San Francisco Home Sales and Median Price

While the number of single-family homes and condos that traded hands across the Bay Area ticked 8 percent from May to June, which is typical for this time of the year, the recorded sales volume (8,679) was 6.5 percent lower than at the same time last year and represented the fourth straight month with increasing year-over-year declines, according to transaction data from CoreLogic.

At the same time, the recorded sales volume in San Francisco ticked up 2.3 percent on a year-over-year basis to 574, the first year-over-year gain in four months and an above average 12.5 percent gain versus the month before in which sales were down nearly 10 percent on a year-over-year basis. Napa was the only other Bay Area County to record a year-over-year gain in sales last month, having jumped 16 percent to 165.

Sales in Alameda County were up 9.7 percent from May to June (1,737) but dropped 9.8 percent versus the same time last year.

The median sale price for the San Francisco homes that changed hands last month was $1.17 million, up 2.9 percent from May and 2.6 percent higher versus the same time last year, but 10 percent below April’s median sale price of $1.3 million.

The median sale price in Alameda was $705,000 in June, down 0.7 percent from May but 7.6 percent higher, year-over-year.

And having ticked up 1.0 percent from May, the median sale price for a Bay Area home was $712,000 in June, up 7.9 percent versus the same time last year.

Keep in mind that while movements in the median sale price are a great measure of what’s selling, they’re not necessarily a great measure of appreciation or changes in value and are susceptible to changes in mix, as opposed to movements in the Case-Shiller Index. 

3 thoughts on “Bay Area Home Sales Slip but Edge Up in Napa and San Francisco”
  1. i’m surprised after a massive rise in prices over the past seven years, but prices are still holding so strong. After the brexit, interest rates really collapsed . Take advantage of low interest-rate and the temporary Lull. Rents are still way too high!

    1. Over 30 years you are correct that low interest rates will matter, but short or medium term, getting a good price matters a lot more. What good is a 3% vs 3.5% IR if your property value has lost 10 or 15% after 2 years? Timing it right can help you build equity much faster than principal payments. Someone who purchased just 5 years in SF probably paid off 10% or less of principal but saw values soar by north of 70%.

  2. Still holding pretty well, sales up and, at least for the most recent Case Shiller MSA wide numbers, prices up and at an all time high.

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