According to DQNews, “Bay Area home sales remained at their lowest level in five years in February, as price increases continued to slow….” San Francisco sales volume is off by almost 19% compared to 2005, and although the median sales price rose 1.5% last month, year-over-year appreciation now stands at 4.9%.
That being said, DQNews also reports, “Indicators of market distress are still largely absent. The use of adjustable-rate mortgages has decreased significantly the last three months…Down payment sizes are stable and there have been no significant shifts in market mix…”
∙ Slowdown in Bay Area home sales, appreciation rate [DQNews]
I know I’m repetitive here, but while SF may be slowing down in general, the SoMa condo market is actually doing better this year than last year. I posted some numbers here: http://www.liveinsf.com/articles/article/3093343/45125.htm
The DQ News numbers for 2005 & 2006 in SF were taken from the “sold” category in the MLS, for all districts in SF, from Hunter’s Point to Pacific Heights. It’s a good reflection of the average, but it seems to me there are a lot of different markets in SF — some are doing worse, some are doing better. SoMa is doing better. Noe Valley is doing better. Let’s look at some numbers:
All SF, condos, homes and TICs, priced under $500k:
2005
No. Sold — 38
Average Price — $415,745
Days on Market — 42
2006
No. Sold — 38 (yes, the same)
Average Price — $446,263
Days on Market — 70
All homes, condos and TICs in SF priced between $1 & $2 million:
2005
No. Sold — 59
Average Price — $1,340,273
Days on Market — 31
2006
No. Sold — 60
Average Price — $1,363,158
Days on Market — 37
All homes, condos and TICs in SF priced over $3 million
2005
No. Sold — 5
Average Price — $3,750,400
Days on Market — 45
2006
No. Sold — 9
Average Price — $4,138,571
Days on Market — 103
All Noe Valley, condos, homes and TICs:
2005
No. Sold — 11
Average Price — $936,136
Days on Market — 20
2006
No. Sold — 14
Average Price — $1,274,392
Days on Market — 22