Cloudy Economic Outlook Weighs on San
Francisco Housing Market
August 16, 2010 08:09 PM Eastern Daylight Time
SAN FRANCISCO--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Recent stock market declines and worries about the
possibility of a double-dip recession affecting the housing market has caused some home buyers to delay purchasing
homes in San Francisco, according to the latest Market Focus report published jointly by the Rosen Consulting
Group (RCG) and the San Francisco Association of REALTORS®. The evidence can be found in the number of
completed home sales for July which showed a year-over-year decline of 18 percent.
According to John Lee, president of the Association, “Concerns about the effect of the economy on home sales have
been compounded by the slowdown in sales typically seen during the vacation months of June, July and August and
the unusually cool weather we have been having in the Bay Area which may be discouraging buyers from looking for
housing.”
Despite the slowdown in recent sales, RCG believes that the accelerating pace of job growth, combined with a
continued decline in interest rates fueled by the Federal Reserve’s purchase of treasury bonds, as well as tight
housing inventory levels, should propel the San Francisco housing market forward in coming quarters.
But improvements to the housing market are becoming increasingly dependent on job creation, according to RCG.
Anticipated increases in payrolls through the remainder of the year should help drive year-over-year home price
appreciation and tighter market conditions into year-end 2010 it believes. And, although the market will be forced to
take a few steps back during the fragile economic recovery, the overall underlying trend, RCG says, should remain
positive.
Median Price Trend Remains Positive
Despite the decline in year-over-year completed home sale activity, the median single-family home sale price
increased by 0.6% from July 2009 to $785,000 in July 2010. Of the 192 closed sales in July 2010, homes priced
less t