San Francisco house prices plunge amid widespread tech layoffs

The Golden City is losing its shine.

Housing prices in San Francisco have plunged to pre-pandemic levels amid widespread layoffs in the tech sector, SFGATE reports.

Despite still being one of the more expensive metropolitan areas in the US, prices for condominiums and co-ops in the city were down 14.7% from May 2022 and now average $986,000.

Those prices have not been seen since 2015, according to Zillow data analyzed by Wolf Street.

SFGATE and Wolf Street reported that the prices of single family homes have hit 2019 levels in San Francisco. Aaron – stock.adobe.com

Single-family homes are down 15.4% from their peak in 2022, now at an average of $1.39 million, according to data provided to SFGATE by a Zillow representative.

According to the outlet, condo prices doubled between 2012 and 2022, but have now declined by 30% in the past two years.

The Millennium Tower, notorious for being the leaning tower of San Francisco, saw a 44% decrease in price per unit. In September, SFGATE reports, one condo sold for $615,000. A decade prior, it sold for $1.1 million.

The outlets also reported that the price decreases coincide with layoffs in the city. Sundry Photography – stock.adobe.com

The decrease in housing costs coincides with widespread tech layoffs, according to Wolf Street, which reported that the “Information” industry saw a 20% decrease in its workforce over more than two years since its peak.

In the “Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services” industry, there was a 7% decrease in employees compared to June 2022.

According to SFGATE, there were 10,200 permanent layoffs filed in the city during 2023.

In a recent report, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) stated that home prices across the country are predicted to go up in 2025, albeit much slower than years prior, estimating a 2% increase in cost to a median of $410,700.

“Home buyers will have more success next year,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist and senior vice president of research, said in the report.

“The worst of the affordability challenges are over as more inventory, stable mortgage rates and continued job and income growth pave the way for more Americans to achieve homeownership.”