Comment on Bay Area median home price hit another record in May

Bay Area median home price hit another record in May The median price paid for a Bay Area home hit $755,000 in May, a third consecutive monthly record, as scorching demand continued to outstrip supply. In San Francisco and San Mateo counties, the median price reached an identical $1,207,500 (although CoreLogic had to estimate San Mateo sales for the last two weeks of May). The San Francisco market “turned into a feeding frenzy (in May), the hottest market since spring 2015, driven by very strong demand, which came roaring back, and a deeply inadequate supply of listings,” Patrick Carlisle, chief market analyst of Paragon Real Estate Group, said in an email. “The fact that interest rates have declined since the first of the year, and that people are afraid of coming increases, may be playing some role in pressurizing demand,” Carlisle said. The home has four bedrooms, two bathrooms, parking, a yard and an unfinished attic and basement, but what really sold it was the location — near hip restaurants and less than two blocks from Dolores Park, Minson said. The home received 29 offers — about a third from builders, a third from investors and a third from prospective homeowners. The website SocketSite highlighted a Hayes Valley condo and a high-end home in Cow Hollow that just sold for roughly the same price they fetched in 2014. “Demand is being driven by the incredible job demand, not just in high tech but in biotech,” said Coldwell Banker agent Jeff Lamont. Home buyers are also attracted by proximity to the airport and the county’s public schools. The sellers “were first-time home buyers when they bought it nine years earlier” and were probably persuaded by the fact that his clients were also first-time buyers.