Chuck Barberini Real Estate

If you’ve thought about buying a home in the past few years, you may have run into two frustrations: asking prices that kept climbing and too few homes to choose from. In many places, both sticking points are letting up this summer, with lower asking prices and more homes for sale. Let’s look at the trends, and what they mean for your search. Sellers Are Pricing To Attract Buyers According to Realtor.com , the national median asking price was $430,000 in June, nearly $11,000 under what it was the year before (see graph below) That’s the eighth month in a row that the typical asking price has dipped below where they were the previous year, according to the same Realtor.com report. And while falling prices can sound worrying, this isn’t a sign of an impending crash. We’re talking about asking prices, not sold prices. This is a sign that today’s sellers are meeting the market where it is and pricing to draw buyers. And that’s actually something normal we’d expect from the market. As Dani...

  “Just Thinking" I was thinking the other day about some of the television shows many of us grew up watching in the 1960s. In some ways, they might help explain why our generation occasionally seemed a bit confused. These were prime-time, family-friendly programs that were entertaining, yet blurred the line between reality and fantasy. We were invited into worlds where monsters lived next door, horses carried on conversations, witches married advertising executives, and genies could grant wishes with a blink of an eye. We knew that none of these things existed in our day-to-day lives, but these shows captured our imaginations and left us wondering, what if? The shows that I'm referring to are; The Munsters, The Addams Family, Mr. Ed, Bewitched, and I Dream of Jeannie. The Munsters was about a family of friendly monsters living in an ordinary American suburb, the family believed that they were completely normal, while everyone around them was shocked by their appearance and be...

  Check Out This Weeks Newsletter   Median Home Price Reached an All Time High in June NAR reports the median home price hit $440,600 in June, a new all-time high, as sales cooled and affordability improved. The median existing home price hit $440,600 in June, marking a new all-time high and the 36th straight month of year-over-year price increases.  Meanwhile, NAR’s Existing Home Sales report shows sales activity moved in the opposite direction. Existing home sales fell 2.4% month over month even as the year-over-year comparison remained positive.  Relative to a year ago, affordability has improved for many buyers, mainly because wage growth has outpaced the growth in home prices.  How you frame this depends on who you’re talking to and where.  The Record Price and What’s Driving It Price growth and sales activity aren’t moving together right now. The median price kept climbing while the pace of sales slowed on a month-over-month basis, and inventory staye...

  Quick gut reaction. Which investment do Americans trust more than stocks, gold, savings accounts, and bonds? The answer hasn't changed in 14 years.  It's real estate. And this year, that answer comes with even more conviction behind it. New data shows people aren't just saying homeownership is a smart move, they're feeling better about it than they have in years. Let's dig into why. Real Estate Takes the Top Spot – Again Every year, Gallup asks Americans to name the best long-term investment. And for the 14th year in a row, real estate came out on top ( see graph below ): That's not a fluke or a hot streak. That's 14 straight years of beating out stocks, gold, and everything else. Think about everything that's happened in that stretch – rising rates, market swings, election years, you name it. Through all of it, Americans kept picking real estate. That kind of staying power says something about how people view homeownership – and it makes sense. Histo...

  If you've been thinking about selling, you've probably seen plenty of headlines suggesting buyers have just about disappeared. But there's a big difference between a slow market and a stalled one. Yes, mortgage rates are still higher than most people would like. Homes aren’t selling as fast as they were. And every week seems to bring another headline about buyers sitting on the sidelines. But here's what you haven't heard. Despite everything going on, buyer demand has been remarkably resilient. In fact, more sellers are getting to put up the “pending sale” sign now than during the last two years. What's even more surprising is that they're doing it at a time of year when activity usually starts to slow down. And if you're thinking about selling, that's a trend worth paying attention to. Buyers Are More Active Than You Think One of the best ways to measure buyer demand is by looking at pending home sales. Those are homes that have gone under contrac...

  “Just Thinking" Well, I watched the US soccer team and was caught up in the hype, sitting by myself chanting USA, USA until the goal keep left the goal and kicked the ground instead of the ball giving Belgium a cheapie 3 rd goal. I confess that I really don’t understand the game but am really impressed by the stamina and athleticism of the players. Now that the United Sates is out of the tournament, I am relieved that I don’t need to watch another match for 4 more years.   Well, I watched the U.S. soccer team and, like millions of other Americans, got caught up in the hype. There I was, sitting by myself in front of the TV, enthusiastically chanting, "USA! USA!" Then came the moment when the goalkeeper left the net, took a swing at the ball, and kicked the ground rather than the ball itself, gifting Belgium a cheap third goal. At that point, even a soccer novice like me knew that couldn't be good. I'll confess that I still don't fully understand the game. ...

  Check Out This Weeks Newsletter Realtor.com's 2026 midyear forecast shows home price growth slowing to 1.2% while mortgage rates hold steady and affordability improves for buyers. Realtor.com’s Mid-Year Forecast downgrades its home price growth projection to 1.2% for 2026, one full percent down from the original 2.2% projection.  The revised figure puts price growth even further below the 3.4% projected inflation rate, further reducing the share of household income going to monthly housing costs even as other costs rise to squeeze homebuyer budgets.  Read on for key data points you’ll want to include in your conversations with clients.  Home Price Growth Is Cooling Faster Than Expected Realtor.com downgraded its price growth forecast for the year, and it’s not keeping pace with inflation. Price growth forecast: 1.2% for 2026, down from the original 2.2% projection Year to date price growth: 1.0% over last year Projected inflation for 2026: 3.4% Sellers are respondi...

  Check Out This Weeks Newsletter Bank of America’s 2026 Homebuyer Insights Report shows that 53% of consumers now favor buying, and confidence in homeownership is up across every attitude the survey measured. Affordability is still the number one barrier, and it’s gotten worse since last year. But fewer buyers are waiting for perfect conditions.  Here’s what the data shows.  90% Say a Home Is a Valuable Investment (Up 11 Points YoY) Based on 2026 survey responses, homeownership sentiment went up across every measured attitude compared to the 2025 survey:  90% say a home is a valuable investment, up from 79% in 2025 94% say homeownership provides stability, up from 83% in 2025 87% say owning a home feels like a milestone, up from 78% in 2025 86% say owning a home brings emotional fulfillment, up from 75% in 2025 32% say they’re more confident in their ability to buy this year, up from 27% in 2025 This is essential data for both buyer agents and listing agents. Your b...

“Just Thinking" Tomorrow, we celebrate our nation's independence, a monumental day every year, but even more meaningful this year as we celebrate America's 250th birthday. Having lived through our nation's Bicentennial in 1976, I feel truly blessed to be here to celebrate another monumental anniversary, with the freedoms and opportunities that make this country so special. "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction." — Ronald Reagan Every year, Tracy and I make our way downtown to watch the Martinez 4 th of July parade. It's a fun tradition, a wonderful display of patriotism, community spirit, and small-town America that feels like it came straight from a Norman Rockwell painting. This year, however, there is a little twist with a little more excitement, rather than merely watching from the sidelines, I'll be participating in this year’s parade. I have decorations for my truck, I couple of flag poles, one with Old Glory and one w...

You've probably heard that home prices are cooling off. And that's true – nationally. But zoom in on individual markets across the country, and the picture looks completely different depending on where you are. Some areas are still seeing solid price growth. Others have gone flat. A few have actually dipped slightly negative. So, what's causing all of that variation?   It All Comes Down to Inventory Here's the simple version: When there are more homes for sale, buyers have options. More options, means less competition. Less competition means sellers can't push prices as high. On the flip side, when inventory is tight, buyers are competing over a small pool of homes, and that pushes prices up. That dynamic is playing out right now in a really visible way across the country.  Markets where inventory has climbed back to, or above, normal pre-pandemic levels are seeing prices flatten or fall slightly. Markets where inventory is still well below those 2019 benchmarks are...

“Just Thinking" Last week I went on a full-on Giants rant, and I thought I got it out of my system… but nope, I got sucked right back in. I was at the game today at Pac Bell Park, SBC Park, AT&T Park… I mean, Oracle Park, watching them take on the Oakland, Sacramento, Las Vegas A’s. It was a beautiful day in the city, and I enjoyed being out at the park. The Giants take a 6–5 lead into the 9th. Two on, two out. You’re thinking, just get one more out and get out of here. Instead? The bullpen gives up four straight hits. Four runs. Game over. They gave up seven runs over the last three innings. Terrible. Just terrible. I did, however, have some thoughts out at the old ballpark today that are worth sharing. Was Brian Wilson, the Giants closer from 2008 to 2012, a nut job, a trendsetter, or just ahead of his time? I’m sitting there at the game, and you look at the Giants, they are wearing orange spikes, purple spikes, black and white spikes. The A’s? Green, gold, white, black spik...

  Check Out This Weeks Newsletter Redfin reports that 46.2% of U.S. home sellers gave concessions to buyers in May 2026, the highest share on record for that month. Nearly half of all U.S. home sellers handed buyers a concession in May, the highest share Redfin has recorded for that month in its history. According to Redfin’s latest report, 46.2% of home sales included a seller concession in May 2026, up from 43.1% a year earlier. There are currently 47% more sellers than buyers in the U.S., and with mortgage rates and home prices still historically high, buyers have more leverage than they’ve had in years. Listings are piling up, and sellers in most markets are competing hard to get deals done. Here’s where concession rates are highest and where they’re lowest.  Why Concession Rates Are at a Record High The supply and demand imbalance is driving everything, and it runs deepest in the Sun Belt. Those metros built aggressively to meet pandemic-era demand and are now sitting on ...

That House That’s Been Sitting Could Be Your Best Shot at a Deal Open up a home search and you'll see them. Listings that have been on the market for two months. Three. Some longer. Most buyers scroll right past them, assuming something’s wrong with the house. But that instinct could be costing you, since the longer a home sits, the more motivated the seller usually gets. Where Some Buyers Are Finding Better Deals If affordability has been your #1 hurdle to buying, here’s a surprisingly simple strategy that could help you finally get your foot in the door. Start with the homes that have been sitting the longest. That’s often where the best deals are. Here’s why. Data from Realtor.com shows there’s a connection between longer time on the market and lower sales prices. Basically, the longer a house sits, the more likely it is that the seller will reduce the price (see graph below) :   The blue line tracks how long homes stay on the market, while the green line trac...