San Francisco Condos

San Francisco Condo Prices Rocket as Inventory Scarce

Lack of inventory keeps pushing up condo prices in San Francisco. Condo prices leaped by 19 percent in April compared with last year, to an average of $1,115 per square foot for new condos, according the Mark Co., a condo marketing and research firm.

Inventory was down by 45 percent year-over-year with only 136 units available.

April’s results are “by far its largest single month gain this year, building on an already strong market in San Francisco caused by low inventory and extremely strong demand,” said senior director of research at the Mark Co. “However, a surge of new condominium projects scheduled to come online this year may indicate an easing of the city’s inventory crunch.”

The lack of supply issue has been going on for months. Projects selling units include Brian Spiers’ Linea at 1998 Market St., where the 115 units are close to selling out, and Oyster Development’s 114-unit Vida at 2558 Mission St., where about a third of the units are in contract.

Other developments will be coming on the market later this year including Trumark Urban’s 27-unit Amero, the company’s first San Francisco condo project of eight in its pipeline; Bosa Development’s Arden, a 267-unit building in Mission Bay; and Tishman Speyer’s Lumina, a 656-unit luxury highrise at 201 Folsom St. in Rincon Hill.

For all of 2014, less than 1,500 new condos will hit the market in San Francisco whereas well above 5,000 new apartments will be completed and ready for lease.

The issue isn’t a lack of construction, but more that for years after the recession, it was much easier to finance apartments than condos.  -- 2014 May 23  BUSINESS JOURNAL