No surprise that Redfin has laid off staff in San Francisco since shuttering their mortgage division. The majority of 121 people who lost their job in this move are in the Bay area according to reports. Not surprisingly, the Seattle based company continues to thrive in Texas. While the company repositions some operations, this move was only a very small part of their operations nationwide. An insider has pushed back against the negative appearance of this move to indicate they are still hiring in San Francisco and this was just a realignment.
We believe that this is just a sign that those who spend many thousands of dollars to analyze these types of decisions before executing, could lead to an increasing loss of confidence in parts of California for business activity. Subsequently, a loss in jobs usually will reflect a reduction in real estate values, but don’t expect prices in the Bay area to drop too quickly. It’s a large market and it will take a lot to significantly impact the larger picture, but this could be a sign of a larger outlook according to some industry experts.
While we can not and do NOT provide accounting, tax, financial, legal, nor investment advice, we continue to believe that where you see an increase in jobs you will likely see an increase in demand and/or prices in housing. Your thoughts?