San Francisco Apartment Sales | 2025 Year-End Report

SF Apartment Sales _ Year End Report.pdf

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After the sharp market disruption caused by rapid rate increases and the collapse of First Republic Bank, San Francisco’s multifamily market reached a clear inflection point in the second half of 2024. By 2025, that inflection had evolved into sustained momentum, driven by a powerful rebound in rental demand.

Rents rose steadily throughout the year, and in several neighborhoods surpassed pre-COVID levels by year-end. Owners and managers reported intense competition for well-located units—often receiving 20 or more applications, with some apartments leasing above asking rents. As a result, leasing activity became faster, more competitive, and increasingly predictable across much of the city.

This demand surge was fueled by renewed job growth, particularly in artificial intelligence and related technology sectors. As hiring accelerated and office attendance increased, demand for centrally located housing strengthened. At the same time, broader sentiment around living in San Francisco improved meaningfully, reinforcing the city’s position as one of the world’s most desirable places to live and work.

As these conditions became evident on the ground, owners recognized that nearly every unit turnover offered meaningful rental upside. Properties that had appeared stagnant just a year earlier began demonstrating stronger operating potential. This shift in fundamentals prompted investors to act, targeting assets where rent growth and future income felt tangible rather than speculative.

With interest rates stabilizing after a period of volatility, buyers gained confidence, leading to increased transaction activity and faster execution—particularly in assets with 12 or more units—while the broader market improved at a steady, disciplined pace.

Execution Speed Improved, But Unevenly 

• 5–11 Unit Properties: ↓ 5 Days

• 12+ Unit Properties: ↓ 31 Days

Execution gains were most pronounced in institutional-scale assets, reflecting improved underwriting clarity, fewer bid–ask disconnects, and faster capital deployment.

STRUCTURAL DIFFERENCES THAT MATTER

How Momentum Spread Across the Market

San Francisco’s multifamily market experienced a meaningful shift in buyer composition and competitive dynamics. After a time of limited to zero institutional participation, a new group of well-capitalized buyers established a consistent presence, reshaping how liquidity returned to the market.

Over the course of the year, more than seven institutional capital groups became active buyers, alongside at least five family offices and syndicator-backed buyers capable of executing repeatedly and at a smaller scale. This represented a level of sustained competition not seen in recent cycles and marked a clear departure from the slow and cautious activity that characterized prior years.

Momentum began with the larger buildings of the middle market. Institutional buyers were the first to re-enter, drawn by pricing that had reset from prior peaks and by opportunities to acquire larger assets and portfolio-scale offerings in forced. The pullback or exit of certain prior institutional owners created openings for new groups to establish or expand a San Francisco footprint efficiently, often through multi-property transactions that had previously been difficult to access.

As institutional activity increased, confidence spread. Private capital buyers, many of whom had remained on the sidelines, re-entered the market in greater numbers. This shift led to a significant year-over-year sales volume improvement in the 5–11 unit segment, where competition strengthened and debt became more widely available with the emergence of new lenders. 

The result was a broader-based recovery. Competition increased not only in the number of bidders, but in the quality of bids. Underwriting became more, execution timelines shortened, and well-positioned assets increasingly attracted multiple credible buyers. While outcomes continued to vary by district, asset quality, and rent profile, the return of both institutional and private capital materially improved market function.

By year-end, momentum that had originated in larger assets had effectively carried through the market, reinforcing the sense that San Francisco multifamily had entered a more stable and durable phase of the cycle.

Transaction Activity by Segment 2024 vs 2025

Caravelli Team's Notable Sales

San Francisco Average Rent

2024	2025
$3,130	$3,582

Neighborhoods shown are representative of a broader trend

Neighborhood Spotlight — Marina District

Strong tenant demand

Faster leasing velocity

Enhanced valuation support

The Marina emerged as one of the strongest rent-performing neighborhoods. It lead the way in rental recovery and helped to create the energy behind the recovery momentum. Demand started and spread out from this area, and it had the highest rental increase year over year based on our information.

About the Caravelli Group

Our Role

Caravelli Group advises property owners and investors on the sale and acquisition of San Francisco Apartment Buildings. Our work centers on helping clients understand market structure, pricing realities, and timing considerations so decisions are made with clarity rather than pressure.

We work with long-term owners navigating retirement, estate planning, partnership transitions, and reinvestment decisions, as well as institutional and private capital groups seeking disciplined entry and exit strategies in San Francisco.

How We Help Clients Navigate Decisions

Market Clarity

District-level pricing analysis grounded in real transactions, not headline averages.

Positioning & Strategy

Guidance on how asset quality, rent profile, and timing affect outcomes before going to market.

Execution

A controlled, competitive process designed to maximize certainty, leverage, and alignment with client goals.

Placing Your Property in Today’s Market

Request a confidential market discussion or

property-specific pricing review. Get in Touch

Sales data reflects closed multifamily transactions tracked by Caravelli Group, MLS and Public Records. Rent observations reflect citywide and neighborhood-level leasing activity observed during 2024 and 2025. This report is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a forecast.