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Is San Francisco's Big Building Boom Slowing Down?

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The city has undoubtedly seen an explosion of new construction recently, with apartment buildings and office towers popping up all over town. However, a slowdown of these big new buildings may be on the horizon. 2013 saw a dip in the number and value of permits filed for high-value projects of over $1M, according to research compiled by remodeling services marketplace BuildZoom. Both the number and value of permits filed for big projects was higher in 2011 and 2012 than in 2013.

Apartments were the building type that contributed most to the drop in number and value of large project permits between 2012 and 2012. In 2012, thirty high-value permits worth more than $405 million were filed for new apartment buildings, while in 2013 only fourteen high-value permits worth $163.7 million were filed. San Francisco's notoriously tight building regulations are a big part of the problem, according to BuildZoom. The lack of land zoned for large residential construction projects means that there aren't many places to build big new apartment buildings, and below-market-rate requirements for new buildings serve as further dissuasion to developers.
· The 40 Most Notable New Developments Currently Under Construction [SF Curbed]
· BuildZoom [Official Site]
· San Francisco Remodeling and Construction Industry 2013 Review [BuildZoom]