The observations are that the residential real estate market is back an here to stay for a while!  The 5 county bay area statistics show that the home prices have increase approximately 43% over the past 12 months.  Some of these counties such as Santa Clara , San Mateo and Marin had a head start from last year and now the Alameda and Contra Costa counties are gain ground fast!

Despite the recent tick up in interest rates which are still at incredibly low rates historically and still under 5.0%, the buyer demand has increased substantially over the past few weeks as buyers are now looking to secure a home before the summer is over.  There are various reasons for this as some are looking to get kids into schools, some want to beat the home prices going up further and some are investors looking to beat the lower rates of return in some other investments.

Multiple offers are commonplace and bidding wars are happening even nationwide now!  If you are concerned about entering the market as it continues to increase in value, you must consider a longer term perspective such as 5 to 10 years.  Also, a Home is still the only investment you can live in, right?