Comparing 1st Qtr 08 to 1st Qtr 07, the number of home sold in San Francisco decreased about 27%, with properties below $1,000,000—condos in particular—showing the largest drop. The lower end of the SF housing market—to a large degree fueled by first-time buyers—has been the most affected by market upheaval and new financing conditions. The middle price range, $1,000,000 to $1,999,999, showed a much smaller decrease, while sales of $2,000,000 and above actually increased.

Median days-on-market for all houses and condos sold barely changed (37 days in 07 vs. 36 in 08), but for homes on the market that didn’t sell stayed on the market longer (60 - 69 days in 07 vs. 80 - 89 in 08)—i.e., the homes selling are generally selling relatively quickly, but those not selling are staying on the market for longer periods of time (and so price reductions are increasing too). The quicker a home sells, the higher the sales price as a percentage of list price: those selling within 30 days average 4 - 7% more than those which do not. The below graph does not adjust for price reductions—which would significantly increase the difference.

Sale Price to List Price (SP/LP) by Days-on-Market, First Quarter 2008

No of Days	0-30 Days	31-60 Days	61-90 Days	91-120 Days	120+ Days
No. of Listings	363	200	131	80	84
% of Sales	42.3%	23.3	15.3	9.3	9.8
Avg % SP/LP	103.4%	99.2	97.2	98.2	96.8

The number of homes for sale has gone up about 20%, and the months-supply-of-inventory has increased by 1 month (3.2 vs. 2.2 months). The median sales price of all homes sold increased by about 3%. Though down from its peak in May 07, San Francisco is the only Bay Area County still showing median price increases year over year. (Some counties have shown declines in excess of 40 %.)

City-wide averages and median numbers mask dramatic differences between different SF neighborhoods. Some areas still feature low inventory, high demand, multiple offers and quick sales; others—generally the less affluent—are on the opposite end of the spectrum.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 at 6:59 pm and is filed under Buying Strategies, Investors, Market Conditions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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