October 2024: Q3 Sea Cliff - Lake Street Insider

As we roll into the second weekend of October we are about one-third of the way into the fall market. Citywide, inventory was up about seven percent compared to the beginning of last fall; obvious reason being interest rates (i.e. sellers not motivated to trade a ~3% mortgage for 7.5%). So far this fall, the biggest change I see (in the market) is resurgence on the top end. Last fall, buyers had their choice of dozens of $5M+ homes in District 7 (Pacific Heights, Presidio Heights, Cow Hollow) as sellers competed hard for a buyer. In the last month, that market is hot. Listings in D7 are getting absorbed much quicker than last year. Is there new confidence in our fair city? Possibly. I tend to see a different reason; markets & money. In the past five years, the DOW is up 56%, the NASDAQ is up 126% and S&P 500 is up 93%. That alone can drive the San Francisco luxury market. Couple that with declining interest rates and you get folks that feel like it’s time for an upgrade.

Speaking of interest rates, the recent cut really helped fuel the market over the past six weeks. The entry level market relies on the lower cost of capital but this fall that segment of the market has not yet kicked into high gear. There is still a lot of very good <$2.5M inventory sitting; primarily in the condo category. My sense is the second fall rate cut (after 11 consecutive increases going back to March of 22…fingers crossed) will accelerate this segment.  Until then, I see some very good values in good neighborhoods.

Last quarter a new policy was instituted in the real estate market as it relates to agent compensation. As you may have read, NAR (National Association of Realtors) settled the lawsuit (Burnett v. National Association of Realtors) and a seller is no longer ‘paying’ a buyers agent any compensation. Now, if a buyer would like to engage a licensed Realtor and or see a property with a Realtor, they must have a signed buyer representation agreement and this would spell out specifics of the relationship as to any compensation a buyer would pay to the agent to work on their behalf. This has been a big transition on ‘how’ we operate, but at a high level not much has changed. As with my clients and I, it has always been about the ‘net to seller’ on the closing statement. What happens above the line is a moving target. In the past six weeks I’ve had sellers pay the buyer agent compensation, I’ve have a buyer pay both agents compensation as well as received unrepresented offers (with no compensation). I see the Assessor’s Office looking into the new practice a bit closer as it will reduce the tax coffers.

For reference, if you sold your home for $4M and agreed to pay both listing and buyer agent compensation (5% as was practice before mid-August), the seller would pay transfer tax based on $4M and the buyers base would be $4M. But, if the buyer agreed to cover the commission the sale would close at $3.8M…which would be the same ‘net to seller’ as the prior scenario, but the tax collector (a) collects less and (b) the tax base is lower. I don’t see the tax collector being comfortable with this scenario. We will see as time progresses.   

On to our corner of the city. Single family sales are moving quickly; as in less than two weeks on the market. Our inventory levels are what I would consider typical for this time of year, yet demand is up. We’ve also seen more off-market sales in our corner of the city than past Y-o-Y and recent quarter numbers. This can be attributed to many reasons, but the most common is the owner that; (a) has a “number” and (b) does not want to move out until they have a committed buyer. If this is you; reach out. I can put your home in front of a target rich pool of buyers.

Some numbers for the quarter  reflecting how quickly homes are selling in the northwest corner:

Other numbers for the quarter. Sea Cliff realized a couple $10M+ sales (and one $25M+) but overall the numbers were steady. In the Lake Street Corridor, I would say it was back to core homes and not the flurry of North of Lake homes we’ve experienced recently. 

On to our corner of the city.

Enthusiasm for the northwest corner of the city continues as we see newly listed homes sell quickly. In the Lake Street Corridor, there are no available homes but I expect to see a few come to market before Labor Day. Looking at the sales in the Corridor, properties have a median of nine days on the market before going into contract. 

In Sea Cliff, there are two available properties and the sold properties (for the quarter) had a median of 12 days on the market. A good example of the demand is 70 25th Avenue. The property was listed at $3.1M and received 16 offers after a week on the market. The sale will close in the $4.1M range. This was not a big home or a view home and it had minimal outdoor space. But, it had character and was move-in ready.

In Sea Cliff, we did not see any $10M+ sales in the quarter but 290 Sea Cliff was listed at $26M and is currently in contract after less than a month on the “formal” market. The Lake Street Corridor continues to see homes trade at big numbers. Two sales cracked $5M and one surpassed $6M. It was not too long ago that anything in the Corridor that sold with a “$3” in front of it was a huge deal. Now, you can’t get a home in the Corridor that is move in ready for under $3M.

So who are these buyers making aggressive offers? I was never one to believe in the local political narrative that “crypto will save San Francisco” as espoused by a local mayor. But, I will say I am seeing their money. I’ve had three listings so far this year that sold (or are in contract to sell) to buyers in the crypto sector. Interestingly, I’ve only had one sale (year to date) that involved a buyer employed in tech / software / internet; listing or buyer side. 

The numbers for the quarter.

The top sales of the quarter.

That is it for now. If you are ready to move up, trade down or simply out; please reach out. Likewise, if you have friends or colleagues looking to get into the neighborhood market, feel free to pass my name along. 

Call or email, anytime.

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October 2024: Q3 San Francisco Apartment Insider

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August 2024: San Francisco Real Estate Insider