A jump in residential real property sales in San Francisco in February
2010 has led to a significant decline in for-sale inventory levels and
a
tight real estate market in the city, according to the latest Market
Focus report, issued jointly by the Rosen Consulting Group of Berkeley
and the San Francisco Association of REALTORS??. For the month of
February, the months of supply inventory now stands at the lowest
level
in more than a year.
The median home sale price for the month, however, declined 2.5
percent
to $695,000 for both single-family homes and condominiums after
increasing 18.4 percent in January. During the month, 113 sales were
closed, nearly matching sale activity in the same month the previous
year. But 217 units went into contract, a 65 percent increase over
last
year. With only 571 single-family homes on the market at the end of
February, the jump in pending sale activity reduced the months of
supply
inventory to 2.6 in February, compared to 5.3 months of supply for the
same month last year.
With longer lag times between contract signing and closing in the
current environment, the median sales price figure is more likely to
reflect contracts signed in late 2009.
Condominium sales continue at a rapid pace, though much of the sale
activity has come at the cost of reductions in asking price and
increasingly attractive concessions. Completed sales totaled 137 units
in February 2010 up from 90 units in February 2009, while pending
sales
reached 228 units from 116 units during the same time period last year.
The jump in sales activity for condominiums brought down the for-sale
condominium inventory to 848 units from more than 1,000 the same month
last year. The condominium median sales price was $650,000, an
increase
from recent months, but 8.9 percent less than the median sale price in
February 2009.
???The problem for buyers right now is that there is an absence of
choice
in the marketplace. It???s a shame because the months of March, April
and
May are traditionally strong months for real estate sales. If a
greater
variety of properties were available, the likelihood is that they
would
find buyers in less time than any other part of the year,??? says John
Lee, president of the San Francisco of REALTORS??.
Going forward, the Rosen Consulting Group believes that, despite
anticipated bumps in the road, the San Francisco housing market has
turned a corner and should continue to improve through 2010. The
reasons
it cites for its positive outlook are rising household net worth,
improving???though limited???job prospects, and a potential extension
of
some government-facilitated home-buying programs.
???As companies begin rehiring after severely cutting payrolls through
2009," the group says, ???the net increase in jobs across the
metropolitan
area in 2010, and more so into 2011, should accelerate the housing
market???s recovery. While the market will surely face hurdles in the
form
of continued job cuts, higher mortgage rates, and distressed property
sales during its path to recovery, 2010 is still expected to be a
positive year for the San Francisco housing market.???