SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – January 20, 2011 – Luxury home sales and the median sale price in San Francisco moved slightly higher once again in the fourth quarter of last year, according to Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, the Bay Area’s leading luxury real estate services company.

A total of 56 homes sold for more than $2 million during the quarter from October through December, up 1.8 percent from the previous quarter and the fourth quarter 2009.  Additionally, the median sale price of multi-million-dollar properties rose 3 percent to $2,625,000 compared to the previous year. However the median was off 11.6 percent from third quarter of 2010.

Other market indicators improved in the fourth quarter of last year. It took an average of just 60 days to sell a multi-million-dollar home in the city, down from 91 days during the same period last year and 70 days in the previous quarter. And the upper end of the luxury market continued strengthening with 24 properties selling for $3 million and above, up from 17 a year ago.

“There definitely has been a lot more optimism in the market lately,” said Rick Turley, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in the Bay Area. “The stock market has shown strong gains over the past year or two and high-end buyers are starting to feel more confident about the economic recovery, both in the U.S. and here in the Bay Area.”

Turley added that buyers are realizing that there are unusually good opportunities in the marketplace as we enter the new year. “This is a rare situation where you still have interest rates near record low levels at the same time that home prices are extremely affordable and inventory is plentiful,” he said. “I think buyers understand that these conditions won’t last forever, especially as the economy gains momentum.”