San Francisco, CA
S.F. rent prices are sinking faster than most U.S. cities. How low will they go?
Median rent prices in San Francisco are the lowest they’ve been since mid-2021. Experts say they could decline a bit more as the rental market slows for the winter.
The median one-bedroom asking rent in San Francisco was $2,190 in November 2023, according to data from Apartment List. The last time rent was lower than that was in June 2021, when the city’s prices were moving upward following a pandemic-induced plummet.
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Despite some brief summer bumps, San Francisco’s rent prices have never returned to pre-2020 levels. The city’s typical rent in November 2023 was 16.4% lower than the $2,620 in November 2019.
That’s despite growth in rent prices statewide. California’s typical rent of $1,620 in November 2023 was 13% higher than the $1,430 it was four years prior.
Rents usually dip in the fall and winter before climbing in the spring and summer, according to Rob Warnock, senior research associate for Apartment List. People tend to avoid moving during the holidays, he explained, but demand for apartments rises when the weather is warmer and the school season is over — allowing landlords to charge more.
But the main reason San Francisco is seeing lower rents, Warnock said, is that fewer people are looking for apartments there.
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“San Francisco is notorious for not creating affordability through new housing supply, but (it) is a perfect example, in some ways, of creating affordability by removing demand from the rental market,” he added.
The city’s rents are particularly low compared to last year, when prices were still partially elevated by a summer surge that didn’t materialize this year. San Francisco’s median one-bedroom rent fell from $2,350 in November 2022 to $2,190 in November 2023. That drop, at 6.7%, was bigger than in nearly any other of the 100 largest United States cities for which Apartment List has data. Only Oakland had a deeper dip.
But San Francisco still had the third-highest rent among the biggest United States cities in November, behind only Huntington Beach and Irvine.
Rents in South of Market and Mission Bay have fallen most steeply over the past year, according to data from housing broker Zillow, which tracks changes in rents at the ZIP code level. Estimated prices increased in just a few areas, such as the 94134, which includes Portola and Visitacion Valley.
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Record levels of housing construction have helped temper prices in some parts of the country, Warnock of Apartment List said. And he believes there’s enough development in the pipeline to continue that trend nationally for another year or two.
But San Francisco has long lagged in that area, despite recent efforts by state and city officials to speed up the process. If more companies start requiring workers to return to the office next year, Warnock said, competition between renters could push prices back up.
Reach Christian Leonard: Christian.Leonard@sfchronicle.com
San Francisco, CA
UCSF breaks ground on SF Parnassus Heights campus reconstruction
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — UCSF Health formally broke ground on what it calls the hospital of the future.
On Saturday, hospital officials celebrated the start of a massive rebuild of the Parnassus Heights campus.
The plan involves building a new 15-story hospital and research center at the current site, which has been operating since the early 1900s.
The expected cost more than $4 billion.
“We’re gonna add almost 200 beds of capacity and double the size of the emergency room. This is really about serving the city of San Francisco and the region with more capacity,” said Suresh Gunasekaran, UCSF Health President and CEO.
The new hospital is scheduled to open in 2030.
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San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Giants Ace Viewed as Yankees Trade Candidate
The biggest offseason move from the San Francisco Giants this year hasn’t panned out just yet. Blake Snell, the National League Cy Young Award winner in the 2023 season, has pitched in three games so far, allowing 15 earned runs in 11 2/3 innings. His 11.57 ERA is as bad as it’s ever been for the left-hander.
Snell hit the IL with an adductor strain, which could’ve been playing a factor as he couldn’t get it going on the bump. At the very least, this should allow the 31-year-old to have a rehab start, which it was clear he needed, despite saying he didn’t believe he did.
The Giants, currently 13-15, are just 4.5 games out of the National League West. If they can play the way they were expected to coming into the season when Snell returns, this is a team that has a chance to make the postseason and even win the division if everything goes right.
In a scenario where that doesn’t happen, Snell could be a potential trade candidate.
Adam Weinrib of YanksGoYard listed options for the New York Yankees after Jesus Luzardo went down with an injury, naming Snell as an option for the Yankees.
There was some interest from New York before he landed in San Francisco and if they believe he can help them at the deadline, it wouldn’t be a surprising outcome. The Yankees also have a top farm system, so trading with them could intrigue the Giants.
Snell would be back in the AL East, a division many consider the best in baseball outside of the NL West.
If Snell comes back and doesn’t look how he does, getting off that contract could be the wise thing to do from the front office’s perspective. Moving him would depend on many factors, but he needs to start being himself to warrant keeping him around if a postseason bid is out of reach by July.
San Francisco, CA
It has been 1 year since Banko Brown was fatally shot by a SF Walgreens security guard
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — His death sparked protests and vigils but no criminal charges.
Saturday marked one year since a security guard shot and killed Banko Brown at a Walgreens in San Francisco.
“Banko was the type of person to give you the shirt off his own back. That’s how much he thought about others. Even when he was struggling himself,” said Julia Arroyo, executive director of the Young Women’s Freedom Center, where Brown was coming into his own — fighting for transgender rights.
Family of Banko Brown sues Walgreens, security company and guard for wrongful death, attorney says
“He tried on positions at the center. He organized a talk about trans housing, particularly about trans-masculine folks. He taught us a lot,” Arroyo said.
The anger is still felt over what played out in that Walgreens — a guard suspected the 24-year-old of shoplifting. In the scuffle, he shot Brown, later saying he felt his life was threatened.
“One year out, that anger is just coming from that. There really isn’t justice for Banko right now in this moment,” Arroyo said.
The San Francisco District Attorney’s office didn’t charge the guard with Brown’s killing, saying there was clear evidence it was self-defense.
Outburst disrupts memorial service for Banko Brown in San Francisco
“A year after Banko Brown, sadly things have not changed. They’ve only gotten harder and harder,” said Gael Lala-Chávez, executive director of LYRIC, a center in San Francisco serving LGBTQ+ Youth.
They say the attacks on transgender rights across the nation are taking a toll.
“I’ve seen the steady increase in youths coming from other conservative areas in California. Even other conservative areas here in the Bay Area, fleeing, obviously — all over the country,” Lala-Chávez said.
San Francisco is still serving as a beacon of hope.
Banko Brown Death: Community reacts to SF DA’s decision not to file charges against Walgreens guard
“In the last year alone, Tara, we’ve seen about — I would say — about 45% of our youth experiencing homelessness are coming from out of the state, out of the country,” Lala-Chávez said.
But the increasing demand for services are strapping nonprofits desperate for more resources.
“It’s really difficult times right now. We honestly don’t know what to do. The only thing I do know is our doors will remain open. They have to for young people similar to Banko Brown,” Lala-Chávez said.
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