Home Prices Begin To Cool In San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- They're words you don't expect to hear about San Francisco's housing market: lower prices.
But guess what, It's actually happening right now.
You still can't buy a mansion in Pacific Heights for $100,000, but the feeding frenzy pushing prices higher may be calming down a bit.
With views like this, it's not a surprise that the San Francisco real estate market has been hotter than the face of the sun.
But, just like Karl the Fog moves in and cools things off, the winds of change are also moving into home buying.
Arrian binnings\pacific union/christie's
Arrian Binnings, from Pacific Union/Christie's International says the market is balancing out from record levels.
"The number of solds that have occurred so far in 2016 is about 15 to 20 percent less than it was this time last year," Binnings said.
Real estate site Redfin, compared to last march, the median price of owning your own address in the city by the bay is actually down 1.8 percent.
Prices are starting to even out.
And there is also some concern over the amount of properties about to hit the market - particularly the condo market.
There are nearly 63,000 units in soaring glass towers in some form of construction.
"If you're buying into the condo market, where there's a lot of supply, you need to be prepared to hold on to your property for the long term," Binnings said.
He says he keeps a very closely watch on the technology industry
"If you can forecast the technology industry, you can definitely use that to predict what's going to happen with San Francisco real estate," he adds.
Binnings said that last year homes were typically selling for 12 percent over their asking price.
This year, its only five or six percent over asking.
