SF Real Estate Has Gotten 'Absolutely Bananas'

San Francisco's real estate bidding wars have reached almost mind-boggling heights. A Compass analysis finds 144 homes in the city sold for at least $1 million over list price in the first half of 2026; 44 of those sold in June. That's a dramatic leap from just eight such sales in the same period last year and six in the first half of 2024. As if that's not wild enough, the Real Deal notes a home in the Cow Hollow neighborhood sold for $15 million; it had been listed for $7.95 million.

Compass chief economist Mike Simonsen called the frenzy "absolutely BANANAS" and ties it directly to the AI hiring boom and anticipation of blockbuster IPOs by OpenAI and Anthropic, reports the Guardian. The surge is concentrated in pockets near AI employers and affluent areas of the Peninsula and Marin, creating what Compass calls a market "segmented by income tier and proximity to AI-driven employment centers."

The impact on the broader market is stark: single-family home prices are up about 17% year over year, the median price has climbed from $1.7 million to $2.2 million, inventory is down about 45%, and houses are selling in roughly 18 days—the fastest pace in five years.