SF New Construction & Population Trends Since 1940

San Francisco New Construction & Population Trends since 1940 After reading our recent reports on new development and factors behind the market, one of our clients suggested graphing out the quantity of new housing built in the city over time. Based on census figures, the resulting (very approximate) chart illustrates the decline in new-home construction in the 1980’s and 1990’s, which helped exacerbate our current housing crunch.

Another note: the housing "units" built in 1940-1950 were not only much more numerous, but were typically 2-3 bedroom houses, while since 1980, the units built have generally been 1-2 bedroom condos and apartments (which makes sense with our changing demographics - more singles and couples, fewer families - but obviously hold fewer people per unit). And now a big topic in development is building urban “micro-units” of 250 to 350 square feet.

Our chart on SF population growth follows as a counterpoint.