Sellers in some of California’s biggest cities are slashing the price of their homes listed for sale on Zillow, according to the latest data on the real estate marketplace’s app

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One site shows 15 per cent of all properties listed in the state had price reductions, aimed at attracting hesitant buyers.

As of Thursday morning, there were a total of 83,093 properties—including single- and multi-family homes, townhomes, apartments, condos and lots—in California listed by agents on Zillow, and 3,822 listed by owners and others. Of these, 13,311 listed by agents and 319 listed by owners had a price reduction—roughly 15 percent of all homes for sale in the Golden State.

But the rate of properties for sale with a price reduction was even higher in some of California’s major cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Diego and Sacramento.

In Los Angeles, one of the most expensive housing markets in the entire country, there were a total of 6,039 properties listed for sale on Zillow, 971 of which had a price reduction. That’s about 16 percent of all homes for sale in the metropolis.

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In another very expensive city, San Francisco, there were 1,358 homes listed for sale on Zillow as of Thursday morning, 216 of which had a price reduction—nearly 16 percent of the total.

In Oakland, a city which has seen an increase of violent crime and other felonies in 2023, there were 888 properties for sale on Zillow, 158 of which had a price reduction—about 18 percent of the total. In San Diego, the percentage of homes for sale with a price reduction was 19 percent, for 286 out of 1,494 listed on Zillow.

In Sacramento, 21 percent of all homes listed for sale on Zillow had a price reduction as of Thursday, for a total of 183 out of 859.

These are the top five cities in California with the largest number of homes for sale and the number of homes with a price reduction. But not all these cities’ housing markets are facing the same situation. In some of these cities, house prices are dropping year-over-year; in others, they’re climbing.

In Los Angeles, the median sale price of a home, according to Redfin, was $970,000 in March, down 1.5 percent from a year earlier. In Oakland, it was $840,000, down 7.7 percent from March 2023.

In San Francisco, the median sale price of a home was $1,415,000 in March, up 4.8 percent year-over-year. In San Diego, it was $931,000, up 6.5 percent from March 2023, while in Sacramento it was $502,500, up 10.2 percent compared to a year earlier.

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At the state level, prices are increasing, mainly due to a historic shortage of homes. According to Redfin, the median sale price in California was $816,800 in March, up 10.1 percent from a year earlier.

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – As of July 1, it will be illegal for any restaurant in the Golden State to add special surcharges to diners’ checks, which has become a favorite method that restaurants use to lower costs and enhance employee incomes. 

Except for taxes, the surcharge disclosure law applies to all imposed add-on fees such as service fees, dining-in charges, delivery charges, credit card processing fees, and even imposed tips. But this is not crystal clear.

Attorney General Rob Bonta, who had previously said restaurants would be allowed to make surcharges, says they must be disclosed in advertising, which, presumably includes menus. 

However, the California Restaurant Association, is ready to fight back, saying that the written law only applies to advertisements because courts have ruled that “advertisements” for goods and services do not include menus.

In Walnut Creek, many people dining out had essentially the same opinion. “Yeah, it needs to be in the price of the food. It might help somebody decide on a menu item,” said Susan Bomba,

If this bundling happens, don’t expect the price of dining to decline. In fact, expect them to rise sharply. 

“Seeing the fee, we know about it and, I guess, if you eat somewhere long enough and you see those prices raised, you know that’s where those fees went,” said Dana Barry.

In fact, many folks think tipping, fees and surcharges are way out of control now. 

“I absolutely agree with that. Like I said, I’ve been to restaurants before and put a nice tip down and then realized later, the tip was included or something else,” said Bob Kennedy. 

“They shouldn’t be tipping on those fees,” said Dana Barry. “Now, for a carry-out, you’re expected to tip. That was never the case. I didn’t mind it during Covid, but now we’re back to something normal, we’re still expected to tip for carry-out food,” said Bomba.

Restaurant owners say they need clarity and specific answers soon, given that these rules take effect in just 60 days.