Downtown San Francisco: Lower Nob Hill & Union Square Homes Guide
On the SFAR MLS, “Downtown” (subdistrict 8A) is not the office core: it is the grid of apartment and condo buildings between Nob Hill and Union Square, roughly Polk Street to Stockton and Sacramento or California Street to O’Farrell, that many people call Lower Nob Hill. The Union Square shopping blocks carry their own Assessor code, 8I, and the high-rise office district is coded to the Financial District. If you are searching for a downtown home, those three codes describe very different buildings.
The 8A blocks sit below Nob Hill, north of the Tenderloin, east of Van Ness/Civic Center and west of the Financial District. The SF District 8 guide places them alongside the other eight subdistricts.
Downtown homes for sale
Downtown market report
Which downtown the MLS means
The Assessor’s roll uses the same letter codes as the MLS. Mapped from parcel points, 8A covers about Polk Street east to Stockton and about Sacramento Street south to O’Farrell; Bush, Sutter, Post and Geary are its main cross streets. Parcels just north of it are mostly Nob Hill (8C), and the blocks below O’Farrell are mostly Tenderloin (8J).
Union Square, the Assessor’s 8I, takes the blocks from about Taylor Street east to Kearny and Montgomery, between Market and Bush. It holds about 880 parcels, many of them stores, hotels and office condominiums; homes there are mainly about 300 condo units and a few dozen co-op units. Ask how a listing was coded if a Union Square address matters to you; our District 8 overview notes that 8I does not appear as a separate neighborhood on the SFAR map it used.
Built after 1906: apartment buildings and apartment hotels
Much of 8A is apartment buildings and apartment hotels from the decades after the 1906 earthquake and fire. The Lower Nob Hill Apartment Hotel Historic District, listed on the National Register on July 31, 1991, covers much of that rebuild: Planning’s record gives a period of 1906 to 1940 and counts 296 contributors among 337 resources.
The roll still shows that rental stock: about 275 apartment parcels of 15 or more units and about 115 of 5 to 14 units. If a building contributes to the National Register district, ask Planning how the listing affects a specific project before you plan exterior work.
For the older stock, the inspection list starts with structure and systems: elevators, boilers and risers, windows, fire escapes and any seismic strengthening. Our guide to older San Francisco buildings covers the wood-frame side of that history.
Ownership forms on the 8A roll
About 2,860 parcels carry the 8A code. Because each condo unit, co-op unit and time-share interest is a separate parcel, the totals count ownership interests rather than buildings:
| Assessor class | Approx. parcels | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Condominium units | 1,200 | About 220 in buildings recorded before 1930, about 460 recorded 1963 to 1978, about 350 in the 1980s and about 170 since 2001 |
| Below-market-rate condos | 21 | Resale-restricted units |
| Co-op units | about 130 | Unsegregated and segregated co-ops |
| Apartment buildings | about 400 | Mostly 15 or more units (about 275) and 5 to 14 units (about 115) |
| Hotel parcels | about 65 | Including about 55 in the Assessor’s “Hotels – Other” class |
| Residential hotel and SRO parcels | 9 | Assessor class; legal status is set under Administrative Code Chapter 41 |
| Time-share interests | about 815 | Concentrated at one Powell Street building, so they inflate the parcel count without adding homes |
Set the time-shares aside and 8A is mostly condos and large rental buildings, with very few houses (about 15 dwelling parcels) or flats. The condo guide covers association documents and financing, and the BMR homes guide explains the resale-restricted units.
Zoning, special use districts and Union Square’s conservation district
RM-4 is the most common zoning code on 8A parcels, about 1,545 of them, a figure that includes the time-share parcels. RC-4 follows with about 745, then the Polk Street Neighborhood Commercial District on the western edge (about 100), RM-3 and a few C-3-G parcels toward Union Square.
Planning’s special use district layer shows the North of Market Residential SUD (subareas 1 and 2) reaching into parts of these blocks, the Nob Hill SUD along the northern edge and a site-specific 901 Bush Street SUD. Planning Code section 249.5 says the North of Market district aims to protect housing near downtown and to limit tourist hotels; hotels and motels are not permitted uses there, and demolishing a building with dwelling units needs conditional use approval.
In Union Square, the roll’s zoning is mainly C-3-G (Downtown General) and C-3-R (Downtown Retail). The Kearny-Market-Mason-Sutter Conservation District, adopted under Article 11 in 1985, covers 323 properties, 252 of them contributors, and shapes how storefronts and facades there can change. The General Plan’s Downtown Area Plan also calls for expanding housing in and next to downtown while preserving residential hotels.
Seismic, balcony and residential hotel rules for older buildings
Three sets of rules come up often in 8A sales:
- Soft-story retrofit. The city’s mandatory program targets older wood-frame apartment buildings: five or more units, at least three stories (two if over a basement or underfloor space), and a construction permit applied for before January 1, 1978. Buildings that are not wood-frame fall outside it, so confirm the construction type from the permit record. Our seismic retrofit guide explains the work.
- Balcony and stair inspections. Apartment buildings with three or more units fall under Health and Safety Code section 17973 (SB 721): at least 15 percent of each type of wood-supported balcony, deck, stair or walkway inspected by January 1, 2026 and every six years after. Condo buildings follow Civil Code section 5551 instead. See our SB 721 guide.
- Residential hotels. Under Chapter 41 of the Administrative Code, adopted in 1981, an owner who plans to sell a residential hotel must complete a Residential Hotel Status Report that DBI’s Housing Inspection Services verifies, and the buyer must receive it before the sale.
On the ground itself, point checks against the state liquefaction map at Jones and Sutter and at Powell and Geary, by Union Square, were both outside the mapped zone. Check the parcel on our hazard maps guide before relying on that.
Getting around from Lower Nob Hill and Union Square
Powell St. station, under Market Street, serves BART and Muni Metro, and the Central Subway’s Union Square/Market Street station connects to it; SFMTA says the T Third began full service through the subway on January 7, 2023. Both Powell Street cable car lines start at Powell and Market and climb through the eastern 8A blocks, and the California line runs along the northern edge.
The 2 Sutter runs between Steuart and Market and California and Presidio, and the 38 Geary between the Salesforce Transit Center and the outer Richmond. Muni lines here follow published route lists; check SFMTA for current service.
Selling a home in Downtown
Buyers compare buildings before units: age and construction type, elevator and boiler condition, the reserve study and any special assessments, and whether a co-op board or a BMR restriction applies. A unit in a 1910s building with a recent retrofit and a well-funded reserve can compete with a newer one, but only if the records are ready.
- Condos: the Civil Code section 4525 package (budget documents, assessment statement, minutes on request and the latest balcony inspection report), plus the reserve study.
- Co-ops: the board’s application requirements, the building’s financial statements and the transfer rules.
- Apartment buildings: the rent roll, lease copies, Rent Board history, soft-story status and the SB 721 report.
- Residential hotels: the verified Residential Hotel Status Report under Chapter 41.
The city’s 3R report, water and energy rules and transfer tax are on our San Francisco seller requirements page; investors can also use the San Francisco multifamily page. The market report on this page shows current figures for the 8A code.
Questions people ask
Is “Downtown” on the MLS the same as the Financial District?
No. The MLS’s Downtown subdistrict, 8A, is the residential grid between Nob Hill and Union Square. The office core north of Market is subdistrict 8B, Financial District / Barbary Coast.
Is Lower Nob Hill part of Downtown on the MLS?
Mostly yes. The blocks below Nob Hill’s crest, from about Sacramento or California Street south to O’Farrell, are coded 8A by the Assessor, which uses the MLS letters.
Can you buy a home near Union Square?
Yes, though the choice is narrow. The Assessor’s Union Square code, 8I, lists about 300 condo units and a few dozen co-op units among many stores, hotels and offices.
What is the Lower Nob Hill Apartment Hotel Historic District?
A National Register district listed in 1991 that covers 337 resources from the post-1906 rebuild, 296 of them contributors. Ask Planning how listing affects a specific project.
Do I need a special report to sell a residential hotel?
Yes. Chapter 41 requires a Residential Hotel Status Report, verified by DBI’s Housing Inspection Services, before a residential hotel is sold or its title transferred.
Which BART station is closest?
Powell St., under Market Street at the foot of the Powell Street cable car lines. Montgomery St. is closer to the eastern edge of Union Square.
If you own a condo, co-op or building in Downtown or are comparing them, we can assemble the building records and a pricing view for the specific address. Request a home valuation, or start with our San Francisco real estate guide.
Sources & notes
- DataSF: Assessor Historical Secured Property Tax Rolls (2025 closed roll), parcel counts by subdistrict code
- San Francisco Planning: PlanningData map service (zoning, special use, height, landmark, Article 10 and 11, National Register, seismic hazard and FEMA flood layers)
- San Francisco Planning Code Sec. 249.5, North of Market Residential Special Use District (GoCodebook mirror)
- San Francisco Planning: General Plan, Downtown Area Plan
- San Francisco Department of Building Inspection: Residential Hotel Unit Conversion and Demolition (Chapter 41)
- San Francisco Department of Building Inspection: Mandatory Soft Story Program
- California Health and Safety Code Sec. 17973 (California Public Law mirror)
- California Civil Code Sec. 4525 (California Public Law mirror)
- SFMTA: Central Subway Project
- Wikipedia: Market Street subway (Muni Metro stations and history)
- BART: Stations
- Wikipedia: List of San Francisco Municipal Railway lines (route termini; status information dated July 2022)
Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.
