San Francisco built only 1,200 housing units in 2024, a 12-year low, down from 2,400 in 2023 and 4,500-5,200 annually from 2016 to 2021. The city needs 82,000 units by 2031 but won't hit that target at current pace. High construction costs and rising interest rates are the main culprits.
San Francisco's housing production has reached a 12-year low with only about 1,200 new units in 2024, a significant decline from previous years. In 2023, there was more than double that, and in 2016 to 2021, there was between 4,500 and 5,200 new units a year. At these rates, no way SF is meeting its state-mandated 82,000 new units by 2031. In good news though, there are about 5,000 new units under construction right now, about half of which are affordable units, and there's a lot more coming from huge developments across the city like Treasure Island Yerba Buena Island, Candlestick, Mission Rock, Pier 70, Potrero Power, Stonestown. The city has been experimenting with enhanced infrastructure financing districts and legislative and regulatory changes to help kickstart production. But what's really causing this slowdown is high costs, higher construction costs, higher interest rates. Construction costs aren't going down, so we really need lower interest rates to help. Let me know in the comments what you think needs to change.
