End of Year Market Update

January 21, 2020

Line chart showing San Francisco median home prices over the last 12 months, comparing single-family homes and condos, with December prices highlighted at approximately $1.44M for single-family homes and $1.2M for condos.

Happy New Year and welcome to our January analysis. This month we’ll examine End of Year Market Updates for San Francisco across Three Key Indicators:

Home Prices
Months Supply of Inventory
and Sales-to-List Price.

Stay tuned, next month we’ll include a full review of San Francisco’s housing market in 2019 and will offer our predictions for 2020. If you are interested in getting these monthly market updates directly in your inbox? Subscribe here.

End of Year Market Updates for San Francisco

Let’s take a look at the end of the year housing market in San Francisco across three key indicators: home prices, month’s supply, and the sales-to-list price.

Home Prices

In 2019, single-family home prices ended where they began: At the end of December, single-family home prices were down by 4% year-over-year. In general, flat prices signal a balanced market for housing and encourage sellers to price their homes in line with comparables. Condo prices were also relatively flat, up 3% on the year.

Chart comparing San Francisco median single-family and condo prices from December 2017 to December 2019.

Chart of San Francisco median price changes, December 2018–December 2019; condos end at 3% and single-family homes at -4%.

Inventory

Months supply of inventory measures how many months it would take for all current listings on the market (including listings under contract) to sell at the current rate of sales. In California’s high-demand market, a balanced supply level is three months, which means there are three months of housing inventory on the market at the current rate of sales. A market with less than three months’ supply of inventory favors sellers.

Since the beginning of 2019, inventory tightened from previously low levels for both single-family homes and condos as more buyers entered the market to take advantage of low-interest rates and lower prices. Line chart of San Francisco housing supply changes, December 2018–December 2019, comparing single-family homes and condos. Chart shows San Francisco housing inventory changes, ending at -36% for single-family homes and -24% for condos.

Sale-to-List Price Ratio

The sale-to-list price ratio reflects the difference between the original list price of the home and the final sale price. Single-family homes typically have higher sale-to-list price ratios than condos. At the end of 2019, both single-family homes and condos were selling at a slight premium compared to their list price. San Francisco sale-to-list price chart comparing single-family homes and condos from December 2018 to December 2019.

As the new year begins, we remain committed to helping you achieve your current and future real estate goals. Our team of experienced professionals is ready and eager to talk in more detail about all of the information we’ve shared here. We welcome you to contact us with any questions about the current market or to request an evaluation of your home or condo.

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