Amenity-stuffed new condo apartments in this California city are being discounted by up to 25% as developers struggle to sell them

Luxury apartments in San Francisco are being discounted by up to 25 percent as developers struggling to sell them.

Despite their top-notch amenities and luxury finishes, studios once listed for $500,000 are currently selling for closer to $350,000.

An exodus from the city center, partly due to the increase crimetogether with skyrocketing mortgage rates, has led to prices being cut across the board.

“Sellers may not have the space or motivation to lower their price,” broker Kaufman said SF standard. ‘But a developer does. They want the building to be sold out as quickly as possible so they can get out.”

In the 242-unit Serif building, developers group I are advertising heavy discounts on their properties.

San Francisco luxury condos, like those offered at the Serif (pictured), are being marked down by up to 25 percent as developers struggle to sell them

Despite their top-notch amenities and luxury finishes, studios once listed for $500,000 are currently selling for closer to $350,000

An exodus from the inner city, partly due to rising crime, combined with skyrocketing mortgage rates, has led to prices being slashed across the board. Pictured: A homeless camp in the city in April 2024

The glossy studio to two-bedroom homes offer access to a rooftop terrace, gym, parking and even a pet spa.

Initially marketed from $500,000, a 300-square-foot studio currently sells for $360,000.

Meanwhile, a two-bedroom, two-bath home is available for $950,000, $50,000 less than the average price for an apartment in San Francisco according to Compass data.

But despite the savings, the building is still only 50 percent occupied four years after opening.

The statistics are surprising given San Francisco’s chronic shortage of affordable housing.

But since the project was initially designed to accommodate the influx of technology workers, an unprecedented vacancy crisis in the area has hampered sales.

The Bay Area is the global capital of the tech industry, with many employees still working from home, leaving offices in downtown San Francisco vacant and nearby apartment complexes less attractive than they once were.

According to official data, nearly a third of offices in the city of Golden Gate were vacant in March this year.

Governor Gavin Newsom previously attributed this to “macroeconomic” forces arising from the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the 242-unit Serif building, developers group I are advertising heavy discounts on their properties

The glossy studio to two-bedroom apartments offer access to a rooftop terrace, gym, parking and even a pet spa

However, critics have also pointed to a mass exodus of several retailers amid unsustainable crime rates.

Recently, Lloyd Chapman of the American Small Business League visited the city’s once-thriving Union Square area, in the heart of the shopping district, and filmed the hollowed-out scene.

The prime real estate was once home to stores including Uniqlo, H&M, Rasputin Records and Lush, but they have all disappeared during the crime, drugs and homelessness crisis.

The entire Union Square neighborhood now has a record vacancy rate of 20.6 percent, pushing the city’s overall retail vacancy rate to a new high of 7.9 percent, according to a Cushman and Wakefield study last month.

Although crime in San Francisco fell in the first quarter of the year, it still remains much higher than the state average.

When it first opened in 2021, another luxury complex at 588 Minna Street was plagued by negative reviews due to its proximity to the corner of 7th and Market streets.

The piece was branded as the ‘most troubled corner’ of San Francisco and was the site of 20 percent of the city’s drug crime last year.

The complex, known as OneEleven, houses 39 units, at least half of which are currently vacant.

The 39-unit OneEleven complex is half empty and has been besieged by negative reviews due to its proximity to one of San Francisco’s most notoriously dangerous streets

The corner of 7th and Market Street (pictured) was branded as San Francisco’s “most troubled corner” and was the site of 20 percent of the city’s drug crime by 2023

A seller who bought a one-bedroom home for $475,000 in 2023 bought the property for nearly nine percent less than it was initially listed for, according to Zillow data.

But just a year later, the same property is back on the market for the price it was purchased for.

In recent months, however, the building’s fortunes have improved thanks to a wave of new hotel openings in the area.

However, there is hope for a revival for the downtown area, which investors are looking forward to buy vacant properties at bargain prices.

Real estate investor Cyrus Sanandaji, the founder of Presidio Bay Ventures, is confident the area is ready to take off again.

He put up $41 million of his company’s money to buy an office building at 60 Spear Street San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The seller, Clarion Partners, paid $107 million for it in 2014.

Just a month ago, another company, SKS Investments, bought 350 California St. for 75 percent less than what the seller wanted for it in 2020.