Home prices face crosswind in East County

sellers with equity in their homes, buyers wanting to buy, sky-high rent, and volatile interest rates.

Oakley, Discovery Bay, is up approximately 47% in active listings over the same time last year.” percent from January 2022, which has been attributed to job layoffs in recent months, particularly in the technology sector.

“We have a storm brewing that can’t decide which way to go,” said local real estate agent Nancy Gonzalez, in response to the current housing market.

Buffeted by inflation and uncertainty, the housing market today is a mix of

Gonzalez echoes what other real estate agents and analysts are saying about the current housing market. Regardless of the nature of the economy, a common question persists: When is or isn’t a good time to purchase a home?

“The general consensus is that the housing market is definitely improving.” said real estate agent Katherine Prinzivalli of Brentwood. “Per Trendgraphix, our area of East County; Antioch, Brentwood,

According to Norada Real Estate Investment, closed escrow sales of singlefamily detached homes in California totaled 241,540 in January 2023; a 0.4 percent increase from sales in December 2022, but they represent a 45.7 percent decrease from a year earlier in January 2022 when home sales totaled 444,400.

The median home price in California fell to $751,330 in January 2023, down 3 percent from December 2022 and 1.9

In the Bay Area, median home prices saw the highest year-over-year decline in terms of median home prices, dropping 14.6 percent to a median price of $1 million. Data from Redfin Real Estate shows that the median sale price for a home in Contra Costa County as of January 2023 is $680,000, down 9.39 percent from a year previous, and the number of homes sold decreased by 45.2 percent, from 834 to 457.

Conversely, markets in Charlotte, N.C., Cleveland, Ohio, Pittsburgh, Pa., Dallas, Texas, Nashville, Tenn., Jacksonville, Fla., Kansas City, Mo., Miami, Fla. Atlanta, Ga., and Philadelphia, Pa. are projected to be the hottest housing markets nationally in 2023, while Minneapolis, Minn. Denver, Colo., Sacramento, and San Jose are markets projected to cool off due to home value decreases and slower housing market activity.

Real estate agents have mentioned the varying impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with some areas seeing continued growth or stable home values, while other areas saw declines or stagnant sales due to economic uncertainty related to the pandemic.

“When it first hit, we did see a halt,” said Gonzalez. “However, we were able to be creative and find ways to show property and have listing appointments, mainly using video. I feel the pandemic actually was an opening to allow more people to work from home, thus causing some to want to upgrade homes for workspace. It has been said that the housing market actually helped spur the economy during this time.”

Local real estate agents say that the housing market can be affected by a variety of things, including rising interest rates, widespread fears of job loss, inflation, along with too much inventory, which can cause the market to fluctuate.

“The housing market can be see Housing page 14B