Bay Area home prices fall, marking largest annual price decline in California, figures show

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A for sale sign is posted in front of a home for sale on February 20, 2023 in San Francisco, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

OAKLAND, Calif. - New figures show statewide home sales rose for the third straight month, but the Bay Area is bucking that trend, with the region experiencing the biggest annual decline in California in both home prices and sales.

The analysis from the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) found sales were down 3.5% in the Bay Area last month from a year ago. It fell almost 22% from the previous month.

Statewide, home sales saw year-over-year gains of 2.6%.

Bay Area prices saw biggest decline

Home prices were also down in the Bay Area dropping 3.2% last month from a year ago, according to the realtor association.

C.A.R. said that three of the state’s five major regions tracked by the group recorded a year-over-year increase in their median prices of existing single-family detached homes.

The Far North region, which included the counties of Butte, Lassen Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity saw the largest median price increase of 2.7%.

"In contrast, the San Francisco Bay Area experienced the largest annual price decline," the realtor association said in a news release.

Tale of two regions

It should be noted that the Far North had the state’s lowest median of $385K last month.

The Bay Area had the highest median in the state at $1.275 million.

When looking at the median prices in each of the region's nine counties, most saw a decline.

The biggest drop was in Marin County, where prices fell 9.5% from a year ago to $1.47 million in November.

San Mateo County followed with a decline of 8.8% to a median of $2 million.

Alameda County’s prices fell 7.2% to about $1.19 million last month.

San Francisco prices and sales:

Notably, San Francisco saw a 12.6% increase from a year ago, sending the median sale price to $1.8 million.

As for the number of homes sold, the city saw a drop of 9.7% last month compared to a year ago.

Contributed by layoffs

Industry analysts pointed to layoffs in San Francisco's tech-heavy job market.

"Softness in housing demand in San Francisco could be attributed to mass layoffs in the county," said C.A.R. Deputy Chief Economist Oscar Wei, who added, "Salesforce, Autodesk, and Cruise were some of the big companies in the county that laid off thousands of workers in 2025, which might have affected home sales in the area."

Wei also said that active listings in San Francisco plunged almost 40% in November from a year ago, while neighboring counties of Marin and San Mateo saw increases.

"The drop in active listings in San Francisco could also be attributed to more properties being delisted in the area due to softness in demand in the market," the economist explained.

Dig deeper:

Wei also noted that sales declines in San Francisco were concentrated on the homes that fell in the more "affordable" price bracket, those below the $2 million mark.

He said sales of homes above that mark actually increased by about 14%.

"Because of the change in the mix of sales," Wei explained, "the median price last month jumped up artificially by 12.6%."

In other parts of the Bay Area, Napa County had the largest year-over-year gains in home sales, up 25% from the year ago. The median there was $931,500.

Santa Clara County had the largest decline, with sales falling 16.5%. The median in Santa Clara County was almost $1.94 million last month.

Looking to 2026

Big picture view:

As we move into the new year, real estate experts said the statewide figures are hopeful, suggesting the market is continuing its recovery.

"While the sales growth remains gradual, the upward trend suggests that the market is slowly gaining momentum — good news for buyers, sellers, and real estate professionals alike," said 2026 C.A.R. President Tamara Suminski.

Experts also forecasted that while mortgage rates were expected to continue to fall, the decline would likely be on the conservative side and not enough to make a huge difference in California’s housing market.

"With the Federal Reserve signaling a more cautious approach to rate cuts and recent signs of economic slowing," said C.A.R. Chief Economist Jordan Levine, adding, "California home sales and prices are projected to experience mild to moderate growth over the next 12 months."