Merced Manor, San Francisco: 1930s Homes & Real Estate Guide
Merced Manor is a compact neighborhood of detached 1930s houses south of Sloat Boulevard and west of 19th Avenue, on the 2900 and 3000 blocks of 20th through 26th Avenues. It is subdistrict 3F of the MLS’s District 3; the Assessor’s 2025 roll counts 345 parcels, 339 of them single-family houses and all but one zoned RH-1(D).
Two things make it distinctive within the district. Its houses have the largest median recorded size of any District 3 subdistrict, and its southern edge, Eucalyptus Drive, faces the approved Stonestown redevelopment.
Merced Manor homes for sale
Merced Manor market report
Streets and edges
Merced Manor is a grid, not a curving residence-park plan. The roll’s addresses fall on the avenues from 19th to 26th (the most parcels are on 20th, 21st, 24th and 25th), on Ocean Avenue between roughly the 2700 and 3300 numbers, on Sloat Boulevard, on Eucalyptus Drive and on short Melba Avenue.
- North: Sloat Boulevard, with Stern Grove and Pine Lake Park on the other side.
- East: 19th Avenue; Lakeside lies across it.
- South: Eucalyptus Drive, beyond which is Stonestown.
- West: about 26th Avenue, where the curving streets of Lake Shore begin.
Ocean Avenue crosses the middle on its way west into Lake Shore. The M Ocean View also crosses on its own right-of-way between St. Francis Circle and 19th Avenue, and the roll lists one public parcel in the subdistrict.
A 1930s house stock with larger floor plans
The median recorded build year for Merced Manor’s houses is 1936. None carries a build year before 1930, and only 32 of the 339 were built in 1946 or later, so roughly nine in ten date from the 1930s and the war years. That is a narrower window than in any other subdistrict we checked in District 3.
| Measure (single-family parcels, 2025 roll) | Merced Manor (3F) |
|---|---|
| Single-family parcels | 339 |
| Median year built | 1936 |
| Built before 1930 | 0 |
| Built 1946 or later | 32 |
| Median lot | 3,998 sq ft |
| Median building area | 2,376 sq ft |
The 2,376-square-foot median is the largest recorded house size in District 3, ahead of Lakeside (1,916) and Pine Lake Park (1,860). Recorded area can include or leave out lower-level space depending on what was permitted, so the building record matters more than the listing’s square footage.
Apart from the houses, the roll shows three vacant residential lots, one flat or duplex, one dwelling with an apartment and one government parcel. There are no condominiums.
Across Eucalyptus Drive: the Stonestown plan
San Francisco Planning describes the Stonestown Development Project as a privately owned site of about 43 acres north of San Francisco State University, west of 19th Avenue, south of Eucalyptus Drive and east of Lowell High School. That puts it directly south of Merced Manor.
The site is an 11-acre shopping center, 3 acres of streets and 27 acres of surface parking. Brookfield Properties’ plan keeps most of the Stonestown Galleria and turns the parking lots into a mostly residential district of up to 3,500 homes, with parks and plazas, retail, community space, office and structured parking.
- The Planning Commission certified the environmental impact report and recommended approval 7-0 on May 9, 2024.
- The Board of Supervisors gave final approval on July 23, 2024, and the approvals became operative September 1, 2024.
- The recorded development agreement is dated July 7, 2025.
Planning’s project page gives no construction schedule, and we have not seen a start date. For a Merced Manor buyer, the practical questions are construction traffic on Eucalyptus Drive and 19th Avenue, and what new shops and open space arrive, and when. Read the approved documents rather than relying on marketing descriptions.
Zoning: almost entirely RH-1(D)
On the Assessor’s roll, 344 of the 345 parcels are RH-1(D), the one-family detached district, and the remaining one is public. Planning’s special use district layer places the area inside the Family and Senior Housing Opportunity Special Use District, created by Planning Code section 249.94 to allow added units on qualifying house lots.
The section is detailed. In short, a qualifying single lot can hold up to four units, corner lots and merged lots more, and the height limit is generally 40 feet; the owner must have held the lot for a set period, and the rules bar demolishing occupied or recently rent-restricted units and buildings listed in, or eligible for, the California or National Register. Separately, Planning’s summary of the Family Zoning Plan, in effect since January 12, 2026, describes removing unit-count limits on residential blocks off the main corridors while keeping the existing height limit, typically four stories.
Private restrictions recorded when a tract was sold can add conditions that zoning does not, and they appear in the preliminary title report. Our SB 9 guide covers the separate state-law route.
What the hazard maps show
Merced Manor sits clear of the mapped seismic hazard zones on Planning’s layers. Neither the liquefaction nor the earthquake-induced landslide layer has a polygon inside the subdistrict’s parcel area; the nearest liquefaction mapping lies to the south and southwest toward Stonestown and Lake Merced. The Coastal Zone boundary runs west of the neighborhood around the lake.
A clean map is not a clean report. The Natural Hazard Disclosure for a specific house is what goes to the buyer, and the San Francisco hazard maps guide shows how to check a parcel yourself.
Transit and the 19th Avenue corridor
Muni’s M Ocean View has right-of-way stops at Ocean Avenue and at Eucalyptus Drive, both at the neighborhood’s edge, and a high-platform station at Stonestown Galleria on Winston Drive. The line runs from Embarcadero to Balboa Park; it is about a 9-mile route. Wikipedia reports average daily ridership of 16,800 in June 2025.
On 19th Avenue, published route lists show the 28 and weekday 28R running to Daly City BART station. The 18 46th Avenue terminates at Buckingham Way on 19th Avenue, and the 58 Lake Merced starts at Stonestown Galleria. Our route list is dated 2022, so confirm current service with SFMTA.
The M’s slow running on 19th Avenue is a known problem; Wikipedia cites afternoon speeds of 8.5 to 9.5 miles per hour on a 2-mile stretch. A full-subway concept with underground stations at St. Francis Circle, Winston Drive, Holloway and Parkmerced has been studied at an estimated $3 billion, but it is unbuilt and unscheduled.
Selling a home in Merced Manor
Merced Manor’s own sales are the first comparison, followed by Lakeside across 19th Avenue and by Lake Shore and Pine Lake Park. Because nearly every house comes from the same decade, condition, layout and permitted space separate one sale from another more than age does.
- Permitted space: reconcile every finished room and bathroom below the main level with the permit file and the 3R report.
- Systems: 1930s houses may carry original or partly updated wiring, plumbing and foundations; recent inspection reports help buyers price the work.
- The Stonestown question: buyers will ask. Point them to Planning’s project page rather than offering a forecast.
- City requirements: our San Francisco selling requirements guide covers the 3R report, energy rules and the transfer tax.
The market report on this page shows current subdistrict figures. For pricing and preparation in more depth, see our San Francisco home selling guide.
Questions people ask
Where exactly is Merced Manor?
South of Sloat Boulevard and west of 19th Avenue, on the avenues from 20th to about 26th, with Eucalyptus Drive as the southern edge.
Is the Stonestown project approved?
Yes. The Board of Supervisors gave final approval in July 2024 for up to 3,500 homes on the mall’s parking lots, and the development agreement was recorded in July 2025. Planning’s page lists no construction schedule.
Are there condos in Merced Manor?
No. The 2025 roll shows only houses, one flat or duplex, one dwelling with an apartment, a few vacant lots and one public parcel.
Which Muni lines serve Merced Manor?
The M Ocean View, with a right-of-way stop at Ocean Avenue, and buses on 19th Avenue, including the 28 and 28R. Check SFMTA for current service.
Is Merced Manor in a liquefaction zone?
Not on Planning’s copy of the state seismic hazard map. Check the Natural Hazard Disclosure for a specific house.
How big are Merced Manor houses?
The median recorded building area is 2,376 square feet on a median lot of about 4,000 square feet, the largest median house size in District 3.
Weighing a Merced Manor house against one across 19th Avenue, or thinking about selling? Request a home valuation and we will compare it with recent sales of similar 1930s houses nearby, or browse the wider San Francisco guide.
Sources & notes
- San Francisco Association of REALTORS: San Francisco MLS district map (Reineck & Reineck, 2001)
- DataSF (Office of the Assessor-Recorder): Assessor Historical Secured Property Tax Rolls, 2025 closed roll (parcel counts by class, build years, median lot and building area, zoning codes, street lists and coordinates for District 3 subdistricts; queried October 2026)
- San Francisco Planning: PlanningData map service (zoning districts, height districts, special use districts, Coastal Zone, seismic hazard liquefaction and landslide layers; envelope and point queries, October 2026)
- San Francisco Planning: Stonestown Development Project (approvals, site description, development agreement)
- San Francisco Planning: SF Family Zoning Plan (adoption and effective dates, Coastal Zone handling)
- San Francisco Planning Code (via GoCodebook): Sec. 249.94, Family and Senior Housing Opportunity Special Use District
- Wikipedia: M Ocean View (route, stops, history, ridership, subway concept)
- Wikipedia: List of San Francisco Municipal Railway lines (route termini; service as of July 2022)
Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.
