The artificial intelligence (AI) boom is causing a fierce bidding war for some luxury homes in the San Francisco Bay Area, with dozens of homes selling more than $1 million above asking price last month.

Mike Simonsen, chief economist at Compass International Holdings, noted in a post on X citing the firm’s analysis of MLS data, that there were 44 homes sold in San Francisco that closed at a price at least $1 million above the final asking price. It showed the 44 transactions from June totaled over $60 million in total sales.

The June total marked the continuation of a recent trend after April and May each had a little more than 30 sales that closed at least $1 million over the asking price and totaled over $40 million, while March had 20 such sales that totaled about $30 million.

By contrast, from February 2024 through February 2026, some months saw zero home sales that closed $1 million above the asking price, and no month saw more than nine such transactions, which illustrates the rapid intensification of bidding wars in the Bay Area luxury market.

CHATGPT BOOM FUELS A LUXURY HOUSING FRENZY IN BAY AREA

Dozens of San Francisco homes sold for more than $1 million over their final asking price, Simonsen said. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Simonsen said in his post that the data was, “Absolutely BANANAS” and added that it “may be the most useful data in understanding the 2026 San Francisco housing market.”

Most of the homes sold at $1 million or more above their final asking price were sold in San Francisco’s 94114 zip code, which includes neighborhoods such as The Castro, Noe Valley and Dolores Heights.

San Francisco has long anchored the Bay Area’s tech economy, and Silicon Valley has surged amid the rapid rollout of AI software serving a wide range of consumer and business purposes. That has contributed to the uptick in demand for luxury homes in the city.

HOUSING AFFORDABILITY UNLIKELY TO RETURN TO MORE FAVORABLE LEVELS OF THE PAST, ECONOMIST SAYS

The AI boom has fueled a surge in demand for luxury homes in San Francisco. (Getty Images)

Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com, told FOX Business that the overall housing market in San Francisco is a “seller’s market” with buyers “competing over a smaller pool of listings, and homes are selling 18% faster than they were last year at this time.”

Across the overall market, the median listing price has actually declined 4.9% from a year ago to $1.137 million, though Berner noted that’s likely due to smaller homes coming onto the market.

“The luxury tiers (95th and 99th price percentile) of the SF market are seeing stronger price growth than the median,” he added.

CALIFORNIA TECH LEADERS CHALLENGE PROGRESSIVE POLICIES AS BILLIONAIRES, BUSINESSES FLEE: REPORT

San Francisco’s housing market is constrained by scarce, expensive land and burdensome regulations. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

“This kind of uptick in buyer activity is consistent with a cash infusion on the buyer side, which we know is occurring as part of the AI boom and the IPOs of several of these companies with presences in the Bay Area,” Berner explained. 

“Buyers have more money in their pockets, but they’re chasing after the same pool of homes as before as supply has not yet had the chance to meet demand.”

He added that because San Francisco is a “notoriously tough place to build new homes, with pricey and scarce land and high regulatory burdens for builders,” it is “unlikely that a new wave of construction comes to balance the market, so expect seller’s market conditions to continue and prices to start rising significantly.”

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Costco is quietly discontinuing two Kirkland Signature craft beers, including an award-winning brew fans have called “one of the best lagers on the market.”

The move will end sales of the highly prized Kirkland Signature Helles Lager and Kirkland Signature Vintage Ale, according to Craft Business Daily (CBD).

The beers were co-branded with Oregon-based craft brewery Deschutes Brewery. CEO Peter Skrbek announced the decision in an early July note to distributors, according to the outlet.

Production is slated to scale back as soon as this month, with the beers expected to disappear from most warehouse locations by September or October, according to VinePair. The wholesale warehouse will continue selling its already-brewed inventory until supplies run out, the outlet added.

COSTCO CEO SAYS 1 ITEM IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVERYTHING ELSE SOLD IN THE STORE

Cases of Kirkland Signature Helles-Style Lager are displayed at a Costco Wholesale store on May 15, 2026, in San Diego, California. (Kevin Carter / Getty Images)

No official reason was given for the end of the two-year partnership. The two Deschutes-brewed products are the only beers in Costco’s current private-label portfolio. 

According to VinePair, the beers were first launched in December 2024 and each sold in 12-packs for $13.99.  

WHY COSTCO HOT DOGS HAVE KEPT $1.50 PRICE TAG SINCE 1985

Cases of beer sit stacked on pallets at a Costco Wholesale Corp. store in San Antonio, Texas, U.S., on Wednesday, May 30, 2018.  (Callaghan O’Hare/Bloomberg / Getty Images)

Both products quickly became fan favorites, with shoppers praising their quality and low price point. 

The World Beer Cup, one of the most respected beer competitions in the world, awarded Kirkland Signature Helles Lager a silver medal in 2025 and a bronze medal in 2026. 

“This is one of the best lagers on the market, especially at the price and I’m going to miss it,” one Reddit user said on Monday. 

Shoppers enter and exit a Costco warehouse location during business hours. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

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According to VinePair, the Costco-Deschutes deal helped the brewery recover from an 11% decline in sales volume in 2023. After launching the partnership, Deschutes saw a 9% increase in volume.  

By 2025, Deschutes ranked as the 10th-largest craft brewery in the U.S., according to the Brewers Association.

Deschutes later fell within the top 25 grocery store vendors despite year-to-date dollar sales increasing 8.3% and volume rising 9.3% compared with last year, according to VinePair, citing Circana market data. 

FOX Business reached out to Costco and Deschutes Brewery for more information. 

Brent crude futures rose ‌78 cents, ⁠or 1% ⁠to $78.8 a barrel by 0054 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 74 cents, or 1.01%, at $74.26 a barrel.

Both crude benchmarks, WTI and Brent, rose more than a dollar in post-settlement trade on Wednesday after the U.S. military began launching fresh strikes on Iran.

Before that, the benchmarks had settled at their highest in over two ⁠weeks after ‌U.S. President Donald Trump threatened fresh strikes against Iran as soon as Wednesday night.

The U.S. military said it was ⁠launching fresh strikes on Iran aimed at keeping the critical Strait of Hormuz open to traffic, hours after President Donald Trump declared that an interim agreement to end the war was “over”.

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The rush of oil that passed through the strait in recent weeks is over for now, with shipowners expected to take a more cautious stance, IG analyst Tony Sycamore said in a ‌note.
The U.S. said its latest round of attacks was in response to Tuesday’s assault on three tankers transiting the strait. The U.S. attacks rattled ⁠several cities along Iran’s southern coast and left some areas without power. Iran said on Wednesday it attacked U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait in response to earlier U.S. strikes on infrastructure.

Some war underwriters have advised shipping companies to pause voyages through the Strait of Hormuz, and others are reviewing their policy terms after Iran’s renewed vessel attacks, insurance industry sources said on Wednesday.

In the Nifty200 pack, 9 stocks’ closing prices crossed below their 200 DMA (Daily Moving Averages) on July 8, according to stockedge.com‘s technical scan data. Trading below the 200 DMA is considered a negative signal because it indicates that the stock’s price is below its long-term trend line. Traders use the 200 DMA as a key indicator to determine the overall trend in a particular stock. Take a look:​

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Costco rolled out a new change to its payment system, allowing customers to use their phones to make checkout times faster.

The warehouse club has expanded its digital wallet feature that now enables members to link any Visa card to the Costco app and use their phones during checkout.

“Costco is pleased to announce the latest enhancement to our Digital Membership Card — a fast and efficient form of payment! For your convenience, you can now add any Visa card to your Digital Membership Card for easy check out at Costco warehouses,” Costco said on its website.

COSTCO QUIETLY DISCONTINUES AWARD-WINNING KIRKLAND ITEM FANS CALL ‘ONE OF THE BEST’ IN THE MARKET

The warehouse club has expanded its digital wallet feature that now enables members to link any Visa card to the Costco app and use their phones during checkout. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg / Getty Images)

“No more searching for your wallet, or wondering if you remembered to bring your credit card — simply pull up your card on your phone, and you’re ready to check out. It’s that easy!”

According to Costco, benefits of a Digital Costco Visa Card include fast and efficient checkouts, eliminating the need to carry another form of payment, no longer having to search through a wallet or purse for a credit or debit card, being able to view and manage Visa Card information through the Digital Membership Card and enjoying cash rewards on purchases made with the Visa Card.

The digital payment option can only be used by members for Costco warehouse purchases, excluding the food court, the company said.

The digital payment option can only be used by members for Costco warehouse purchases, excluding the food court. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Earlier this year, Costco CEO Ron Vachris explained some of the changes the company has made to its app.

“The enhancements we have made include improvements to the mobile wallet, the introduction of a digital membership card with quick access on the Costco app and the rollout of our shopping cart prescan tool internationally,” he said during an earnings call.

These changes enable Costco members to use the Costco app for both membership verification and payment, making checkout faster and reducing the need to carry physical cards.

SURPRISE RIVAL KNOCKS COSTCO’S FAMOUS ROTISSERIE CHICKEN OFF ITS PERCH AS BEST BIRD

Costco members can use the Costco app for both membership verification and payment. (Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)

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The company already allows customers to link their Digital Costco Visa Card to their digital membership card in the app. This allows customers to let cashiers scan the QR code in the app once, which automatically links the membership ID and the credit card information for easy payment.