{"id":47107,"date":"2016-04-14T04:30:35","date_gmt":"2016-04-14T11:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redfindevelop.wpengine.com\/blog\/?p=47107"},"modified":"2020-10-05T16:22:51","modified_gmt":"2020-10-05T23:22:51","slug":"march-national-housing-market-tracker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.redfin.com\/news\/march-national-housing-market-tracker\/","title":{"rendered":"San Francisco Home Prices Fell for the First Time in Four Years in March"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"National<\/figure>\n

National home sales rose by an annual rate of 1 percent in March, the smallest increase in sixteen months, while new listings grew 6.8 percent compared to last year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The median sale price rose 4.7 percent year over year, about the same rate as in February and below the 12-month average of 6.1 percent growth. The average sale-to-list price ratio climbed to 92.9 percent, the highest level we\u2019ve seen since we began tracking it in 2009.<\/p>\n

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\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Market Summary<\/th>\nMarch 2016<\/th>\nMonth-Over-Month<\/th>\nYear-Over-Year<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Median sale price<\/td>\n$265,200<\/td>\n5.7%<\/td>\n4.7%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Homes sold<\/td>\n164,600<\/td>\n29.5%<\/td>\n1.0%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
New listings<\/td>\n267,600<\/td>\n24.1%<\/td>\n6.8%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
All Homes for sale<\/td>\n521,600<\/td>\n5.6%<\/td>\n-3.2%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Median days on market<\/td>\n38<\/td>\n-9<\/td>\n-6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Months of supply<\/td>\n3.2<\/td>\n-0.7<\/td>\n-0.1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sold above list<\/td>\n21.6%<\/td>\n3.6%<\/td>\n2.9%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Average Sale-to-list<\/td>\n92.9%<\/td>\n2.0%<\/td>\n1.2%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

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 <\/p>\n

\"redfin-national-median-sale-price-growth-march-2016\"<\/figure>\n

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 <\/p>\n

Overall inventory fell year over year by 3.2 percent, the 14th consecutive month of declines despite a 6.8 percent increase in new listings.<\/p>\n

Is San Francisco Previewing What\u2019s to Come?<\/h3>\n

The story emerging elsewhere in 2016 is one of historically low inventory in select regions driving record-setting competition and beginning to constrain home sales. In hot markets like Seattle<\/a>, Portland<\/a> and Minneapolis<\/a>, which saw double-digit sales growth in 2015, sales are now falling for the first time since mid-2014 as a result of inventory declines greater than 30 percent in some places.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year sales grew 7 percent nationally, but there simply aren\u2019t enough homes for sale to maintain such a torrid pace again this year,\u201d says Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson. \u201cNo matter how high homebuyer demand is, it takes two to tango, and many sellers are sitting this year out.\u201d<\/p>\n

In San Francisco<\/a>, home prices fell for the first time in four years. The median sale price, which averaged 15 percent growth in 2015, fell by 1.8 percent year over year to $1,042,500. At the same time, sales plummeted 22.1% percent. With nearly every listing in a bidding war, virtually nothing to buy and most homes selling for over $1,000,000, San Francisco could be affirming that at some point, the pressure will burst.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor years San Francisco has been one of, if not the most, competitive markets in the country,\u201d said Richardson. \u201cNow we are seeing this white hot market start to cool and contract. The share of Redfin offers facing competition dropped to 77 percent in March from 94 percent last year. This suggests that the price drop is not about inventory, it\u2019s about buyers fed up with high Bay Area prices and crazy competition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other markets like Tacoma<\/a>, WA, Grand Rapids, MI and Louisville, KY, are following the same trend of decreasing inventory. However because the trend started later, and with prices remaining relatively affordable, sales are continuing to grow.<\/p>\n

\"redfin-home-sales-vs-inventory-march-2016\"<\/figure>\n
\"redfin-all-active-inventory-march-2016\"<\/figure>\n

Something to note about last month\u2019s relatively low growth in home sales is that the Easter holiday, which typically puts a damper on home-buying activity, occurred on the last weekend of March, and may have pushed some sales into April.<\/p>\n

With demand remaining strong, more homes selling above asking price and nearly a third of new listings selling in less than two weeks, increased growth in April and May listings – which are typically the most active months of the year for housing – will push sales higher again. The Redfin home tour index reached its highest level for the third month straight, and offers surged to their highest level in almost three years. But in markets that have already seen double-digit drops in inventory, new listing growth will need to be at least as high as it was in February and March to meet demand.<\/p>\n

\"redfin-home-tour-and-offer-activity-march-2016\"<\/figure>\n
\"redfin-average-sale-to-list-percentage-march-2016\"<\/figure>\n

Other March Highlights<\/h3>\n

Prices<\/strong><\/p>\n