San Francisco apartments are getting bigger again

Data: RentCafe analysis of Yardi Matrix data. Note: Survey excludes cities where the number of units completed in one year was less than 500. Chart: Axios Visuals

San Francisco has some of the smallest apartments in the U.S., but that could be changing.

Why it matters: Roomier apartments would be welcome news for renters, who occupy 62% of households in the city.

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Driving the news: The average San Francisco apartment built in 2023 measured 756 square feet, a nearly 11% increase in size from 2014, per a recent report from rental listing website RentCafe.

• That came out to a 73-square-foot gain in floor space.
• In contrast, San José is one of the top three cities with the smallest apartments under construction, clocking in below 450 square feet.

Zoom out: The average U.S. apartment built in 2023 measured 916 square feet, a 27-square-foot rebound from the previous year.

• Apartment sizes shrank in 2022 to the smallest on average since at least 2014, according to the report.
• The downsizing came as strong rental demand spurred developers to pack more units into buildings, researchers say.

State of play: A flood of new, typically pricey apartments have been built in recent years across the nation.

• More two- and three-bedroom rentals hit the market last year, pushing up the national average size, but one-bedroom floor plans continue to dominate, RentCafe found.
• Developers are now catering to people who want more space while they postpone house purchases or spend time working from home .
• Two- and three-bedroom apartments "have been adding more floor space in the last decade, while studios and one-bedroom apartments ... have been getting more and more compact," RentCafe's report notes.

Follow the money: Rent prices in the city remain high , averaging around $3,200 per month .

• San Francisco has the second-most expensive construction costs in the world ($5,200 per square meter on average), according to a 2023 analysis from real estate consultancy Turner & Townsend .

What we're watching: Several housing projects are in the pipeline, including one that would deliver 1,000 new homes to Treasure Island.

• The state's recent determination that San Francisco failed to meet its 2023 housing permitting goals means the majority of housing projects could now be eligible for a faster approval timeline .
• Mayor London Breed is pursuing a pro-housing designation from the state that would unlock up to $150 million in affordable housing funding.
• Some elected officials are also working to remove what they call arbitrary density limits on commercial corridors, make zoning changes to increase building heights and cut red tape in the permitting process .