February San Francisco Real Estate Insider

January is normally a quiet month in terms of market activity, but this January was a repeat of last January with unusual high activity.  Coming on the heels of a mediocre fall market we may be on to a new seasonal dynamic in San Francisco. 

The fall market is generally a time when sellers were advised to sell, summer vacations are over and kids are back to school.  But the last two fall cycles- buyers were not buying and waited until January and February to kick it up.  The dynamic is changing, logic prevails, it’s still all about supply and demand.  When inventory is high, buyers have choice, which equates to negotiating power. A buyer with negotiating power was the exception over the past eight years of market upswings.  We live in an “always on” life and everyone is connected unless they are sleeping. I believe the real estate market is moving towards a “24/7 on” cycle vs. a seasonal cycle (i.e. sell in the spring or fall only). Buyers buy when they see what they want, not when the market dictates they should buy.

Due to the recent volume of inquiries about  moving in or out of San Francisco, I’ve included some select Bay Area market charts below so it’s easy to compare price and values across Counties. Where the data is available I’ve charted longer-term trends since they give much greater context to what the state of the market is today and where it may be heading. If you need specific, more granular data on anything below, feel free to contact me.