If you look into the California real estate market, you'll probably come across tales of people and businesses relocating from San Francisco or Silicon Valley to Oakland, Alameda, Berkeley, and the rest of the East Bay. Though there are certainly budgetary considerations too, this trend is largely due to the
Bay Area home sales expected to stay strong even during the holidays
Emily Landes
FacebookTwitterEmail
A for sale sign hangs outside an apartment building in San Francisco on Sept. 16, 2020.Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE
The coronavirus has upended the normal cyclical nature of the housing market, so buyers shouldn’t expect any deals this holiday season. What used to be the slowest time of the year is still fast and furious, according to local agents.
“Traditionally, the holidays are a time of travel and a downtime in the market. For years, we have tracked the market, and we see inventory drops and a quiet time between mid-December to about mid-January,” said agent Negar Souza. “However, with COVID and the lack of travel plus the extremely low interest rates, we expect the market to stay busy even through the holidays as buyers who normally are not around will be the same for agents during what is usually the slowest time of the year.”