3/16/07

Latest Real Estate Statistics

San Francisco prices are up 2.4% in February from a Median of $740,000 to $757,500. One reason - in addition to continued low interest rates - is that there just isn't much for sale. The number of homes that have sold dropped dramatically - down 12.6% from last year.

As usual, the overall Bay Area figures from DataQuick (which includes "inferior" areas - or rather non-"Super Star" areas) show a flat market with 0.3% price growth and the lowest number of homes sales since 1996.

San Francisco too has "super star" areas and neighborhoods - anything in the Northern parts of the city. So the Marina, Cow Hollow, Pacific Heights, Russian Hill, North Beach, Telegraph Hill, Presidio Heights - all remain strong markets. Other neighborhoods with plenty of sun shine and retail shopping like Noe Valley and Cole Valley remain strong. And Single Family homes as well as Condos remain strong.

However, TIC's are off sharply, as are neighborhoods with lots of fog and little San Francisco-specific character.

Cash buyers remain plentiful in the most sought after parts of town and most desirable properties. Yet, few Sellers seem to want to give up their cherished properties at any price. So the "stand off" that DataQuick refers to is of a different sort in these areas.