Most people cannot equate the words “affordable housing” and “San Francisco” in the same sentence. San Francisco is easily one of the most expensive cities in the country with regard to housing, second only to New York City. While all of San Francisco is wildly expensive compared to the rest of the country, there are neighborhoods of (relative) affordability within the city.
When looking at property in San Francisco, it is necessary to think about fault lines. The San Andreas Fault traverses the entire length of the city. In addition, some parts of San Francisco lie on what is considered “made” land, usually land filled areas on the northern and eastern side where the debris of previous earthquakes was pushed into the San Francisco Bay. If you look at maps of the city from the beginning of the 20th century and compare them to current maps, you’ll see that the city has grown in acreage since the 1906 earthquake. Homes in these areas are more likely to fail in a subsequent earthquake due to liquefaction. In other words, stay away from these areas of town!
On my last trip there in January, my son and I toured several homes with a thought of entering the foreclosure market. Having lived there for three years, he’s rather fond of where his shared rental is located in the Sunset District. This area is at the far west side of San Francisco, with Golden Gate Park to the north and the ocean to the west. This area of town is often ten degrees cooler than the downtown area, simply because it’s where the fog first rolls in and last burns off. The Sunset is filled with non-descript box-style housing, much of which is not detached. (A detached home or one that has walls that are not part of the next house is quite desirable in the City.) The Sunset District is a hard-working, “blue collar” neighborhood. The area has a high Asian population, and this is reflected in the many Chinese, Japanese and Thai restaurants in the area. There is easy access to the downtown area by MUNI subway trains and by bus. The proximity to Golden Gate Park and Ocean Beach make this a very desirable location for a lot of residents.
The Sunset District is west of the fault line and seems to be a stable housing area.
While filled with basic box housing, it’s not cheap to live here. Most three-bedroom homes have starting selling prices at $750,000. Compared to a similarly sized house in the Midwest, this would appear to be an astronomical price point. To rent a similar sized home in the Sunset is around $3,000.
We were introduced to another affordable area of town, and that would be Bayview. Bayview is located on the Bay side of town, east of Highway 101 and south of I-280. Bayview is marked by rolling hills and very narrow streets. We were warned in advance that this was not the garden spot of San Francisco, but hey, we’re from Detroit and to be honest, the neighborhood didn’t look all that bad. Like the rest of San Francisco, Bayview is connected to the downtown and beyond by a great subway and bus system. Its close proximity to major freeways makes this a fine area if you’re looking for an easy commute to points south.
Visitacion Valley is another affordable area in San Francisco, and it is probably considered a step up from Bayview. Visitacion Valley is west of Bayview (west of Highway 101), and there are many cute homes of varying ages on winding narrow streets. The downside is that there aren’t many properties with stunning views of the Bay or ocean, but like the rest of the City, you can be transported there quickly using public transportation.
Bayview was constructed on “land filled” ground, which is probably why house values are lower in this area.
Homes in the Bayview/Visitacion Valley area can be found for around $500,000 for purchase, and around $2,200 a month rental.
