The inflection point: sellers got the memo and cut prices.

The area of Silicon Valley and San Francisco – comprised of the counties of San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara – is one of the most expensive housing markets in the US. Atherton, a town in the heart of Silicon Valley, has been named the single most expensive zip code in the US. And when that housing market gets tough, the tough start cutting prices.

And that’s what’s happening.

Sales have slowed. Buyers have lost their enthusiasm, and they’re taking their time. Mortgage interest rates have surged, making home purchases even more expensive. And everyone has figured that the situation on the ground has been a housing bubble accompanied by a tech and social media bubble peppered with all kinds of other specialty bubbles, such as the various “sharing” bubbles, and that they won’t last.

So it’s time to unload. Sellers are putting their homes on the market, and active listings in those three counties combined – San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara, which cover the area from San Jose to San Francisco – surged by 76% in October compared to October last year, to 4,149 listings, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The red bars in the chart mark the inflection point for this housing market. Note the “Trump Bump” — the phenomenon that caused the already teetering housing bubble in the Bay Area to become re-energized after the election in 2016, with listings drying up and prices surging one more time. But that is over now (data via realtor.com)…..more here