San Francisco guide · Tier A · Rank #10 of 27
House hacking in San Francisco (Western Addition / Fillmore / Japantown).
A $2B mega-redevelopment on the Geary corridor (long-horizon) with a two-hospital employment cluster: strong on paper, but the flagship is entitlement-stage and 7+ years from build-out.
Status check: Verified 2026-07-14: Freedom West 2.0 cleared a major EIR hurdle in Feb 2026; construction could begin late 2026 pending approvals.
What's actually happening in 94115
- Entitlement-stage
Freedom West 2.0, ~$2B (figures WARN, WebSearch-only): 382 co-op units become ~2,200–2,291 new units plus retail and a hotel across 10 acres and 4 blocks; environmental review cleared Feb 2026, possible approval summer 2026, on a 7+ year build-out. SF Planning Freedom West
- Funded; starts late 2026
Geary Boulevard Improvement Project Phase 2: construction starts late 2026 (west of the ZIP). SFMTA Geary Boulevard Improvement Project
- Existing anchors
CPMC Van Ness (~0.6 miles) and Kaiser SF (on Geary at the north edge): two hospital employment anchors within an easy bus ride; CPMC runs 292 beds, ~$1.42B net patient revenue, and $48.2M of active construction. CA HCAI CPMC Van Ness facility record
The numbers
- Median price
- ~$1,384,000 (Zillow, spring 2026)
- Market rent
- ~$4,500/mo (Zumper)
- Property tax (San Francisco County)
- 1.183% combined effective (SF Treasurer FY2025-26, consolidated city and county); new buyers pay about 1.183% of purchase price in year one, then assessed value rises at the 2%/yr Prop 13 cap until resale
- Per-bed rent band
- $1,500–2,000/mo per room
- ADU rent band
- $2,800–3,500/mo (ADU or in-law)
- Whole-home rent band
- $5,500–7,000/mo whole-home
- Underwriting vacancy
- 3.0–3.5% underwriting vacancy
- Appreciation scenarios
- 3 / 4 / 6–7 %/yr (conservative / base / upside)
Fillmore and the Western Addition carry deep small-multi stock. Appreciation basis: Hospital-cluster stability carries the base; upside on a Freedom West 2.0 approval and build (long-horizon, WARN). Rent bands are city-level medians; confirm the specific parcel before trusting any of them. Run your own scenario in the calculator.
The house-hack angle
Western Addition Victorian and Edwardian flats (2–4 units) with strong separability, renting to hospital workers and young professionals on the 38/38R Geary trunk. FZP raises RH heights 40→50/65 ft and commercial 65→85 ft on candidate Fillmore and Geary corridors (parcel reach WARN).
What breaks it
- The Freedom West $2B and 2,291-unit figures are WebSearch-only (WARN), entitlement-stage, on a 7+ year horizon: no near-term capital delivery
- Rent-control exposure on older multi-unit stock
- The Japantown SUD and JCHESS protect the cultural core (stability without new supply), and transit is all-bus