The San Francisco real estate market needs to take a breather before the popular fall selling season kicks off.
First off, there was recently a nationwide Multiple Listing Service (MLS) ransomware attack. Our SF MLS has yet to be restored, and the Realtor community is fortunately working together to power through. This has involved switching to various reliable and alternative data sources—none that I’ll mention, as we don’t want to make those sources a target. But suffice to say that we can add new listings, update existing ones and promote them to the public.
Second, buyers and sellers are still approaching the market in ways that don’t mesh. Buyers are grappling with high interest rates—7% for 30-year fixed loans, for example. And sellers aren’t listing their properties for fear of giving up the low-rate mortgages they locked in a few years ago, when rates were lower.
So we have a low-inventory issue at the moment. That means prices aren’t necessarily falling and the market is at somewhat of a standstill.
But judging from all the “Coming Soon” listings I’m seeing agents promoting, I can promise you that there is inventory on the way. Many sellers and agents have been holding off their new listings until after Labor Day, and I’m no exception. I believe we’ll see list prices closer to their targeted sale prices, and I’m willing to bet that any homeowners who list their properties are highly motivated.