San Francisco April '24 Real Estate Update Ascend RE

Inventory

The amount of new listings hitting the market has been stable during this Spring season. Housing inventory during February and March have been comparable to inventory levels in pre-Covid years. Overall, listings from January to March are higher than what we experienced in 2023, which was an outstandingly low inventory year. Pending sales have also seen an increase, following a build up of sold properties during the early Spring market. The number of listings sold is still down (and quite a bit below historical levels), but is likely to rise as a result of the increase in pending sales. The amount of active listings is at a higher level than historical year-over-year levels. In good news for buyers, month’s supply is starting to increase. However, this may also mean that more properties are hitting the market but not selling very quickly.

Sales Price

Average home sale prices are trending in a positive direction, where they are not as high as 2022 prices, but still appear to be on the rebound. In more positive news for sellers, homes are now selling on average about 2% over their list price. The past year has experienced some of the lowest levels of overbidding when comparing to data from the past decade. In fact, homes generally sell between 4-12% over asking, depending on the year/month. In the past year, less than 50% of properties have sold over asking price, when historically 50-70% of properties have sold over asking! It’s fair to say that this past year has been one of the least competitive market spaces that SF has seen in a long time. However, we are optimistic that competition is increasing based on recent data. Though it is still down from its record high value in April 2022, average price per sqft is starting to rise, hitting its highest point since November of 2022.

Days on Market

Days on market are often high around the holidays, since properties are selling a lot slower at that time. This past month homes are selling much faster due to the quick pace of new inventory being sold.

The Bottom Line

The Spring market has brought much needed positive change, with key trend lines returning to their historical norms and prices heading upwards (some even returning to their record high levels). Condos are experiencing more of an uphill battle when it comes to returning to higher price points, but the market is changing with increased competition returning SF to a more natural market state. It’s also encouraging to see more inventory coming on the line, despite interest rates remaining at a stubborn high. We’re here to help, whether you simply need guidance in the current market or are ready to sell, buy, or invest. Let’s start the conversation!