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Think Long-Term: Best Performing San Francisco Real Estate Investments

This past week, 2470 Broadway in Pacific Heights came on the market in San Francisco with a $6,995,000 list price. Purchased by the current owner in 1976 for $176,000, this price represents a nearly 10% average annual appreciation. It’s a story not dissimilar to that of the former Alioto mansion at 2898 Vallejo, purchased in 1973 for $225,000 and sold in 2013 for $11,700,000. These long-term real estate holdings with appreciation rates well above the San Francisco average left me wondering: Which neighborhood (and what property type therein) is the best long-term investment, historically?

Comparing neighborhood median sales price data for single-family homes and condos/co-ops/TICs, respectively, from 1993 (the earliest available data from the San Francisco MLS) to 2015 YTD medians and calculating the average annual appreciation from January 1, 1993 to September 25, 2015 revealed some surprising findings. North Panhandle (11.03%), Hayes Valley (10.94%), Inner Mission (10.31%), Haight Ashbury (10.05%) and Buena Vista / Ashbury Heights (9.81%) represent the five top-performing single-family home markets in San Francisco during that period. With regard to condos/co-ops/TICs, Downtown (10.19%), Haight Ashbury (9.67%), Anza Vista (9.29%), Inner Mission (8.87%) and Mission Dolores (8.87) compose the five top-performing markets since 1993.

It’s been said that San Francisco real estate is a better investment than the stock market. With nearly half the markets analyzed having average annual appreciation above 7% — the assumed long-term average annual return of a diversified stock portfolio — it appears to be true! Check out this CNN Money calculator and see how your home’s appreciation compares, and click below for neighborhood data.

Central Richmond, Inner Richmond, Jordan Park / Laurel Heights, Lake Street, Outer Richmond, Seacliff, Lone Mountain


Golden Gate Heights, Outer Parkside, Outer Sunset, Parkside, Central Sunset, Inner Sunset, Inner Parkside


Lake Shore, Merced Heights, Pine Lake Park, Stonestown, Lakeside, Merced Manor, Ingleside Heights, Ingleside, Oceanview


Balboa Terrace, Diamond Heights, Forest Hill, Forest Knolls, Ingleside Terrace, Midtown Terrace, St. Francis Wood, Miraloma Park, Forest Hill Extension, Sherwood Forest, Monterey Heights, Mount Davidson Manor, Westwood Highlands, Westwood Park, Sunnyside, West Portal


Balboa Terrace, Diamond Heights, Forest Hill, Forest Knolls, Ingleside Terrace, Midtown Terrace, St. Francis Wood, Miraloma Park, Forest Hill Extension, Sherwood Forest, Monterey Heights, Mount Davidson Manor, Westwood Highlands, Westwood Park, Sunnyside, West Portal


Anza Vista, Hayes Valley, Lower Pacific Heights, Western Addition, Alamo Square, North Panhandle


Marina, Pacific Heights, Presidio Heights, Cow Hollow


Downtown, Financial District / Barbary Coast, Nob Hill, North Beach, Russian Hill, Van Ness / Civic Center, Telegraph Hill, North Waterfront, Tenderloin


Bernal Heights, Inner Mission, Mission Bay, Potrero Hill, South of Market, Yerba Buena, South Beach, Central Waterfront / Dogpatch


Bayview, Crocker Amazon, Excelsior, Outer Mission, Visitacion Valley, Portola, Silver Terrace, Mission Terrace, Hunters Point, Bayview Heights, Candlestick Point, Little Hollywood


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Meredith Martin is a Broker Associate at Paragon Real Estate Group and can be reached atMeredith@luxsfre.com