{"id":4966,"date":"2026-05-12T13:31:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T13:31:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4966"},"modified":"2026-05-12T13:31:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T13:31:36","slug":"are-job-losses-nudging-homeowners-to-sell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4966","title":{"rendered":"Are job losses nudging homeowners to sell?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><iframe allow=\"geolocation\" allowfullscreen=\"yes\" allowtransparency=\"1\" class=\"iframe\" height=\"550px\" id=\"6a032a195d97c\" loading=\"lazy\" scrolling=\"yes\" src=\"https:\/\/flo.uri.sh\/visualisation\/28887619\/embed\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s not forget that losing a paycheck can alter homeownership plans for both owners and house hunters.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4964\">UK\u2019s Starmer defiant as calls for his resignation grow and 2 ministers quit<\/a><\/p>\n<p>My trusty spreadsheet reviewed Zillow\u2019s April homebuying report for 50 big U.S. metropolitan areas \u2014 including six from California \u2014 to federal jobs data for January and February, the latest available. By comparing the two datasets, you can see that the motivation to buy or sell isn\u2019t simply driven by price swings, what\u2019s on the market, or mortgage rate moves.<\/p>\n<p>When the metro data is sliced by job-loss patterns, you get a glimpse into how hirings and firings can twist local housing markets. Rising unemployment usually translates to more homes on the market \u2014 and fewer homes are sold. Especially when ridiculously high prices put extreme pressure on the budgets of numerous house hunters<\/p>\n<p>You usually need a robust and steady income stream to buy \u2014 or keep \u2014 a home.<\/p>\n<h4>Judging job markets<\/h4>\n<p>Let\u2019s first peek at employment patterns by sorting the 50 metros by their one-year change in the number of unemployed workers and slicing the rankings into three groups.<\/p>\n<p>In what I\u2019ll call the 17 strongest job markets, 2% of the workforce was out of work in January and February 2026, compared with the same period one year earlier. But in the 17 weakest job markets, the jobless ranks grew by 6%.<\/p>\n<p>And in the six California metros? 1% less unemployed workers.<\/p>\n<p>Look what that meant to local unemployment rates. In the strong job markets, a 4.4% combined rate \u2014 down from 4.5% a year earlier. The weakest job markets 4.6%, up from 4.4% a year earlier.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Those six California metros? 4.9% vs. 5%.<\/p>\n<h4>How\u2019s it with housing?<\/h4>\n<p>Consider how these employment variances play out for homes listed for sale or currently selling, based on population-weighted averages of Zillow\u2019s data.<\/p>\n<p>There were 4% more listings in those strongest job markets over the past year. That\u2019s a smaller jump than the 8% in the weakest job markets. California\u2019s six? Up a mere 0.3%.<\/p>\n<p>You can imagine a household, now down a steady paycheck in a region with shrinking job prospects, putting their home up for sale.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Or look at home sales with the same slicing.<\/p>\n<p>An average 2% one-year gain in the strongest job markets vs. a 5% drop in the weakest job markets. California\u2019s six? Up 1%.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4963\">US consumer prices rise 3.8% as Iran war sends energy prices higher<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Remember, mortgage rates have fallen in the past year. So why no sales surge?<\/p>\n<p>Try getting a mortgage after you\u2019ve lost your regular paycheck. Or having the nerve to pay today\u2019s overpriced homes when the job market looks iffy.<\/p>\n<p>Employment patterns don\u2019t answer every housing question. But they provide fairly good clues.<\/p>\n<h4>Economic anxieties<\/h4>\n<p>Here\u2019s an interesting nugget about these distinct job markets: a housing price gap.<\/p>\n<p>A typical $530,000 value in the strongest job markets vs. $483,000 in the weakest job markets. California\u2019s six? $949,000.<\/p>\n<p>This divide aligns with an economic thesis that the current turmoil in the business climate is creating greater financial anxiety at the lower end of the wealth spectrum.<\/p>\n<h4>Counting California<\/h4>\n<p>Here\u2019s a look at how the six California metros fared in these calculations, ranked by declines in unemployed workers:<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 San Diego: 2% fewer jobless workers in a year, 2% more inventory for sales and 2% more homes sold.<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 San Francisco: 2% fewer jobless, 10% more inventory and 9% more sales.<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Inland Empire: 1% fewer jobless, 3% more inventory and 3% fewer sales.<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Sacramento: 1% fewer jobless, 0.1% more inventory and 6% more sales.<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 San Jose: 1% fewer jobless, 6% more inventory and 1% fewer sales.<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Los Angeles and Orange counties: 0.4% fewer jobless, 4% more inventory and 0.5% fewer sales.<\/p>\n<p><em>Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4961\">Wall Street points to losses as pessimism over quick end to Iran war persists<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span><strong>Try Jonathan Lansner\u2019s Substack collection of economic trends. CLICK HERE!<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rising unemployment usually translates to more homes on the market \u2013 and fewer homes are sold.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4965,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion-columnist","category-represents-the-opinion-of-the-author-who-is-either-a-paid-columnist-or-an-unpaid-guest-columnist"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Are job losses nudging homeowners to sell? - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=4966\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are job losses nudging homeowners to sell? 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