Welcome, readers, to the first in what will be a monthly, reoccurring blog post in which we mine San Francisco median home price data for treasure. We’ll concentrate mainly on the median sold price, as the selling price is generally more telling about actual market conditions than the listing price. Per data harvested from MLS figures on Trulia, the median sales price for all homes (so, condos, single-family, and townhomes included) in San Francisco for Oct 12 to Dec 12 was $777,000. This represents an increase of 10.1 percent– or $71,500–compared to the prior quarter and a 21.4 percent increase year-over-year. The average price per square foot for San Francisco CA was $626 17.4% compared to Dec, 2011.
Savvy Curbed readers already know that such figures only tell us so much. They include both distressed and market-rate properties, but in actuality, the price of these homes will be very different when singled out from the median. And of course, there’s location. Though formerly less “desirable” areas (in terms of Broker-Babble) like the Mission, Mission Bay, and Mid-Market have been enjoying greater popularity and corresponding property values, median prices across the many ‘nabes of our fair city can vary up to $4,000,000. However, the city-wide recovery is remarkable enough to spur this statement from Paragon Real Estate Group. “Exactly a year ago, we suggested that, based upon the changing market and economic dynamics we perceived developing in 2011, the SF real estate market was on the cusp of a major turnaround in 2012, possibly similar to what occurred in 1996 when the market blasted off after years of doldrums. And that is what happened.”
With nothing but growing fervor in the residential market, we predict prices are headed up in 2013. We’ll check back with you next month to confirm… or be proved wrong.
For the complete story by Anna Marie from Curbed SF, click here.