Real Estate Market Update for May 2023
What’s New in San Francisco Real Estate
Analytics and charts from Compass
Throughout the Bay Area, buyer demand is continuing to rebound from late 2022. While mortgage applications are still down year over year, many buyers have accepted higher interest rates as the new normal and are moving forward. Open houses are seeing increased traffic, more listings are selling, and selling more quickly with multiple offers. Median sales prices have generally ticked up in 2023, though still down across the Bay Area from the market peak last spring.
Even with the increase in demand, sales activity remains below last spring. Homebuyers are acclimating to the current rate environment, but the lack of inventory is a challenge; the number of new listings has dropped dramatically. Low inventory can be partially attributed to the “mortgage lock-in effect,” where owners with very low, long-term, fixed-rate mortgages are reluctant to sell and then buy at the higher current rates.
Some uncertainty clearly continues with inflation, interest rates, stock markets, bank crises, high-tech layoffs, and now, as of early May, federal debt-limit negotiations. But, so far, the 2023 housing market has generally been moving in a positive direction.
House Price Trends
Year over year, the median house sales price in April was down 20%, but has started to climb back up again recently.
Condo Price Trends
Median condo sales prices in April were down about 10% from last year, but are also climbing.
Median Sales Prices by Neighborhood
New Listings Coming on Market
Year over year, new listings in April were down 43% compared to last year. Of the listings for sale on May 1, 32% were houses while 68% were condos, co-ops, and TICs.
Listings Pending Sale
Listings pending sale figures are impacted by supply, and the lower supply this spring is resulting in a lower number of pending sales, compared to the past two years.
Monthly Sales Volume
Year over year, monthly sales volume in April 2023 was down about 38%.
Price Reductions on Active Listings
Sales Over List Price
In April 2023, of the properties that sold over list price, 61% were houses while 34% were condos, co-ops, and TIC’s.
Average Days on Market
Mortgage Interest Rate Trends
This week, the average long-term U.S. mortgage rate fell to its lowest level in five weeks. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said on May 11 that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan fell to 6.35% from 6.39% last week.
The information herein is based on or derived from information generally available to the public and/or from sources believed to be reliable. No representation or warranty can be given with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the information.
