Market News | Real Data SF

Posted on May 17, 2019February 25, 2025

Spring has Sprung: How about the SF Housing Market?

First, let me thank everyone for their positive feedback on my last newsletter regarding Unicorns, IPO’s, big press headlines, and the likely effects of all of that on San Francisco home prices. With Lyft down 30% from its opening price, Uber looking less “über alles”, and the stock market gyrating on news of a trade war – or just, um, war – we are already in the realm of larger forces potentially swamping whatever IPO effect was so breathlessly anticipated.

That said, after a very slow start to the typically strong spring season – and by “strong” I mean heavy buyer demand and higher prices – the residential market has notably recovered from the “weakness” of the last half of 2018. (For more on that, check out my 2018 Real Estate Wrap-Up.) ... Additional Details

Posted on April 10, 2019July 9, 2024

The IPO Thing: Will Lyft and Uber take Real Estate Prices for a Ryde?

I don’t think I have ever been pinged so often as I was shortly after the New York Times published “When Uber and Airbnb Go Public, San Francisco Will Drown in Millionaires.” In the Styles Section, no less. Certainly, the idea that San Francisco, where so many IPO companies are headquartered, could see upward pressure on home prices makes sense. As the NY Times article notes, there were only about 5,600 home sales in San Francisco in 2018 and less than half of those were single family homes. So it makes intuitive sense that a few thousand newly minted millionaires could move the market with their new-found fortunes. (I made the same point months before the NY Times article but sadly they didn’t quote me.) ... Additional Details

Posted on February 8, 2019January 11, 2024

“What Goes Up Just Might Be Coming Down.” The 2018 San Francisco Residential Real Estate Wrap-Up

Off to the Races

In 2018, San Francisco’s median house sales price was $1.6 million. That’s an increase of 13% over the previous year. Meanwhile, the median condominium sales price increased about 5% to $1,210,000.

If the chart above was the only one you consulted on SF real estate, you could be forgiven for thinking that since the 2012 recovery from the Great Financial Crisis, the city’s real estate prices have been rocketing inexorably upward.

Slow Finish

But you’d be wrong. As Mark Twain said, quoting Benjamin Disraeli: “There’s lies, damn lies, and statistics.” In 2018, the year had two very distinct halves. And if you don’t look at the statistics for those two halves, you’ll miss the real story here – which is that single family home prices fell precipitously over the last two quarters. The chart below shows price changes by quarter. ... Additional Details

Posted on October 26, 2018September 5, 2023

Signs of a Slowdown? – “Ask Again Later”

Every couple of weeks, around a hundred (formerly Paragon, now Compass) agents get together to discuss the market and share their sense of what’s going on. Is there lots of activity at open houses? What’s selling? What’s not? Are buyers active – or tired? Are sellers getting greedy? That sort of stuff. We also receive regular updates from our stellar Chief Market Analyst, Patrick Carlisle – the best in the business – who puts together the charts that I use in these newsletters. ... Additional Details

Posted on October 1, 2018June 10, 2024

Housing Market Slows, as Rising Prices Outpace Wages

This Sunday’s front page NY Times article suggests a national slowdown as wage increases fail to keep up with home price increases. Indeed, it “feels” as though there is some slowing in the market, especially at the higher end – and we do have the data to indicate that there’s been a lot more new inventory coming to the market in the months of August and September than in the previous two years. We do not yet have hard data on whether this and other factors are creating downward pressure on sales prices. Stay tuned! ... Additional Details

Posted on August 23, 2018January 16, 2025

Prop 10 and How Your Own Home Might Become Subject to Rent Control

I don’t mean to sound alarmist – well yes I do – but there’s a California ballot measure up for vote this November that could significantly curtail your rights as an owner of a single family house or condominium if you should ever decide to rent it out.

Most people are aware that San Francisco has rent and eviction control legislation. Briefly summarized and simplified, if you own a multi-unit building (ie. two units or more) which was completed prior to the date the Rent Ordinance was passed, June 13, 1979, you cannot increase the rent of an existing tenant by more than 60% of the annual Consumer Price Index each year. In addition, you can only evict a tenant for a limited set of reasons enumerated under the Ordinance. In practical effect this means that a lease for a fixed term has no meaning: once the lease is up, a tenant who is otherwise paying rent on time can stay as long as she wants to stay. And, for as long as she stays, the maximum annual amount that her rent can increase is determined by the Rent Ordinance, not by you. ... Additional Details

Posted on July 13, 2018September 5, 2023

2018 San Francisco Mid-Year Real Estate Report: Hot and Hotter

(Writing this from Prague, possibly one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.) Our mid-year report is out and it reflects nothing less than a sizzling seller’s market for single family homes, one that has re-ignited after something of a two-year lull — if that’s the word for a market that’s “only” been increasing by 6 to 7 percent per year.

Year to date, median prices for single family homes have increased by 14.5% over 2017. The median price is now $1.62 million (see next two charts). ... Additional Details

Posted on February 1, 2017April 28, 2025

The 2016 San Francisco Real Estate Wrap-Up: Houses on Simmer; Condos Cool

The data is now in for 2016 and we have sliced and diced it to perfection. The results? Single family homes are on simmer, with median prices up a “mere” 6% over last year. City-wide, houses hit $1,350,000 in the last quarter of 2017, an all-time high. Meanwhile condominiums are going sideways. At $1,078,000, they were down about $25,000 from a year previous. In fact, their median price is effectively the same as it was at the start of 2015.