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San Francisco 2-4 Unit Multi-Family Market in 2020

The 2020 San Francisco Smaller Apartment Building Market.

January 2021 Report on 2-4 Unit Multi-Family Buildings

Pandemic, shelter in place, unemployment soars, terrible financial hardships for many residents and small businesses, new ways of working, office buildings empty, people move, vacancy rates climb, rents plunge, sales drop, rigorous limits on again, and sales begin to pick back up in Q4. A year of extremes and a challenging year for the 2-4 unit residential building market. 2, 3 & 4 unit residential buildings. Sales reported to MLS. Data from sources deemed reliable, but may contain errors and subject to revision. 2020 numbers are estimates using data available in early 2021: Late reported sales may alter these numbers. All numbers are approximate.

 

San Francisco 2-2 Residential  Unit Buildings

Year-over-Year Comparisons: Selected Annual Market Indicators

Table comparing 2016–2020 San Francisco two-unit and three-to-four-unit residential market indicators.

 

San Francisco Residential 2-4 Unit Building Sales

Annual Number of Buildings Sold since 1995

 
Bar chart of San Francisco 2–4 unit building sales from 1995 to 2020, with annotations for the dot-com bubble and 2008 crash.

 

Listings Accepting Offers (Going into Contract) in Month

San Francisco 2-4 Unit Building Market Dynamics

Bar chart of San Francisco 2–4 unit listings accepting offers monthly, with a sharp rise in December 2020.

 

San Francisco Residential Rents - Estimated & Approximate

Weighted Average Asking Rent, Q1 Data Points, 1994 - Present

Chart of San Francisco residential asking rents from 1994 to Q4 2020, with rent trends and market event annotations.

 

Median Sales Price Trends since 2011

San Francisco 2-4 Unit Residential Buildings

Chart comparing San Francisco median sale prices for 3-4-unit and 2-unit buildings from 2011 to 2020.

 

Average Dollar per Square Foot Values since 2011

San Francisco 3-4 Unit Residential Buildings

Bar chart compares San Francisco building prices per square foot by year, showing a 2020 premium for 2-unit buildings.
 
 
 

2-4 Unit Residential Building Values

2020 Median Sales Prices by San Francisco District

 

Table of 2020 median sale prices for two-, three-, and four-unit buildings across San Francisco districts.

 

2-4 Unit Residential Property Sales in 2020 

by San Francisco Realtor District

Bar chart comparing 2020 sales of 2–4 unit buildings and mixed-use properties across eight San Francisco realtor districts.

 

San Francisco 2-4 Unit Residential Building Market

2020 Sales by Price Segment

2020 San Francisco two- to four-unit building sales chart by price range, with median prices and average price per square foot.

 

Active Listings on Market in Month

San Francisco 2-4 Unit Building Market Dynamics

Bar chart of San Francisco 2-4 unit listings, peaking at about 345 in October 2020.

 

San Francisco Residential 2-4 Unit Building Market

Sales Closing Escrow in Month

Bar chart of monthly San Francisco 2–4 unit building sales closing escrow from May 2018 through December 2020.

 

Sales Price to Original List Price Percentage

San Francisco 2-4 Unit Buildings, by Quarter

Chart of San Francisco 2–4 unit building sale prices versus original list prices by quarter, 2015–2020.

 

Percentage of Listings Accepting Offers

San Francisco 2-4 Unit Building Market by Quarter since 2017

Bar chart of San Francisco 2–4 unit listings accepting offers by quarter, with a low of 16% in Q2 2020.

 

Average Days on Market until Acceptance of Offer

San Francisco Multi-Unit Residential Sales since 2010

Bar chart comparing average days on market for San Francisco 2-unit and 3–4-unit sales, 2010–2020.

 

% of Sales Selling  Within 30 Days of Coming on Market 

San Francisco Multi-Unit Residential Sales since 2010

Bar chart comparing San Francisco two-unit and three-to-four-unit sales within 30 days, 2010–2020.

 

 

Note that the quantity of sales in any given local submarket is usually relatively small and/or the number of sales that report the necessary financial information can be limited. Buildings of different ages, qualities and sizes selling in different periods can cause these average and median figures to fluctuate significantly. Furthermore, the reliability of some of these calculations depends upon the quality of the income and expense figures provided by the listing agents, and sometimes instead of actual numbers, much less meaningful projected or scheduled figures are used. Therefore, the above statistics should be considered very general indicators, and how they apply to any particular property without a specific comparative market analysis is unknown. If you would like such a specific analysis, please contact me.

 

These analyses were made in good faith with data from sources deemed reliable, but they may contain errors and are subject to revision. Statistics are generalities and all numbers should be considered approximate.

 

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.

 

© 2019 Compass


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