Sales of Luxury Homes in SF Are at Their Highest Levels Ever

More houses and condos in San Francisco sold for above $2 million last month than in any other month in San Francisco's history, according to the latest San Francisco Luxury Home Market report from Paragon Real Estate. There were 89 sales of $2 million and up in March, a big increase over the 42 that occurred in March 2014. The figure was also well above any recorded prior to 2007, in pre-housing crash times. Ninety-three percent of homes that sold above $2 million did so without taking a price cut, and those that sold without a price cut did so in an average of 25 days and at 107 percent of their original list price.

Prices of luxury homes were highest per square foot in the district that includes South Beach, Yerba Buena, Mission Bay, and SoMa. Russian, Telegraph and Nob hills were all close behind, followed by Pacific Heights and the Marina. In all of those areas prices easily topped $1,100 per square, and in the area around South Beach and SoMa prices per square were at $1,602. However, overall prices were highest for houses in Pacific and Presidio Heights, where the median sale price was a massive $4.99 million and well above its closest competitor, Sea Cliff, where houses sold for a median price of $3.5 million.

Although Pacific Heights still came out on top for house prices, the region that includes the venerable old neighborhood and its nearby counterparts Cow Hollow and the Marina makes up a much smaller percentage of the luxury market in San Francisco than it used to. In 2007 and 2008, at the market's previous peak, that area made up 38 percent of sales above $2 million. Now its portion has dropped to just 28 percent as neighborhoods like Noe, Eureka, and Cole valleys and Potrero Hill, Bernal Heights, and the Mission have made up an increasing segment of the luxury market.

Sales above $2 million now comprise 10 percent of all sales in San Francisco, and sales above $5 million make up about 1 percent of the city's market. April and May are traditionally the strongest months for luxury home sales, so those numbers may get even bigger as the spring selling season continues.

· San Francisco Luxury Home Market Report [Paragon Real Estate]
· Eureka, Noe, Cole Valleys Reach New Heights in Luxury Market [Curbed SF]