Blog

San Francisco Multi-Family Residential Market in 2020

The 2020 San Francisco Apartment Building Market.

January 2021 Market Report for Residential 5+ Unit 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 evictions, new landlord-tenant laws, dreadful fires, an anxious presidential election, interest rates to historic lows, stock markets to new highs, and IPO mania breaks out again. A year of extremes and a challenging year for the residential income market.

 

5+ unit residential income buildings. Sales reported to MLS. This market consists of a relatively small number of sales, of buildings of widely varying sizes, qualities and financial characteristics, across a broad range of locations: This makes meaningful statistical analysis more difficult. 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.

 

 

Median Sales Price Trends since 2011

San Francisco 5-15 Unit Residential Apartment Buildings 

Bar chart comparing San Francisco apartment building median sale prices by unit count from 2011 to 2020.

 

 

Annual Sales Volume

San Francisco 5+ Unit Residential Building Sales

Chart of San Francisco sales of residential buildings with five or more units, 2009–2020; sales peaked in 2014 and fell in 2020.

 

Multi-Unit Residential Property Sales, 5+ Units

2020 Sales by San Francisco District

Chart of 2020 San Francisco sales of multifamily buildings with five or more units by district and building size.

 

San Francisco Residential Rents - Estimated & Approximate

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

Chart tracking estimated San Francisco residential asking rents from 1994 to Q4 2020, with annotated market milestones.

 

San Francisco 5+ Unit Apartment Building Sales

Average Dollar per Square Foot Values

San Francisco apartment sales chart: average price per square foot rose to $561 in 2020.

 

Average Gross Rent Multiples

San Francisco 5+ Unit Apartment Building Sales

Chart of San Francisco apartment building gross rent multiples, peaking at 17.8 in 2016 and falling to 15.6 in 2020.

 

Average Cap Rates

San Francisco 5+ Unit Apartment Building Sales

Bar chart of San Francisco 5+ unit apartment building cap rates, peaking at 6.0% in 2011 and reaching 4.3% in 2020.

 

Average Price per Unit

San Francisco 5+ Unit Apartment Building Sales

Bar chart of San Francisco apartment building prices per unit, rising to $485,000 in 2019 before declining in 2020.

 

Average Price per Unit - Selected Submarkets

5+ Unit Apartment Building Sales in 2020

Bar chart of 2020 San Francisco apartment prices per unit, from $317,000 in Inner Mission to $673,000 in Pacific Heights–Marina.

 

San Francisco 5+ Unit Apartment Building Sales

2020 Sales by Price Segment

Chart of 2020 San Francisco apartment building sales by price segment and building size, with median price and size statistics.

 

San Francisco Apartment Building Market - 5+ Units

New Listings Coming on Market in Quarter 

Bar chart of San Francisco apartment building listings, Q4 2016–Q4 2020, with a low point in Q4 2019.

 

San Francisco Apartment Building Market - 5+ Units

Active Listings Listed for Sale at End of Month

Bar chart of San Francisco apartment building listings, peaking near 94 in September and October 2020.

 

Percentage of Listings Accepting Offers in Quarter

San Francisco 5+ Unit Building Market Dynamics

Bar chart of San Francisco 5+ unit building offers accepted, falling to 13% in Q2 2020 and rising to 19%.

 

San Francisco Apartment Building Market - 5+ Units 

Listings Closing Sale in Quarter since 2017

Bar chart of San Francisco apartment-building sales listings by quarter, 2017–2020, showing a decline after the pandemic.

 

Average Days on Market until Acceptance of Offer

San Francisco Multi-Unit Residential Sales since 2010

Chart comparing average days on market for San Francisco multi-unit residential sales, 2010–2020, by property size.

 

San Francisco Apartment Building Sales

Top 7 Brokers, 5+ Unit Residential Sales, 2019-2020*

Bar chart of San Francisco apartment building sales, with Compass leading at just over $600 million.

 

 

 

 

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.
Contact