Interest rates ticked up after the Fed’s .25% benchmark rate cut:  Freddie Mac’s weekly average rate – for 30-year conforming loans only – published yesterday, rose very slightly. The daily average rate from Mortgage News Daily (second chart below), which includes 30-year loans other than conforming, has risen .25% to 6.38% as of today.

Consumer Sentiment (Confidence) continued to decline and is running very low by historical norms:  “Although September’s decline was relatively modest, it was still seen across a broad swath of the population, across groups by age, income, and education, and all five index components. A key exception: sentiment for consumers with larger stock holdings held steady in September…Nationally, not only did macroeconomic expectations fall, particularly for labor markets and business conditions, but personal expectations did as well, with a softening outlook for their own incomes and personal finances.” University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, 9/26/25

Clearly a large segment of the population remains very concerned about economic and political conditions, though the affluent – who play an enormous role in many of our markets – seem to be least affected.

Amid the usual ups and downs, stock markets have generally continued to be exuberant – which explains the line regarding those with large stock holdings mentioned in the Consumer Sentiment quote above (which I underlined).

And below are some updated comparative Bay Area demographics charts from newly published Census data:

County sizes in the greater Bay Area range from 47 square miles to 3281 square miles.

Recent policy changes regarding immigration and H-1b visas may (or may not) have significant effects on the Bay Area. These policies can change dramatically by the day, so it’s hard to assess possible impacts. Clearly, the foreign-born have played a huge role in the Bay Area economy and its housing markets.

Some Bay Area counties are among the best educated in the country. Marin has the highest percentage of residents in CA with either Bachelor’s or graduate/professional degrees, and SF ranks second. Santa Clara has the highest percentage in CA of residents holding advanced degrees.