San Francisco Bay Area housing market still cooling

The San Francisco Bay Area housing market has yet to rebound, with home sale prices in the area continuing to dip.

Why it matters: Any relief from sky-high home prices is welcome, especially as mortgage rates creep up.

By the numbers: The median home sales price in the San Francisco metropolitan area was $1.3 million in January, down 9.36% from last year and down 3.11% from December, according to an analysis of Redfin data.

• Inventory was up 0.01% from last year.
• Homes sat on the market for a median of 55 days in January, up from 24 days last year.

Zoom out: Nationally, median home sales prices have barely budged from one year ago and activity fell for the 12th month in a row, according to the latest from the National Association of Realtors.

• Sales are down 36.9% from the previous year.
• As demand falls, homes sit on the market a little longer, which gives buyers a little more room to negotiate.
• The national median home sales price in January was $359,000, up 1.3% from January 2022.

Zoom in: Every zip code in San Francisco proper has been affected by declining home values, according to the San Francisco Chronicle's recent analysis of Zillow data.

• The hardest-hit area is 94118, which includes parts of Richmond, Presidio Terrace, Laurel Heights, and Presidio Heights.

What they're saying: This doesn't mean San Francisco will miraculously become more affordable, Zillow spokesperson Matt Kreamer told the Chronicle.

• "Home prices have been falling, but mortgages are more expensive in spite of that," he said. "And because affordability challenges are what’s driving down prices, they can only fall so far before buyers jump back into the market and start bidding against each other again."

What's next: Spring — typically marked by high demand, more competition, and higher home prices — is right around the corner.

• If this year follows typical trends, we should expect home prices to rise again in the near future.

Yes, but: Experts predict 2023 will see a far less frantic housing market than in 2022.