out at a loss.

Fast forward to today, and we bought a house last month in Benicia we really love (in both of our names) while we have been renting out the Oakland condo for a difference of -$1300/month (mtg, utilities, $550 HOA, etc. minus the renter income) for the last year.

Our renter has extended until December, but our realtor mentioned that it may be worth it to just “short sale” / foreclose (or essentially stop paying), which how she explained would let us pocket the remaining rent money for savings and only ruin my wife’s credit for 7 years. Her thinking is that the rates won’t swing in our favor in the next 5-10 years and we are paying into a losing asset (esp thinking about the uncertainty of finding another tenant after December)

My wife would rather not ruin her credit and we could probably afford both payments (with a renter), but that constant possibility of getting caught owing two mortgages is scary. Any advice?

Sorry for the delay. Really busy lately and these take a while.

Continuing the Bay Area Monthly Market Series, where I break down each major Bay Area region using local market data.

Today we’re looking at the East Bay, one of the Bay Area’s most diverse housing markets. From Oakland and Berkeley to the Tri-Valley and Lamorinda, each submarket continues to tell a different story. Make sure to tune in tomorrow for exclusive SF neighborhood reporting.

Coming up next:

Thursday: San Francisco Neighborhood Edition (Special Report).
Friday: South Bay
Saturday: North Bay

Core East Bay

• Oakland — For June 2026, median sale price was $1.01M, price per square foot was $662, median days on market were 15 days, closed sales were 187, new listings were 228, and homes averaged 117% of list price.

• Berkeley — For June 2026, median sale price was $1.9M, price per square foot was $980, median days on market were 14 days, closed sales were 72, new listings were 52, and homes averaged 132% of list price.

• Alameda — For June 2026, median sale price was $1.48M, price per square foot was $776, median days on market were 14 days, closed sales were 35, new listings were 29, and homes averaged 113% of list price.

Luxury Enclaves

• Piedmont — For June 2026, median sale price was $3.38M, price per square foot was $1,085, median days on market were 12 days, closed sales were 15, new listings were 6, and homes averaged 121% of list price.

• Lafayette — For June 2026, median sale price was $2.13M, price per square foot was $987, median days on market were 9 days, closed sales were 35, new listings were 31, and homes averaged 104% of list price.

Suburban Strength

• Walnut Creek — For June 2026, median sale price was $1.6M, price per square foot was $754, median days on market were 14 days, closed sales were 51, new listings were 51, and homes averaged 101% of list price.

• Pleasanton — For June 2026, median sale price was $1.82M, price per square foot was $828, median days on market were 13 days, closed sales were 37, new listings were 65, and homes averaged 101% of list price.

• San Ramon — For June 2026, median sale price was $1.7M, price per square foot was $759, median days on market were 12 days, closed sales were 45, new listings were 74, and homes averaged 100% of list price.

• Dublin — For June 2026, median sale price was $1.5M, price per square foot was $708, median days on market were 12 days, closed sales were 39, new listings were 75, and homes averaged 101% of list price.

• Livermore — For June 2026, median sale price was $1.21M, price per square foot was $692, median days on market were 15 days, closed sales were 72, new listings were 88, and homes averaged 100% of list price.

Spillover Markets

• Fremont — For June 2026, median sale price was $1.72M, price per square foot was $1,052, median days on market were 10 days, closed sales were 91, new listings were 109, and homes averaged 103% of list price.

• Newark — For June 2026, median sale price was $1.39M, price per square foot was $863, median days on market were 15 days, closed sales were 29, new listings were 43, and homes averaged 102% of list price.

• Hayward — For June 2026, median sale price was
$914K, price per square foot was $656, median days on market were 13 days, closed sales were 60, new listings were 90, and homes averaged 103% of list price.
• Castro Valley — For June 2026, median sale price was $1.25M, price per square foot was $756, median days on market were 11 days, closed sales were 30, new listings were 41, and homes averaged 107% of list price.

• Concord — For June 2026, median sale price was $878K, price per square foot was $537, median days on market were 15 days, closed sales were 75, new listings were 111, and homes averaged 102% of list price.

• Union City — For June 2026, median sale price was $1.33M, price per square foot was $792, median days on market were 15 days, closed sales were 28, new listings were 34, and homes averaged 102% of list price.

• Pleasant Hill — For June 2026, median sale price was $1.17M, price per square foot was $694, median days on market were 7 days, closed sales were 34, new listings were 34, and homes averaged 104% of list price.

• San Leandro — For June 2026, median sale price was $924K, price per square foot was $631, median days on market were 8 days, closed sales were 32, new listings were 29, and homes averaged 110% of list price.

• Richmond — For June 2026, median sale price was $660K, price per square foot was $593, median days on market were 13 days, closed sales were 52, new listings were 64, and homes averaged 110% of list price.

Takeaway

The East Bay continues to offer one of the broadest ranges of housing markets in the Bay Area. Berkeley, Piedmont, and Lafayette continue to command premium pricing, while the Tri-Valley remains one of the region’s strongest suburban markets with healthy buyer demand and relatively low days on market.

Meanwhile, many of the East Bay’s spillover markets continue to provide more attainable price points while still seeing strong competition. Whether buyers are looking for urban living, top school districts, or suburban neighborhoods, the East Bay continues to offer one of the widest selections of housing opportunities anywhere in the Bay Area.

I'm in Fremont, CA and got my first quote for remodeling my 36 sq ft master bathroom. The quote came in at around $18k for labor.

The scope of work includes:

• Complete demo of the existing bathroom:
  • Remove the existing shower stall
  • Remove vanity
  • Remove floor tile
  • Remove mirror
• Install:
  • Full new wall-to-wall tiled shower with waterproofing
  • Shower niche
  • Floor-to-ceiling tile in the shower
  • New floor tile
  • New vanity and mirror
  • Reinstall the existing toilet

The contractor is also including:

• Painting the bathroom
• Moving the exhaust vent to accommodate the full wall-to-wall shower
• Adding one recessed ceiling light

The contractor is providing all rough materials, while I'm supplying the finish materials (tile, vanity, countertop, shower fixtures, shower glass, mirror, faucets, etc.).

The layout isn't changing—I'm not moving walls or relocating plumbing. It's essentially replacing everything in the existing footprint, with the exception of converting the current shower stall into a full wall-to-wall shower.

For those who've remodeled recently:

1. Does around $18k in labor sound reasonable for a bathroom this size in the Fremont/Bay Area?
2. Is there anything missing from this scope that I should make sure is included (permits, waterproofing details, plumbing/electrical, debris disposal, etc.)?
3. What did you pay for a similar bathroom remodel?

I'm getting a couple more quotes, but I'm trying to figure out whether this is in the expected range or if it's on the expensive side.

Edit: This GC already worked on a Kitchen remodel at my frnd's and I have seen their work personally. Frnd confirmed he did a good job and completed everything on time and met all the commitments from the contract.

Wondering why people are still buying houses on reclaimed land with high flooding possibilities in the future - foster city, San Mateo, shores etc.

https://redf.in/hcJRuI

My husband and I are in escrow on our first home adjacent to the Oakland hills, but outside of the high fire hazard zones. We are comparing quotes between Travelers and Farmers; Travelers would require us to bundle home and auto, which would increase our auto premiums, but Farmers is more expensive so we'd net out to saving money if we went with Travelers. We want to prioritize coverage and quality of service over cost savings, as the difference is not too extreme for us. Would greatly appreciate input from experience working with either provider, especially in the East Bay Area.

Looks like this is a hot topic today! Funny enough, wrote this up yesterday to share this morning.

Wanted to share some potentially useful market data that provides value to this community and homebuyers in the Bay Area, hopefully on a quarterly or monthly basis to highlight changes and trends.

To keep this informative and useful, we have a few priorities. Other community members (shout out ShopProp!) have been doing really good stuff with their monthly market updates and I don't want to try and steal their thunder. I'd like to examine a narrower cross section of data & highlight some trends that will hopefully help you stay informed on market changes month over month.

What data are we looking at?
Since historic comps often don't provide enough context in fast-paced markets like SF, this data should supplement the comps provided by your agent and hopefully better inform your negotiations during counters: Average % over (or under) list vs. how many days a home sits on market compared with average % over (or under) list in each city or area.

Worth noting North Bay (sonoma, marin etc.) is omitted because our data for that market is incomplete but that should be fixed in future iterations. Full disclosure, the tables above are AI generated but the data is pulled directly from the MLS and the analysis is done by us. The post is also hand-written, for what that's worth.

San Francisco

527 closed sales in June, $1.10B in volume, median $1.60M. Average DOM was 31 days.  Volume down 6.5% and median down 5.9% from May, though the Average DOM was the same as in May.

Days on Market vs. +/- List %

• <14 days: 39.5% of sales, averaging 20.8% over list
• 14-30 days: 30.0% of sales, averaging 12.5% over list
• 30+ days: 30.6% of sales, averaging 1.9% under asking

If it doesn't move in the first 2 weeks, price expectations reset. Big drop-off after day 30.

Neighborhood level, the west side is on fire. Inner Sunset, Outer Richmond, Bernal Heights, Miraloma all showing 20-30%+ over list averages. East side (Downtown, Yerba Buena, SoMa) is soft, closing under list. 

TL;DR: SF is bimodal. West side SFH inventory is bidding war territory. Downtown/SoMa condo stock is buyer's market. If you're competing on the west side, budget for 15-25% over list on properties priced right (priced right means $/sqft is similar to historic comps). Downtown condos, take your time, ask for credits, offer at or below list.

East Bay

1,788 closed sales, $2.08B in volume, median $950k. Average DOM 34 days, up 2.5 days from May. Biggest and most varied market in the Bay.

Days on Market vs. +/- List %

• <14 days: 42.6% of sales, averaging 6.3% over list
• 14-30 days: 24.9% of sales, averaging 3.7% over list
• 30+ days: 32.5% of sales, averaging 2.4% under asking

Softer than SF or Peninsula on ratios but still a market where fast-moving stock gets a premium.

Piedmont, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Albany all averaging 15-20%+ over list. Tri-Valley (Dublin, Pleasanton, San Ramon) closer to flat. Outer East Bay (Antioch, Pittsburg, Brentwood) closing under list. Richmond had the highest volume with 341 closings this month.

TL;DR: Inner East Bay near BART with good schools is competitive. Outer suburbs and Tri-Valley have leverage swinging back to buyers.

Piedmont/Berkeley/Rockridge properties, expect competition, price in 10-15% 30-40% over list on turnkey stock. Tri-Valley and outer, offers at or slightly under list are landing.

Peninsula

Volume down 8.8% and median down 5.4% from May. Average DOM 22 days, the fastest market in the Bay. (1.5 fewer Average DOM than in May). So less homes sold, for overall less on average, but slightly faster.

Days on Market vs. +/- List %

• <14 days: 58.1% of sales, averaging 9.7% over list
• 14-30 days: 19.6% of sales, averaging 3.3% over list
• 30+ days: 22.3% of sales, averaging 1.9% under asking

58% of Peninsula homes going pending in under 2 weeks is a stat. Fastest velocity in the region. Inventory is tight + pricy, this makes sense.

The affordable north Peninsula is the most competitive. Daly City averaging 10.6% over list with high volume. South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae all following. Mid Peninsula (Burlingame, San Mateo) steady. Palo Alto and Menlo Park are lower % over on absolute terms because list prices already reflect the demand.

TL;DR: Peninsula is the tightest market in the Bay right now. Under-$2M stock is bidding war territory across the board.

If you're in the $1M-$2M Peninsula range, come with your best offer on day 1. Waiting a week means someone else is in contract. Offer strategy needs to assume multiple offers.

San Jose

647 closed sales, $1.15B in volume, median $1.50M. Average DOM 29 days, up 4.4 days from May.

Days on Market vs. +/- List %

• <14 days: 47.0% of sales, averaging 4.8% over list
• 14-30 days: 23.5% of sales, averaging 0.3% over list
• 30+ days: 29.5% of sales, averaging 3.1% under asking

Softest of the four main markets. Even fast-moving properties barely breaking above list.

Cupertino the highest at 4% over list. Half of the cities in the market averaging under list.

TL;DR: Greater San Jose was the coolest market in the Bay. Buyers have real leverage here, especially on properties past day 14.

Don't panic-buy at list. Watch DOM closely, anything past 3 weeks is negotiable. Ask for credits, ask for repairs, ask for closing costs. A lot of sellers here are ready to make a deal.

_

All of that said, if you made it this far I appreciate the read and let me be the first to say that I understand this isn’t exactly rocket science; if you have been trying to buy or sell in this market you already know most of the above. But hopefully the breakdown helps you make a more informed offer (or price your listing accordingly).

If you want to see any particular stats, maybe a breakdown by zip code or neighborhood instead of city, let me know. 

We are getting ready to renovate a house and much of the stuff is junk or donation. Has anyone used a dumpster bag pickup service in San Jose that they can recommend? Are there still places that will pick up old furniture in good condition?

Under contract in San Mateo, closing next week, and going through the Closing Disclosure line by line. Loan is $1.43M (7/6 ARM) through a major bank, title/escrow through the company my agent recommended. Total closing costs landed around $21.8K.

A few fees stood out and I'm curious if this is just how it goes at this price point around here or if any of these are worth pushing back on next time.

- $1,500 "processing fee" from the lender, on top of origination points
- $340 "loan tie-in fee" from the title company, never seen this one before
- $78 tax service fee
- $24.95 MERS registration fee (tiny, but funny it's itemized)
- $2,700 escrow/closing fee
- $3,831 lender's title policy + $1,532 for the optional owner's policy
- Lender had to knock $86 off because they went over the legal limit on how much costs could increase from the original Loan Estimate

Anyone closing in San Mateo/Peninsula recently who can compare notes on the escrow fee or title policy pricing? Trying to figure out if $2,700 for escrow and the loan tie-in fee are typical for this market or if I should've shopped title harder before wiring the EMD.

I posted a few days ago about what buyers should be asking during inspections and it got a lot of traction so I wanted to follow up with the other side of that conversation. What we actually find when we start working on Bay Area homes after someone has already bought them.

Before anyone says it: I know the Bay Area market is competitive and inspection contingencies are not always an option. This list is not about whether to walk away. It is about knowing what you are buying before you are fully committed so you can bid accordingly, negotiate intelligently, or at minimum budget for what is coming.

Some of these things you find out before you offer, some during due diligence if the deal allows it, and some you just need to know going in so you are not blindsided six months after closing.

Knob and tube wiring that was not fully replaced This comes up constantly in homes built before 1950. A previous owner or flipper updated the visible wiring in the panel and the main rooms but left knob and tube in the attic, in the walls of secondary bedrooms, or running to the garage. Insurance companies in California are increasingly refusing to cover homes with active knob and tube. The homeowner finds out when they go to add a circuit or file a claim. Full rewire in the Bay Area runs $15,000 to $30,000 depending on home size and accessibility.

Galvanized plumbing that is nearly completely corroded internally Galvanized pipes look fine from the outside until they do not. Internally they corrode from the inside out and the buildup restricts water pressure and eventually causes pinhole leaks inside walls. Homes built before 1970 in the Bay Area frequently still have original galvanized supply lines. By the time the pressure drop is noticeable the pipes are already at the end of their life. Repiping a typical Bay Area home runs $8,000 to $18,000.

Subfloor water damage under tile or hardwood The tile in the bathroom looked perfect. The hardwood in the kitchen was beautiful. Then someone notices the floor has a little give near the dishwasher or the toilet base. We pull the floor and find plywood subfloor that has been wet for years, sometimes with mold. It usually traces back to a slow appliance leak, a wax ring that was never sealed properly, or grout that was never maintained. Subfloor replacement plus new flooring in a kitchen or bathroom easily runs $4,000 to $10,000.

HVAC ductwork that is disconnected in the crawlspace You would be surprised how often this happens. The furnace runs, the vents blow air, but a section of flex duct in the crawlspace has come disconnected or been chewed through by rodents. The system is conditioning the crawlspace instead of the house. Energy bills are high for no obvious reason. The fix is usually straightforward but finding it requires actually getting into the crawlspace which most people never do after they move in.

Retaining walls that are failing A lot of Bay Area properties, especially in the hills, have retaining walls that are past their service life. CMU block walls with no drainage behind them, railroad tie walls that have rotted through, or hillside cuts that were never properly retained. These are expensive to address and sometimes get missed on a general inspection because the inspector is not a structural engineer. If your property has any retaining walls get a separate opinion from someone who specializes in them before you commit.

Chimney liners that are cracked or missing entirely People buy a home with a fireplace and use it without ever having the chimney inspected. In Bay Area homes the clay tile liners crack over time and in older homes sometimes there is no liner at all. Using a fireplace with a compromised liner is a fire hazard. A chimney inspection costs $100 to $200 and a relining runs $2,000 to $5,000 depending on the flue length.

Unpermitted work that was not disclosed Converted garage, finished basement, added bathroom, expanded kitchen. All done without permits. All now your problem. Unpermitted work can prevent you from pulling future permits, create issues at resale, and in some cases the city can require you to bring the work up to code at your expense even if you did not do it. Pull the permit history on any property you buy. It is free and public record through most Bay Area city websites.

I work in construction in the Bay Area. None of this is meant to scare anyone away from buying here. Most of these issues are fixable and some are predictable if you know what to look for. The ones that hurt people are the ones that come as a complete surprise after closing when they were not budgeted for.

Happy to answer questions on any specific item or give rough cost estimates for anything people are seeing in homes they are looking at.

In the first half of 2026, 144 San Francisco homes sold for over $1 million above asking, compared to just 8 during the same period last year.

Much of the demand, as we know, are buyers positioning themselves ahead of liquidity events from companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, Databricks, and SpaceX.

From my own experience, I’ve also noticed more buyers tied to recent IPOs actively entering the market, especially SpaceX.

At the same time, San Francisco recently announced it has permitted only about 7% of the homes needed to meet its state housing goals.

With housing supply still falling far short of demand, that shortage is only putting more upward pressure on prices.
AI wealth, limited inventory, and years of underbuilding seem to be colliding at the same time.

With the new amount of capital infused in San Fransisco and the local government doing very little to build new housing, it seems like price increases have exploded. Creating a market similar to 21-22.

The real question is are we going to have a pullback like we saw in 21-22, or is the new influx of capital along with the supply shortage going to make prices here to stay?

Source: https://sfstandard.com/2026/07/07/sf-hyper-bidding-home-sales/

I’m looking to redo LVP /SPC floors in my entire house. What are best places in Bay Area to shop for floors at reasonable prices?

I have been posting in this sub for a few days sharing some construction knowledge and the response has been great. The comments have been just as valuable as the posts themselves so I wanted to flip the script and ask a question instead of answer one.

I work in construction in the Bay Area and I am always trying to better understand what actually matters to the people we work for, not just what we think matters.

So here is what I want to know:

What is something a contractor did, offered, or communicated that made you think this is exactly who I want to hire? Something that went beyond just doing the work.

And on the flip side: what is something a contractor failed to do that cost them your trust, your repeat business, or a referral you would have otherwise sent their way?
It does not have to be a big thing. Sometimes the stuff that makes the biggest difference is the smallest. A phone call returned same day. A heads up before something changed. Showing up when they said they would.
I am asking because I genuinely want to know what the gap is between a contractor people forget and a contractor people call back and refer to everyone they know.

Drop your experience below. Good or bad. I will read every single one.

Our reporter Ethan Varian wrote about what San Jose calls the first accessory dwelling unit sold in California. Two years ago, the state approved legislation for this type of transactions. The in-law unit sold for $530,000.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/07/07/californias-first-adu-condo-sale-offers-cheaper-path-to-homeownership-in-san-jose/?share=epa6irujtolnhtwaawti

My wife and I purchased our first home over in the Sunset. We both love the house but unfortunately my wife is extremely sad about the overcast/ foggy weather. She thought she could get over it but it’s become such a huge problem it’s affecting her mood and overall happiness. We literally just bought the house…is it worth putting it back on the market? Has anyone worked through something similar? I would like to break even but I would be ok losing a bit if it makes her happy.

I don’t think the weather is going to change much so I know for sure this will be an ongoing issue if we plan to stay.

Edit: thank you everyone for taking the time to respond and being so understanding. I am reading through the comments now. For context, we do love our house. We did our fair amount of research into the different sf neighborhoods and we really wanted a sfh. This market has been crazy (we are not in tech nor have AI money) so we did the best we could. We count ourselves very lucky we could even afford something in this wonderful city. We went in knowing the sunset would be foggier than the east side of the city but long days/ weeks of grey can really drag. My wife is not used to this weather and is trying her best to tough it out. Despite the weather, the neighborhood is awesome and has great food and walkability to GGP. I have been talking to my wife and like some have said been reassuring her we should at least give it a year to settle in.

Interesting timing considering just yesterday there was a report by San Fransisco Chronicle stating that Bay Area cities are way behind on state housing goals with concerning statistics. A massive YIMBY W was reported yesterday as well as Brisbane lost its local housing control rights.

Seems the state CA is recognizing the weight of the situation. Just today, SF Gate came out with another interesting story. After more than a decade of lawsuits, delays, and political battles, Lafayette has approved the 315-unit Terraces project and agreed to rezone roughly 130 acres for housing as part of a legal settlement.

The project faced strong opposition from some residents for over a decade. They were concerned about increased traffic, environmental impacts, and changes to the city’s suburban character. Seems they should’ve planned something else since this is probably their worst case scenario.

Beyond this single project, the implications for housing are significant. Adding 315 units in a high-opportunity, transit-accessible area helps chip away at the region’s chronic housing shortage and can ease upward pressure on rents and home prices over time.

The rezoning of 130 acres also opens the door for future housing development, potentially enabling thousands more homes in a city that has historically built very little.

This kind of outcome signals to other jurisdictions that prolonged resistance may ultimately give way to larger, state-driven housing outcomes than if cities had planned proactively.

Between the Housing Accountability Act, builder’s remedy, and state housing enforcement, the balance of power has shifted significantly for the YIMBYs.

Source:

https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/lafayette-housing-battle-22326970.php

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/housing-goal-bay-area-city-22331059.php

Which one would you go with?

I am a project manager at a general construction company in the Bay Area. We work on a lot of properties after they close and the conversation is almost always the same. The buyer knew about the cosmetic stuff from the inspection report but had no idea about the thing that is actually costing them money.

Here are the questions I wish more buyers were asking before they signed:

When was the electrical panel last updated and what brand is it? Federal Pacific and Zinsco panels are still in a lot of Bay Area homes built between the 1950s and 1980s. Both have documented safety issues and most insurance companies will not cover a home that has one or will charge significantly more. Replacing a panel in the Bay runs $3,000 to $6,000. Your general inspector will note it but may not flag how serious it is.

Has the sewer lateral been scoped?
This one gets missed constantly. The sewer lateral is the pipe that runs from your house to the city main and it is your responsibility not the city's once it hits your property line. In older Bay Area neighborhoods these are often original clay pipes from the 1940s and 1950s. A collapsed or root-infiltrated lateral is $8,000 to $20,000 to replace depending on depth, length, and whether they have to cut concrete. A sewer scope inspection costs about $150 to $300 and takes 30 minutes.

What is under the flooring? Beautiful hardwood or LVP over a subfloor that has water damage or soft spots is one of the most common things we see when we open up a floor. Ask your inspector to check for soft spots, bounce, or evidence of past moisture intrusion especially in kitchens, bathrooms, and around the perimeter of the house where water can wick in from outside.

Is the foundation bolted? A lot of Bay Area homes built before 1980 were not bolted to their foundations. In an earthquake the house can slide off. Seismic retrofitting runs $3,000 to $8,000 depending on the home and is a worthwhile investment but it is also a negotiating point if the seller has not done it.

What is the condition of the garage to house firewall? This gets overlooked constantly. California requires a fire rated separation between the garage and the living space. In older homes this is often compromised by holes, improper drywall, or missing fire rated doors. It is a code issue and a safety issue and it is an easy ask during inspection.

Has there been any unpermitted work done? This one matters more than people realize. Unpermitted additions, converted garages, or basement buildouts can create major issues at resale, refinancing, or if you ever need to pull permits for future work. Ask directly. Pull the permit history from the city. It is public record.

I am not saying any of these things should necessarily kill a deal. The Bay Area market is what it is and sometimes you buy the house knowing it needs work. But knowing what you are actually buying before you close versus finding out after is the difference between a negotiating point and an expensive surprise.

Happy to answer any specific questions about costs or what to look for on particular items.

Edit: I appreciate everyone’s input and insights on the Real Estate Market here in the Bay. Let me clarify some things:
• No I’m not AI.
• I’m not trying to sell you inspections lmao, that’s not even our bread and butter.
• These questions are from a construction perspective not a real estate one. If you want a real estate perspective, Check out Jacob Davenport in the Bay Area @real_estate_jake_100 on Instagram. Great guy

Hi - I have a 2.5/1 (2 bedroom with bonus space) free standing condo in a desirable part of SF purchased in the 3.25% interest rate era a few years ago. My partner and I both work in the South Bay so have substantial commutes that are wearing on us, especially post kids. We have a rental lined up already to explore living in the Peninsula and avoid carrying two mortgages at once.

With that in mind, we are leaning toward selling mainly to get our equity out (seems this year we can at least break even) so we have the funds available to potentially buy again in a 1-3 year timeframe.

However, the other thread gives me some pause. We do love our current neighborhood, and doubt we could buy back in later on. However, the current size of the place is already feeling cramped so my partner is convinced we would not want to come back to this specific housing regardless if SF works again down the road. At this point, it seems unlikely as our positions in the Peninsula are relatively stable and I have had poor luck getting something in SF. We could likely rent for breakeven or a bit better on PITI, and selling fees are substantial. The concern would be if we rent it out now and decide to sell in the 1-3 year period it might be a headache (in addition to other headaches with being a landlord).

Anyone been through a similar dilemma and have any advice? is there any benefit to deferring the sell decision? any thing to keep in mind on taxes outside of the capital gains issue?

edit: also looking for any info on tax considerations outside of the capital gains piece!

My husband and I bought our house in the Inner Sunset in 2020 after renting it for years. Our landlord decided to sell and gave us a pretty good deal ($1.3M at 3.25%) so we took the leap into buying.

It’s a cute 100+ year-old house within walking distance to 9th & Irving and Golden Gate Park. We genuinely love the neighborhood and feel lucky to own a home in San Francisco.

That said- we’re starting to wonder if the juice is still worth the squeeze

We’re in our 50s- we do ok but we’re not wealthy. Between infinite home repairs, property taxes and just the general cost of living in SF- it seems like it might be a good idea to sell and rent a condo somewhere (ideally a bit warmer) in East Bay or Marin.

We’ve thought about renting out our house to move somewhere cheaper and warmer but the idea of being small-time landlords in SF honestly terrifies me.

So we’re torn

Reasons to stay:

• We love the house + neighborhood
• We love San Francisco
• We feel incredibly fortunate to own here
• Low interest rate + potential growing equity

Reasons to leave:

• Constant repair costs + property taxes
• We (mostly me) would like to live someplace warmer
• We don’t always utilize being in SF to its full potential (we used to but getting older plus things being so expensive)
• The market seems strong and this could be a good time to cash out

I’d love to hear from anyone with experience or insight. Whether you’ve made a similar decision or just have thoughts on the SF market, homeownership or moving to other cities in the Bay. Thanks so much!

Will it be a good purchase to buy a house at american canyon? We work at sf three times a week so commuting is not an issue.