FACEBOOK Going Public Can Boost Housing Market

Facebook IPO Could Create at Least $1 Billion in Property Value David J Cross San Francisco Real Estate

"The Bay Area real estate market might be in a mini housing bubble that's being fueled by Facebook's IPO. This week the social media giant is expected to open its doors to the general public. Overnight, Facebook will become a publicly traded company and a plethora of 20-somethings will see their personal wealth skyrocket. In April, Facebook estimated its value at $77 billion, but since then the Palo Alto-based company's worth has been assumed to be somewhere in the $100 billion range. This influx of cash will have a number of impacts, one of which could be the increase in property value. Using a conservative analysis, Movoto -- a real estate brokerage in the San Mateo -- estimated that Facebook's coming out party could increase property value in trendy Bay Area neighborhoods and cities by $1 to 2 billion. "Competition to buy listed homes in desirable Bay Area zip codes is already discouraging for the average home buyer." said Mark Brandemuehl, VP Marketing & Business Development at Movoto. "The Facebook IPO will only add to the millionaires competing to buy a small number of homes, and it seems inevitable that prices will be driven up." To make this analysis Movoto spoke with Carole Rodoni, president of Bamboo Consulting, a Bay Area real estate agent. Rodoni expected overall property value to rise. She estimated that property value in fashionable areas will increase anywhere from five to 10 percent. This is on top of the area's typical appreciation. She expected this mini housing bubble to last between a year and 18 months." See the FULL ARTICLE HERE