San Francisco

Higher mortgage rates, along with elevated sales prices and a lack of housing inventory, have continued to impact market activity during the summer homebuying season. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has remained above 6.5% since May, recently hitting a two-decade high in August, according to Freddie Mac. As a result, existing-home sales have continued to slow nationwide, dropping 2.2% month-over-month as of last measure, with sales down 16.6% compared to the same time last year, according to the National
Association of REALTORS® (NAR).

New Listings were up 5.4 percent for single family homes but decreased 5.2 percent for Condo/TIC/Coop properties. Pending Sales decreased 15.5 percent for single family homes and 11.6 percent for Condo/TIC/Coop properties.

The Median Sales Price was down 1.8 percent to $1,576,000 for single family homes but increased 9.3 percent to $1,093,386 for Condo/TIC/Coop properties. Months Supply of Inventory increased 33.3 percent for single family units and 17.2 percent for Condo/TIC/Coop units.

Falling home sales have done little to cool home prices, however, which have continued to sit at record high levels nationally thanks to a limited supply of homes for sale. According to NAR, there were 1.11 million homes for sale heading into August, 14.6% fewer homes than the same period last year, for a 3.3 months’ supply at the current sales pace. The shortage of homes for sale has boosted competition for available properties and is driving sales prices higher, with NAR reporting a national median existing-home price of $406,700, a 1.9% increase from a year earlier.