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Image 1 of / 23 Caption Close Image 2 of 23 Inside Bernal. List price: $899K. Photos: MLS Inside Bernal. List price: $899K. Photos: MLS Image 3 of 23 Bernal kitchen. It's a small home (under 1300 square feet) but reads bigger. Photos: MLS Bernal kitchen. It's a small home (under 1300 square feet) but reads bigger. Photos: MLS Image 4 of 23 Bernal kitchen. Photos: MLS Bernal kitchen. Photos: MLS Image 5 of 23 Image 6 of 23 Bernal bedroom. Photos: MLS Bernal bedroom. Photos: MLS Image 7 of 23 Pretty Bernal bath. Photos: MLS Pretty Bernal bath. Photos: MLS Image 8 of 23 Potrero for under a million? 623 Missouri St lists at $988K. Photos: MLS Potrero for under a million? 623 Missouri St lists at $988K. Photos: MLS Image 9 of 23 Inside Dogpatch home. Photos: MLS Inside Dogpatch home. Photos: MLS Image 10 of 23 Image 11 of 23 Dogpatch kitchen. Photos: MLS Dogpatch kitchen. Photos: MLS Image 12 of 23 This home is 3 bed/2 bath, less that 1300 square feet. Photos: MLS This home is 3 bed/2 bath, less that 1300 square feet. Photos: MLS Image 13 of 23 Potrero view! Potrero view! Image 14 of 23 Parkside mid-tier: 944 Rivera St. Photos: MLS Parkside mid-tier: 944 Rivera St. Photos: MLS Image 15 of 23 Image 16 of 23 Inside Parkside: a 2 bed/1 bath, also under 1300 square feet. Photos: MLS Inside Parkside: a 2 bed/1 bath, also under 1300 square feet. Photos: MLS Image 17 of 23 Open floor plan at Parkside. Photos: MLS Open floor plan at Parkside. Photos: MLS Image 18 of 23 Parkside kitchen. Photos: MLS Parkside kitchen. Photos: MLS Image 19 of 23 1 of 2 beds in this home which lists at $849K. Photos: MLS 1 of 2 beds in this home which lists at $849K. Photos: MLS Image 20 of 23 Image 21 of 23 Typical Parkside lot/yard. Photos: MLS Typical Parkside lot/yard. Photos: MLS Image 22 of 23 Single family home value history, via Socket Site Single family home value history, via Socket Site Photo: Socket Site Image 23 of 23 Despite low and mid tier gains, San Francisco home prices fall for first time since December 2011 1 / 23 Back to Gallery

Single-family home values within the San Francisco Metro dropped .2 percent at the end of 2015, according to the Case-Shiller Index , the first dip in an otherwise steady, straight-up climb since December of 2011.

Case-Shiller tracks values at three levels for San Francisco: high tier (over $931,829), middle tier ($579,418 to $931,829), and low tier (under $579,418). Interestingly, it is the high tier values that caused the overall decline, down .7 percent in the last quarter of 2015; meanwhile the middle (up .2 percent) and especially the bottom tier (up 1 percent) increased in value.

Not as fat a bubble…yet

Despite the uptick, the lowest tier prices haven’t reached their pre-crash peak. As Socket Site reports, “Single-family home values for the bottom third of the market in the San Francisco MSA have more than doubled since 2009 and are now back to December 2004 levels but remain 9 percent below their August 2006 peak. The middle third is back to February 2006 levels but remains 1 percent below a May 2006 peak.”

The gallery above gives readers a glimpse of homes at the “mid tier,” since there are no single-family homes under $579,418 in San Francisco proper on the MLS right now. Most mid-tier single-family homes are located in Silver Terrace, Outer Parkside, and Excelsior, but we also found examples in Potrero, Central Sunset, Bernal and Parkside.

Overall, striking gains

Buyers of any tier (still) face record high prices. Though the mid and low tier values don’t equal those of San Francisco right before the 2007 melt down, that’s not the case for the top tier: Socket Site points out that “While home values for the top third of the market have slipped from November’s all-time high, they remain 14 percent above the previous cycle peak recorded in August of 2007.” Further the overall index remains 10 percent higher year-over-year and has gained a tremendous 61 percent since January of 2010.

This table, taken from Case-Shiller data, exemplifies a snapshot of this market action.

At this rate, Case-Shiller will have to adjust its categories for San Francisco: low tier will become what is now mid tier; mid tier prices will become those of the high tier; and upwards. Meanwhile, what’s currently labeled “low tier” will become a thing of the past, never to be seen (on the MLS) again. In fact, this has–evidently–already happened.

Anna Marie Erwert writes from both the renter and new buyer perspective, having (finally) achieved both statuses. She focuses on national real estate trends, specializing in the San Francisco Bay Area and Pacific Northwest. Follow Anna on Twitter: @AnnaMarieErwert