I can’t say I always like the way the San Francisco Association of REATORS functions. I definitely can’t stand the exorbitant fees they charge us to use the MLS and to be members (and if you’re not a member, you may as well not try to sell real estate in SF.) And the MLS doesn’t always work as it should. And, well – I’m not here to diss them, so I’ll just stop.
The SFAR actually just did a pretty cool thing and revamped the fast facts they provide to us, REALTORS.
The SFAR hooked up with Terradatum, the award-winning real estate technology solutions company, to imprive the format of market data appearing in the Fast Facts section of REALTOR® Advantage Online each week, which I, then, share with you all. But it’s not JUST the format that’s improving, the data itself is getting better too. Now there will Days on Market (DOM) data as well months supply of inventory. WOO HOO! Seriously. WOO HOO!
According to the email I received today from the SFAR:
Beginning with the August 12, 2008, issue of the publication, and continuing weekly thereafter, the Fast Facts section will provide a snapshot of market statistics for San Francisco and Daly City. A different property type will be featured each week (i.e., Single Family Homes, Condo, 2-4 Units) and statistics will be given for each district 1 through 11, for the city overall (Districts 1-10) and for Daly City (District 11).Â
The data Teradatum and the Association are intending to provide appears below…..
Also appearing below is a set of terms and definitions that will be used in the presentation of market data. Although it was published earlier, it is being published again so that readers can more readily understand the data fields presented.
NUMBER SOLD reflects the number of properties in the market segment that closed escrow during the month.
NUMBER FOR SALE is the number of active properties on the market for one day or more that month.
MEDIAN PRICE (SOLD) reflects the “middle” price point of a group of properties that have successfully closed escrow on a monthly basis, i.e. half sold for more and half sold for less than the median price. Tracking the movement of median prices over time provides a good indicator of the direction market forces are moving.Â
If the percentage change is positive between the two periods then there is upward pressure on prices in that market segment. If the percentage change is negative between the two periods then there is downward pressure on prices in that market segment.Â
AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET (DOM) reflects how long it has been taking (on average) to draw an offer on a reasonably priced property exposed to the market. The AVERAGE DAYS ON MARKET is defined as:
The average number of days it took all of the properties that went under contract during the period to accept a first position offer.
MONTHS SUPPLY OF INVENTORY (MSI) is a measure of how long it would take, in months, to sell the existing inventory at the current sales rate for the specific neighborhood and property type. The MONTHS SUPPLY OF INVENTORY is defined as:
The number of active properties on the market for one day or more that month, less the number of properties that have been withdrawn or expired, divided by the number of properties that have gone under contract for the month being measured.
As I do every month, I ran the latest San Francisco real estate sales figures from the month of June for you. And yes, I know we’re almost in August. And yes, I know I usually run these at the beginning of the month. But I was on vacation (and on dial-up) at the beginning of the month. And then I got busy right when I got back, so here we are – late as hell. But better late than never, right? 
