This LA Times article talks about the SoCal market, but many of the same points apply to the Bay as well.
Twin engines of price appreciation, WFH and Millennials forming families:
She noted that large numbers of millennials entered their 30s in 2020, a trend that will continue for several years.
Such demographic factors are one reason the company is forecasting strong price appreciation across the U.S. in 2021, including a 7.3% increase in the combined Los Angeles-Orange counties metro region.
“We have this huge wave of young people who are at ages where historically they thought about getting into the housing market as a homeowner,” Hale said.
As employees get confirmation they can work from home beyond the pandemic at least a few days a week, Palacios said, even more people are likely to move, seeking out the larger house or neighborhood they always wanted if not for the commute.
For Krumwiede, she said her family already had their “forever” home before the pandemic, and work-from-home difficulty was the thing that got them looking for another place.
But what sealed the deal was when she and her husband realized the lack of a commute provided an opportunity to take their daughter out of private school and move her into a public school district they thought provided better education than the Los Angeles Unified School District offered.