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Prices, inventory, and demand — distilled every month into one clear verdict: buyer’s market or seller’s. The investor’s read, before you make an offer.
The median asking price in San Francisco is about $1,161,000 as of Sep 2026, up 2.4% from a year ago. That is the asking price on listed homes, so sold-price and home-value sites show different numbers (why).
Only on the right house. Neither side has the upper hand in San Francisco right now. The signals split. Compared with 2017–2019 at this time of year, 3% of sellers have cut their price, against 9% then, but the typical listing has been up 107% more days. The market will not hand you a discount. You have to find it in one specific listing.
Asking price per square foot in San Francisco is up 3.6% over the last year. 16 of the 20 ZIP codes with at least 10 listings rose. 94133 led at up 30.5%, and 94103 trailed at down 13.0%. Broad gains like these are harder to fade. Over five years the pace has been -1.4% a year. Underwrite closer to that than to the last twelve months.
The population in San Francisco's ZIP codes fell 5.1% over five years. 12.2% of homes are vacant, higher than 83% of tracked cities. Households still grew 0.5% while the housing stock grew 4.2%. Fewer people living in more households means rental demand has held up better than the population suggests. Check vacancy by ZIP before you buy.
Ranked among the 141 California markets we track:
The median asking price is 26.3% below its Mar 2020 peak. Per square foot the gap is smaller: 15.9% below the Jan 2020 high. Part of the drop is smaller homes coming to market. Prices are rising again. Every month you wait costs money. The question is no longer when. It is which house. San Francisco prices rose in just 51 of 111 months. Prices here mostly do not grow. Buy this market for rent income.
This market is turning. Which way is not settled yet. Check the monthly numbers above before you commit.
For every 100 homes still for sale, 49 are under contract. In 2017–2019 at this time of year it was 48. The rest are still waiting for a buyer. Few sellers are dropping their price. Asking prices are holding firm. Your discount will come from one stale listing.
The typical San Francisco listing has been on the market 52 days. That is 18% shorter than a year ago. There are 680 homes for sale in San Francisco. That is 2.0 times the tightest month on record, but below the peak of 1,834. Supply is shrinking against last year.
HUD sets one fair market rent for San Francisco County. For fiscal year 2026:
The figures include tenant-paid utilities and apply to all of San Francisco County, so one home's rent can sit well above or below them. See fair market rent by city.
Read cash flow versus appreciation and how we read these numbers, then run the numbers on a deal.
The median asking price in San Francisco is about $1,161,000 as of Sep 2026, up 2.4% from a year ago. This is the asking price on homes listed for sale. Sites that report sold prices or estimated home values will show a different number. Our San Francisco figures cover the 39 ZIP codes with a San Francisco mailing address, which can reach past city limits.
Neither side has the upper hand in San Francisco right now. We compare San Francisco with 2017–2019 at this time of year: 3% of sellers have cut their price, against 9% then; the typical listing has been up 107% more days; there are 14% fewer homes for sale.
The median asking price is 26.3% below its Mar 2020 peak. Per square foot the gap is smaller: 15.9% below the Jan 2020 high. Part of the drop is smaller homes coming to market. Prices are rising again. Every month you wait costs money. The question is no longer when. It is which house.
Most San Francisco households rent. 62 out of every 100 households are renters. That share has held steady for five years. 12.2% of homes sit empty. Tenants have options. Budget extra weeks of vacancy between leases.
At 30% of income, a tenant on the median income can pay about $3,604 a month. The median San Francisco household earns $144,151 a year.
94105. Only 32 homes under contract for every 100 still for sale. 5% of sellers there have cut their price, and the typical listing has been up 94 days.
Across 9 full years, San Francisco asking prices ran lowest in January, about 3.1% below the year's average. They peaked in May. The most homes for sale show up in October, about 36% above the yearly average.
Assume -1.4% a year. San Francisco has grown about 1.4% a year for five years and for ten. That pace held before and after the 2020–2021 boom, so it is a fair long-run input. Prices rose 3.6% over the last year. Use it for timing. The five-year rate is the better guide.
HUD's fiscal year 2026 fair market rent for San Francisco County is $3,604 a month for 2 bedrooms and $4,604 for 3 bedrooms. The figures include tenant-paid utilities and cover the whole county.
ZIP 94105 is on both lists. That is rare. It is the one place in San Francisco where leverage and growth overlap.
| ZIP | $/sqft, 2 yrs | $/sqft now | Buyers per home | For sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 94118 | +14.5% | $1,154 | 0.69 | 20 |
| 94105 | +10.5% | $1,300 | 0.32 | 55 |
| 94122 | +8.9% | $938 | 0.76 | 17 |
| 94134 | +7.2% | $662 | 0.45 | 26 |
| 94116 | +7.0% | $860 | 1.08 | 13 |
Computed from each ZIP's own ten-year history. ZIPs with fewer than 10 homes for sale are excluded: a median across a handful of listings is noise, not a signal.
San Francisco has 39 ZIP codes. Each links to its live market dashboard.
Closest matches on asking price, price per square foot, time on market, buyer demand, and price cuts.
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