San Francisco's retail vacancy dropped to 6.9% in Q2 2025, a sign the sector is recovering from pandemic lows. Union Square tells a different story: vacancy hit 23%, but rents for top spaces are climbing as major stores open and new projects arrive.
Retail is once again coming back to San Francisco, yet another sign that the city's economy is back on the right track. As of Q2 of 2025, retail vacancies fell to 6.9% citywide, an improvement from 7.1% compared to a year ago. Still a lot of work to do, obviously, but it's great to see that instead of consistent increases in vacancies like what we saw during the pandemic, the market has stabilized and is heading back in the right direction, in big part due to rising demand from all the new jobs being created and people moving back to the city. Of course, that's the citywide number and doesn't reflect what's going on in certain subsectors of the market, Union Square vacancies are still on the rise, hitting 23% in the second quarter of 2025. But interestingly, asking rents from premier spaces in Union Square are trending back up, signaling improved outlook for the space. And rightfully so, as there have been several major openings in the area and a lot more coming. Looking forward to more great things to come for Union Square and the city generally. Share this with someone who's bullish on San Francisco and follow me for more San Francisco real estate.
