{"id":7584,"date":"2026-07-03T22:48:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T02:48:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/?p=7584"},"modified":"2026-07-03T22:48:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T02:48:36","slug":"here-it-comes-san-franciscos-ai-deed-rush","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deeds.com\/articles\/here-it-comes-san-franciscos-ai-deed-rush\/","title":{"rendered":"Here It Comes: San Francisco\u2019s AI Deed Rush"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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San Francisco, California<\/a>, now has the priciest housing market anywhere in the United States. Plenty of San Francisco homes now fetch $2 million\u2014and higher. (The national median is about $450K.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The salary it takes to afford a typical San Francisco home? It\u2019s a whopping $291K.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Back to California: AI Billionaires Are Reshaping the City and the State<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

From 2022 to 2023, San Francisco experienced a lull. Property values slumped. People were moving to Austin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California is back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And who hasn\u2019t heard about the tidal waves of funding for AI-focused companies? So much of the new California housing boom is built on classic FOMO\u2014fear of missing out. Prices might be sky-high now, but market watchers assume they\u2019ll 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?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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\u2019s key markets.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To Afford San Francisco, Must a Buyer Have a $200K Salary?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A typical San Francisco resident now makes around $200K. That\u2019s more than double California\u2019s norm. In other words, San Francisco is the most expensive U.S. city to live in, even by California\u2019s standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many professionals with six-figure incomes are seeking affordable housing. They simply can\u2019t cope with the cost of living in San Francisco in general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is there any way to ease the pressure?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s meant to allow for new homes by building up. So, condos and apartment buildings are growing taller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And remember, California reformed its law on accessory dwelling units, effective this year. It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Business Insider<\/em> Offers Some Alternative San Francisco Housing Ideas\u2014and They Make Sense.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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

First-time buyers have possible assistance routes, subject to availability:<\/p>\n\n\n\n