California Luxury Markets Diverged in 2026: San Francisco Up 14.7%, Los Angeles Down 7.3%

California's two big luxury markets took opposite paths in 2026. Between January and August, San Francisco luxury property sales rose 14.7% while Los Angeles luxury sales fell 7.3%, according to a Sept. 28 report from Wisevoter. Limited inventory up north fueled faster, more competitive sales, while LA struggled with a surplus of sellers.

The contrast in the numbers is stark. San Francisco luxury homes sell in an average of 19 days, compared to 58 days in Los Angeles, and 85% of San Francisco single-family homes closed above the asking price during the tracking period. Demand exceeds supply by 11.7% in San Francisco - where the growing artificial intelligence sector has driven fierce competition, including a 43.7% year-over-year sales jump in April and 13.4% price gains from June to August - while in Los Angeles sellers outnumber buyers by 63.2%, contributing to average price cuts of 16.7% on luxury listings.

The headwinds explain the split. Los Angeles luxury is fighting high interest rates plus the local mansion tax, while San Francisco's buyer pool keeps growing with the AI economy. The piece notes the article drew on reporting from the San Francisco Gate.

Here is the nuance for South Bay watchers: our coastal luxury pocket is behaving more like San Francisco than the LA average. Even as the county's overall luxury volume softened, the South Bay has claimed about 41% of LA County's luxury asking volume in recent weeks, a Manhattan Beach home closed at a full $9.149 million price this past weekend, and Toll Brothers just opened 43 luxury townhomes in Redondo Beach priced from near $2 million. In this market, the metro average tells you very little about what a well-positioned coastal listing will do.

Source: Wisevoter - https://wisevoter.com/world/us/ca/2026/09/28/california-luxury-housing-markets-diverged

Curious what these market shifts mean for your home? Get a free personalized valuation →