Compass agent Neal Ward said he was “anxious inside” as San Francisco’s spring season kicked off this year. But when his $15 million Presidio Heights and $9 million Presidio Terrace listings hit the market in March and got 15 showings apiece in their first week, he was able to breathe again.
“The high-net-worth buyer is back,” Ward said, adding that last year those same listings would have had fewer than 5 showings over several weeks. “They are excited about San Francisco and ready to engage again.”
The city’s other top agents agreed, pointing to this past spring as the season when the city began shaking itself loose from the doldrums of the last few years. The market, weighed down by high interest rates and a general sense of apprehension about San Francisco’s future, seems to be back. But it is not a full recovery: Agents said they still had to expand their offerings or marketing efforts in order to stay at the top or move up in the ranks.
Last fall was “absolutely horrendous in the high-end market,” said returning No. 1 agent Nina Hatvany. Nothing moved for months.
“Finally, it unfroze this spring, and that continues,” the Compass agent said. “It’s not spectacular, but it’s so much better than last year.”
Hatvany had $277 million in volume over 80 sales, according to data compiled by The Real Deal, which tallied agent sales on the buy and sell sides in San Francisco between May 2023 and May 2024. The numbers do not include off-market sales.