This policy analysis, initially released in January 2022 and updated in October 2022, looks at the number of residential vacancies in San Francisco, reasons for vacancies, comparison to other cities, and offers policy options for addressing vacancies based on other jurisdictions. The October 2022 update provides revised estimates based on 2021 American Community Survey vacant housing data. The report finds that the City experienced a 52 percent increase in vacant units between 2019 and 2021, from 40,548 to 61,473. Vacancies in units identified as in the “For Rent” category increased 142 percent over the same period, from 7,241 to 17,514. Read the policy analysis on residential vacancies from January 2022 and the October 2022 update.
