AGENT MLS HOME FINDER

The San Francisco real estate market seems to be on the cusp of either a continued recovery or another decline into negative territory. It is difficult to determine exactly which direction the San Francisco market is headed because of the unprecedented nature of the current economic downturn and the diverse nature of real estate in the Bay Area. San Francisco homes for sale are among the most expensive in the entire country, as noted by an October 2, 2009 article in the SF Top News Examiner, which found that “San Francisco Bay Area is home to some of the most expensive real estate in the nation. Coldwell Banker released its fun table of ‘Most Expensive’ and ‘Most Affordable’ places to live in the United States today. Three Bay Area cities made the list as the most expensive – Palo Alto, San Francisco, and San Mateo.”

A September 17, 2009 article from Reuters reported some negative news for real estate in San Francisco, news that was especially bleak for sales prices. According to this piece, “Home sales in the San Francisco Bay area fell 14.3 percent in August from July as buyers found fewer bargains due to a slimmer inventory of foreclosed properties, MDA DataQuick said on Thursday. ‘A thinner inventory of distressed properties for sale, hence fewer ‘bargains’, helps explain the relatively sharp drop in sales between July and August. The number of foreclosed properties that resold in August fell 15.2 percent from July,’ the real estate information company said in a report.”

A September 17, 2009 article on TheStreet.com written by DQNews, noted that “Bay Area home sales bucked the seasonal norm and fell last month from July, though they remained higher than a year ago for the 12th consecutive month. The region’s overall median sale price also declined as a greater portion of sales occurred in more affordable areas, a real estate information service reported.” However, an October 1, 2009 article in the Money and Personal Finance portion of US News and World Report noted that “Home prices in this city are expected to bounce back solidly as well.”