San Francisco’s current Zillow ZHVI is $1,395,852, while Zillow ZORI is $4,401 a month. Annualized observed market rent against typical value yields 3.8% before operating costs, vacancy, financing and tax. ZHVI is 9.9x ACS median household income, and annual ZORI is 37.5% of that income. These citywide screens show a high acquisition basis and limited pre-expense yield, not a property result.
The ACS counts 414,602 city housing units. Renters occupy 61.8% of occupied units, and 12.2% of all units are vacant. Single-family homes are 30.4% of stock and large multifamily units are 30.8%; the median structure year is 1946. ACS occupied-housing surveys report a $1,394,500 median home value and $2,476 median gross rent, including contract rent plus selected utilities. These differ in concept and period from Zillow’s typical value and observed market rent, and should not be averaged.
Among city renter households, 39.6% meet the ACS rent-burden threshold. Among vacant city units, 32.1% are classified for rent, but that survey share is neither immediately available inventory nor proof of rapid lease-up. Population was 5.1% lower across the overlapping ACS five-year vintages; the change is not annualized and may reflect boundary changes. Median household income is $140,970, while poverty is 11.2% and unemployment is 6.1%. These demand constraints and stock measures cannot reveal building condition, tenant profile, legal status, achievable rent or turnover.
In San Francisco County, Realtor context shows a 57-day median market time and 5.8% of active listings with price reductions; this informs sale liquidity, not city-property appraisal. In San Francisco County, the reported property-tax rate is 0.707%, a baseline rather than a parcel bill. In the broader San Francisco metro, jobs grew 0.09% over the supplied annual comparison and permits totaled 7,708 in the supplied year-to-date period; neither is city-specific. The national Freddie Mac thirty-year mortgage rate is 6.58%, not a borrower quote.
The central limitation is that the headline yield combines citywide Zillow series and excludes expenses, while ACS context is survey-based and not property inventory. Before underwriting, verify the address-level purchase price, leases, permitted use, rent restrictions, unit condition and achievable rent. Obtain parcel taxes, insurance terms and climate exclusions, utility, management, maintenance, capital-work, association and closing costs; then test vacancy, concessions, financing and exit assumptions against property-specific evidence.