West of Twin Peaks, Asking Price Is Just Where the Bidding Starts
District 4 is real estate shorthand—San Francisco agents use it to group 16 neighborhoods west of Twin Peaks into a single reporting area, though the designation means little outside the industry. Montgomery & Lee’s analysis focuses on ten of them: Balboa Terrace, Forest Hill, Forest Hill Extension, Ingleside Terrace, Monterey Heights, Mount Davidson Manor, Sherwood Forest, St. Francis Wood, West Portal and Westwood Highlands.
Across these ten neighborhoods, single-family homes closed at a median of $2,825,000 during the first half of 2026, with the average reaching $3,005,949. Buyers closed on 79 homes in six months, representing $237,469,954 in total sales volume. This wasn’t a market anyone needed to be talked into.
Eighty-nine percent of those homes sold above asking, and the average sale closed 20.8% over list. At the extreme, 25 Claremont Boulevard in West Portal listed for $998,000 and closed at $2,000,000—more than double its asking price. Balboa Terrace wasn’t far behind: all five of its sales during the period closed at least 15% over asking, including one that sold 82% over.
Half of District 4’s homes went to contract within 12 days of hitting the market; the average was 16.7 days. The outlier proves the rule: 111 Edgehill Way in Forest Hill Extension, the half’s highest sale at $7,800,000 and, at 10,121 square feet, its largest home, opened at $10,000,000, sat for six months, and closed at $7,800,000 after a price correction to $7,950,000. Even in a market moving this fast, size and price still have to find each other.
District 4 isn’t one market – the range across its eighteen subdistricts matters if you’re deciding where to put down roots. Mount Davidson Manor closed the half at $959 a square foot, the district’s most accessible entry point. St. Francis Wood closed at $1,331 a square foot, its highest on record.
DISCLAIMER: Statistics are generalities, essentially summaries of widely disparate data generated by dozens, hundreds or thousands of unique, individual sales occurring within different time periods. They are best seen not as precise measurements, but as broad, comparative indicators, with reasonable margins of error. Anomalous fluctuations in statistics are not uncommon, especially in smaller, expensive market segments. Last period data should be considered estimates that may change with late-reported data. Different analytics programs sometimes define statistics – such as “active listings,” “days on market,” and “months supply of inventory” – differently: what is most meaningful are not specific calculations but the trends they illustrate. Most listing and sales data derives from the local or regional multi-listing service (MLS) of the area specified in the analysis, but not all listings or sales are reported to MLS and these won’t be reflected in the data. “Homes” signifies real-property, single-household housing units: houses, condos, co-ops, townhouses, duets and TICs (but not mobile homes), as applicable to each market.
City/town names refer specifically to the named cities and towns, unless otherwise delineated. Multi-county metro areas will be specified as such. Data from sources deemed reliable, but may contain errors and subject to revision. All numbers to be considered approximate. Many aspects of value cannot be adequately reflected in median and average statistics: curb appeal, age, condition, amenities, views, lot size, quality of outdoor space, “bonus” rooms, additional parking, quality of location within the neighborhood, and so on. How any of these statistics apply to any particular home is unknown without a specific comparative market analysis.
Median Sales Price is that price at which half the properties sold for more and half for less. It may be affected by seasonality, “unusual” events, or changes in inventory and buying trends, as well as by changes in fair market value. The median sales price for an area will often conceal an enormous variety of sales prices in the underlying individual sales.
Dollar per Square Foot is based upon the home’s interior living space and does not include garages, unfinished attics and basements, rooms built without permit, patios, decks or yards (though all those can add value to a home). These figures are usually derived from appraisals or tax records, but are sometimes unreliable (especially for older homes) or unreported altogether. The calculation can only be made on those home sales that reported square footage.
Photo use under the Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California, DRE 01527235. Equal Housing Opportunity. This report has been prepared solely for information purposes. The information herein is based on or derived from information generally available to the public and/or from sources believed to be reliable. No representation or warranty can be given with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the information. Compass disclaims any and all liability relating to this report, including without limitation any express or implied representations or warranties for statements contained in, and omissions from, the report. Nothing contained herein is intended to be or should be read as any regulatory, legal, tax, accounting or other advice and Compass does not provide such advice. All opinions are subject to change without notice. Compass makes no representation regarding the accuracy of any statements regarding any references to the laws, statutes or regulations of any state are those of the author(s). Past performance is no guarantee of future results.