May 2021 San Francisco Real Estate Update

Single family homes continue to sell like gangbusters, reaching a new high in median prices in May. The condo market continues to recover after tumbling last year during pandemic shut-downs. Expect this recovery to continue as workers trickle back into work and the City reopens mid-June. Until then, it remains a bifurcated market. Which is not to say that every single family home is flying off the shelf and all condos are sitting. Price, location and marketing still matter.

Also, this is the first month that we can compare a full month of statistics this year compared to last year first full-month of shelter in place.

Median Sales Price:

Single family home prices increased 12% year-over-year to $1,800,000 in May. Condo pricing was down 5% year-over-year to $1,210,000.

New Listings:

New listings were up for both single family homes and condos in April. However new condo listings were down compared to last month. Last April was the first full month of the shelter-in-place, causing many to either pull their home off market or hold off on selling completely. So the stats make sense in perspective.

Active Listings:

Active Listings for single family homes were down about 25% in April, while condos were up almost 16%. Active listings represent the number of listings that are still available for sale at the end of the month, showing again how hot the single family home market is, and also how the condo market is not yet back on solid footing.

Sold Listings:

Sold listings jumped exponentially year-over-year for both condos and single family homes, yet both were relatively flat compared to last month. What we’re seeing again is the effect of last year’s shelter-in-place, when inventory was even lighter.

Percentage Sold Over List Price:

More than three-quarters of single family homes sold for over their list price in April, up almost 9% year-over-year. Fewer than half of condos sold for over their list price, down almost 25% year-over-year but up compared to March of this year.

Average Percentage of List Price Received:

Single family homes sold for an average of about 14% over their list price, up almost 5% compared to the same month last year. Condos and lofts sold for 4% over their list price, down just 1.3% year-over-year but up slightly compared to last month.

Average Days on Market:

Single family homes spent an average of 19 days on the market before accepting an offer, down 5% compared to the same month last year. Condos spent an average of 40 days on the market, up  29% year-over-year but down from March.

Months Supply of Inventory:

Single family homes had 1.8 months of inventory in April, down over 45% compared to April 2020. Condos had 3.7 months of inventory, down 19.6% year-over-year, and the lowest MSI we’ve seen since February 2020.

The fine print: All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed or warranted. Data comes from MLS so does not include off-market and most new construction condo sales. The San Francisco real estate market is dynamic so statistics can change on a daily basis. These statistics are meant to be a snapshot of the day and time they were pulled.