San Francisco Home Price Plunge Has Nearly 1 In 5 Sellers Taking Losses

Selling a home at a loss in San Francisco has become as common as a foggy summer morning in the Bay Area.

Nearly one out of five homes sold — 17.8% — during the three months leading up to Feb. 29 sold at a loss, surpassing any other metropolitan area in the nation and quadruple the national average, which sits at 4.2%, according to a recent Redfin report.

Home prices have plunged in San Francisco since homebuying boomed during the pandemic, making it more likely for sellers in the city to lose money than in other parts of the country. But San Francisco still has the highest-priced real estate in the country, with the median sale price peaking at $1.66 million in April 2022, and falling to $1.41 million as of February, according to Redfin.

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"Home prices have fallen from their peak, especially when it comes to condos," said Christine Chang, a Redfin Premier agent in San Francisco. "It's not just because mortgage rates are high. San Francisco has lost some of its appeal post-pandemic. A lot of tech employers and big-name retailers have moved out of the city, and some of my clients have reported they're leaving the area because they don't feel as safe as they used to."

The San Francisco Center lost six retail stores this year, including Aldo, J. Crew and Madewell, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Last August, Westfield gave the mall back to its lenders after Nordstrom announced its departure, which left the shopping center only 55% leased.

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Other markets where many sellers took a loss on their home sales include Detroit at 10.8%; Cleveland, 8.2%; St. Louis, 8.1%; and Chicago, 7.9%. Sellers in New England and Southern California are the least likely to take a loss.

While nearly 20% of San Francisco sellers are taking a loss when they sell, 82% are selling their homes for a higher price than they purchased it for — typically for $482,000 more. Nationally, 96% of sellers are getting more than they paid for their homes, with a median gain of $196,016.

Sellers in California are seeing the biggest gains of anywhere else in the country while Rust Belt metros are gaining the least. The smallest gain was in Cleveland, Ohio, where sellers gained $70,650 on a median sale price of $175,000. Detroit saw a median gain of $72,000 and St. Louis saw $90,000.

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