What is going on in the market because you need to know

Comparing San Francisco Home Sales in the first quarter of 2008 to the first quarter of 2007

Between the first quarters of 2007 and 2008, the number of homes sold in San Francisco decreased about 27%, with properties below $1,000,000 — condos in particular — showing the largest drop. The lower end of the San Francisco housing market that is, to a large degree, fueled by first-time buyers has been the most affected by market upheaval and new financing conditions. The middle price range, $1,000,000 to $1,999,999, showed a much smaller decrease while home sales of $2,000,000 and above actually increased.

The median number of days-on-market for all houses and condos that sold barely changed from 37 days in '07 to 36 in '08. But the number of days-on-market increased by approximately 20 days, between 60-69 days in '07 compared to 80-89 days in '08. This means that homes were selling relatively quickly, but those not selling were staying on the market for longer periods of time. The quicker a home sells, the higher the sales price is often is compared to the list price: Homes selling within 30 days average a sale price that is 4-7% more than those that take more time.

In addition, the number of homes for sale went up about 20%, and the months-supply-of-inventory has increased by one month, from 3.2 months to 2.2 months.