With a strong December jobs report, an improving gross domestic product and a strong dollar, it is very likely the U.S. will continue to see foreign buyers and investors this year, according to Bay Area real estate expert Carole Rodoni.
The Bay Area, in particular, is a “spectacular housing market,” Rodoni said.
Rodoni shared a positive housing outlook with members of the Silicon Valley Association Realtors in Palo Alto recently. She reported that the U.S. ended 2014 with the best jobs growth report in 15 years. The country added 252,000 jobs in December, better than expected. The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 5.6 percent from 5.8 percent in November. GDP is likely to reach 3 percent this year.
Conversely, Europe is hit with a high unemployment rate, the drop in oil prices hurts Russia and other countries – including China and Japan – are struggling to keep their economies in check. Whether it’s property or stocks, people are looking to the U.S.
“At the end of the day, when you look around the world, there’s no place to go,” Rodoni said.
Foreign buyers will continue to buy property in the Bay Area because of the region’s strong economy, location and other assets, Rodoni predicted. Compared to other places in the world, with all its amenities, property in the Bay Area is still considered a good investment.
The former president of Alain Pinel Realtors and current owner of Bamboo Consulting Inc., Rodoni said the Bay Area has industries that are not interest-rate-sensitive, like technology, energy and health care.
She expects hundreds of companies to go public this year, with more millionaires and more acquisitions by companies like Yahoo Inc., Google Inc. and Facebook Inc. People may complain about the big buses transporting employees from these companies to work and back, “but one big bus on the road is still better than 48 cars,” she said.
A downside to the December jobs report is the weak wage growth, which cannot keep up with the rising cost of housing in the region. For that reason, Rodoni expects that 2015 will be “the year of the East Bay,” where people will flock because homes are more affordable.
The Silicon Valley Association of Realtors provided information for this article. For more information, email Rose Meily at [email protected].
