Housing inventory in the Bay Area is finally up, but that hasn’t done anything to keep prices down.
There are more houses for sale, but the combination of a rise in mortgage rates, and a tumbling stock market, makes the market still out of reach for most people.
"Less phone calls, I'm seeing less offers, less activities with open houses, definitely a cool down,” said Holly Barr, real estate agent with Compass.
She said a combination of still sky-high prices, combined with a rise in interest rates and inflation is leading would be buyers to hesitate, especially in tech-stock rich Silicon Valley.
"Interest rates are high, and my stocks, low ... I can't do that anymore," said Barr.
The real estate giant Re/Max Bay Area says economic conditions have quickly clouded the Bay Area housing picture.
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"We're definitely seeing a little bit of a change,” said Tim Yee, president of Re/Max Gold Bay Area. “It's not as robust as it was last year."
With prices up 12% from this time last year, Re/Max says local sales are down 17%, largely because only the very well-heeled can afford to buy what's out there.
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"The interest rates, the inflation, I think it affects the lower end of the market much more than the middle ends or higher ends of the market,” said Barr.
While predicting real estate prices is a fool's game, people said prices are likely to stay steady for at least a while, unless we see a continued selloff among local tech stocks.
