It's time to take the temperature of the Bay Area housing market yet again via the monthly Case-Shiller Index, which examines home prices across five local counties. Like San Francisco itself during the summer months, the market began to cool down once June hit, with spring's steep rises flattening out. This leveling off of prices during the summer is not especially surprising: similar plateaus occurred in both 2012 and 2013 following wild spring rises. The Case-Shiller lags several months behind and only reflects prices through June, but the rest of summer is expected to follow suit.
Of course, despite the summer slowdown, home prices are still way up since the market recovery began back in 2012. High-tier Bay Area home prices ($850K and up, which covers the majority of San Francisco homes) have risen 43 percent since the beginning of 2012. Many of these gains took place during the spring price surges of 2013 and 2014, with more modest increases occurring in the fall. The next real check-in for the Bay Area's housing market will come once the September selling season has begun.
· Case-Shiller Reflects Accelerating Home Prices [Paragon Real Estate]
· Bay Area Spring Home Price Surge Strikes Again [Curbed SF]