The rental housing vacancy rate in the first quarter of 1998 in selected larger, newer, primarily suburban projects surveyed by William Lyon Market Trends was reported at 3.2 percent. Rents per square foot have increased 8.9 percent on average from first-quarter 1997 to the same period in 1998. Multifamily permit activity for the Bay Area during the first 6 months of 1998 totaled 5,755 units, a 58-percent increase from 1997 volume for the comparable period. Single-family permit activity of 8,035 homes through June was off by only 2 percent despite the slowdown in production earlier in the year caused by poor weather. The strong economy and tight sales market have heated up demand for resales.
Sellers commonly receive multiple offers on their listings.
Sales volume hit all-time highs in seven of nine Bay Area counties. Bay Area sales for the first 5 months of 1998 were up 12.5 percent over the volume for the comparable period in 1997. In much of the Bay Area and in Santa Clara and Marin Counties, home values have recovered close to their 1990 levels.