A sign is posted in front of a home for sale in San Francisco on May 11, 2023.
Real estate experts say the new mayor’s crime fighting efforts and a booming AI industry are drawing home buyers back to the city.
Some neighborhoods in San Francisco reported home prices surging by 51 percent in May after the city elected a crime-fighting mayor and artificial intelligence jobs boomed, according to Realtor.com data released this month.
Median home list prices in the iconic neighborhoods of Nob Hill, Union Square, and even parts of the crime-riddled Tenderloin district jumped 51 percent from May 2024, the organization reported.
A contributing factor has been Mayor Daniel Lurie, according to Realtor.com.
After taking office in January, Lurie has tackled crime and open drug use, and cleaned up street encampments.
Also, the city’s tech industry has taken off with a boom in the AI sector. Venture capital continues to pour into the city, according to the CBRE Group, the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm.
According to CBRE, AI startups have secured $103 billion in funding since 2020, surpassing past tech waves in the Bay Area. Of the $239 billion raised by AI companies in the United States since 2020, nearly half went to San Francisco, CBRE reported.
The company expects San Francisco’s office vacancy rate to drop by 16 percent by 2030 with the AI push. But if the industry doesn’t deliver on its promises, the city could face a prolonged recovery.
“The AI sector offers a compelling path forward for San Francisco’s battered office market—but it’s not a guaranteed fix,” wrote Nina Dale, of CRE Daily, an online media company focused on commercial real estate news.
Buyers, however, have responded to the market surge.
“San Francisco’s housing market has responded positively, signaling a renewed interest from buyers after years of weak prices and depressed sales,” Realtor.com reported in a June 20 market update.
While some neighborhoods marked increased home prices in May, other neighborhoods dropped in price as much as 36 percent, as seen in the Buena Vista ZIP code.
Home list prices in most San Francisco ZIP codes remain below 2019 levels, before the COVID-19 pandemic drove tech workers into remote roles, Realtor.com reported.
“Demand for homes in central San Francisco fell as office workers went remote and even relocated,” said Realtor.com senior economic research analyst Hannah Jones. “However, compared to last year, prices are on the rise again, suggesting demand for homes in the city is on the rise once again, perhaps prompted by return-to-office requirements.”
The median home list price for the broader San Francisco metro area was $998,000 in May, down 4 percent from May 2024, according to Realtor.com.
Overall, the city’s troubled downtown might have regained its footing and is drawing buyer interest, the company said.
In a May 2025 Monthly Market Report for the United States, Realtor.com reported that the inventory of homes for sale in the United States rose by nearly 32 percent in May, hitting a new post-pandemic high. The city’s housing market, however, remains about 14 percent below pre-pandemic levels.
The total number of unsold homes, including those under contract, was up nearly 21 percent compared to last year, according to the report. Price cuts were reported on 19 percent of the listings.
Newly listed homes increased by more than 7 percent, and homes remained on the market for an average of 51 days, the study shows.
