Buyers welcomed Spring and moved ahead with big purchases in March, breaking out of the gate and leaving the previous few months of sluggish activity in the dust. The sun’s coming out and so are home buyers committed to staying in San Francisco.
Here’s the latest on how the house market did in March:
Median price: March saw a $1.7M median price, a year-over-year slide of 15%.
Volume check: 146 houses closed last month, which was a 41% drop from March 2022’s number of closed sales.
But wait… March’s median price was 16% higher than that of February’s ($1,465,000). And closed sale volume more than doubled over the past month.
Overbidding is becoming the norm again. A whopping 61.6% of buyers paid more than asking, with 26 of those 146 sales closing for 20% or more over the list price. Prize for the biggest overbid went to the 3BR/3BA, 2,900-square foot 1920s home that needed an overhaul at 125 Cerritos in Ingleside Terrace. Listed for $1,399,000, the house garnered tons of offers and closed for $2,250,000. (Photo courtesy Coldwell Banker Realty)
Luxury buyers are coming into focus. Volume doubled from February for sales in the $3M+ range. Never underestimate the power of a large, newly renovated, and well-located home to entice buyers. In general, all the homes that sold for well over list price in the $3M range were on the market for no more than a week or two before they went into contract.
Highs and lows. The least expensive home sold last month was a one-bedroom cottage in Silver Terrace for $690,000. And the most expensive was Presidio Heights’ 3450 Washington—a 9,865-square foot, French Normandy-style manse originally on the market for $45,000,000 that closed for $34,500,000.
Neighborhood with the most sales. That would again be Bernal Heights, with 14 closings.
Inventory check. There are roughly 275 single-family homes on the market with a median list price of $1,880,000. And 146 homes are in contract at a median list price of $1,369,000. Seems kind of obvious where the sweet spot is right now for San Francisco houses.
Current mood. Spring is here! And it’s going to be a busy one for the SF real estate market.
Pro Tips
Sellers: Don’t wait too long to start getting pre-sale work lined up if you’re planning to go on the market between now and June. Your agent should be bringing in the painters, stagers and other professionals for estimates and scheduling before everyone is booked and you’re bumped to the summer.
Buyers: Houses offering the full package—great location, solid floor plans, parking—are going into contract very quickly. Be prepared to write an offer on that level of home within a week or two of the first public showings.
[All data courtesy of the San Francisco Multiple Listing Service.]