Category: San Francisco

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The San Francisco Residential Real Estate Update: An Ai Generated Glimmer of Hope?

AI generated imaged
An AI Generated Glimmer of Hope

Back in May 2018, when pundits everywhere delighted in sounding the death-knell for SF’s residential market due to a host of local challenges including lack of affordability and rampant homelessness, I suggested they might be a bit premature. In the summer of 2020, months into the Covid pandemic, Zillow published data suggesting that SF was again on the skids.  Again, I suggested that “this too shall pass.”  Condo and home prices proceeded to hit record highs until 2022 when higher interest rates brought the real estate party to a stop, leaving a hangover from which much of the Bay Area — indeed the country as a whole — has yet to recover. ...  Additional Details

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How Does San Francisco Rank as a Global City?

“Home ownership has dropped, evictions and homelessness have climbed sharply, surging demand for rental units has led to a shortage, and soaring rents are fodder for daily conversation…. In the last few years, [it] has become one of the world’s 10 most expensive places to rent, ahead of cities like Tokyo, Sydney and Singapore.”

San Francisco?  Actually, Dublin, Ireland, according to a Deutsche Bank Report cited in a New York Times article a few days ago. But before you heave a sigh of relief, consider this:  Dublin ranked 8th most expensive city in the world to rent a mid-range 2 bedroom apartment, clocking in at around USD $2,000.  San Francisco came in second – just after Hong Kong and ahead of New York.  The quoted rent for SF: a whopping $3,631, down slightly from 2018. ...  Additional Details

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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.

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San Francisco’s Hottest Neighborhoods: Not Where You Might Think

Noe Valley? Bernal Heights?  Those are so yesterday.  Maybe you’re thinking Bayview/Hunter’s Point as people search out more affordable housing at the city’s edges.

Well, you’re right about the edge but wrong about the direction.  Based on our recent analyses, San Francisco’s “hottest” neighborhoods are also some of its foggiest: go west to the Sunset and its more southerly counterpart, Parkside.

Now admittedly, together these comprise a lot of smaller neighborhoods.  Many would object to, say, the Inner Sunset with its vibrant retail scene centered on 9th Ave and Irving, being lumped in with the quieter environs of the Outer Sunset.  Fair enough:  our analysis is really of MLS Districts, rather than individual neighborhoods, but it’s no less telling for that. ...  Additional Details

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Special Report: Noe Valley Homes

NoeValleyMore High Priced Homes Than Any Other Neighborhood

While its homes may not generally be as grand as those of Pacific and Presidio Height or St. Francis Woods, no neighborhood in the city comes close to matching the number of $2 – $4 million sales that occur in Noe Valley and its environs. Admittedly, part of the reason is that the Noe Valley and surrounds is large geographically compared to those other neighborhoods, so you’d expect there simply to be more sales. But, as any one who has tried to buy a home in Noe Valley will tell you, homes here are expensive – period. ...  Additional Details

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El Niño Doesn’t Appear to Have Dampened the SF Housing Market

It happens every year. People decide that holiday parties, visiting with family, and staying dry are more important than visiting open houses on the week-end. Activity drops and often so do prices. But with the first glimmers of sunshine and longer days, buyers and sellers get back into the market and the home buying/selling season takes off.

And that seems to be exactly what’s happening this year, despite the lingering effects of El Niño and a bumpy stock market ride. Take a look at the chart below: ...  Additional Details