San Francisco County posts second-largest jump in single-family home prices

San Francisco County’s single-family home market kept climbing fast enough to widen the gap between who can buy and who has to keep renting. ResidentialClub data show the county recorded the second-largest year-over-year increase in single-family home prices among California counties, a move that raises the stakes for first-time buyers, families trying to stay near specific school zones, and anyone hoping the city’s housing pressure will ease.

The latest numbers point to a market that is not just expensive, but still moving quickly. Zillow said the typical home value in San Francisco County reached $1,394,147 in May 2026, up 7.6% from a year earlier. Redfin put the county’s median home price at about $1.8 million over the three months ending in May 2026, up 14.1% year over year, and said homes were selling in about 15 days on average, down from 18 days a year earlier. Redfin also reported 592 homes sold in May 2026, up from 505 in May 2025.

That pace matters because the city already entered 2026 with very little breathing room. A San Francisco market update in January showed single-family home prices up 8.63% from a year earlier, with the median sale price at $1,662,000. It also said fewer than 100 single-family homes were available for sale in the city, a level that leaves buyers fighting for a small pool of listings and pushes more households toward condos or the rental market.

The split market has become part of San Francisco’s housing story. Single-family homes have been rising much faster than condos, and the strength in detached homes suggests demand is concentrated in the city’s most supply-constrained product. For renters watching from the sidelines, that can mean more pressure if would-be buyers stay stuck renting longer or move into smaller units rather than leave the market entirely.

California Association of Realtors said its county-level detached-home reports are built from surveys of more than 90 REALTOR associations and MLSs covering about 90% of the market, with county data going back to the 1990s. That long record makes the current jump easier to compare with past cycles, rather than treating it as a one-month spike.

The broader California backdrop offers little sign of relief. C.A.R.’s 2026 forecast calls for statewide single-family sales to rise 2% and the median home price to climb 3.6% to $905,000. In February, C.A.R. said the San Francisco Bay Area posted a 2.8% year-over-year gain in median home prices, one of only two major California regions with increases that month. For San Francisco County, the message is clear: the city’s detached-home market remains tight, costly and likely to keep sorting buyers by income, savings and flexibility.