“So why oh why, why all the fuss…cuz (#$%&!) we ain’t got no dust…” (Bonus points for getting the band to those lyrics.) Anyhow…so what makes up the dynamics of our price ranges, and why did we mention those lyrics? Because “dust” in our world is a distressed property (bank-owned, short sale/foreclosure, Stalefish), and we ain’t got many of them here in San Francisco, and price reductions are incredibly rare.
There are three main underlying currents occurring in San Francisco real estate. First is the rapid dwindling of distressed property sales: Thus, sales under $500,000, the price range of most distressed sales, have dropped by 62% since last year. This segment is on the verge of disappearing completely in SF. Second is the dramatic resurgence in luxury home sales: the affluent have profited most from the economic recovery and the city also has large numbers of the newly affluent (often high-tech) who wish to buy homes. So, sales of homes costing $1,500,000 plus have surged by 76%. The third dynamic is simply the general appreciation of home values. All three factors add up to a large migration from lower-priced to higher-priced sales. Note: The medians quoted on this chart are for many different property types combined.
[Click Images to Enlarge.]
Let’s have a look at some May listings and Sales numbers as a clear indication of the red-hot heat of our market: 90% of SF home sales closing in May sold without going through any price reductions, at an average sales price 7% higher than the asking price and a very low average days-on-market of 29 days. These are very dramatic statistics illustrating the high demand/low supply situation here in the city.
We still have a couple more graphs and data to share with you in the next few days, and we crank these types of things out all the time (along with a fair bit or real estate p*rn), so make sure to check back, get theFrontSteps delivered to your inbox, and/or bookmark Our Stats & Numbers page.
Been thinking about selling? Now might be the time, no?
Data Source: Paragon Real Estate