August 2024 Newsletter

San Francisco Real Estate

Clients, friends, and colleagues,

Before jumping into the data this month I wanted to address the NAR settlement that took effect this past week. Lots of folks have been asking me for my thoughts on the settlement, so I’ve added an FAQ to my website with a brief overview of the changes and how they affect buyers and sellers. I think ultimately these changes will have a positive impact on the real estate industry, as I believe in transparency, and that fully informed buyers and sellers make for great clients.

A couple important updates right off the bat:

• Per the New York Times, Jerome H. Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, clearly signaled this morning that the central bank was poised to cut interest rates at their September 17-18 meeting.

• Mortgage interest rates continue their downward trend, hovering around 6.5% for the 30-yr fixed and at their lowest point in over a year. Mortgage loan application volume is up nearly 17%

Following the typical seasonal trend, the market cooled in summer from what is usually its most heated selling season in spring. New listing and sales activity slowed, overbidding did decline, and homes took a bit longer to go into contract on average (these are general statements and are highly variable depending on each market segment within the city). However, numbers are up significantly on a year-over-year basis:

San Francisco prices at a glance (3-month rolling averages):

Median sales price (single-family): $1,625,625 (+4.9% year over year)

Median sales price (condo): $1,200,000 (+4.8% year over year)

Median days on market (single-family): 14 (-6.7% year over year)

Median days on market (condo): 32 (-5.9% year over year)

The data points toward a positive and active fall market, beginning the first week of September. Expect a rush of new inventory and influx of new buyer demand, heightened by the lower interest rates and general future optimism.

If you have any specific questions about the market or property, message me directly. I'm always happy to help!

Cheers,

Matt

Matt Wathen

DRE# 01879082

M: 415.920.3213

[email protected]

Statistics are generalities, essentially summaries of widely disparate data generated by dozens, hundreds or thousands of unique, individual sales occurring within different time periods. 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, expensive market segments. Last period data should be considered estimates that may change with late-reported data. Different analytics programs sometimes define statistics - such as "active listings," "days on market," and "months supply of inventory" - differently: what is most meaningful are not specific calculations but the trends they illustrate. Most listing and sales data derives from the local or regional multi-listing service (MLS) of the area specified in the analysis, but not all listings or sales are reported to MLS and these won't be reflected in the data. "Homes" signifies real-property, single-household housing units: houses, condos, co-ops, townhouses, duets and TICs (but not mobile homes), as applicable to each market. City/town names refer specifically to the named cities and towns, or their MLS areas, unless otherwise delineated. Multi­county metro areas will be specified as such. Data from sources deemed reliable, but may contain errors and subject to revision. All numbers to be considered approximate.

Many aspects of value cannot be adequately reflected in median and average statistics: curb appeal, age, condition, amenities, views, lot size, quality of outdoor space, "bonus" rooms, additional parking, quality of location within the neighborhood, and so on. How any of these statistics apply to any particular home is unknown without a specific comparative market analysis.