It’s been a big week for news in the real estate industry. Compass announced they are buying Anywhere for $1.6 billion, making it the largest residential real estate company in the U.S.
For those who don’t know, Anywhere is the parent company of Sotheby’s, Coldwell Banker, Corcoran, Century 21, and several other affiliated brands.
I guess the old saying, “If you can’t beat them, join them,” applies here. Nothing is changing locally, but this move will create significant influence in shaping the real estate industry going forward.
On the financial side, the Fed lowered rates last week by a quarter point, but the bond market reacted the other way and mortgage rates are actually up about 0.20% from where they were before the meeting. It's important to note that the Fed doesn’t directly set mortgage rates.
It was a relatively slow week for new listings, and coastal inventory has held fairly steady. La Jolla currently has 196 active listings with 58 sales in the last 30 days, which works out to 3.4 months of inventory.
Compare that to downtown San Diego, which has 265 active listings but only 40 sales last month, that’s 6.6 months of inventory.
Markets are very local and can vary dramatically. Coastal areas remain balanced and stable, but downtown is likely to see price pressure.
On a lighter note, Tracie and I snuck in a great production of Les Misérables at the Civic Center between Ubering our kids around town. Check out Broadway San Diego for upcoming shows - it’s worth it.
