Market Update

December Roundup of SF Market Statistics

Despite mostly negative reports from other parts of the country, the San Francisco home market has performed relatively well since the autumn market began after Labor Day. Indeed, the number of listings accepting offers in November was well above last year’s and the median home price is at its highest since the April tax-credit crush. Typically the market slows down dramatically from mid-November to mid-January, but so far it is slowing far less than usual.

Generally speaking, 30-40% of San Francisco new home listings accept offers within 30 days of going on market (i.e. quickly). They are perceived as good values, often attract multiple offers, and the sales prices for such homes are still, on average, slightly above the list price. (Houses perform better than condos, and condos perform better than TICs and multi-unit buildings.) Another 20% of new listings sell after 1 or more price reductions: on average, they’re on the market for over 100 days before offer acceptance, and sell at a sales price to original list price percentage that is 10-14% lower than that of homes selling quickly. And then 30-40% of listings expire without selling, typically due to being perceived as overpriced. The San Francisco home market is active, but buyers aren’t buying everything (as it seemed they did in the bubble years) – they’re buying only those properties they consider fair or, better yet, compelling values.

Statistics are generalities, often subject to surprising fluctuations due to a variety of reasons. Median prices may be affected by other factors than changes in value. Averages may be distorted by a small number of sales substantially higher or lower than the norm, especially where the sample size is small. New-development condo sales not reported to MLS are not included in this analysis. All information contained herein is derived from sources deemed reliable, but may contain errors and omissions, and is not warranted.

Homes Accepting Offers
The number of SF homes – houses, condos, TICs & 2-4 unit buildings – accepting offers is remaining generally stable. Though the market typically starts to slow markedly in November, this has not occurred this year, and the number of listings accepting offers in November was only slightly reduced from October, and was 17% above November of 2009, and 90% above November 2008 (the market crash era).

Continue Reading…

What You Get for How Much Where in San Francisco

2010 Home Sales at Median Price by Neighborhood

The San Francisco Home Market – August 2010 Update

Despite the constant news of dramatic changes in the real estate market – Values soar! Values crashing! Market up or down ___% from last month! Double dip recession! – the home market in San Francisco has exhibited a remarkable stability over the past year. As shown in the charts below, median prices for both houses and condos are virtually unchanged from one year ago; buyer demand remains steady; months’ supply of inventory remains steady; foreclosure sales are stable; low interest rates continue. Statistics jump around within a relatively narrow percentage band: there has certainly been no definitive trend up or down. It is neither a crazy buyers’ market nor a crazy sellers’ market: it’s a relatively healthy, balanced market, where the basic rules of real estate generally apply: well-priced, well-prepared, well-marketed homes typically sell quickly and homes without those characteristics don’t.

click for larger image	Homes Accepting Offers The number of SF homes – houses, condos and TICs – accepting offers is remaining stable, though running a little higher than this time last year. (April was an abnormally busy month due to the expiring Federal tax credit.)
click for larger image	SF House Median Sales Price The Median Sales Price is that price at which half the properties sold for more and half for less. Though it has gone up and down a bit over the past year, the median sales price for SF houses in July 2010 was virtually unchanged from that in July 2009: no definite trend up or down has manifested itself. The average median for the past 13 months is $756,000.
click for larger image	SF Condo Median Sales Price The median sales price for SF condos has remained remarkably stable for the past 12 months, with the average median sales price for the past 13 months being $675,000. Certainly no definitive trend in value up or down is apparent from the median price.
click for larger image	Distressed Home Median Sales Price Distressed properties are those that are being sold by banks pursuant to foreclosure, and short sales, which require banks to reduce the outstanding loan amount for the transaction to close. The median price for such sales has generally fluctuated between $450,000 and $525,000, which, looking at the earlier charts, one can see is a substantial discount from overall median house and condo prices in San Francisco. However, the majority of such sales are located in the less affluent neighborhoods of the city.
click for larger image	Luxury Homes: For Sale vs. Under Contract The red bars show the number of active luxury home listings in any given month (in this case, defined as houses and condos with list prices of $1,500,000 and above), and the blue line shows the number of listings which accepted offers. In July, the percentage of higher-end listings which accepted offers was about 15%
click for larger image	Inventory of Homes for Sale The dark red bars show the total number of homes that were for sale during the given month, with the lighter bars showing how many were actively for sale on the last day of the month – the difference being those listings that accepted offers, expired or were withdrawn. As we get deeper into summer, both numbers have declined slightly.
click for larger image	Average Days on Market (DOM) This chart measures the average number of days between going on market and accepting an offer. The average in July was 55 days, the lowest in 13 months but basically unchanged since March. In July, houses had the lowest average DOM with 48 days; condos were at 59 days; and TICs were at 75 days: this reflects the respective heat of each market segment. The average days-on-market for “For Sale” homes is 79 days, since it tracks those listings that have not received an acceptable offer.
click for larger image	Months’ Supply of Inventory (MSI) MSI is defined as the number of months it would take to sell the current inventory of homes for sale, at the current rate of sale: the lower the MSI, the greater the demand. MSI for all SF homes has stayed generally stable at 3-4 months, which is considered moderately low. However MSI varies widely by property type: for houses, the MSI is a low 2.9 months; for condos, 4.4 months; for TICs, 5.4 months; and for 2-4 unit buildings, a relatively high 7.4 months of inventory.
click for larger image	Distressed Homes as % of Sales The hash-marked sections delineate the number of distressed property sales (bank-owned and known short sales) against total home sales. The percentage of such sales is noted at the top of each bar: generally jogging up and down between 14% and 17%. Since 2010 began, within any given month, there are usually 400 – 450 distressed properties for sale; 110 – 130 distressed-home new listings; 80 – 100 accept offers; 55 – 75 close escrow; and 30 – 40 expire without selling.
click for larger image	Percentage of Listings Under Contract This chart shows the percentage of home listings which accepted offers within the given month. Except for the surge in April and the doldrums of the holidays, that percentage has typically remained between 16% and 20%. In July, houses had the highest percentage under contract (22.5%), followed by condos (15.4%), TICs (13.5%), and 2-4 unit buildings (10.7%): the higher the percentage under contract, the hotter the market segment.
click for larger image	Sales Price to Original List Price The darker blue bars show the percentage of original list price , typically about 100%, achieved by SF home sales that occurred without a price reduction, i.e. they sold quickly. The lighter bars show the percentage of original list price achieved by those listings that went through one or more price reductions before selling. The difference is typically 10 – 13% of the original list price amount. (January’s numbers are almost certainly caused by faulty reporting.) A well-priced, well-prepared and comprehensively marketed home (of general appeal) will usually sell quickly for the highest price.
click for larger image	New Listings The number of new listings in the city are up a little over July of last year, but down from the peaks of the spring selling season. Usually, the market will see a surge of new listings after Labor Day.
click for larger image	Homes Sold vs. Listings Expired & Withdrawn The green bars denote sold homes and the purple bars denote expired and withdrawn listings. In July, when many of the spring listings that did not sell expired, the number of expired/ withdrawn listings was almost equal to the number that sold. Listings expire or are withdrawn typically due to being perceived as overpriced.

Market Update: July 2010, Mid-Year Review

Median prices and average dollar per square foot figures are generalities, which may be affected by other market factors besides changes in value. All information contained herein is derived from sources deemed reliable, but may contain errors and omissions, and is not warranted. Sales not reported to MLS are not included in these analyses.

Median Sales Prices The Median Sales Price is that price at which half the properties sold for more and half for less. Many agents believe that SF homes values started to climb in the last quarter, and, as shown in the chart, houses and condos did hit their highest median prices since 2008. However, they’re only about 1% above late 2009, and still within 3-4% of prices 15 months ago. The new quarter will show whether an established upward trend in prices has begun, instead of the recent zigzaging up and down. Remember that sales prices are 30-60 days behind the market: closed sales in June generally reflect offers accepted in April and May. click for larger image Homes Accepting Offers Despite all the news reports about declining home sales, in San Francisco at least, though we have seen a drop from the unusual spike in April (expiring Federal tax credits), activity in June was still the 4th strongest month in the last 2 years, 7% above June 2009, and almost equal to June 2008 (before the market downturn in September 2008). Last year, sales did not significantly slow in the summer. click for larger image Continue Reading…

What's Going to Happen Next?

click for larger image	Home Listings Accepting Offers Considering February is a short month (with 2 national holidays), market demand was comparable to the highest levels we’ve seen in the past 18 months. February’s number was 50% higher than January, 80% higher than one year ago (during the market’s dark days), and 12% above February 2008.
click for larger image	Median List Price of Homes Accepting Offers The most recent market data available is of listings accepting offers. (Sales prices are 30-60 days behind the market, as they reflect when the offer was accepted.) And the median list price of homes accepting offers is generally within a few percentage points of the final sales price. Assuming the steep December/ January drop was a seasonal anomaly, this chart shows little indication of either significantly increasing or decreasing prices. Indeed, the definitive trend is how stable the overall SF median price for homes under contract has been since spring 2009: $700,000 plus or minus about 3%.
click for larger image	Market Activity by Property Type House and condo sales dominate the SF market, with TICs and 2-4 unit buildings far behind. The low number of closed sales in February reflects the reduced offer activity of the holiday season, and February’s accepted offers will close mostly in March and April. The average time it took for sold houses to accept an offer (59 days) was lower than that for condos (75 days), TICs (109 days) and 2-4 unit buildings (110 days), which reflects the heat of each market segment.
click for larger image	New Listings Coming on Market New inventory has been increasing since early January, but as can be seen in the other charts, it is not keeping up with buyer demand. We may see a greater surge of new listings with the beginning of spring – certainly the hope of many buyers. This is a week by week chart of the past 6 months.
click for larger image	Homes for Sale (w/o Accepted Offers) Despite the increase in new listings, the number of active homes for sale — house, condo, TIC — over the last 3 months has been lower than at any time in the past 2 years. This reflects the anecdotal word from the field: strong buyer demand; lots of buyers touring open houses; very limited supply of appealing, well-priced homes to buy; often leading to multiple offers on those that do appear on market.
click for larger image	Percentage of Listings with Accepted Offers At over 22%, February had the highest percentage of San Francisco home listings with accepted offers of any month over the past 2 years, indicating a market heating up. When looking at homes between $500,000 and $700,000 — the price range with most sales in SF — the percentage increases to over 24%, the highest percentage for that price range in the past 2 years.
click for larger image	Average Days-on-Market for Homes Accepting Offers The lower the days-on-market, the faster listings are accepting offers. February saw a big plunge in average days on market (to 47 days) for homes accepting offers. In fact, the change was so dramatic, it may be anomalous — or it may simply reflect pent-up demand, as buyers returning from the holidays jump upon an insufficient supply of inventory. It is the lowest average days-on-market number in the past 2 years.
click for larger image	Months-Supply-of-Inventory (MSI) MSI is defined as that number of months required to sell the existing inventory of available homes at the current rate of sale: the lower the MSI, the stronger the demand as compared to supply. At an MSI of 3.1 months, February had the lowest MSI figure for SF homes of the past 2 years. The MSI for SF homes between $500,000 and $700,000 is an even lower 2.7 months. Usually MSI figures this low would be considered a clear “Sellers’ market,” but with difficult financing conditions and uncertainties regarding the economy, the balance of power between qualified buyer and motivated seller is currently more complicated.
click for larger image	Inventory Absorption: SF Home Market The longer gray lines delineate “residual inventory”, i.e. that number of listings actively for sale on the last day of the month which were listed prior to the first day of the month: simply put, listings which have not accepted offers within 1 month of going on market. January and February saw the lowest amount of residual inventory in the last 2 years. Also the ratio of properties which have accepted offers to residual inventory is at the highest level in 2 years. Two more statistics indicating a strengthening market.
click for larger image	Sold Listings vs. Expired Listings The green bars indicate sold listings and the purple bars the expired/ withdrawn listings in any given month. (Again, the low number of sales in January and February reflect the low number of accepted offers during the holidays.) Even with the relatively strong demand in SF since last spring, for every 3 homes that sold, another 2 listings expired without selling. The current market is unlike our (very hot, perhaps irrational) market of 2 – 3 years ago, when it seemed that virtually everything sold quickly. Most Buyers now ignore listings they consider overpriced, and homes not priced within 5% – 8% of perceived fair market value usually don’t even receive offers.
click for larger image	Luxury Homes Accepting Offers This 2-year chart delineates the number of San Francisco homes priced $1,500,000 and above which accepted offers in any given month. Luxury home sales rebounded in February 2010 from the doldrums of the holiday season, back up to the highest levels seen in the past year — but still substantially below the activity seen before the market meltdown in September 2008.
click for larger image	Luxury Homes: % of Listings with Accepted Offers At 19%, February saw the highest percentage of high-end listings ($1.5m and above) with accepted offers since July 2008, an obvious indication of increasing demand amid relatively low supply. A year ago, the percentage was a very low 7% (following the crash in the luxury home market after September 2008), and 2 years ago, during the hot luxury market, the percentage reached a high 28%.
click for larger image	Mortgage Rates As March began, the average rate for 30-year fixed-rate loans once again fell below 5%, which is very low. Many analysts believe rates will increase after the Fed ends its bond buying program at the end of March, and though opinions vary, the consensus forecasts an approximate 1% increase by the end of 2010. 6% is still a low rate historically, but the increase would add significantly to the carrying cost of home ownership.

Recent Sales (Over, Under or At ask)

As I mention in my article on volume, more activity puts pressure on prices. As you can see in the table below, the number of transactions where the property is selling for more than the asking price, is sharply up from earlier this year, where even for single family homes, under 20% of transactions were yeilding a sales price over asking. We’re at a whopping 54% of single family home transactions closed in the last two weeks coming in over asking price.  To see more about earlier in the year, click see “Have we found the Floor?” from July 31, 2009

At Last! Sales Volume Trending Up

In every category, even luxury, the number of homes sold is trending upwards. The charts below are not reflective of the price they are trading at, but generally higher market activity starts to put upward pressure on prices. The charts below show a two year period ending August 30, 2009. Overall, my reading of these charts is that if you were waiting for the market to bottom out, it has already done so. Also, it’s still a very good time to buy between 500k and $2MM as those curves have only just started to gently edge up.

Home Sales $500,000 & Under (It must be noted here that one of the reasons the growth in sales is so high is because there were fewer homes as a proportion of the market under $500,000 back in 2007.)

Home Sales $501,000 – $999,000

Home Sales $1,000,000 – $1,999,999

Home Sales $2,000,000 and Above

Have We Found the Floor?

Yesterday, the Case-Shiller Index — considered the most objective index of US home prices — reported, as pertaining to April to May prices: “10-city and 20-city composites reported positive returns for the first time since the summer of 2006…the first time we have seen broad increases in home prices in 34 months. This could be an indication that home price declines are finally stabilizing.”

For the SF Metro Area (i.e. greater Bay Area, NOT just SF), C-S reported gains of .6% March to April, and 1.4% April to May. Year over year, C-S reported an overall metro area decline of 26.1%. Read the full article here.

From my own experience, I can happily say that things are picking up. Home of the Week 1617 Fulton went into escrow after just 5 days or so on the market with a pre-emptive offer. My listing at 640 Judah got three offers after just a short time on the market, and buyers who I am working with now are regularly competing in a field of 3 or more offers. To be clear, these deals are all well under the $1MM mark, and activity is definitely being driven by the availability of financing available at very low rates. Homes that are not eligible for these low rates – most TICs and homes requiring a loan over $729k are not moving nearly as briskly (if at all -oh so gorgeous Home of the Week 116 Sugarloaf has been on the market over a year and has been reduced from $7.5MM to a mere $4.5MM).

The below charts show that there has been a substantial increase in sales volume, and about a 20% decrease in homes selling under asking price. Volume for the two weeks ended July 15 was 172% of what it was for the period ended March 18 of this year. It is too soon to tell if the decrease in homes selling under asking price (and the commensurate increase in those selling over) means that prices are climbing. However, my recent market experiences tell me that there has been a shift toward underpricing homes to attract attention (and multiple offers) in the “affordable” sectors of the market.

Well, it’s changes like these that keep things exciting and I am really happy to be participating in these busy times due to the support I get from all of you. Thanks, as always for your referrals and for letting me be your go-to person for your real estate needs.

(All data is from San Francisco MLS)

Market Update – Signs of Life (at last)!

In recent weeks, the number of listings accepting offers has increased substantially, while the number of price reductions and expired and withdrawn listings – though still high by historical standards – has decreased significantly. Months-supply-of-inventory (MSI), an indicator of seller supply and buyer demand, has also declined. (The higher the MSI, the greater the buyer advantage.) Whether this will prove to be the beginning of a durable resurgence for SF real estate or simply a springtime bounce, it is too soon to tell.

The area where most house sales are now occurring is Realtor District 10 (Bayview-Portola-Excelsior). Then comes District 2 (Sunset-Parkside), District 5 (Noe-Castro-Haight) and Bernal Heights. District 10, with the greatest number of foreclosure sales, has been hardest hit by price declines, and has roughly as many sales as Districts 2 and 5 combined – so it has had a massive impact on overall median price in SF. (Which is one reason why the overall city median home price is virtually worthless as an indicator of changes in market values.)

Most condo sales are occurring in South Beach-SOMA, then District 5 (Noe-Castro-Haight), and then District 7 (Pacific Heights-Cow Hollow-Marina). These numbers don’t include new development sales unreported to MLS – which would greatly increase the South Beach-SOMA sales numbers. The new developments are doing everything they can to move inventory right now.

Foreclosure Sales Update

Since mid-October 2008, 17% of house sales and 6% of condo sales in San Francisco have been REO (bank-owned) homes. The median sales price of an REO house during this period has been relatively stable at about $500,000; the median sales price for an REO condo has been $432,000. 78% of REO house sales have occurred in the less affluent south/southeast part of the city, stretching from Bayview to Oceanview. 85% of REO condo sales have been in the neighborhoods stretching south from SOMA along the east side of the city down to Bayview and across to Oceanview. The greater part of the city – northern, central and western neighborhoods – continues to be relatively unaffected by foreclosure sales.

Pricing, Buying, Selling & Negotiating San Francisco Real Estate

The below is a detailed analysis of current market conditions in San Francisco.  The quick and dirty jist of things is:  lots of properties are sitting on the market at much higher prices than they will eventually sell for.  If you are a buyer, and you see something you like – go for it!  If you are a seller, beware the temptation to “leave room to negotiate.”  It will cost you in time and ultimately in sale price.  Finally, if you are thinking of buying or selling in this complex market, be sure to ask for the help you need.  Please always remember, I am here with a great team of financial, staging and marketing professionals to help you and yours get it done with the best possible outcome.

At current market trends, over the next month:*

• 1400 active house & condo listings will be joined by 600 new listings.
• 1 in 7 or 8 of those listings will accept an offer to purchase.
• 1 in 8 will expire or be withdrawn from the market (didn’t sell).
• 1 in 4 will reduce its asking price.
• 75 active bank-owned (REO) homes will be joined by 45 new REO listings: 1 in 3 will accept offers.
• Of the listings that do accept offers, 1 in 3 or 4 will come back on market because the purchase fell through — typically due to financing difficulties, property condition issues or buyer remorse.

*All numbers are approximate; neither TIC sales nor non-MLS new-development sales are included.

List Price, Offer Price, Sales Price

• Of the house and condo listings that SOLD in the first 2.5 months of 2009:*
• 1 in 4 accepted offers within about 15 days of going on market, i.e. almost immediately. Of these, the houses averaged a sales price of about 1% over asking price, while condos averaged about 4% below asking.
• The supply and demand equation is currently weaker for condos than for houses; the equation for TICs and multi-unit buildings is much weaker still — financing is now very difficult for these properties.
• Those accepting offers after 45 to 75 days on market sold at an average of 3% to 4% below last asking price and 7% to 10% below original list price.
• Those accepting offers after 105 days on market sold, on average, 4% to 5% below last asking price and 14% to 18% below original price.
• No matter how long a home was for sale, it still sold, on average, within 3% to 5% of the last price, even as — with price reductions — the discount off the original price grew much larger as time passed.

* For SF house and condo sales reported to MLS by 3/17/09. City districts with high foreclosure rates, as well as confidential sales and ultra high-end sales were excluded to avoid distorting general market statistics.

What it Means
The vast majority of buyers and buyers’ agents will NOT make an offer until they perceive the property’s asking price to be within 5% of “market value” (i.e. what they’re willing to pay).

1) They don’t want to waste time and emotional energy on a listing they consider significantly overpriced, since they believe coming to an agreement with the seller is unlikely. Or

2) They’re uncomfortable with the possibility of provoking a negative reaction from seller or listing agent.

Generally speaking, ours is not a society comfortable with aggressive negotiating, even though it can reap large rewards. Remember that a negotiation is a conversation between buyer and seller that doesn’t really begin until an offer is made. And until it’s made and the negotiation concludes, no one knows what price and terms might result — so don’t make ironclad assumptions based upon either asking price or initial offer price.

Lessons for Buyers
If you see a home you like, ask yourself: at what price would you be a buyer? Review recent comparable sales and market trends with your agent, and then make an offer — at or under whatever price you’re willing to pay. The first rule of negotiation is, “You never know until you ask.” A few buyers are negotiating discounts of 10% to 25% off list price, because they’re unafraid to make low offers.

Don’t waste time asking the seller or listing agent if they would entertain a low offer — they almost always say no (out of pride and/or a misunderstanding of how negotiations proceed). No one knows how anyone will actually react to an offer until the offer is made.

Ultimately, the home you buy will be a good or great value based upon the price you pay, not the price the seller asks. So focus on the first, instead of the second.

That said, those properties perceived as excellent values are still generating offers — and sometimes, multiple offers — quickly, and a home purchased 20% below asking price is not necessarily a better value than another purchased at full price: it all depends on the property and how it was priced to begin with.

Lessons for Sellers
Never discourage buyers from making offers. Counter-offer unacceptable offers instead of rejecting them outright.

Those 25% of sold homes which accept offers within 2 to 3 weeks of going on market achieve the highest percentage of sales price to list price. To do so in today’s market, your property must stand out as an excellent value: priced, prepared and marketed perfectly.

A listing will never get as much attention as in its first few weeks on market and pricing properly to begin with almost always results in more money than starting out high and reducing later. Most buyers will NOT make offers on homes they consider over-priced — and the longer a home stays on the market, the less value it holds in buyers’ calculations.

If you do need to make a price reduction — and in a changing market, the right listing price can change — do it as soon as possible and make it dramatic enough to recapture attention.

The only definition of fair market value that counts is: “That price a qualified and reasonably knowledgeable buyer will pay to a willing seller after the property has been properly exposed to the market.” To make it more complicated, that price is changing all the time.

Paragon in a Changing Market*

For SF home sales (house, condo, TIC) from October 15th, 2008 — when the 9/15/08 financial meltdown began to show up in sales data — through March 16, 2009, Paragon had the highest average sales-per-agent of any brokerage in the top 10 with at least 20 agents: higher than Sotheby’s, McGuire, Hill & Company, Pacific Union, Coldwell Banker, Zephyr, Vanguard and Alain Pinel. Paragon also had the lowest days-on-market figure of any of those companies. And year-over-year for this period, our market share increased by 38%.

As the market becomes more challenging, we’re working harder for our clients and obtaining superior results.
*Per Broker Metrics, for SF home sales reported to MLS as of 3/16/09

The purchase or sale of one’s home is typically one of the largest, most complicated financial transactions of one’s life. The quality of agent working on your behalf — his or her competence, integrity, work ethic and commitment to your interests — can make an enormous difference in the outcome.  In this market where so many companies are shrinking, Paragon continues to grow because of our strategy of hiring only the best agents with the ability to generate business through referrals that are earned based on long-term competetent service to our community.  I am committed to being your real estate advisor for life and sincerely appreciate the continuous support you all provide to my business.

All data from sources deemed reliable but subject to error or omission, and not warranted. 3/25/09