For the first time in seven years, the trend line shifted from up to down for single family home sold prices in San Francisco. They eked out a 0.5% increase* for the year.

Likewise, median condo sold prices peaked in March and ended the year with an annual appreciation of 3.6%.

In retrospect, 2018 was probably the start of the leveling off of the very frothy San Francisco housing market. This is a natural part of the real estate cycle, as the affordability gap widens between rising prices and wage gains. Real estate is a highly cyclical segment of the economy and a seven-year run of rising prices is a very long up-leg on that cycle.

Because inventory remains critically low, it is still a seller’s market. Expect 2019 to remain highly competitive for buyers, but probably with less exuberant overbid levels.

Summary of the numbers for 2018*: *based on a 3-month rolling average	Single Family Residences (SFR)	% Change Year-over-Year	Condo/Loft/TICs	% Change Year-over-Year
Median Sales Price (US $)	$1,514,167	0.5%	$1,203,000	3.6%
New Listings (#)	2707	4.1%	3636	2.1%
Homes Sold (#)	2216	-2.3%	2933	3.4%
% of Homes Selling Over List Price	75%	-5.3%	57%	4.5%
% of List Price Received	110%	-2.8%	102%	0.1%
Months of Inventory	2.0	17%	2.2	5.6%
Median Days on Market (DOM)	16	14%	25	0.0%