San Francisco

San Francisco No Longer in β€˜Top 3 Hottest Markets' for Real Estate: Report

A survey of the Bay Area's real estate shows San Francisco has fallen out of the top-three hottest markets.

The Case-Shiller home price index shows San Francisco home prices fell for the second month in a row, which is only the second time that has happened in nearly a decade.

San Francisco, which has been one of the fastest-growing real estate markets in the country, fell from the top three this fall and has been replaced by Phoenix, Seattle and Las Vegas.

Year-over-year, housing prices in San Francisco are up 5.6 percent -- that's a significant come down from the double-digit increase of 2017.

"It's telling us that things are beginning to slow down," said Gregg Lynn with Sotheby's International Realty.

Lynn deals in the highest end neighborhoods of San Francisco. The great majority of his clients do not need a mortgage to buy a multi-million dollar property.

"I think it's happening because of the trends that are happening in the United States," Lynn said.

The trends he is talking about are a volatile stock market, an economic upset and something you could call the Trump card.

"I think people hold their breath during presidential cycles that are pretty stressful," Lynn said. "And I think you'd agree the past two elections we've had have been pretty stressful."

Further down in the real estate market, Caleb Mitchell is representing a triplex in Bernal Heights that has been on the market since Thanksgiving with only one offer that fell through.

"We see a seasonal decline every year around Thanksgiving and Christmas time," said Mitchell with Fidelity Realty.

Mitchell believes the slowdown could be blamed on a rise in interest rates last fall.

"I can't argue or dispute the statistics -- they are what they are," Lynn said. "But buyers still find San Francisco one of the most desirable cities in the world to live in."

Lynn said sellers are having to soften their expectations. And they are, especially with condominiums, which fell 2.4 percent in November -- the largest drop since 2011.

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