February 2025: San Francisco Real Estate Insider

As we dry out from last week I wanted to touch base and recap the numbers for the 2024 market. Then, we’ll review what is happening in current San Francisco market.

Looking at inventory in 2024, we experienced a positive trend. 2024 was the first full year with an uptick in listings throughout the Bay Area since the days of COVID. Hopefully this trend continues through to 2025 and we see more availability (of homes) for buyers.

The upswing in inventory helped actual sales numbers increase from the 2023 numbers, but (sales) remained far below longer-term averages.  

Another positive metric for the Bay Area market was the big increase in the number of $5,000,000+ sales. Activity was up over 33% in 2024 (versus 2023)! That is a huge jump and brings a very positive signal to the market. The increase in sales activity should sway some sellers that have been sitting on the fence (to sell or not) to move forward and list their property. 

Looking at median house values in 2024, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties hit new highs and sit atop the chart. San Francisco; usually the top dog in pre-COVID years, is down to number four and comes in at just over $1.6M. 

Getting back to San Francisco, I have a political update for those of you with empty homes. Remember the ridiculous Empty Homes Tax? Good news, the San Francisco Superior Court ruled that the Empty Homes Tax violates the Federal and State Constitutions and the City is prohibited from enforcing or administering the tax effective December 6, 2024. Property owners impacted by the tax will not be required to file or pay by the original deadline of April 30, 2025, or any other deadline, unless the trial court’s decision is reversed on appeal. I assume the City intends to appeal this decision. 

On to the local market. January started off with more new listings that we’ve seen (in recent January’s) and a huge uptick versus December. This spike inventory brought a lot of buyers out to open houses and sales of single family homes and well located condos continue to receive multiple offers. I do believe the warm, dry weather also helped get the buyers out as well.

The strong buyer activity should accelerate the spring market in terms of inventory coming to market sooner (than later). I am a big proponent of listing when you have very little neighborhood competition. In fact, if you are looking for a single family in Sea Cliff or a nice two-bedroom condo in North Beach (with one of the best deeded decks in the area), reach out for specifics. 

That is it for now. If 2025 is the year that you make a move, let’s put a plan in place to make the most of your asset. Likewise, if you have friends or colleagues looking to get into the market, feel free to pass my name along. 

Call or email, anytime.