San Francisco New Housing Development

The production of new housing in 2014 totaled 3,654 units, a 50% increase from 2013. This includes 3,454 units in new construction and 200 new units added through conversion of non-residential uses or expansion of existing structures. Some 140 units (75% decrease from 2013) were lost through demolition (95), unit mergers (20), removal of illegal units (24), and a correction to official records (1).

There was a net addition of 3,514 units to the City’s housing stock in 2014, a 79% increase from 2013’s net addition. This exceeds the 10-year average of 2,075 and represents a continuing upward trend in net unit production from the lowest production point of 2011. By the end of 2014, there were approximately 379,597 dwelling units in the city.

In 2014, 3,834 units were authorized for construction. This represents a 21% increase from 2013. New housing authorized for construction over the past five years continues to be overwhelmingly (90%) in buildings with 20 or more units. The Planning Department approved and fully entitled 57 projects in 2014. These projects propose a total of 3,756 units. New construction has been concentrated in a few specific districts of the city, mostly where there are commercial lots able to be converted to residential use and where higher density housing projects are most viable. The ability to take under-utilized commercial property sites and turn them into multi-unit or even high-rise residential projects is particularly prized. Generally speaking this describes the quadrant of San Francisco around and to the southeast of the Market Street corridor.

San Francisco New Housing Development

Credit: San Francisco Housing Inventory