San Francisco is the only major U.S. city where it’s cheaper to buy a home now than it was five years ago, according to data from real estate listing site Zillow.

Of the 100 largest U.S. cities by population, San Francisco is the single example that saw home values fall between November 2019 and November 2024, based on what the company calls the “Zillow price index.”

The city saw the typical home price decline by 3.7% during that period. All other cities saw prices increase. Across the Bay, Oakland had the smallest increase, with the average home value rising 2.1%. Among other major U.S. cities, prices rose 37.58% in Los Angeles; 38.34% in Austin, and 69.26% in Miami.

Cheaper is one thing. But cheap? That’s a different story. 

According to Zillow, the typical home value in San Francisco in November 2024 was $1.26 million, versus $1.31 million five years ago. In 2019, San Francisco had by far the highest typical home price across all major cities, coming in more than 30% over second-place San Jose.  

In 2024, San Francisco was one of four cities, all in California, with typical home prices over $1 million.

Kara Ng, a senior economist at Zillow, said San Francisco was an outlier in the first place. 

“Five years ago, San Francisco was far and away the most expensive city to buy a home in the U.S.,” Ng said, adding that the pandemic fueled the ability for a highly paid but price-constrained workforce to flock to more affordable areas. 

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Holiday help was there for a community in need.

A drive-thru turkey donation drive was held in San Francisco on Saturday, benefitting the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. It brought a big donation response from the community, coming at a time when the need for food has never been greater.

Holiday turkeys and hams were arriving by the minute at a donation site near St. Emydius Church in San Francisco.

“Makes you feel good. That’s what you’re supposed to do,” said Ron Isola from Daly City.

The rainy weather didn’t stop anyone from showing up and helping out, especially Linda Peppars.

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“I live in the neighborhood and I just like helping people. God has blessed me. Why not bless other people? That’s the whole thing about life, especially today,” Peppars said.

It’s the 13th year for this turkey drive, started by volunteer Pierre Smit.

“I’m here from a different country. I came with nothing. If I had some some money, I would bring a few turkeys to St. Anthony’s,” Smit said.

It’s now a community-wide effort, benefitting the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank.

Hundreds of turkeys were donated, including lots of hams.

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“We’re currently serving 50,000 households every week. These turkeys and hams will go to some of our agency partners who are putting on Christmas lunches and dinners,” Abbott said.

It comes at a critical time for most Bay Area food banks that responding to food insecurity.

One in six people in Santa Clara and San Mateo are getting help from Second Harvest of Silicon Valley.

That agency is feeding a half million people every month.

In Napa, demand for food assistance has tripled compared to this time last year, and the North Bay’s Redwood Empire Food Bank is serving thousands more families, just in the past five months.

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“Our number one concern is inflation. We purchase some of the food we distribute. It’s costing us two times what it did pre-pandemic,” Abbott said.

It’s why this food drive is so important.

“It’s hard. Everybody doesn’t have what you have and visa versa,” Peppers said.

As a show of thanks, everyone who donated got a round of applause from volunteers.

The San Francisco Giants have been quite busy so far this offseason improving a team that has been mediocre the last few years. 

So far, the Buster Posey era in San Francisco has been a good one, as after years of not being able to land big free agents, the new president of baseball operations has already changed that narrative. 

This winter, the Giants were able to sign star shortstop Willy Adames to a big contract to come in and be the new face of their lineup. The talented shortstop gives San Francisco the middle of the order hitter that was the number one priority for them this offseason. 

Now, they have turned their attention to replacing Blake Snell, who left in free agency for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Currently, the Giants are one of the potential suitors for the top pitching prize in free agency, Corbin Burnes. 

Recently, Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report predicted that San Francisco would sign the talented right-hander to a massive eight-year, $250 million deal. 

That’s an enormous commitment to a pitcher who is 30 years old. But, Rymer points out all the reasons to make the deal. Burnes is a Cy Young winner, has a 2.87 ERA in his past five seasons and only one pitcher — Zack Wheeler — has a better wins above replacement (WAR) than Burnes does since August of 2020.

The concern among some analysts has been a declining strikeout rate (8.4 per nine innings), his lowest since 2020. But, as Burnes has evolved into more of a ground-ball pitcher, perhaps the dropping strikeout rate is overblown, he writes.

“You could therefore make the case that he’s already aging gracefully, which is to say nothing of how he’s never been on the injured list with an arm or shoulder injury,” Rymer wrote.

Without a doubt, Burnes has been one of the best pitchers in baseball the last few seasons, as he has pitched well for both the Milwaukee Brewers and the Baltimore Orioles. Last season with the Orioles, Burnes totaled a 15-9 record, 2.92 ERA, and had over 180 innings pitched once again. 

There has been some talk about his strikeout rate dipping, especially last year. However, as he ages as a pitcher, this could be seen as a positive thing, as his performance wasn’t impacted by his ability to strikeout hitters decreasing. 

With the contract likely to be a long one, the ability to get ground ball outs later in his career could keep him as a productive pitcher well into his late 30s. 

For the Giants, signing the best pitcher in free agency would be a big win for them this offseason, and a feather in the cap for Posey in his first winter in charge.