The San Francisco housing market is in a state of flux. On one hand, San Francisco has experienced a sharp decline in home prices.[0] On the other hand, the Bay Area continues to suffer from an acute housing shortage. As a result, the Bay Area has been at the forefront of the national housing market downturn, with many neighborhoods in San Francisco seeing the biggest declines since June of last year.[1] This is due to the fact that the city is so expensive, and with higher mortgage rates, more and more potential buyers have been priced out.[1]
However, new data reveals that San Francisco is becoming a more buyer-friendly market. Homes are cheaper, and the same pattern may be found in Los Angeles.[2] The average home in the San Francisco metro area has been selling for less than its asking price since February of 2012, the first time since early 2012. The Oakland metro, which includes Alameda and Contra Costa counties, had a sale-to-list percentage of 99.7 in December.[1] The San Jose metro, which includes Santa Clara and San Benito counties, had a sale-to-list percentage of 99.9 in August 2022.[1] This was the first time that San Francisco’s sale-to-list ratio had dipped below 100% in Redfin’s data set.[2]
Though San Francisco is still struggling with an acute housing shortage, these new data points indicate a shift in the market. Buyers may potentially be able to find homes in the area for less than they could have last year, which could lead to more housing stability in the Bay Area.
0. “San Francisco looks like a deflating Pandemic Housing Bubble—while housing markets in New York and Chicago remain stable” Fortune, 13 Feb. 2023, https://fortune.com/2023/02/13/housing-market-san-francisco-looks-like-deflating-pandemic-housing-bubble-some-markets-stable-home-prices/
1. “San Francisco homes selling below asking, a first in over a decade” The Real Deal, 13 Feb. 2023, https://therealdeal.com/sanfrancisco/2023/02/13/san-francisco-homes-selling-below-asking-a-first-in-over-a-decade/
2. “More San Francisco homes selling below asking price. Could that trend come to L.A.?” Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2023, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-02-11/more-san-francisco-homes-selling-below-asking-price-could-that-trend-come-to-l-a