Rebounding technology stocks and limited housing supply are lifting San Francisco real estate as buyers compete for properties and drive up prices.
Sales of houses and condominiums in San Francisco jumped 50% in the first quarter from a year earlier, and the median price rose 5.4%, to $685,000, according to a multiple listings analysis released last week by Terradatum Inc. House values will gain 7% this year, the biggest annual increase since a 9% advance in 2005, Rosen Consulting Group forecast last month.
The city and metropolitan area has ranked first or second among the most-expensive U.S. housing markets for 19 of the past 20 years, according to data compiled by the National Association of Realtors.
San Francisco metropolitan area values rose 16% in March from a year earlier, the biggest jump for any city in the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index. The 20-city composite measure climbed 2.3%.
