San Francisco Real Estate Market Update October 2017

 Single Family Home Prices Soar Again

The median sales price for single family homes reached a new high again in October, climbing to almost $1.6 million. This is up about $275,000 over September, and up almost 14% compared to October of last year. Condos and lofts also spiked to $1.18 million, up over last month as well as this month last year, though not quite reaching the $1.2 million median price seen in August.

With few new single homes being built in the City and continued high demand, buyers are vying for the homes that do come on the market. Not suprisingly, the districts that saw the largest leaps in median sales price for a single family home were mostly in areas where there is a high concentration of them. Leading the pack was District 2, which includes the Sunset, Golden Gate Heights and Parkside neighborhoods, where the median sales price for single family homes rose almost 25% in October. District 4 (the West of Twin Peaks area that includes Midtown Terrace, Miraloma, West Portal, and Sunnyside) as well as District 10 (Bayview, Mission Terrace, Excelsior, Crocker Amazon, and Outer Mission in the Southeastern part of the City) both rose about 15%. Single family home prices in District 6, which also has a number of mult-unit and condo properties in areas like North Panhandle, Hayes Valley and the Western Addition rose almost 20%.

It follows that with an increase in price there is also an increase in the average cost per square foot. Single family homes were selling for an average of almost $1,000 per square foot in October, up from $915/ sq. ft in September and up over 7% compared to October last year. Condos and lofts clocked in at an average of $1,065/ sq. ft, up about $12/ sq. ft compared to last month and about 3% compared to this time last year.

One reason for the rise in prices was a dearth of homes on the market to purchase. October  saw the lowest number of active listings since January. Listings for single family homes were down about 29% compared to last year, with only 349 active listings. Condos saw an almost 28% drop in active listings with only 493 units for sale.

New listings were also sluggish compared to October 2016. Only 208 (!!!) new single family listings came on market in October, down 6% compared to last year. Condo and loft new listings were down almost 10% with only 245 new units coming on market.

With so little on the market overall, Month’s Supply of Inventory (MSI) and Days on Market (DOM) also took a tumble. MSI for single family homes fell 33% to 1.8 months when compared year-over-year. Condos and lofts were down 30% compared to this time last year, with only 2.3 months of inventory on the market. The average days a single family home was on the market stood at 23 days compared to 27 last month and 30 days for condo/ lofts vs 33 days last month.

As we head toward the end of 2017 expect new inventory to remain sluggish, particularly at the higher end of the market, as sellers wait until the new year to sell. But, that doesn’t mean that business stops entirely. In fact the holidays can also be a great time to sell or buy.

Wishing you and your family a very safe and happy Thanksgiving.

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.