San Francisco rent crisis hits staggering new highs as median rent now nearly $1k more than NYC

San Francisco renters are getting squeezed harder than ever — and the city’s latest apartment prices are starting to look downright outrageous.

The median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the city hit a record $4,400 a month in September, according to a new report from real estate site Zumper.

That’s a staggering 25.4% jump from a year ago, putting San Francisco just $180 behind New York City, where the median one-bedroom costs $4,580.

San Francisco renters are getting squeezed harder than ever — and the city’s latest apartment prices are starting to look downright outrageous. Getty Images
The median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the city hit a record $4,400 a month in September, according to a new report from real estate site Zumper. Seventyfour – stock.adobe.com

But renters don’t have to look far to find listings that make the $4,400 median look almost like a bargain.

Last month, The California Post profiled a San Francisco one-bedroom asking a jaw-dropping $5,495 a month, sparking outrage from renters who questioned how such a tiny apartment could command such a massive price.

And the latest numbers show that listing was hardly an isolated case.

The median price for a two-bedroom apartment in San Francisco has now climbed to $6,340 a month — the highest in the country and nearly $900 more than the median two-bedroom in New York.

Two-bedroom rents have jumped 26.8% over the past year, with the median price blowing past $6,000 in July.

The surge is being fueled in part by a booming artificial-intelligence sector, according to Zumper, which said AI hiring is creating a wave of new demand in a city where housing supply remains tight.

People relax on a grassy hill in Alamo Square Park in San Francisco, Saturday, June 15, 2024. A row of colorful Victorian houses, known as the Painted Ladies, stand in front of modern skyscrapers including the Transamerica Pyramid and Salesforce Tower. Getty Images
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie speaks during a press conference at San Francisco City Hall. Getty Images

The rent spike is also far outpacing much of the rest of the Bay Area.

In San Jose, the median one-bedroom costs $2,890, while Oakland renters pay a median $2,100 for a one-bedroom. Those prices are also up over the past year, but nowhere near San Francisco’s 25.4% increase according to CBS.

Nationally, the median one-bedroom rent rose just 0.1% over the past year to $1,518, while the median two-bedroom increased 0.5% to $1,903.

“There really isn’t one U.S. rental market right now,” Zumper CEO Shawn Mullahy said in a statement. “The common denominator is supply: markets still absorbing the building boom are competing aggressively for renters, while markets that avoided it are tightening quickly.”

The housing crunch has become such a problem that San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie declared a “rent emergency” earlier this month, citing soaring rents and evictions that are expected to hit their highest level in a decade.

“For thousands upon thousands of San Franciscans, the most immediate pressure right now is rent,” Lurie said at a Sept. 10 briefing. “And that pressure is rising rapidly.”

Lurie has proposed measures including a 10% cap on rent increases and roughly $55 million for a legal fund to help tenants fight to remain in their homes.


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