For the first time in several years, home prices in the San Francisco Bay Area have fallen.

This spring, the median price of a home in the Bay Area was $830,000, down 0.1 percent from the same time a year ago, breaking an 83-month streak of consecutive price gains.

Leading up to this downshift in prices, the market went through a steady shrinking of price gains over several months. It was just about a year ago in May and June that prices reached the largest ever median sales price of $875,000.

The market is also bearing a slowdown in home sales and an increase in inventory, which began about a year ago. Since last March, home sales are down 15 percent.

These market realities are providing new opportunities for potential homeowners who had been priced out or turned off by ever-growing prices. In addition, mortgage rates have been on a slow downward trend assisting in home affordability. While conditions are more favorable than they were a year ago, homebuyers still need a strategic approach to home-buying in the Bay Area. That is because this is part of the typical real estate cycle when windows of opportunity for home buyers open up.

A pre-approval through our Keys on Time* and SecureLock** programs helps boost a buyer’s standing in the market.

The Keys on Time Program is a fully underwritten preliminary pre-approval that hands mortgage seekers the confidence to enter the market because they’ll know how much home they can afford. This program also removes any doubt about the strength of their qualifications for a potential seller.

Here are some program highlights:

• It is fully underwritten.
• It allows buyers to waive the loan contingency, boosting the appeal of the offer.
• It streamlines the loan process for swifter closing.

As a companion to The Keys on Time Program, future homebuyers can also secure today’s rates with the SecureLock program. This double-pronged approach is a formula for success in the current Bay Area market. If you’re prepared to make a move, contact us today. We may be able to help you get pre-approved to take advantage of this new Bay Area real estate market.

*Not available in Oregon. The “Keys on Time” program is a limited guarantee that APMC will provide a credit to the borrower of $895 after the close of escrow if, due to some fault on the part of APMC, its originators or other APMC staff, a purchase transaction does not close until a date after the originally stated close of escrow date. The “Keys on Time” limited guarantee does not apply if the purchase transaction fails to close on or before the anticipated close of escrow date due to events/circumstances beyond APMC’s control, including but not limited to, delays caused by: an unacceptable or unexpectedly low appraisal value on the subject property, acts or omissions by the escrow or title company, second lien holder approvals, short sale approval, or loan conditions imposed by the lender that, despite reasonable diligence by APMC, are not met by any party in a timely manner. The “Keys on Time” limited guarantee trigger begins when the initial loan package is received by APMC’s Fulfillment center. The complete loan package must be received in the APMC Fulfillment center a minimum of 20 days prior to the COE date. Exclusions: The limited guarantee does not apply to the HARP program, reverse mortgages, FHA 203k, non-delegated jumbo products or any loans that require prior approval from an investor. The limited guarantee applies to purchase transactions only. All programs are subject to borrower and property qualifications. Rates, terms, and conditions are subject to change without notice.

** To qualify for this program, APM must give full credit approval to all borrowers on the loan. There are specific terms for each lock, based on which variation of the SecureLock program is used. Eligible states include: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Oregon, Texas, and Washington.