Here It Comes: San Francisco’s AI Deed Rush

San Francisco, California, now has the priciest housing market anywhere in the United States. Plenty of San Francisco homes now fetch $2 million—and higher. (The national median is about $450K.)

Sale prices in San Francisco are up 14% in just one year. Condos are up 27% year-over-year, with the typical unit going for well over a million dollars.

The salary it takes to afford a typical San Francisco home? It’s a whopping $291K.

Back to California: AI Billionaires Are Reshaping the City and the State

From 2022 to 2023, San Francisco experienced a lull. Property values slumped. People were moving to Austin.

AI just came in and recharged the market. Employees of major artificial intelligence and robotics firms, led by Anthropic and OpenAI, are descending upon San Francisco in droves. Both of the leading companies have their headquarters here. Both companies are anticipating blockbuster public offerings on the stock market. Meanwhile, SpaceX, with its record-setting Wall Street debut last month, is attracting employees to L.A.

California is back.

And who hasn’t heard about the tidal waves of funding for AI-focused companies? So much of the new California housing boom is built on classic FOMO—fear of missing out. Prices might be sky-high now, but market watchers assume they’ll rise even more after Anthropic and OpenAI stock hit Wall Street and starts filling up investment accounts. So the mentality is: Why wait until tomorrow if you can get a deed in San Francisco today?

While the flow of tech wealth is expected to continue, the homes are in limited supply. This, too, suggests that prices will keep surging.

Already, people who could afford any market in the nation are frustrated at the limits to what they can purchase in San Francisco. A house with ample space is available only to the super-rich in many of the city’s key markets.  

To Afford San Francisco, Must a Buyer Have a $200K Salary?

A typical San Francisco resident now makes around $200K. That’s more than double California’s norm. In other words, San Francisco is the most expensive U.S. city to live in, even by California’s standards.

Many professionals with six-figure incomes are seeking affordable housing. They simply can’t cope with the cost of living in San Francisco in general.

Is there any way to ease the pressure?

San Francisco has long been slow to build new housing. The big hurdle? Zoning. Single-family zoning has long restricted the pace of building new homes.

Granted, the processing time for new housing permits has been ratcheted down. And now the mayor and council are working to boost transit options, while reining in costs through new zoning plans. Mayor Daniel Lurie has signed a zoning reform bill into law. It’s meant to allow for new homes by building up. So, condos and apartment buildings are growing taller.

And remember, California reformed its law on accessory dwelling units, effective this year. It’s now much simpler to get a permit to add an extra unit to a primary home, and permits can be issued in 15 days. Hot properties are ones that have ADUs already, or lend themselves to garage conversions or small guest homes. This way, a buyer can also have a renter on the property to help make housing costs work. The projected rental income, in other words, can help a buyer get approved for a bigger mortgage loan. Check Fannie Mae, which changed its guidelines, effective this year. Projected earnings from an accessory unit can strengthen borrower eligibility.

Business Insider Offers Some Alternative San Francisco Housing Ideas—and They Make Sense.

Are regular folks able to buy in San Francisco? New reporting by Business Insider says yes. But expect to compete with all-cash offers. And think about creative ways to break into the market.

First-time buyers have possible assistance routes, subject to availability:

• Buyers in San Francisco are finding down payment assistance with CalHFA-approved lenders.

• Buyers are pointed to CalHFA conventional loans as well as the popular FHA loans. Don’t overlook CalHFA Dream For All, or matching grants from FHLBank San Francisco.

• Middle-Income Downpayment Assistance is also available from FHLBank San Francisco.

• Wells Fargo has options for first-time buyers. Bay Area buyers can get up to $15K in down payment and closing cost discounts.  

Business Insider also recommends JVM Lending’s Neighborhood Saver Mortgage, for its lender credits in specified areas of San Francisco and the surrounding area. Perhaps the Neighborhood Saver Mortgage will make a comeback, but when we checked on July 1, 2026, it had been discontinued. The main point still stands. Hopeful buyers should seek out lenders who can connect loan applicants with assistance and discounts. They exist. Even in the Bay Area.

And Don’t Forget About the Tenants in Common Strategy—A New Normal in the Bay Area.

Co-living is big in San Francisco. This year, the city adopted a new law to relax the restrictions on the number of unrelated people who can live in existing homes.  

Co-buying as tenants in common, multiple buyers can invest in a home together. This is not “joint” ownership; there are no rights of survivorship. The owners can sell their portion of ownership without the others’ permission. They form agreements on how they will handle co-ownership, and each person’s deed declares the percentage owned.

Tenancies in common are very popular. The properties involved are more affordable than similarly sized condos. Look for lenders with experience handling them. Also, check the San Francisco Community Land Trust for co-op ideas.

Don’t forget to sit down with your tax adviser to plan out your strategy. And never enter into a co-buying arrangement without a written legal agreement that clearly divides the responsibilities of ownership.

Companies are being founded to help co-buyers enter into agreements as tenants in common. In today’s housing market, they provide a crucial service.

Thinking Long-Term: Is the San Francisco AI Housing Boom Actually Sustainable?

San Francisco has experienced tech-led booms before. They’re followed by cooling-off periods. And then, the next big thing happens.

Although we’re in the early days of AI, who can say how long this boom will last? Some analysts say AI hype has yet to prove itself. Companies are pouring money into data infrastructure, with the hope that eventual earnings will make all these investments worthwhile.

All this means “hacking” into the market with one of the above-described ideas could be a smart, risk-aware move. Those who enter into co-ownership agreements, condos, or ADU-ready properties could be the ones with the most sustainable strategy over time.