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Winter-Early Spring 2019

The start of the 2019 selling season has been a bit of a conundrum with perspectives on the health, volatility and direction of the market almost directionless, with an enormous disparity in opinions even amongst seasoned, tenured professionals in San Francisco real estate and economists as well. Signs are starting to emerge however that demand will stay consistent with or outpace inventory and that entry level properties (priarily condos and outlying single family homes) under $1.5 million will continue to stay heated and competitive. Overall, the modest trajectory of the last 2 months of 2018 may not point to the same results by Spring 2019. Inventory surged briefly just prior to Super Bowl Sunday (a sign that much more was to come) and then surprisingly pulled back and slowed. Well priced, well positioned properties are selling quickly as expected and properties returned to the market from late 2018 are sitting if they have not price adjusted. Buyers are showing strong signals and sellers are advised to stay tempered in pricing and assertive in positioning….and if doing so, will likely reap the best rewards the market has to offer.

Looking back at 2018, there were almost too many local, national and international political, economic, social and ecological factors impacting the 2018 market to count. In the first half of the year, market conditions were about as hot as they’ve ever been, and there were staggering year-over-year appreciation rates. Come summer/early autumn, real estate and financial markets began to shift distinctly cooler. For 2019, there are many wild cards whose impacts are difficult to predict: extremely volatile financial markets, fluctuating interest rates, contentious national politics, international trade issues, spiraling debt levels, employment growth – and a dramatic surge of local high-tech unicorns that plan to go public, which could create a tsunami of new wealth in the Bay Area.

Year-over-Year Annual Appreciation
Comparing 2018 to 2017, the median house sales price jumped 13% or $185,000 to $1,600,000 – the largest annual dollar increase ever (not adjusted for inflation) – and the median condo price increased by $60,000 to $1,210,000.
For a more detailed micro perspective of a specific property or neighborhood, please contact Rob Levy directly at 415-385-8011 or Rob@RobLevy.net