We’ve all noted an upward trend in places like the Mission and Bernal Heights as new buyers, spurred by the dearth of properties available in traditionally popular neighborhoods– as well as the corresponding high price tag therein– look to parts of the city that before might never have received attention. This year, per data pulled by online brokerage ZipRealty, the most popularly searched and saved homes weren’t in places like Noe or Cole Valley, but instead the Excelsior/Crocker-Amazon, Outer Mission and Bernal Heights, the Tenderloin and SoMa.









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Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Image 2 of 9 Living area and fireplace. Photos via ZipRealty. Living area and fireplace. Photos via ZipRealty. Image 3 of 9 Dining room. Photos via ZipRealty. Dining room. Photos via ZipRealty. Image 4 of 9 Kitchen and nook. Photos via ZipRealty. Kitchen and nook. Photos via ZipRealty. Image 5 of 9 Image 6 of 9 One bath. Photos via ZipRealty. One bath. Photos via ZipRealty. Image 7 of 9 Bed and hard woods! Photos via ZipRealty. Bed and hard woods! Photos via ZipRealty. Image 8 of 9 Yard. Photos via ZipRealty. Yard. Photos via ZipRealty. Image 9 of 9 New buyers, more buyers bring demand to formerly overlooked S.F. neighborhoods 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

The home above is in Crocker-Amazon in the 94112, which emerged as ZipRealty’s most popular “search and save” zipcode in 2013. It is a 3 bed/1 bath with garage and yard. At 1,638 square feet priced for $598k, that’s $365 per square, (a flat out bargain when you consider the current median price per square foot citywide is $723.11). Unfortunately, that was the list price in January of this year. Now the house lists for $737,600 after a price bump in February.

Public records show the property last sold in 1989 for $285K, then listed and de-listed in 2013 and back now, cashing in on new interest in the area.

Curious what falls in these zip codes? You might be surprised just where people want to own now in San Francisco.

Typical offerings in the top zip codes

We’ll look at a typical listing in Bernal and one in SoMa as well, rounding out examples from the top 3 most popular.









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Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Image 2 of 15 Dine in style. Photos via ZipRealty. Dine in style. Photos via ZipRealty. Image 3 of 15 Living room. Photos via ZipRealty. Living room. Photos via ZipRealty. Image 4 of 15 Kitchen. Photos via ZipRealty. Kitchen. Photos via ZipRealty. Image 5 of 15 Image 6 of 15 Office thing leading to BBQ porch. Photos via ZipRealty. Office thing leading to BBQ porch. Photos via ZipRealty. Image 7 of 15 Bedroom. Photos via ZipRealty. Bedroom. Photos via ZipRealty. Image 8 of 15 Bath. Photos via ZipRealty. Bath. Photos via ZipRealty. Image 9 of 15 Another. Photos via ZipRealty. Another. Photos via ZipRealty. Image 10 of 15 Image 11 of 15 Awesome set up. Photos via ZipRealty. Awesome set up. Photos via ZipRealty. Image 12 of 15 Bath swank. Photos via ZipRealty. Bath swank. Photos via ZipRealty. Image 13 of 15 Excellent garage. Photos via ZipRealty. Excellent garage. Photos via ZipRealty. Image 14 of 15 Patio/deck fun. Photos via ZipRealty. Patio/deck fun. Photos via ZipRealty. Image 15 of 15 New buyers, more buyers bring demand to formerly overlooked S.F. neighborhoods 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

94110

This Bernal Heights 3/2 (above), admittedly charming, offers both garage and yard. It was listed at $1,150,000 and was pending in less than 10 days. Those are some very in demand 1572 square feet on Ellsworth St..









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Image 1 of / 10 Caption Close Image 2 of 10 Living room. Photos via ZipRealty Living room. Photos via ZipRealty Image 3 of 10 More of that, looking toward kitchen. Photos via ZipRealty More of that, looking toward kitchen. Photos via ZipRealty Image 4 of 10 Kitchen. Photos via ZipRealty Kitchen. Photos via ZipRealty Image 5 of 10 Image 6 of 10 Bedroom. Photos via ZipRealty Bedroom. Photos via ZipRealty Image 7 of 10 Bath. Photos via ZipRealty Bath. Photos via ZipRealty Image 8 of 10 Roof deck. Photos via ZipRealty Roof deck. Photos via ZipRealty Image 9 of 10 And view. Photos via ZipRealty And view. Photos via ZipRealty Image 10 of 10 New buyers, more buyers bring demand to formerly overlooked S.F. neighborhoods 1 / 10 Back to Gallery

94107

Here’s a SoMa condo on Folsom that’s been through more than one boom cycle. Today, it’s a 1/1, all of 700 square feet. This lists for $650K– but throws in a roof deck and view. The listing warns of an “offer deadline of Feb. 3,” which speaks to the health of the market—at least for sellers. In 2010, it sold for $552K; took a hit and in 2011 sold for $520K. Welcome to 2014 and a list price of $650K.

Why so few “saved” homes in overall searches?

In a nutshell, it’s the low inventory more than anything else, including the much attacked “tech money” buyer, driving up prices and spreading gentrification into all corners of the city.

“The number of homes for sale in the greater Bay Area at April 15th 2012 was a little over 12,000, and by the end of 2012 that number had fallen to 5,500…a drop of 55%. Then, from the end of 2012 through the end of 2013, Bay Area for sale inventory continued to shrink…down another 20% to 4,400 at January 2014. So, from where we were in early 2012, the number of homes for sale in this part of the country has plunged 64%. That’s almost certainly impacting the number of saved homes, as there just aren’t as many homes to save. “When you couple a 50-60% decrease in the supply of homes for sale with a harder-to-measure increase in buyer demand spurred by San Francisco’s technology boom, that’s where you’ve seen the big increases in property values coming from in the past couple years here,” said Lanny Baker, CEO of ZipRealty.

Today’s buyers logged on

Before we discount search activity as not connected to buying, we should note that according to the National Association of Realtors, “93% of interested homebuyers” start their search online with companies like ZipRealty, Redfin, Trulia, Zillow, and the like.

Gentrification: unavoidable?

Certainly, this phenomenon is real. Recently we marveled at condos selling at lightning speed at Valencia and 19th in the Mission for $2M or more a piece. Bernal Heights also made news for winning real estate’s “hottest neighborhood of the year” in a nationwide study by Redfin. And while some sellers in places like Excelsior most likely welcome new attention and demand for their properties, such market action also means the last “affordable,” inclusive neighborhoods in the city are evolving to look a lot like their expensive, rarefied brethren.

See mapped areas of the zips in the gallery below:









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Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close Image 2 of 7 2nd place: 94110. Maps via Google 2nd place: 94110. Maps via Google Image 3 of 7 3rd place: 94107. Maps via Google 3rd place: 94107. Maps via Google Image 4 of 7 4th place: 94109 4th place: 94109 Image 5 of 7 Image 6 of 7 In 5th place: 94122. Maps via Google In 5th place: 94122. Maps via Google Image 7 of 7 New buyers, more buyers bring demand to formerly overlooked S.F. neighborhoods 1 / 7 Back to Gallery

Anna Marie Erwert writes from both the renter and new buyer perspective, having (finally) achieved both statuses. She focuses on national real estate trends, specializing in the San Francisco Bay Area and Pacific Northwest. Follow Anna on Twitter: @AnnaMarieErwert