Real Estate Roundup: Hot Bay Area Market Locking Out Many First-Time Homebuyers

First Time Hopefuls Priced Out

A combination of skyrocketing prices, all-cash offers, and constrained inventory are shutting many hopeful first-time Bay Area homebuyers out of the market, according to a recent article in the San Jose Mercury News.

Citing data from the California Association of Realtors, the publication reports that in the first quarter of 2012, nearly two-thirds of first-time buyers in the Bay Area could afford to purchase a home. By the second quarter of 2013, that number had dropped to 45 percent.

A major factor driving this trend is the lack of available homes under the half-million-dollar mark. Sub-$500,000 properties in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties have decreased from a combined 59.1 percent at the beginning of 2012 to 42.2 percent in August. Contra Costa County saw the largest drop in available properties under $500,000 in that time period — 61.5 percent.

Get all the latest news at https://compasscaliforniablog.com/real-estate-roundup-bay-area-markets-locks-out-first-time-buyers.