San Francisco Multifamily Report – July 2025
Multifamily fundamentals are on the mend in the Bay Area.
The San Francisco multifamily market neared the end of the second quarter with mixed results, with some fundamentals pointing to a potential recovery amid wider economic uncertainty. Average advertised asking rents were up 0.5 percent, on a trailing three-month basis through May, to an average of $2,880, outpacing the national figure by 20 basis points. Rent development continued its recovery after last year’s contractions. The supply surge recorded in 2024 did not impact the metro’s overall occupancy, which ticked up 10 basis points year-over-year, to 95.4 percent as of April. The rate was 100 basis points higher than the national average.
Unemployment in the metro stood at 3.9 percent in April, with only a 10-basis-point downtick from December last year, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Job growth did not improve, with the year-over-year figure down 0.5 percent as of March. Over the 12-month period ending in March, the metro recorded a net loss of 18,900 jobs. Only two sectors recorded a net positive performance: education and health services, which added 16,600 positions, and government, which gained 2,800 jobs.
Development activity slowed down but moved closer to historic averages, with just 1,430 units, or 0.5 percent of existing stock, added in the first five months of the year. A total of 12,255 units were under construction in May, while an additional 130,000 units were in the planning and permitting stages.
