Index for Bay Area Home Values Ticks Up, First Gain in Five Months

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index for single-family home values within the San Francisco Metropolitan Area (i.e., “San Francisco,” which includes the East Bay, North Bay and Peninsula) ticked up nearly 2 percent from January to February and was 5.2 percent higher than at the same time last year, representing the first month-over-month gain in five months and the largest year-over-year gain since August of 2022.

That being said, the index is still 12 percent below its peak in the second quarter of 2022, with the index for the least expensive third of the Bay Area market having inched up 0.7 percent from January to February, the index for the middle tier of the market having ticked up 1.8 percent, and the index for the top third of the market having ticked up 2.0 percent but still 13.6 percent below its pandemic-driven peak and mortgage rates having ticked up since the end of February, not down.

At the same time, the index for Bay Area condo values, which remains a leading indicator for the market as a whole, inched up 0.3 percent in February from a 3-year low in January but was down one (1) percent on a year-over-year basis and 11.5 percent below peak.

The national home price index inched up 0.6 percent in February and was 6.4 percent higher than at the same time last year, with San Diego up 11.4 percent, now followed by Chicago and Detroit which were both up 8.9 percent, with Portland up 2.2 percent at the bottom of the table and Tampa the only major metropolitan market to have recorded a month-over-month decline, having slipped 0.2 percent, but still up 4.3 percent, year-over-year.

Our standard SocketSite S&P/Case-Shiller footnote: The S&P/Case-Shiller home price indices include San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin, Contra Costa and Alameda in the “San Francisco” index (i.e., greater MSA) and are imperfect in factoring out changes in property values due to improvements versus appreciation (although they try their best).