The U.S. government shutdown and the escalation of concerns about the debt limit/possible default has drastically affected San Francisco market activity as measured by the percentage of listings accepting offers – as in a drop of approximately 50% from normal levels. Of course, this might be a short-term transitory effect that will disappear if these issues are resolved soon, as we certainly hope they are.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that a Pew Research Study showed that the more affluent people were, the more concerned – as in very concerned – they were about the debt limit not being extended and the government going into default. In that study, the affluent were those households with $100,000 and more in household income: Certainly, our demographic of buyers falls into that category. Interestingly, the East Bay, with a median price about half of ours, is not showing the big drop in the percentage of offers being accepted in the past 2 weeks.
