Having slipped 10 percent on a year-over-year basis last month following a a nine-year high in July with interest rates ticking up, recorded sales activity for San Francisco homes fell 20.9 percent from August to September, down 1.0 percent on a year-over-year basis to 511 recorded sales. Although sales volume in San Francisco typically drops from August to September, the drop has averaged closer to 13 percent over the past decade.
At the same time, the median price paid for a home in San Francisco ticked down another 0.6 percent in September to $820,000 but remains up 10.1 percent year-over-year. Keep in mind that while movements in median sales price are a great measure of what’s in demand and selling, they’re not a great measure of actual appreciation despite what the headlines might say.
For the greater Bay Area, recorded sales volume in September fell 17.1% from August but was up 3.6 percent on a year-over-year basis. The median sales price fell 1.9 percent to $530,000 but remains 23.5% higher on a year-over-year basis. In the words of DataQuick:
“The surprisingly high home price appreciation we saw over the last year stemmed largely from very low mortgage rates, a very slim inventory of homes for sale, and very high levels of investor purchases. But in recent months we’ve seen each of these forces reverse a bit: Interest rates are higher, the inventory has risen, and investors now account for a lower share of all sales.”
Foreclosure resales and short sales made up 12.2 percent of the Bay Area market last month, down from 15 percent in August and 38 percent at the same time last year.
As always, keep in mind that DataQuick reports recorded sales which not only includes activity in new developments, but contracts that were signed (“sold”) months prior but are just now closing escrow (or being recorded) and any properties that were sold “off market.”
∙ Bay Area Median Price Dips Month-to-Month Again; Still Way Up From Yr Ago [DQNews]
∙ Home Sales Spike In San Francisco To Nine Year High In July [SocketSite]
∙ Spike In Sales Due To, Rather Than Despite, A Spike In Rates [SocketSite]
∙ Having Spiked In July, San Francisco Home Sales Slide In August [SocketSite]