S
an Francisco's real estate market is showing signs of a rebound, with office buildings filling up and rents ticking higher. Large investors are taking notice, lining up to buy multifamily properties in the city.

    Following years of emptying office buildings and vacated storefronts, San Francisco is buzzing again due to return-to-office mandates at major companies like Amazon and Google. This has created a buying opportunity for apartment building owners and investors.

    Tom Shapiro, president and founder of GTIS, predicts rents will grow between 4% and 6% this year and next, while property values have declined 30-50% from pre-pandemic highs. Asking rents in San Francisco were about $3,500 a month in early 2020 but fell to $2,750 by the end of that year due to pandemic-related dislocation.

    Shapiro is competing with three other bidders for a nearly $100 million apartment property in the city and notes growing competition in the space. Dealmaking is back, with over $363 million worth of individual multifamily real estate assets sold in San Francisco in the first quarter of 2025, triple the dollar volume from the same period last year.

    Eli Edwards, US head of real estate equity investments at Fortress Investment Group, has acquired 13 rental buildings in San Francisco and is under contract to acquire two more. He believes negative perceptions about the city were overblown and that much of the homelessness and disorder was focused in a few areas.

    New inventory is scarce, with only 1,597 units added in 2024, 56% below the yearly average over the last decade. This imbalance will likely drive up rents further, making San Francisco an attractive investment opportunity for those who believe in its long-term potential.