Sweet deal? 5 San Francisco homes you can buy for under $500K

With all the talk of San Francisco’s downward spiral, home prices are still out of reach for many residents. 

Median home prices in San Francisco are down nearly 18% from last year—but at $1.3 million, that’s still double the median price for the country as a whole. Downtown condos have been a particularly tough sell since the pandemic, with prices slipping more than other types of residences.  

The Standard set out to find bargains—relatively speaking, that is—listed at under $500,000. As you can imagine, that rapidly limited the options, but there were still quite a few smaller units that fit the bill. 

As a note: None of the below properties are specifically for below-market-rate buyers, meaning anyone has a chance to snap them up.  

Listing price: $471,500

Square footage: 365

Price per square foot: $1,292

This studio condo is in Serif, a newly constructed building in the Mid-Market neighborhood. It’s no big secret that the neighborhood has faced issues in recent months, but the upside for buyers is “new, improved pricing,” according to the property’s listing. The property’s current asking price is more than $70,000 less than what the property was listed at last April.

Listing price: $495,000

Square footage: 355

Price per square foot: $1,394

This Russian Hill co-op has waterfront views and a private balcony at a listing price that has dropped more than $50,000 so far this year. The property’s listing touts the layout as “perfect for a pied-a-terre or your starter home” in the 1965 building, which contains amenities such as ground-floor parking and storage and ground-floor garden with a barbecue.

Listing price: $485,000

Square footage: 395

Price per square foot: $1,228

A top-floor studio condo in Lower Pacific Heights, located a couple blocks away from Lafayette Park, is being listed for the first time since 2012. Its amenities include an in-unit washer and dryer and a large walk-in closet​​. The property’s listing touts its “quiet location at the back of the building” as a plus.

Listing price: $479,000

Square footage: 530

Price per square foot: $904

An actual enclosed bedroom for under half a million dollars? That’s the promise of this Bernal Heights property, which has been testing the market for the past few months. When it was initially listed in 2020, it came above our $500,000 threshold but has since dropped in price. The property’s listing touts a parking space and its location within walking distance of the Alemany Farmers Market. 

Listing price: $488,000

Square footage: 423

Price per square foot: $1,154

This studio condo is right on Market Street and offers upper-floor views in a building that used to be the Grauman’s Imperial Theater. The property’s listing also shouts out its shared roof deck and in-unit laundry. Compared with its purchase price in 2019, when the property sold for $640,000, the new listing price is down more than 23%. 

Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified the property at 1000 N. Point St. #308 as a condo rather than a co-op.