The U.S. real estate market continues to slow as we move into fall, as rising consumer prices and higher mortgage interest rates squeeze homebuyer budgets and cool activity. With inflation showing little sign of abating, the Federal Reserve implemented another 75-basis-point hike in September, marking the third such rate increase this year. The cost of borrowing has reached multi-year highs on everything from credit cards to auto loans in 2022 as mortgage interest rates topped 6% for the first time since 2008, causing existing home sales to decline for the seventh consecutive month.
In San Francisco, new listings were down 13.2% for single-family homes and 19.8% for Condo/TIC/Coop properties. Pending Sales decreased 38.2% for single-family homes and 28.8% for Condo/TIC/Coop properties.
The Median Sales Price was down 5.7% to $1,650,000 for single-family homes and 2.5% to $1,170,000 for Condo/TIC/Coop properties. Months Supply of Inventory increased 16.7% for single-family units but remained flat for Condo/TIC/Coop units.
Affordability challenges have priced many buyers out of the market this year, and buyers who do succeed in purchasing a home are finding that the costs of homeownership have increased significantly, with monthly mortgage payments more than 55% higher than a year ago, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Inventory remains lower than normal, and as the market continues to shift, experts project homes will begin to spend more days on market and price growth will slow in the months ahead.
