Regional Spotlight—Homebuyers willing to offer as much as 30-40 percent more than the listing price contributed to a dramatic increase in the median price of an existing, single-family detached home sold in the City of San Francisco during the second quarter of 2013, according to an analysis of MLS data by the research division of Better Homes and Gardens Mason-McDuffie Real Estate.
Rising prices failed to dissuade determined homebuyers, who grew in numbers as the spring home market began to bloom. Citywide, 716 existing, single-family detached homes changed hands in the second quarter, up 47 percent from 486 in the first quarter of 2012 and on par with last year’s second-quarter total of 726 homes sold.
For the third consecutive quarter, the median price of a home sold in The City surpassed the $1 million mark, rising 14 percent from $1,052,626 in the first quarter of this year to $1,201,920 in the second quarter – 21 percent higher than the $991,387 median sales price recorded in the comparable quarter a year ago.
Inventory – or, rather, the lack of it – continued to play a role in both the number of homes sold and the prices paid for those homes. Only 293 existing detached homes were listed for sale in San Francisco on the final day of the second quarter, down 21 percent from 372 homes listed on the final day of last year’s second quarter but an improvement over the 219 homes available for purchase on the final day of this year’s first quarter.
With lines of competitors for most listings, homebuyers came prepared for multiple-offer scenarios and transactions moved quickly. The average San Francisco home was on the market only 31 days before receiving a final offer to purchase, down from 43 days in both the prior and year-ago quarters.
