San Francisco Market Focus Report – March 2013

San Francisco Market Focus Report – March 2013

The March issue of Market Focus Report, issued by the San Francisco Association of Realtors characterized the market by increasing residential real estate demand and shrinking supply, resulting in bidding wars between buyers that continue to send home prices upward. Sellers are very happy, buyers - not so much.

The following is an excerpt from the report, and focuses on Single Family Homes. Those of you in the know, know that you can buy a home in San Francisco throughout a broad range of neighborhoods. And depending on the neighborhood, prices currently start from $388,000 in the Southwest part of the City to an average high in the $2-$3 Million range, with the most pricey listing at $24,800,000 in Cow Hollow near the Marina district. There are currently 69 active listings over $1.5 Million. The Citywide SFH Median Sales Price currently sits at $800,000. The Active for Sale inventory is 430 and an average of 32 days on Market. Here’s an excerpt from the March report:

Single-Family Homes

Compared to February of last year, the inventory of single-family homes for sale in the City dropped by 38 percent, to a total of 430 properties The number of homes under contract also fell by 20.1 percent, while the number of homes sold decreased by 30.8 percent, to a total of 126 properties sold.

For homes that were priced below $700,000, the months of supply inventory shortened by 51.4 percent to just 1 month. For higher priced homes between $700,000 and $1.2 million, the months of supply inventory also fell, by 29.1 percent to 1.4 months.

With homes on the market selling in weeks, rather than months, home buyers are wise not to set their hearts on a particular property or neighborhood. A prime example is the Central District, made up of a diverse array of neighborhoods including Cole Valley, Mission Dolores, Haight Ashbury, Noe Valley, Twin Peaks, Clarendon Heights and Glen Park. Since February 2012, the number of homes sold in this area has jumped more than 40 percent, while just a handful - 20 total - were sold in February.

With its close proximity to Golden Gate Park, family-friendly Noe Valley and the foodie haven that is the Mission District, there may be a shortage of property, but there is no shortage of entertainment in this sought after region. The median single-family home price here is $1,602,500, up just 2.2 percent from a year ago. Year over year, the average number of days homes stay on market is just 29, down from 53 in 2012.