After years of declining property values, shuttered storefronts and a pandemic-driven exodus of distant tech employees, indicators of life are reemerging in San Francisco’s core.
Median dwelling record costs in a single central ZIP code — encompassing neighborhoods like Nob Hill, Union Sq. and the Tenderloin — soared 51% in Could in comparison with the identical time final yr, based on Realtor.com.
Whereas these figures mirror record costs moderately than closing sale costs — and may swing based mostly on the combination of properties getting into the market — the sharp uptick factors to renewed purchaser curiosity in an space that, till lately, symbolized San Francisco’s struggles.
The shift comes not solely as extra employees return to their workplaces, but in addition as newly elected Mayor Daniel Lurie pushes a cleanup marketing campaign aimed toward reversing town’s declining status.
Since taking workplace in January, Lurie has centered on curbing open-air drug markets, lowering homelessness and boosting sanitation, whereas proposing a finances centered on core companies like public security.
“The individuals of this metropolis have known as on us to rebuild a safer, cleaner, thriving San Francisco,” Lurie stated final month. “To try this, we should present clear and protected streets, tackle the disaster of homelessness and habit, and reinvigorate the spirit and energy of companies and neighborhoods throughout this metropolis.”
Lurie, a political newcomer and inheritor to the Levi Strauss fortune, defeated incumbent Mayor London Breed in a marketing campaign dominated by issues over quality-of-life points.
His proposed $800 million finances contains controversial cuts to metropolis staffing — roughly 1,400 positions — whereas increasing regulation enforcement and behavioral well being initiatives.
Among the many measures already underway: focused enforcement in drug hotspots and new guidelines requiring city-distributed drug paraphernalia to be paired with counseling referrals.
Although some critics have protested the staffing cuts, Lurie’s workplace touts early progress. Crime is down practically 30%, automobile break-ins are at their lowest level in 22 years and avenue encampments have dropped to their lowest degree since 2019, based on metropolis knowledge.
“We’re positively beginning to see progress,” Steven Huang, founding father of Ascend Actual Property and president of the San Francisco Affiliation of Realtors, instructed Realtor.com. “A few of it’s seen right now, and I might say that even in Downtown, in Union Sq., our well-known procuring district, you’re positively going to see much more foot visitors already, however it’s only the start.”
The housing restoration stays uneven. Within the broader San Francisco metro, the median dwelling record worth stood at $998,000 in Could — nonetheless 4% decrease than a yr earlier. Most ZIP codes throughout town proceed to lag behind pre-pandemic pricing ranges.
The collapse started in earnest in 2022, when San Francisco dwelling costs tumbled 12% over a nine-month stretch, based on the Case-Shiller Residence Value Index.
The hollowing out of downtown — fueled by work-from-home shifts, workplace vacancies and the fentanyl disaster — left once-busy corridors eerily quiet.
“Demand for properties in central San Francisco fell as workplace employees went distant and even relocated,” stated Hannah Jones, senior financial analysis analyst at Realtor.com.
“Nevertheless, in comparison with final yr, costs are on the rise once more, suggesting demand for properties within the metropolis is on the rise as soon as once more, maybe prompted by return-to-office necessities.”
Whether or not the present momentum could be sustained stays to be seen. The market remains to be navigating excessive rates of interest, affordability challenges, and chronic issues about public security. However with AI corporations clustering within the Bay Space and downtown’s cleanup underway, some see the beginnings of a fragile rebound.
