May is fully upon us, and while the city might be getting a bit windier, our local real estate market is absolutely on fire. Even as we push deeper into the prime spring selling season, the housing scene is showing no signs of cooling down. Median sale prices are climbing at an extraordinary rate. Single family homes just leaped over twenty-one percent from last year to a median of $2,125,000. The condo market is posting its own impressive run, surging over eighteen percent to a $1,400,000 median.

The real story right now is the stubborn lack of inventory across all property types. We are looking at nearly forty percent fewer homes on the market compared to last spring. This severe shortage means properties are vanishing almost instantly. Single family homes are moving in an average of twelve days, and condos are flying off the shelf in just fourteen days. Buyers are facing brutal competition, often paying twenty percent over asking for houses and roughly a seven percent premium for condos.

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Quick Take:

• Median sale prices continue their remarkable ascent, with single-family homes up more than 21% and condos up more than 18% year-over-year.
• Inventory levels remain nearly 40% below last year, keeping competition fierce throughout San Francisco.
• Listings are selling at lightning speed, with single-family homes moving in 12 days and condos in just 14 day

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San Francisco’s housing market continues to shatter price records

April brought another month of extraordinary price appreciation to San Francisco, with both property types posting double-digit year-over-year gains. Single-family homes saw a 21.43% increase in median sale price, with the median home selling for $2,125,000. The condo market continued its impressive run as well, with an 18.14% surge in median sale price to $1,400,000. Competition for homes remains at a fever pitch, with single-family homes routinely selling for more than 20% over the original asking price. Condos are also commanding substantial premiums, selling for roughly 7% over asking on average.

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Inventory shortages persist despite peak spring selling season

Even as we move deeper into the heart of the spring selling season, inventory levels remain stubbornly below where they were a year ago. There are currently just 218 single-family homes for sale in San Francisco, representing a 36.99% decline compared to April 2025. The condo market is facing a similar shortage, with inventory down 39.01% year-over-year to 466 units. While new listings increased from March, with 317 new single-family homes and 334 new condos hitting the market, the relentless pace of sales continues to keep overall inventory suppressed. Buyers looking for options will need patience, as the selection remains extremely limited.

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Two weeks or less from listing to sale has become the new normal

The severe inventory shortage has made San Francisco one of the fastest-moving markets in California. The average single-family home is selling in just 12 days, representing a 7.69% decrease compared to last April. The condo market has seen an even more dramatic transformation, with the average condo selling in just 14 days, a remarkable 57.58% year-over-year decline. Last April, the average condo sat on the market for 33 days, meaning today’s condos are selling in less than half the time. For buyers, this ultra-fast pace leaves almost no room for deliberation, making preparation and decisiveness essential.

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San Francisco is firmly entrenched as one of California’s hottest seller’s markets

When determining whether a market is a buyers’ market or a sellers’ market, we look to the Months of Supply Inventory (MSI) metric. The state of California has historically averaged around three months of MSI, so any area with at or around three months of MSI is considered a balanced market. Any market that has lower than three months of MSI is considered a seller’s market, whereas markets with more than three months of MSI are considered buyers’ markets.

With just 1.1 months of single-family home inventory and 2.3 months of condo inventory on the market, San Francisco remains a deeply entrenched seller’s market across all property types. Both figures represent year-over-year declines of more than 40%, highlighting how dramatically conditions have shifted in favor of sellers. Notably, the condo market has transformed from a buyer’s market last April (4.4 MSI) to a strong seller’s market today. Until significant new inventory enters the market, sellers will continue to enjoy the upper hand in negotiations.

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– theFrontSteps SFNewsletter – May 2026