The San Francisco Apartment Building Market: April 2026
Multi-Family Market Report for Residential 5+ Unit Buildings
Market Update | Morgan Thomas, Compass
San Francisco's market for 5+ unit apartment buildings has shifted decisively. Powered by the AI startup boom, the city's residential income market began a real rebound in 2025 and has accelerated into 2026 — with stronger buyer and renter demand pushing both rents and values up year-over-year. Here's where things stand as of early April, based on sales reported to the NorCal MLS Alliance.
A market firing on demand
The headline is activity. 2025 closed as the strongest year for 5+ unit sales in more than 15 years, and Q1 2026 logged the highest first-quarter sales total since 2018 — with late-reported deals likely to push the count higher, and Q2 historically the busiest quarter of the year. Demand has clearly returned to the buy side.
Pricing has followed. The Q1 2026 median sale price came in around $2,650,000, up 10.5% from a year earlier, and the average price per square foot rose roughly 10% year-over-year to about $432. Average price per unit ticked up to roughly $366,000, and the average gross rent multiple firmed to 11.7 — early signs that buyers are again paying up for income.
On rents, the recovery is even more striking: Q1 2026 asking rents rose approximately 14.7% year-over-year (per Apartment List), bringing San Francisco rents back near pre-pandemic levels. With the citywide median asking rent now above $3,100, rising income is the engine under improving values.
Cap rates have stayed in a healthy range for buyers — the Q1 2026 average sat near 5.9%, broadly in line with the past three years and still well above the sub-4% levels of the last cycle. Financing remains the swing factor: the 30-year conforming rate had eased to under 6% early in the year before the late-February Iran conflict pushed it back to roughly 6.5% in early April. The ceasefire announced in early April could relieve some of that pressure.
Where the action is, by district
Over the trailing 12 months, the spread across neighborhoods tells the real story — this is a market of distinct submarkets, dominated by older wood-frame 5–9 unit buildings (the median year of construction for recent sales was 1915):
- Pacific & Presidio Heights, Cow Hollow & Marina (D7): median ~$4.25M, $476/sq ft, ~12 units, 5.3% cap, 41 days on market — the city's premium anchor, and its fastest-moving larger product.
- NoPa, Alamo Square, Hayes Valley & Lower Pacific Heights (D6): median ~$3.2M, $387/sq ft, ~7 units, 6.0% cap, 44 days.
- Russian, Nob & Telegraph Hills / North Beach (D8 North): median ~$2.9M, $410/sq ft, ~8 units, 5.8% cap, 71 days.
- Lake Street, Richmond & Jordan Park (D1): median ~$2.65M, $459/sq ft, 5.8% cap, 62 days.
- Noe, Eureka & Cole Valleys (D5): median ~$2.5M, $414/sq ft, 5.9% cap, 56 days.
- Sunset & Parkside (D2): median ~$1.82M, $401/sq ft, 6.2% cap, 40 days.
- Mission, Bernal Heights, Potrero Hill & SoMa (D9): median ~$1.57M, $301/sq ft, 6.7% cap, 67 days — strong yields, longer timelines.
- Downtown, Tenderloin & Civic Center (D8 South): median ~$4.2M for larger ~17-unit buildings, $315/sq ft, 7.1% cap, 147 days — the highest yields in the city, on bigger, more management-intensive assets.
By size, recent medians run roughly $2.25M for 5–9 unit buildings, $4.2M for 10–15 units, and $7.25M for 16+ unit properties, with five sales above $10M in the trailing year.
What it means for owners and investors
After several flat years, the combination of rising rents, record transaction volume, and still-attractive going-in yields has created real momentum — but it remains a market that rewards discipline. Yields, days on market, and price-per-foot vary dramatically by district and building type, so citywide averages are only a starting point.
If you own a 5+ unit building, three questions are worth answering now:
- Where do your rents sit relative to a market that's risen double digits in the past year?
- How does your in-place cap rate compare to what comparable buildings in your district are actually trading at today?
- With demand this strong and Q2 typically the most active quarter, is this the window to sell, refinance, or complete a 1031 exchange?
A specific comparative market analysis is the only way to answer these for your property.
Let's talk
I specialize in San Francisco multifamily and mixed-use investment sales — 5–50 unit apartment and mixed-use buildings — with more than 25 years and over $1 billion in closed transactions across the city's core neighborhoods. Compass ranked #1 in the Bay Area (and the U.S.) for residential dollar-volume sales in 2025, and I'd welcome the chance to put that platform to work for you. Reach out for a confidential valuation or a read on where your building fits in today's market.
Morgan Thomas | Compass 1699 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94109 CA DRE #01327655
Data reflects 5+ unit residential income building sales reported to the NorCal MLS Alliance through early April 2026. This is a small market of buildings with widely varying sizes, qualities, and locations; statistics are general indicators, not exact measurements for any particular property, and all numbers are approximate and may change with late-reported sales. Source: Compass April 2026 San Francisco 5+ Unit Apartment Building Market Report; rent data per Apartment List; interest-rate data per Freddie Mac. Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California, DRE 01527235. Equal Housing Opportunity. For information only; not intended to solicit property already listed, and not legal, tax, or financial advice.