San Francisco’s Comeback Is Real - And We’re Part of It.
San Francisco’s recovery from the pandemic isn’t just a headline - it’s a market reality. At Neighbourgood, we invest where demand meets differentiation: strong renter demand, rising rents, and an undersupplied market that rewards operators who offer convenience, flexibility, and community. For those reasons, San Francisco is a strategic market fit for our furnished, all-inclusive medium-term rental offering.
The Bay Is Back - San Francisco’s Rental Market Roared Back to Life
After a multi-year pause and decline in population and rental demand during the pandemic, San Francisco’s rental market has come back to life in a big way. Vacancy rates have tightened, and rents are rising at some of the fastest rates in the country, driven by stronger leasing velocity and renewed employee demand from tech and AI firms. Recent reporting shows one-bedroom rents jumping noticeably year-over-year as the city’s vacancy picture shrinks.
The long-run numbers also matter: regional analyses show meaningful rent growth since 2019 - an indication that the post-pandemic rebound is building on pre-existing fundamentals (limited housing supply and ongoing job concentration). For example, a HUD regional market profile notes roughly mid-teens percent rent increases in the San Francisco HMA between 2019 and 2023.
Why furnished, medium-term rentals are a high-margin opportunity
Not all demand is created equal. The growth we’re seeing is not only in lease price but in the type of demand: more people and organisations are seeking furnished, flexible stays for months rather than days or multi-year leases. This “mid-term” segment - used by relocating employees, contractors, remote professionals, traveling professionals, consultants, and digital nomads - blends the predictability of longer stays with the premium pricing of furnished, move-in-ready product. Market commentary from operators and platform analyses report a sharp uptick in mid-term requests as travellers and workers opt for stays measured in months.
From an operator's perspective, medium-term furnished rentals deliver several advantages:
Higher effective yields compared with traditional long-term unfurnished leases because tenants accept a premium for convenience and flexibility.
Lower turnover friction than short-term stays (fewer cleanings, fewer guest-onboarding tasks) while still commanding a premium over conventional leases.
Attractive unit economics for tech-driven leasing and pricing - smooth revenue, easier maintenance scheduling, and the ability to target corporate and relocations.
Neighbourgood’s playbook: product + community = resilience
We design products with two simple principles in mind:
Everything included, nothing to worry about. Tenants pay a single price for rent, utilities, fast Wi-Fi, weekly cleaning (where appropriate), furnishings, and access to workspace. That simplified experience is precisely what medium-term renters - relocating employees, consultants, remote workers - value and are willing to pay for. This drives occupancy, flexibility to cater to more types of customers, and lowers churn.
Community and experiences scale retention. We layer weekly community events, co-working access, and local partnerships into our properties. In a market where talent attraction is key, that sense of community converts one-time stays into multi-month tenancies and gives our brand differentiation in a crowded market.
Those operational choices matter in San Francisco today: demand is returning, but the market also rewards operators who can deliver convenience, speed of lead handling, move-in, and a consistent living experience. Apartment seekers tell us proximity to jobs, stable utilities and frictionless move-in now outweigh pandemic-era preferences like large home offices. That shift plays directly to Neighbourgood’s product model.
Risk-awareness - and why it still makes sense
No investment is without risk. San Francisco’s market is cyclical, construction constraints remain, and policy shifts can change the operating landscape. We underwrite conservatively: stress-testing leases, diversifying across neighborhoods, and focusing on operational efficiencies that insulate cash flow (dynamic pricing, corporate channels, partnerships with relocation firms).
But the direction of travel is clear: rents are rising from pandemic troughs; vacancy is compressing; and tenant preferences for furnished, plug-and-play medium-term housing are accelerating. For an operator that knows how to deliver reliability and community at scale, the economics are compelling.
Rentals are up, values still lag - San Francisco represents a GOOD opportunity to acquire certain asset types geared for growth.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) market profile for the San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco HMA, average asking rents fell about 8 % in 2020, rose about 7 % in 2021, then grew slowly (< 1 % annually) in 2022–23.
More recent market commentary shows a much stronger rebound: e.g., 1-bedroom median asking rents in San Francisco reached ~$3,400 in mid-2025 compared with pre-pandemic ~$3,500 (summer 2019).
Year-over-year growth has been ~10–13 % recently for 1-bedrooms and ~16 % for 2-bedrooms.
Zillow data shows that the typical home value in San Francisco County is approximately $1.24 million (Sept 2025) and is down ~0.9 % over the previous year.
An analysis from The Standard reports that San Francisco is “the only major U.S. city where it costs less to buy a home now than it did in 2019” - with a drop of ~3.7 % from November 2019 to Nov 2024.
A regional “typical home value” for the Bay Area (not SF city alone) shows ~$1.184 million in 2024, down from a peak of ~$1.286 million in 2022.
For the city itself, 2023 median sales for single-family homes were ~$1.55 million, similar to Q4 2019’s $1.51 million.
Bottom line
We believe San Francisco represents a disciplined growth opportunity for Neighbourgood because (1) demand and rents have rebounded post-pandemic, (2) there’s strong and growing preference for furnished medium-term stays from tech hires, corporate relocations and digital professionals, and (3) our product - all-inclusive, community-oriented, professionally managed units - is designed to capture premium occupancy while reducing operational friction and delivering value to the underlying asset making it a recipe for good returns across the stakeholders from tenant to property owner. .
If you’re interested in learning more about how we underwrite and operate these assets in San Francisco, We’d welcome a conversation - or follow Neighbourgood for updates as we scale our portfolio in the Bay Area.
We’re currently opening discussions with investors interested in our San Francisco portfolio — starting with 1409 Sutter Street.
Book a call to discuss investing in SF with the Neighbourgood team.
