Roughly one of five (17.8%) homes that sold in San Francisco during the three months ending Feb. 29 was sold at a loss, according to new data from Redfin (NASDAQ:RDFN). This is comparable to the 17.9% share recorded during the three months ending Jan. 31, which was the highest level in 11 years.
San Francisco’s share of homes sold at a loss is the highest among any metro and more than four times the national share of 4.3%. The typical homeowner who sold at a loss in the city wound up with $155,500 less than their property’s purchase price – in comparison, the nationwide median loss was $39,912.
Redfin attributed this situation to the dramatic decline in home prices since San Francisco’s pandemic-era homebuying frenzy. Nonetheless, the region boasts the nation’s most expensive real estate market with a median sale price of $1.41 million as of February.
After San Francisco, Detroit had the highest share of homes selling at a loss (10.8%) during the three months ending Feb. 29, followed by Cleveland (8.2%), St. Louis (8.1%) and Chicago (7.9%). On the flip side, homes were least likely to sell at a loss in Rhode Island’s capital of Providence, where just 1.2% of homeowners who sold during the three months ending Feb. 29 lost money.
San Francisco’s 20% loss rate on home sales is eye-opening, especially when contrasted with Providence’s low 1.2%. It really highlights the volatility of pandemic-era real estate investments. #RealEstate #SanFrancisco