Press & Media

Alarm bells are ringing about the U.S. housing market as economists warn of slumping home sales and house prices that keep rising. But those warnings may not apply to California. The state is vast and housing markets vary by region, but on average, the major metros in California aren’t experiencing the same slumps as the rest of the country. In parts of the Bay Area, home sales have even reached their highest levels since the peak of the pandemic housing boom, according to data from Compass. Typically, the U.S. housing market peaks in the spring, but this year, it was tempered by a sagging stock market and the uncertainty of looming tariffs. Patrick Carlisle, chief market analyst for Compass Bay Area, said even despite a lot of economic uncertainty, much of the Bay Area is bucking the trend of the tumbling nationwide housing market. “The South Bay is one of the strongest markets in the country. Maybe it’s the strongest because of the AI boom,” Carlisle said. He said the concentration of wealth brought by tech companies is helping the luxury sector perform particularly well, though he notes that that segment of buyers is often unaffected by mortgage rates. In the South Bay in the second quarter of the year, sales of homes priced at $5 million and above soared to their highest number since the peak of the pandemic homebuying boom, and home sale prices were up year over year in affluent markets like Atherton, Hillsborough and Menlo Park. San Francisco had a similarly successful second quarter relative to the rest of the country. Median home sales were up 8% from the first quarter of the year and up 3.5% since the same time period in 2024. Even the condo market, which had been struggling since the pandemic, was up 10% year over year according to Compass data. “The Bay Area is still one of the richest, most educated, most diverse areas in the world. Its housing market has a tendency to continue to chug along,” Carlisle said.

Top brokers from the U.S. and Canada, both currently facing an extremely challenging housing market, reflect on the formative events of the past decade. To provide a snapshot of the last decade of luxury real estate, Mansion Global spoke with some of the top real estate professionals in the most prominent markets around the world. Nearly every one of them noted that the buyer pool has grown younger, largely due sectors like tech, venture capital and even social-media stardom, as well as a wave of inheritance from baby boomers, creating mass amounts of wealth in younger generations. By Casey Farmer

About This Home 2050 Jackson Street is a stunning French Normandy-style home on a flat, tree-lined street, recently updated to enhance its classic charm and everyday functionality making it an entertainer's dream. This exceptional residence features 4+ bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms, with expansive North Bay and Alcatraz views from three levels.

Max Armour quoted: "The luxury market in the city has really picked up this year, he said, with five properties over $10 million already closing". Former SF Decorator Showcase home is biggest sale in city so far this year. A 8,500-square-foot Beaux Arts Presidio Heights home has sold for $26 million ... By Emily Landes