The production of new housing in San Francisco in 2014 reached its highest level in more than 20 years, according to the 2014 San Francisco Housing Inventory report released by SF Planning. There was a net addition of 3,514 units during 2014, a figure that was up 79 percent from 2013 and well above the 10-year average of 2,075 new units per year. The amount of housing produced was also in stark contrast to the lows of several years ago, when the city was still recovering from the housing bust and recession. In 2011, at the absolute lowest point, there was a net addition of just 269 new units to the city. San Francisco's total number of housing units now sits at approximately 379,597.
The building boom looks set to continue, with 3,384 units authorized by Planning during 2014 for construction. That number was up 21 percent from 2013. That new construction is primarily in buildings with 20 or more units, with 90 percent of the new housing approved by Planning over the past five years in a building of that size. New housing is also overwhelmingly located in areas like SoMa, which had 1,193 new units completed last year, and Mission Bay, where 800 new units were constructed during 2014.
Of the units that were completed in 2014, 757 were below market rate. That was just a 6 percent increase over the amount of BMR housing built in 2013.
Despite all the building activity, the city's housing production far from meets demand. Between 2007 and 2014 San Francisco only permitted 53 percent of the units needed to keep pace with population growth, according to goals set by the Regional Housing Need Allocation.
· 2014 Housing Inventory [SF Planning]