Key takeaways:
From January through June 2021, nearly $7 billion in home sales were reported in San Francisco, a total 49% higher than the previous historic high for the same period in 2018.
New listings and closed sales shot up in late 2020/early 2021. Closed sales data typically lags one month behind, so their numbers remain high while new listings have dropped off.
Sales prices for San Francisco single-family homes have appreciated considerably in 2021 to reach a new historic high.
Sales prices for San Francisco condos have also appreciated in 2021, but not quite to their highs of 2019/2020.
San Francisco real estate follows seasonal trends. In 2020, however, the predictable seasonal curve of new listings and sales was turned on its head (along with so much else). Thus far in 2021, we appear to be back on track with normal seasonal swings: up in spring and down in the summer.
Overbidding — ie. sales closing above their list price — has long been the trend in San Francisco. Amidst the early pandemic and an uncertain market, sellers and their agents opted for more transparent, "buy it now" pricing. In 2021, that trend has reverted back to the norm of sales closing for well above asking.
Sales in the past year vs the number of listings on the market, by price segment.
Sales of San Francisco luxury real estate have absolutely skyrocketed in the past year.
San Francisco's post-pandemic real estate recovery comes in spite of shrinking sales numbers to foreign buyers, which have been falling since 2017 among the top 5 buying countries.
The boom in homebuyer demand is due in no small part to historically low mortgage interest rates.
By comparison, the stock market is also performing historically well.
We hope this August real estate market update for San Francisco will help you in planning your next move or investment.
If you have questions about the market or your next steps to buying or selling, let us know! We’re always happy to help you and anyone you send our way.
If you are considering selling a home in San Francisco, fill out our Seller Worksheet to tell us more about your situation.
If you want to buy a home in San Francisco, tell us your goals and timeframe in our Buyer Worksheet. Or send us a message with any general inquiries.
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(Footnote disclaimer: Statistics are generalities, essentially summaries of disparate data generated by dozens, hundreds or thousands of unique, individual sales. They are best seen not as precise measurements, but as broad, comparative indicators, with reasonable margins of error. Anomalous fluctuations in statistics are not uncommon, especially in smaller markets with fewer sales. Data from sources deemed reliable, but may contain errors and subject to revision. All numbers are approximate.)
