Market Report
San Francisco Multifamily Market Report
1Q 2026
Market Poised to Benefit From Regional Economic
Upswing Amid Emerging Polarizing Trends
Solid rent-by-choice demand boosts luxury buildings in select submarkets. San Francisco’s multifamily market is expected to stabilize this year after a strong 2025, which saw a triple-digit basis-point drop in vacancy. The city’s growing role in AI and tech innovation, fueled by downtown startups that capitalize on the urban setting, continues to create high-paying jobs and reinforce renter demand. As a result, rent growth has been most pronounced in downtown submarkets like SoMa and Mission Bay, both of which posted year-over-year gains of over 10 percent as of late 2025. The impact of higher-income renter demand is also reflected in the performance of Class A properties: metro- wide, their average monthly rent rose by nearly 10 percent. San Mateo-Burlingame, meanwhile, has seen Class A vacancy rates above 10 percent. Slower job growth than the core, amid ongoing layoffs by some major local employers, was impacting performance; however, Class B and C vacancy rates remain below 4 percent here as of late 2025.
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