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San Francisco 5+ Unit Apartment Buildings through Q1 2023

April 2023 Multi-Family Market Report for Residential 5+ Unit Buildings

 

San Francisco Apartment Building Market - 5+ Units

Listings Closing Sale in Quarter since 2017

Chart of quarterly San Francisco apartment building sales, 2017–2023, with Q1 2023 sales down approximately 37% year over year.

 

San Francisco Apartment Building Market - 5+ Units

Listings Going into Contract in Quarter since 2018

Quarterly chart of San Francisco 5+ unit apartment listings going into contract, with Q1 comparisons highlighted.

 

San Francisco Residential Rents - Approximate, Good Faith Estimates*

Average Asking Rent, 1994 - Present, Q1 Data Points (except as noted)

 

Chart of San Francisco average asking rents, 1994–Q1 2023, showing a pandemic-era drop and rebound.

 

Average Gross Rent Multiples

San Francisco 5+ Unit Apartment Building Sales

San Francisco 5+ unit apartment sale gross rent multiples, 2007–Q1 2023.

 

Average Cap Rates

San Francisco 5+ Unit Apartment Building Sales

Average cap rates for San Francisco 5+ unit apartment sales, 2007–Q1 2023.

 

Average Price per Unit 

San Francisco 5+ Unit Apartment Building Sales

 

Chart of San Francisco 5+ unit apartment prices per unit, peaking at $485,000 in 2019 before declining.

 

San Francisco 5+ Unit Apartment Building Sales

Average Dollar per Square Foot Values

Bar chart of San Francisco 5+ unit apartment building sale values per square foot, peaking at $562 in 2018.

 

Percentage of Listings Accepting Offers in Quarter (Absorption Rate)

San Francisco 5+ Unit, Multi-Family Building Market Dynamics

Bar chart of quarterly San Francisco 5+ unit apartment listing absorption rates from Q1 2018 to Q1 2023.

 

San Francisco Apartment Building Market - 5+ Units

Active Listings Listed for Sale at End of Month

Chart of San Francisco five-plus-unit apartment listings, with monthly counts from September 2018 through March 2023.

 

5+ Unit Multi-Family Building Markets

12 Months Sales by San Francisco Realtor District 

San Francisco multifamily sales by district, with prices, unit counts, sizes, and GRM/cap rates.

 

Multi-Unit Residential Property Sales, 5+ Units

12 Months Sales by San Francisco Realtor District*

Stacked bar chart comparing San Francisco 5+ unit apartment sales by district and building size.

 

San Francisco 5+ Unit Apartment Building Sales

12 Months Sales by Price Segment*

Bar chart of San Francisco 5+ unit apartment sales by price segment, comparing counts across three building-size groups.

 

San Francisco Unemployment Rates

2019-2023 YTD, per CA Employment Development Department

The San Francisco unemployment rate has ticked up in recent months, though remaining quite low. High-tech layoffs in recent months area a concern for rental market dynamics, especially in the downtown area.

Line chart of San Francisco unemployment rates, peaking near 13% in 2020 and falling to about 3% by March 2023.

 

San Francisco Employment Trends 

Number of Employed Residents since 2000

 

Employment Numbers by Month

January 2000 to February 2023

According to EDD, employment numbers have mostly recovered from the spring 2020 plunge, but still remain down by approximately 16,000.

Chart of San Francisco employment from 2000 to 2023, showing the sharp 2020 drop and subsequent recovery.

 

San Francisco Population Trends since 2010

CA Department of Finance Estimates, July 1st to July 1st

Bar chart of San Francisco population estimates, rising through 2018 before declining to 834,046 in 2022.

 

San Francisco Apartment Building Sales

By Broker, 5+ Unit Residential Sales, 2020-2022*

Chart comparing San Francisco 5+ unit apartment sales by brokerage, with Compass leading at 206 buildings.

 

 

 

Infographic showing mortgage rates, consumer sentiment, financial markets, inflation, and Bay Area real estate factors.

 

 

Bay Area market reports webpage with a COMPASS reports link and regional report previews.

 

 

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 members, much less meaningful projected or scheduled figures are used. Late reported listings and sales may change these statistics. 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.

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. Numbers may change with late-reported sales activity.

 

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. Al 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.

 

Work With Hanna John Azar

During his past experiences, Hanna John Azar has gained particularly strong knowledge and hands-on experience in maneuvering complex multi-faceted value-add investments.
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