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Inner Richmond, San Francisco: Homes, Streets & Real Estate Guide

By Matthew Martinez, Founder, CEO & Managing Broker, Diamond Real Estate Group. California DRE #01869679.

The Inner Richmond is the eastern end of San Francisco’s Richmond District, running from Arguello Boulevard west to Park Presidio Boulevard and from California Street south to Fulton Street and Golden Gate Park. It is the oldest part of the Richmond: most of its houses and two-unit flats were built between about 1900 and 1920, and Clement Street and Geary Boulevard are its main shopping streets. In the San Francisco MLS it is neighborhood 1B of SF District 1.

This guide covers where the neighborhood’s lines fall, what the building stock looks like in the Assessor’s records, how the blocks are zoned after the 2026 rezoning, how people get around, and what buyers and sellers of older Inner Richmond flats should have in hand. Current prices and sales are in the market report on this page.

Inner Richmond homes for sale

Inner Richmond market report

Where the Inner Richmond begins and ends

The usual lines are California Street on the north, Arguello Boulevard on the east, Fulton Street on the south and Park Presidio Boulevard on the west. North of California Street is the Lake Street neighborhood, which runs up to the Presidio. Across Arguello to the east are Jordan Park and Laurel Heights, and southeast is Lone Mountain. West of Park Presidio the avenues continue as the Central Richmond.

The street names carry some history. The old D Street became Fulton, and the lettered streets beyond it disappeared when Golden Gate Park was laid out. In 1909 the city renamed the district’s east-west streets, along with First Avenue, which became Arguello Boulevard. What would be 13th Avenue is Funston Avenue, named for Frederick Funston, which is why the numbered avenues here run 2nd through 12th and then 14th onward.

The ground is gentle by San Francisco standards. The blocks rise slightly toward the Presidio on the north, and the long, regular grid of avenues makes it easy to compare one block with the next.

The housing stock: Edwardian flats and houses

These figures are our counts of parcels in the Assessor’s neighborhood 1B on the 2025 closed roll, published on DataSF; each condo unit is its own parcel and an apartment building is one parcel whatever its size. The roll counts about 1,050 single-family dwelling parcels and almost as many flat and duplex parcels (about 1,000) in the Inner Richmond. Add about 290 small apartment buildings of four units or fewer, about 240 buildings of 5 to 14 units, 26 of 15 units or more, and about 600 condominium parcels. Roughly 150 more parcels combine flats with a ground-floor store, mostly on the commercial streets.

The age profile is what sets the Inner Richmond apart from the rest of the district. In the roll, about 20% of single-family parcels carry a build date before 1906 (a number of them show the round year 1900, which in old records can be an estimate) and about 62% were built from 1906 through 1919; for flats and duplexes the figures are about 21% and 53%. That puts most buildings in the Edwardian era, with a share of earlier Victorian-era houses, and relatively little from the 1920s onward.

Assessor class (2025 roll)	Inner Richmond parcels	What it usually means here
Dwelling (single-family)	about 1,050	Row houses and detached houses
Flats & duplex	about 1,000	Two-unit buildings, often one flat per floor over a garage
Apartment, 4 units or less	about 290	Three- and four-unit buildings
Apartment, 5 to 14 units	about 240	Apartment buildings; check soft-story status
Condominium	about 600	Units in converted flats and in newer buildings; each unit is its own parcel

For single-family dwellings, the median lot in the roll is about 3,000 square feet and the median recorded building area is about 2,150 square feet. Build dates in old records can be approximate, so confirm a building’s age and alterations with the permit history rather than the tax bill. Diamond’s guide to Victorian and Edwardian homes in San Francisco covers what to inspect in buildings of this age.

Clement Street, Geary Boulevard and the park edge

Clement Street and Geary Boulevard form the Inner Richmond’s commercial core. The blocks around Geary and Clement are known for Chinese, Thai, Korean, Burmese and Russian restaurants, with bakeries, produce markets and other small shops on the same streets. Clement is the smaller-scale street; Geary is a wide arterial and the route of the 38 and 38R buses.

Fulton Street, on the south edge, faces Golden Gate Park for the whole length of the neighborhood, so homes on the southern blocks are a short walk from the park. The Presidio and Mountain Lake Park lie to the north, beyond the Lake Street blocks. The Richmond/Senator Milton Marks Branch of the San Francisco Public Library serves the district.

Zoning and what can be built

In the Assessor’s roll, the most common zoning on Inner Richmond parcels is RH-2 (two-unit residential), followed by RM-1 (low-density mixed residential), with smaller areas of RH-1, RH-3 and RM-2. Commercial parcels on Clement are coded to the Inner Clement Street Neighborhood Commercial District, and much of Geary carries NC-3. Condominium units each count as a parcel, so these counts overstate the multi-unit zones a little.

The Family Zoning Plan changed the picture. The Board of Supervisors adopted it on December 9, 2025, and it took effect on January 12, 2026. It allows mid-rise buildings of six to eight stories, and taller buildings at some major intersections, on major transit and commercial streets, and removes density limits within existing height limits in many residential areas. Planning’s illustrative designs include a building on Geary Boulevard at 3rd Avenue.

The Assessor’s zoning field can lag behind map changes, so check a specific parcel on Planning’s adopted interactive map before relying on its zoning. For owners of corner lots, larger sites or buildings on Geary, that check matters for value; for most mid-block flats it affects what a future owner could add, not what you are buying today.

Getting around

Geary Boulevard: the 38 Geary and the 38R Geary Rapid (until about 7 p.m.) run to downtown and the Salesforce Transit Center.
California Street: the 1 California runs to the Financial District; the 28R 19th Avenue Rapid and the 44 O’Shaughnessy both start at California and 6th Avenue.
Clement Street: the 2 Clement, which ran downtown from Clement and 14th Avenue, is listed as suspended in published route lists; the 1 on California and the 38 on Geary are each a block away.
Fulton and Balboa: the 5 Fulton, 5R Fulton Rapid and 31 Balboa run east-west; on weekday daytimes the 5 turns back at Fulton and 6th Avenue while the 5R continues to the beach.
Arguello and Park Presidio: some evening 33 Ashbury/18th Street trips end at Arguello and California, and the 28 19th Avenue, which runs between Fisherman’s Wharf and Daly City BART, serves the Park Presidio corridor.

There is no Muni Metro or BART station in the Richmond; riders transfer downtown or take a bus across the park to the N Judah. By car, Park Presidio Boulevard (State Route 1) leads north through the Presidio toward the Golden Gate Bridge.

Rules that matter for older Inner Richmond buildings

Because most Inner Richmond flats and apartment buildings were first occupied before June 13, 1979, their rented units usually fall under the Rent Ordinance’s increase limits as well as its just-cause eviction rules. Houses and condos are treated differently under the state’s Costa-Hawkins Act, so the answer for a single-family rental is not the same as for the flat next door.

The neighborhood’s roughly 240 buildings of 5 to 14 units, and its 26 larger ones, are the ones to check against the Department of Building Inspection’s soft-story list; ask for the retrofit permit and final sign-off. The 3R report, water and energy inspections, transfer tax and disclosures that apply to every San Francisco sale are covered on our San Francisco seller requirements page.

Ownership questions specific to two-unit buildings are covered in our guides to tenancy-in-common ownership and San Francisco condos.

Hazards and utilities

The Richmond was built over sand dunes, and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake showed how much ground conditions matter in San Francisco. The state has mapped liquefaction and landslide zones in parts of the city, and sellers must disclose them on the Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement. Check the state zones, the city’s 100-year storm flood risk map and the parcel’s permit history before you write an offer; our San Francisco hazard maps guide explains where to look.

Water and sewer service come from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. The owner is responsible for maintaining the building’s sewer lateral. SFPUC asks plumbers to report suspected structural problems in the lower lateral through 311 and says that, in most circumstances, it will make a needed lower-lateral repair at no cost, so a camera inspection is worth ordering on a century-old building. In two-unit buildings, also ask how gas and electric meters, water heaters and laundry are split between the units.

Selling a home in the Inner Richmond

Buyers here usually compare like with like: an upper flat against an upper flat, a single-family house with a legal garage against one without. Comparable sales should be chosen on building type, unit position and documented condition, not avenue number alone.

Pull the permit history early. Edwardian buildings have often been changed many times. A ground-floor room, bathroom or second kitchen without permits will surface in the 3R report; our unwarranted units guide covers the options for legalizing or disclosing it.
Document the ownership form. Condo maps and CC&Rs, or the TIC agreement and loan terms, should be ready for buyers and their lenders.
Assemble tenancy records. For any rented unit, gather leases, rent history, Rent Board filings and estoppel certificates before listing.
Address the building systems. Foundation, sewer lateral, roof and electrical reports answer the questions buyers of century-old buildings ask first.
Price by unit type. Use the home valuation request or our San Francisco selling guide to set a price against the right comparables.

Questions people ask

What are the boundaries of the Inner Richmond?

Generally California Street on the north, Arguello Boulevard on the east, Fulton Street on the south and Park Presidio Boulevard on the west. In the San Francisco MLS it is neighborhood 1B of District 1.

Why is there no 13th Avenue in the Richmond?

What would be 13th Avenue is named Funston Avenue, after Frederick Funston. First Avenue was renamed Arguello Boulevard in 1909.

Are most Inner Richmond homes single-family houses?

About half. The Assessor’s 2025 roll shows roughly 1,050 single-family parcels and about 1,000 flat and duplex parcels, plus several hundred apartment buildings and about 600 condominium units.

Is the Inner Richmond rent controlled?

Most units in multi-unit buildings here were first occupied before June 13, 1979, so they are usually subject to the Rent Ordinance’s increase limits. Single-family homes and condos with tenancies starting in 1996 or later are generally exempt from the limits, though just-cause eviction rules still apply.

Which Muni lines serve the Inner Richmond?

The 38 and 38R on Geary, the 1 on California, the 5 and 5R on Fulton, the 31 on Balboa, and the 28R and 44, which start at California and 6th Avenue. The 2 Clement is listed as suspended.

Did the Family Zoning Plan rezone the Inner Richmond?

The plan, effective January 12, 2026, allows taller buildings on major transit and commercial streets such as Geary and removes density limits in many residential areas. Check a specific parcel on SF Planning’s adopted map.

Thinking about buying or selling in the Inner Richmond? Contact Diamond Real Estate Group to talk through a specific building, or compare it with the rest of San Francisco’s neighborhoods.

Sources & notes

Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.