The Local Lowdown

Prices cool off from spring highs but remain far above last year

August delivered a pattern that's pretty familiar for San Francisco's single-family market... strong annual growth paired with a seasonal retreat from the spring peak. The median sale price came in at $1,850,000... a significant 23.33% gain over the $1,500,000 recorded in August 2025, but also the third consecutive monthly step down from May's high of $2,190,000. A 9.76% month-over-month dip from July's $2,050,000 sounds notable on the surface... but this is exactly what late-summer trading looks like when the most competitive listings have already cleared the market. The annual number is the one that tells the real story here.

The condo market had a quietly encouraging month. At $1,260,000, the median condo price rose 0.80% from July and climbed 23.53% year-over-year... matching the single-family market's annual pace for the first time in recent memory. Condos have now posted three consecutive months of stability in the $1.2 million range after a volatile spring, which suggests that the strength we've been seeing isn't just a flash in the pan.

Bidding behavior remains aggressive, particularly on the single-family side. Homes are selling for an average of 22% above their original asking price... well ahead of the 12% premium recorded last August, even as that figure eased slightly from the 26% peak seen in June and July. Condos held steady at 4% over asking... a meaningful shift from the 3% discount that was typical a year ago. Both property types are commanding premiums, and that says everything about where buyer demand really stands right now.

Supply keeps shrinking even as sellers return

There's still no relief in sight for buyers on the inventory front. There were just 159 single-family homes for sale across all of San Francisco at the end of August... down 5.36% from July and down 33.19% from the 238 available this time last year. What makes that number particularly striking is that sellers actually showed up this month... 187 new single-family listings hit the market in August, an 8.72% increase over last August. Buyers simply absorbed them faster than they arrived.

The condo picture tells the same story. Active condo listings fell to 348... a 7.20% decline from July and a 36.38% drop from the 547 units available a year ago. New condo listings rose 15.84% year-over-year to 256, and closed condo sales jumped 14.81% to 186... meaning the additional supply was more than met by demand. Put it all together and there are roughly 507 homes and condos available across the entire city of San Francisco. For context, last August there were more than 900 properties on the market. That's not a tight market... that's a fundamentally undersupplied one.

Condos have caught up to the single-family pace

Single-family homes continue to move almost as quickly as they can be listed... spending an average of just 13 days on market in August. That's an 18.75% improvement over the 16 days recorded last August, and it holds the tight 12-to-13 day band the segment has maintained all year. There's no seasonal drag slowing things down... motivated buyers are showing up and moving fast.

The more dramatic shift this month is in the condo market. Condos sold in an average of just 19 days in August... down from 20 days in July and a remarkable 62.75% faster than the 51 days they required in August 2025. A year ago, condo sellers were facing a late-summer slowdown that stretched marketing times past seven weeks. This August, that slowdown simply didn't happen. The gap between the two property types... which once ran five weeks or more... has now narrowed to less than a week. That's not a coincidence or a seasonal quirk... it's a sign that the condo segment has genuinely re-engaged and that buyers are treating condos with the same urgency they've long reserved for single-family homes.

San Francisco remains a decisively seller-favored market

One of the clearest ways to read a market is through Months of Supply Inventory, or MSI. California historically averages around three months... which is considered balanced. Below three months favors sellers. Above three months shifts the advantage toward buyers.

San Francisco sits far below that three-month threshold on both sides of the market... and the numbers are striking. Single-family MSI registered just 0.8 months in August... down from 0.9 in July and 38.46% below the 1.3 months recorded last August. At the current pace of sales, the city's entire single-family inventory would be exhausted in roughly 24 days. That's not a seller's market... that's near-complete scarcity.

The condo segment tells an equally important story. Just a year ago, condos were sitting at 3.1 months of supply... essentially balanced territory. Today that number has tightened to 1.6 months... a 48.39% year-over-year decline and the lowest reading since last December. That transition is the single most significant structural change in San Francisco's market over the past twelve months. Condos are no longer the buyer-friendly alternative they were in 2024 and early 2025. With supply shrinking across both segments despite more sellers coming to market, the advantage heading into fall belongs clearly and decisively to sellers.

Bottom Line

August's data confirms what we've been watching unfold all year in San Francisco... this is a market that has fundamentally reset at a higher level. Single-family prices are up more than 23% year-over-year even after three months of seasonal cooling. Condos have closed the gap dramatically, moving in under three weeks and commanding premiums that buyers weren't paying a year ago. And inventory... despite more sellers showing up... keeps shrinking because demand is simply outpacing supply at every turn.

For sellers, these are exceptional conditions... but even in a market this favorable, how you price and present your home from day one still determines your outcome. For buyers, the message is clear... the window to act hasn't closed, but it's not getting wider. The condo segment in particular has shifted from a place where buyers had real leverage to one where they need to compete just as seriously as they would for a single-family home. Preparation, clarity, and the right guidance aren't just helpful in this market... they're the difference between getting the home you want and watching it go to someone else.

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