Housing market report for September 2021: Bay Area

September 2021 highlights

Across the Bay Area, buyers in September purchased homes at peak-season pace, but at lower sale-to-list ratios, indicating decreased competition. Some regions are firmly into the fall slowdown with fewer homes being listed, while others saw an inventory increase that’s likely a late attempt by sellers who want to move on before the 2021 holiday season.

Note: This month, we split the East Bay into two reports: one for Berkeley and Oakland, and one for Fremont, Newark, and Union City. We also started covering the Tri-Valley area.

San Francisco listings up, competition down. The number of single family homes listed in San Francisco increased by 60% from August, while the number pending jumped 52%. High volume in September is typical in the city prior to a slowdown in October. Sale-to-list price ratio, meanwhile, dropped 1%. Condos also saw a 60% jump in listed volume, while the number pending increased by only 6%.
Berkeley and Oakland (East Bay I) were still hot. 25% more single family homes were listed than in August. Buyers swept up homes quickly, with median days on market dropping 15% back to 11 days, a pace last seen at the peak in May. Median list price rose 2%, while median sale price jumped 11% and sale-to-list price ratio increased 2%.
Fremont, Newark, and Union City (East Bay II) cooled. Median sale price for single family homes stayed flat month over month as fewer homes were listed and went pending, and sale-to-list price ratio dropped 2% as competition softened. Condo sellers listed 43% more units than in August, but the number pending dropped by 8%, indicating that sellers are more eager than buyers.
The Tri-Valley area entered its slow season. Fewer homes were listed for sale and fewer went pending as the median sale price for single family homes dropped 8% from August to its lowest point since pre-peak in April. Homes continue to sell at the same pace while competition decreases, continuing a two-month trend.
South Bay sellers are eager. 25% more single family homes and 41% more condos in the South Bay were listed month over month. While the market stayed active with the number of homes going pending increasing by 5% for single family homes and 6% for condos, buyers didn’t keep pace with the big inventory increase and sale-to-list price ratio dropped 1% to the lowest level since February.
Competition in the Peninsula slowed significantly. Sale-to-list price ratio for single family homes dropped 4% to its lowest number since March. While homes still sold at a quick pace, fewer properties were listed and went pending, and median sale price decreased 1%.

See previous months’ highlights

Competition report

Our research team analyzed the competition in select local areas.