Thirty-five neighborhoods. The facts before you decide.
Listing search, sun and fog by neighborhood, how school assignment actually works, the disclosure items each area carries, and the official hazard maps. Straight answers, real information, no waiting around.
Listing search35 neighborhoodsSun and fogStraight answers
Your San Francisco search runs on the licensed IDX feed. What you get from me is an advocate who gives you the straight answer and won't just try to push a sale. Let me know what properties catch your eye and I'll reach out to get any disclosures available, then set us up to tour as soon as possible if you'd like. Reach out anytime, I'm an early riser.
Search San Francisco homes
This opens the map search for the city. Listings are shown with listing brokerage credit. Start broad, then narrow by price, by how you live, or by neighborhood below.
35 neighborhoods, sorted the way people actually choose: by sun or fog, by what each is best for, and by how you want to live. Tap a card to search homes there, or read the full guide.
Climate
Best for
How you live
Sun and fog, block by block
Sun and fog by neighborhood
San Francisco is really three climates in seven miles. The further west and south you go, the foggier and cooler it gets. North and east gets the sun. Twin Peaks is the hinge: it physically blocks the marine layer, which is why the Mission and Noe Valley stay sunny while the Sunset is socked in. Sun carries a measurable premium for comparable homes, which is why the west side often gives you more house for the money.
Sun belt, east and southeast. The Mission, Bernal Heights, Potrero Hill, Noe Valley, Dogpatch, and SoMa get the most reliable sun. Warmer, brighter, and priced for it.
Fog belt, west. The Sunset and Richmond run cooler and grayer in summer, especially near Ocean Beach. The trade is more space and a lower price per foot.
Mixed, central and north. Pacific Heights, the Marina, Hayes Valley, the Castro, and Glen Park land in between, sunny or fog-cooled depending on the day's marine push.
Why it matters to you. Two similar homes a mile apart can live completely differently. I will walk a block with you at the time of day you actually use a home before you commit.
SunnyMixedFog belt
The Rules Most People Miss
Disclosures and city requirements
San Francisco has local rules that quietly change what a home costs to buy, hold, or rent out. Here are the ones that catch people, with the official source for each so you can read it yourself. I would rather you be informed than surprised.
Transfer tax is tiered, and it is steep at the top +
San Francisco charges a real property transfer tax that rises with price, from 0.5 percent at the low end up to 6 percent on sales of $25M and over. By local custom the seller usually pays it, though it is negotiable, so confirm with escrow on every deal. A proposed change could lower the top tiers in 2026, but as of now that is proposed, not law.
Source: City and County of San Francisco, sf.gov/transfer-tax
The 3R Report comes with the house +
Sellers must provide a Report of Residential Building Record, the 3R report, which documents the permit and legal-use history of the property. It is how you spot unpermitted work or a room that is not legally a bedroom. Read it carefully.
Source: SF Department of Building Inspection, sf.gov/request3r
Soft-story retrofit on older multi-unit buildings +
Wood-frame buildings with five or more units permitted before 1978 had to be seismically retrofitted under a mandatory city program. If you are buying a unit or a building like this, let's verify the retrofit was completed, because an unfinished one can land on your plate and it is an easy thing to check up front.
Source: SF mandatory soft-story program and properties map, sfgov.org/sfc/esip/soft-story
TIC versus condo is a real financial difference +
A tenancy in common, or TIC, is shared ownership of one property, often a workaround to the city's tight condo-conversion limits. TICs usually trade at a discount to comparable condos because financing is harder and ownership is shared. The condo-conversion lottery has been suspended since 2013 and not reinstated, with a limited two-unit bypass path. I will make sure you know exactly which one you are buying and what it means for your financing.
Source: SF Tenants Union and Sirkin Law conversion summaries
Rent control follows the building, not the owner +
Multi-unit buildings with a certificate of occupancy before June 13, 1979 are generally rent-controlled, which caps rent increases and limits removing tenants. That matters enormously if you are buying a building or a TIC and counting on the income or an owner move-in. Single-family homes and condos are exempt from the rent-increase cap, though just-cause eviction rules still apply.
Source: San Francisco Tenants Union, sftu.org/rent-control
Short-term rentals are tightly limited +
Only a primary residence qualifies for short-term rental, the host must register with the city, and host-absent rentals are capped at 90 nights a year. A pure investment or second home does not qualify, so if your plan leans on short-term rental income, let's confirm the property qualifies before you count on it.
Source: SF Office of Short-Term Rentals, sf.gov short-term rental guide
Your property tax resets to what you pay +
Under Prop 13 the home is reassessed to market value when you buy, then rises no more than 2 percent a year. The San Francisco secured rate is about 1.18 percent for 2025 to 2026, and you will get a one-time supplemental bill for the difference after closing. Budget for the reset, not the seller's old tax bill.
Source: SF Treasurer and Tax Collector, sftreasurer.org
Schools, Told Straight
How school assignment works
This is the single most important thing to understand, and most buyers learn it too late. San Francisco public schools use a citywide choice system, not pure address-based assignment. Buying near a particular school does not guarantee your child a seat there. There is a tiebreaker preference for your attendance-area school, but it is a preference, not a promise.
A label like safe or risky is not useful. The right move is to look up the actual address against the official sources. These are the ones I use, free and public. Bring me an address and we will read them together.
Send me the basics and I will come back with a straight read: the right neighborhoods for your life and budget and what is actually on the market. Your note goes straight to my phone and I reply personally, ASAP.
Got it, your note is on my phone
I read these myself and reply ASAP, usually the way you asked me to reach you. If it is urgent, text or call 707-89-FRESH right now.
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Matthew Smith, your advocate
Straight answers, real information, no waiting around. I would rather you be informed than surprised. Call or text anytime at 707-89-FRESH or email [email protected].
We do business in accordance with the Federal Fair Housing Act and California fair housing laws, and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income, disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, or any other class protected by law.
We do business in accordance with the Federal Fair Housing Act and California fair housing laws, and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income, disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, or any other class protected by law.
We do business in accordance with the Federal Fair Housing Act and California fair housing laws, and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income, disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, or any other class protected by law.
Matthew Smith, California DRE #02184215. Luxe Places International Realty, DRE #01522223. Responsible Broker: Dennis Liebl, DRE #01211348. 707-893-7374. Equal Housing Opportunity. We do business in accordance with the Federal Fair Housing Act and California fair housing laws, and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income, disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, or any other class protected by law.
We do business in accordance with the Federal Fair Housing Act and California fair housing laws, and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income, disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, or any other class protected by law.
We do business in accordance with the Federal Fair Housing Act and California fair housing laws, and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income, disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, or any other class protected by law.
We do business in accordance with the Federal Fair Housing Act and California fair housing laws, and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income, disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, or any other class protected by law.
We do business in accordance with the Federal Fair Housing Act and California fair housing laws, and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income, disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, or any other class protected by law.