With inflation having slowed, as we previously reported, the weighted average asking rent for an apartment in San Francisco is effectively holding at around $3,600 per month, which is 6 percent higher than at the same time last year but only 1 percent higher since the start of this year, 12 percent lower than prior to the pandemic and 18 percent below its 2015-era peak of nearly $4,500 a month, with the average asking rent for a one-bedroom in San Francisco now holding at around $3,000 per month (which is 3 percent higher than at the same time last year but 15 percent lower than prior to the pandemic and 18 percent below peak).
At the same time, while the number of apartments listed for rent in San Francisco ticked down around 7 percent over the past month and is over 60 percent lower than at the pandemic’s peak, there are still 7 percent more units listed for rent than there were prior to the pandemic with the inventory of condos and single-family homes for sale across the city ticking up and the cost of capital having jumped.
Our analysis of the rental market in San Francisco is based on over 170,000 data points going back to 2004 that we maintain, normalize and index on a monthly basis. We’ll keep you posted and plugged-in.
once again showing office buildings when you report on residential rents. Come on!
Personally, I see more apartment buildings in the photo than office buildings. It is also a good representation of San Francisco that is recognizable to all.
Think of it like an establishing shot in a movie. A flash of a city skyline before cutting to characters talking in a living room. It tells the viewer where in the world we are. That report photo features office buildings prominently but they are also the iconic buildings that most people will not confuse with being in Oakland, LA, Seattle etc… You could argue that the Painted Ladies are iconic enough to do similar and are residential but then one could argue that none of them are for rent and therefore similarly unrelated to the topic at hand.
You have to go all the way back to mid-February, 2021 to find a post, about residential leasing listing activity, that shows a photo of a residence for rent. Given that the number of apartment listings are decreasing, I guess that it’s difficult to locate a shot of a residence with the landlord taking down the “for rent” sign, or a listing on the various rental web sites that says “rented” to feature with these posts.
I re-rented 2 units out recently, wasn’t hard. But I didn’t have a sign out front so wouldn’t have made a great photo op
i see lots of residential buildings in the pic.
As to the appropriateness of the photo, give it time. Legislation was just introduced at the BOA to make it easier to convert office buildings to residential and other uses. It is mostly targeted to downtown and the Union Square area and has the support of Mayor Breed and Supervisor Peskin. B and C class office buildings (a number of which can be seen in the picture) are the chief target of the legislation. The vacancy rare for such buildings is 40% – 50% compared to just under 30% for office space overall.
So yeah, some of the buildings pictured above may be converted to residential use. And, unlike newer office buildings, conversion of older B and C class buildings is more economically viable.
Ugggg…$3,600 for a 1 bd……OT: I remember my first 1 bd apartment, circa 1970 on Commonwealth was $65 a month. By 1974, rent was $120. Too many sleepless nights of worry on how I was going to make rent each month. Can’t imagine the price now. Time and inflation marches on.
Plus, it’s a very nice photo. Though it makes you feel a little bit like Clintie up there, arriving just a little too late to stop the Zodiac killer’s latest crime…