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Median home price in San Francisco hits 7 figures for the first time

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X

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
http://www.sfgate.com/business/netw...city-S-F-median-home-price-hits-7-5626591.php

The median price paid for a new or existing single-family home or condo in San Francisco hit $1 million for the first time in June, according to a report released Wednesday by DataQuick.

It was the first time any Bay Area county hit a seven-figure median, DataQuick spokesman Andrew LePage said. The median is the price at which half of homes sold for more and half for less.

The nosebleed price is a result of limited inventory and an influx of cash buyers willing to pay whatever it takes, says Cece Doricko, a Realtor with TRI Coldwell Banker. Most are tech workers with stock compensation from an initial public offering or takeover. Realtors call them "Google kids," even if they are 40 years old and work in biotech. A secondary group of cash buyers are investors from outside the country, mostly Asia, who see San Francisco as a relative bargain.

"It's really hard to buy if you don't have cash or 50 percent down and make an offer that is non-contingent," says Doricko. She's had buyers who made the highest offer lose out because the seller asked cash buyers to come up to that price. "And they do," she says.

Appreciation slowing

There's a glimmer of hope for buyers in the DataQuick report, which shows the rate of home-price appreciation continues to slow.

For the nine-county Bay Area, the median price for homes closing in June was $618,000. That was up a scant 0.2 percent from $617,000 in May and 11.4 percent from June of last year. In June 2013, the median price rose 33.1 percent from a year earlier.

Even in stratospheric San Francisco, homes prices are rising at a slower rate. "Year over year, you are up 13.3 percent," LePage said. "A year ago, you were up 23.8 percent."

Limited inventory has contributed to both soaring prices and a sales slowdown. Sales picked up a bit in June, but not much.

A total of 7,915 new and resale houses and condos sold in the nine-county Bay Area last month. That was up 0.2 percent from 7,898 in May and also up 0.2 percent from 7,897 in June last year.

A separate report issued Tuesday by the California Association of Realtors showed that the median price paid for a single-family resale home topped $1 million in Marin and San Mateo counties for the second month in a row. The median in San Francisco was slightly less than $1 million.

The Realtors data is narrower than DataQuick's because it excludes condos and new homes sales not entered into a Multiple Listing Service. DataQuick gets its numbers from public filings in county recorders' offices and includes homes not listed on the MLS.

Renting no easier

The cost of renting an apartment in the Bay Area, meanwhile, shows few signs of decreasing, despite a boost in supply.

The average asking rent in the nine-county Bay Area hit $2,158 per month in the second quarter - an increase of 5.6 percent from the first quarter and 10.3 percent from the second quarter of last year, according to a survey by RealFacts.

The average rent is for market-rate apartments and townhomes ranging from studios to three-bedrooms in complexes with 50 or more units.

San Francisco had the highest rents - $3,229 on average, up 5.6 percent for the quarter and 9.4 percent year over year.
Click to expand...

Construction can't keep up

In San Francisco, nine new buildings - with a total of 2,171 units - entered the RealFacts survey over the past year. From 2009 through 2012, only seven large properties with a total of about 1,600 units came on the market in San Francisco. Yet rents in San Francisco rose 9.4 percent over the past year, compared to 7.4 percent the previous year.

"The number of new units pales in comparison to the number of new jobs in San Francisco," says Samantha Chandler Duvall, director of acquisitions and business development with Chandler Properties. Her firm manages about 4,500 units throughout San Francisco, and most new tenants are coming from outside the area, especially New York and Chicago.

In San Francisco, rents in the second quarter averaged $2,583 for a studio, $3,042 for a one bedroom/one bath unit and $4,248 for a two bed/two bath unit.

Grotjahn said property managers have told him that demand has diminished somewhat over the past six months. Instead of getting 30 applicants for a unit, they might get only 20.

Bill Meyer, president of WM Properties in San Francisco, said the slowdown has been steeper than that. His firm manages apartments mainly in Pacific Heights and Nob Hill and has had five to rent in the past month. "Not only is the number of applications down to one or two, traffic is also down. A year and a half ago, we had 15 people show up the first night (of an open house). Now it's down to two or three," he says.

Vacancy rate still zero

But, he adds, "We are still getting them leased (before the previous tenant moves out). Our vacancy rate is still essentially zero."

Although he has been able to increase rents by 9 or 10 percent a year, "We think the number of visitors to the open houses and time it takes to sign a lease is a leading indicator of rent softening."

Rafael Davis, Chandler's director of leasing, said he has seen no slowdown in applications. "You list one property, there are maybe 20 to 30 qualified tenants wanting to look at it right away." He added that the lower the rent, "the more candidates for that space. If you list a studio for $1,850 in the Mission, you get 30 to 40 responses."

Other Bay Area cities with big rent increases over the past year include Petaluma (18.7 percent), Belmont (16.6 percent), Milpitas (15.7 percent), and Hayward (14.9 percent.)
Click to expand...
 
R

Randolph Freelander

Member
That's ridiculous.

As a comparison, here in Charlotte, the median sales price the past 3 months is $210,000 (according to Trulia). I work for a bank that has significant operations in San Francisco and here, and I know what my job pays there as well as here. It's more there, but it isn't that much more. Nowhere near enough to justify such a large expenditure on a home.
 
P

Pyrokai

Member
San Fran is only for the rich these days. I believe, if I'm not mistaken, that the same thing is happening in NYC. The middle class can't make it in the city proper :(
 
G

Gallbaro

Banned
Current San Fransisco Resident, to newcomers (Largely Rent Controlled): "Fuck you, I got mine."

Pitiful build rate is so low because of NIMBY-ism. It is a supply problem.

Pyrokai said:
San Fran is only for the rich these days. I believe, if I'm not mistaken, that the same thing is happening in NYC. The middle class can't make it in the city proper :(
Click to expand...

1/3 of the New York City Population Owns: They are fine because residential taxes are very low.
1/3 of the New York City Population is Rent Stabilized: Dramatically drops the efficiency of the housing stock, creates a lot of empty bedrooms, and makes demo and building a larger qty of stock very difficult. "Fuck you, I got mine."
1/3 of the New York City Population is Market Rent: And absolutely fucked.
 
S

speculawyer

Member
Randolph Freelander said:
That's ridiculous.

As a comparison, here in Charlotte, the median sales price the past 3 months is $210,000 (according to Trulia). I work for a bank that has significant operations in San Francisco and here, and I know what my job pays there as well as here. It's more there, but it isn't that much more. Nowhere near enough to justify such a large expenditure on a home.
Click to expand...
$210K? Yeah. ..That is a good down payment.
 
entremet

entremet

Member
Pyrokai said:
San Fran is only for the rich these days. I believe, if I'm not mistaken, that the same thing is happening in NYC. The middle class can't make it in the city proper :(
Click to expand...

The other boroughs and Jersey are still reasonable, but if you want to live below 72nd street in Manhattan, good luck buying anything reasonable.
 
F

Fenderputty

Banned
Randolph Freelander said:
That's ridiculous.

As a comparison, here in Charlotte, the median sales price the past 3 months is $210,000 (according to Trulia). I work for a bank that has significant operations in San Francisco and here, and I know what my job pays there as well as here. It's more there, but it isn't that much more. Nowhere near enough to justify such a large expenditure on a home.
Click to expand...

Honestly the recession was such a double edged for youth in California. Timing too of course, not everyone benefitted like I did. I, along with all my friends who've bought, would have never afforded a home here had prices not fallen.

Those of us who got in at the bottom have seen our equity increase with the prices. Had I not gotten in at that time, I would be close to being priced out of the market again. For sure in the areas I'm currently looking.

I don't live in SF either. I can't imagine wanting to buy there. Shit, the property taxes alone on the median home in SF are about 1k a month. Crazy.
 
N

NullPointer

Member
In San Francisco, rents in the second quarter averaged $2,583 for a studio, $3,042 for a one bedroom/one bath unit and $4,248 for a two bed/two bath unit.
Click to expand...
Jesus Fucking Christ. That's a *lot* more than I'm paying right now for my one-bedroom. If I lose this place I'm going to end up a long way from home.

Gallbaro said:
Current San Fransisco Resident, to newcomers (Largely Rent Controlled): "Fuck you, I got mine."
Click to expand...
Born and raised here and its not "fuck you I got mine", its "this is the only place I've got". Everybody else I know has been forced far out of town and further and further away. You'll hear the same story from most people here.
 
H

HylianTom

Banned
sarcastor said:
699
[/URL]
Click to expand...

$3 mil for a snout house? Pshaw!

I'm betting that real estate prices in urban cores across the country will continue to rise, especially as fuel prices go up. San Francisco is on the extreme end of things, but you can already see this happening in other cities. Before the 1900s, it was usually the wealthier folks who lived in town, while the folks of more modest means lived further and further out from the urban center. But the past century or so has seen a fuel/car-inspired break from that historical pattern.. we're just living through a transition back to the norm.
 
A

Ape

Banned
Most people I know in the actual city live with several other people to help with rent. They double up on rooms and everything. So in your usual three bedroom house the landlord will have six people in it splitting rent.
 
C

Cagey

Banned
Gallbaro said:
Current San Fransisco Resident, to newcomers (Largely Rent Controlled): "Fuck you, I got mine."

Pitiful build rate is so low because of NIMBY-ism. It is a supply problem.



1/3 of the New York City Population Owns: They are fine because residential taxes are very low.
1/3 of the New York City Population is Rent Stabilized: Dramatically drops the efficiency of the housing stock, creates a lot of empty bedrooms, and makes demo and building a larger qty of stock very difficult. "Fuck you, I got mine."
1/3 of the New York City Population is Market Rent: And absolutely fucked.
Click to expand...

Nailed it. Being part of that last 1/3rd is why I just left.
 
M

Miletius

Member
Just moved to the Bay area here. SF was totally off the table based on our criteria, and I think we are decently successful folks. We pay $2750 for a 2 BR condo in San Mateo County, and I consider that a good deal. Haha, it's surprising to even say that, but that's how it goes.

I am jealous of people who live in rent controlled situations.
 
R

remnant

Banned
It's not that big a deal. I live in oakland (lake merritt) and rent here is just 1200 for a 1 br. Compared to the 2800 I was paying for 1 br in SF just a year ago.

People move to areas around SF.
 
S

Sho_Nuff82

Member
Angelus Errare said:
Gentrification. Spike Lee did warn you people about this.
Click to expand...

Wasn't there a thread fairly recently where a poster was like "My parents moved here (SF) and bought a house through hard work and boot straps, why don't all these lazy bums stop protesting gentrification, buying expensive Starbucks, and save up to buy a house?"

Every time I think about moving to the west coast for biotech I look at the rental prices and have a little laugh.
 
N

NullPointer

Member
XiaNaphryz said:
Is your current spot rent controlled?
Click to expand...
It is.

But its not like the owners and landlords here in town can't get their way through several different means. The current landlords of my building are a small group that specializes in lease terminations and procuring bay area properties for international buyers. They've already taken actions that have made living here a small hell for the existing tenants so I wouldn't put anything past them.
 
S

see5harp

Member
Slayven said:
I was wondering about that, where do the service industry people live?
Click to expand...

In shared living spaces. My brother is a fucking attorney and has 3 roommates. I think he does it mainly so he has extra money to spend on other stuff but that's still pretty ridiculous.
 
S

Slayven

Member
see5harp said:
In shared living spaces. My brother is a fucking attorney and has 3 roommates. I think he does it mainly so he has extra money to spend on other stuff but that's still pretty ridiculous.
Click to expand...
I imagining 3 google software engineers living in a studio sharing a hotplate.
 
S

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
sarcastor said:
meanwhile this is $3,000,000 but it is 5 bedrooms/4700 sq feet middle of nowhere
Click to expand...

West Portal is a weird little neighborhood, but I wouldn't describe it as the middle of nowhere:

1. Right next to BART
2. Five minutes from downtown/noe valley/castro
3. Weirdly convenient for Sunset/280
4. Nice and woodsy with lots of parks
 
Duane Cunningham

Duane Cunningham

Member
Come live in Kansas City where the average is $185k and you can do global business faster than anywhere else in the world on Google Fiber.

Global money, low cost of living, fresh air, excellent and underrated music scene (Mac Lethal, Tech N9ne, Janelle Monae, Get Up Kids... and our local radio station broke Alt-J, Meg Myers and a ton of others), Boulevard Beer, Shatto Milk, cheap gas, quick travel to anywhere in the country, and THE most dedicated sports fans. Soccer City USA, too. And if you want to work in the tech industry, KC is where the startups are happening.

Kan Zass City.
 
Y

yayaba

Member
So glad I bought my townhome in San Mateo County in 2012 right before the shit started hitting the fan again. Timing really is everything. Feel bad for all of the renters out there dealing with this.

My wife and I were looking at condos up in the city the past few months for fun and the prices are just insane. $1000 to $1100 per square foot. So something that's around 900 sqft is about a million. Plus HOA fees of around $750. And one parking spot is $300.
 
Y

yayaba

Member
Stinkles said:
West Portal is a weird little neighborhood, but I wouldn't describe it as the middle of nowhere:

1. Right next to BART
2. Five minutes from downtown/noe valley/castro
3. Weirdly convenient for Sunset/280
4. Nice and woodsy with lots of parks
Click to expand...

Agreed. They have a nice, quaint little downtown area as well so you're not bumfuck in the middle of nowhere. Plus the muni is right there to take you straight into downtown.
 
S

Slayven

Member
Duane Cunningham said:
Come live in Kansas City where the average is $185k and you can do global business faster than anywhere else in the world on Google Fiber.

Global money, low cost of living, fresh air, excellent and underrated music scene (Mac Lethal, Tech N9ne, Janelle Monae, Get Up Kids... and our local radio station broke Alt-J, Meg Myers and a ton of others), Boulevard Beer, Shatto Milk, cheap gas, quick travel to anywhere in the country, and THE most dedicated sports fans. Soccer City USA, too. And if you want to work in the tech industry, KC is where the startups are happening.

Kan Zass City.
Click to expand...
Tech N9ne, and you can see clear across the state? Sign me up.

And you didn't mention BBQ.
 
E

EatinOlives

Member
digita1alchemy said:
I know nothing about real estate...is this a bubble, or what? These numbers are insane.
Click to expand...

Tons of extremely rich companies from the nearby area (eg Google in Silicon Valley, etc.) hire people with a high salary. San Francisco is a pretty jumping city (certainly compared to San Jose/Mountain View/Sunnyvale/Palo Alto), so many single fresh-outta-college hip young software engineers want to live in San Francisco.

SF has actually a pretty limited amount of housing thanks to some astounding levels of NIMBY-ism (not-in-my-backyard, ie, "I don't want highrises near me because they're ugly and clash with the classic Full House neighborhoods iconic to SF"). So combine very limited housing with a TON of very highly paid people and you basically have some of the most expensive housing costs in the world.

EDIT: I should add that because most of the people driving up the values are "outsiders" with very high salaries, there's a lot of bitterness and resentment toward these people in particular. It's a big feeling of "outsiders are coming in and destroying our neighborhoods and I can't live where I've always lived anymore".
 
A

andthebeatgoeson

Junior Member
Wow, that's a mortgage for a great house in 90% of America. Welp, glad there are new comers to the anti gentrification movement. Good to have you, pull up a chair. Only cost you $5.
 
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