Annual Median Sales Price Continues to Zoom Up

Most of our reports and statistics focus on specific configurations of single family homes and condos.  For buyers and sellers that tends to provide a more realistic picture of the slide of the market their property or prospective property lies.

On the other hand it's useful to step back occasionally and look at the whole picture.  Here's what the annual median sales price for single family homes and condos/TICs/co-ops looks like since 2000:

(Click to enlarge)

The blue line shows the annual median sales price trend.  The median sales price in 2011 was 6% lower than the previous year.  In 2012 the median sales price was more than 12% above 2011 and that trend continued in 2013 when the median sales price increased almost 16% over the prior year.

So far this year (first two months) the median sales price has been almost 12% over 2013.  Prior to the economic downturn the highest annual median sales price was in 2007 which we have now far surpassed.

At the same time, inventory has struggled to keep pace.

(Keep in mind these numbers are derived from listings/sales reported in the San Francisco Association of Realtors MLS system so they do not include private sales and sales of many/most new construction condos).