Bernal Heights, San Francisco Real Estate & Homes for Sale
Bernal Heights is the San Francisco hill neighborhood bounded by Cesar Chavez Street, US 101, Interstate 280 and San Jose Avenue, with Bernal Heights Park at its summit. Two-thirds of parcels are single-family houses, and most of the area sits in a special use district that limits height to 30 feet and rear expansion.
Explore Bernal Heights, San Francisco real estate and homes for sale with this local guide. Contact Diamond to discuss your criteria and current property-search options.
| County | San Francisco (City and County) |
|---|---|
| Local government | San Francisco Planning |
| Housing | Mostly single-family houses, many pre-1920 frame homes, on small lots |
| Hazards to check | About 20 small mapped earthquake-induced landslide zones on upper slopes |
| Getting around | Muni 67 to 24th St./Mission BART; 14 and 49 on Mission; US 101, I-280 |
| Local rules | Bernal Heights Special Use District (Sec. 242); SF transfer tax; 3R report |
Bernal Heights is the hill neighborhood bounded by Cesar Chavez Street on the north, US 101 on the east, Interstate 280 on the south and San Jose Avenue on the west.
Most of the neighborhood sits inside its own special use district, which holds dwellings to 30 feet and controls how far a house can grow toward the rear of its lot. That rule, together with unusually small lots, shapes almost every renovation and pricing question here. The Inner Mission lies across Cesar Chavez Street, Glen Park is west of San Jose Avenue, and the Portola is on the far side of the freeway to the south.
Bernal Heights homes for sale
Bernal Heights market report
The hill and its edges
Wikipedia puts the neighborhood at about 1.05 square miles. The middle of it is open ground: Planning’s open space layer maps Bernal Heights Park at roughly 26 acres around the summit, which carries a radio and microwave tower, and Bernal Heights Boulevard loops the top as a path of about a mile that is closed to cars.
Streets climb from every side. The flatter ground is at the edges: the Cesar Chavez Street corridor on the north, the US 101 and Bayshore side on the east, and Alemany Boulevard on the south. Smaller public spaces include:
- Precita Park, about 2.2 acres at the north foot of the hill.
- Holly Park, about 8.1 acres in the southern part of the neighborhood.
- St. Mary’s Playground, about 13.8 acres near the southern edge.
- The Esmeralda Corridor, a string of small public parcels on the west slope, and several street parks along Bernal Heights Boulevard.
From rancho to small lots
In 1839 the land was part of Rancho Rincon de las Salinas y Potrero Viejo, a 4,446-acre Mexican grant to José Cornelio Bernal. By 1860 François Louis Alfred Pioche owned it and divided it into small lots, and Army engineers laid out the streets during the Civil War, which is why so many street names are military.
The hilltop stayed pasture until after the 1906 earthquake, when it filled in with small frame houses. Wikipedia credits the hill’s chert bedrock with helping many buildings survive the shaking and its sparse development with keeping much of the area clear of the fire that followed. Three of the small earthquake refugee cottages were later moved here.
What is on the ground today
The roll shows a neighborhood of small houses on small lots.
Compare the particular property’s lot dimensions, permitted living area, construction history and ownership form using current records. Assessment classifications do not certify legal use or current listing availability.
Buildings from before 1920 are common in the older blocks; our Victorian and Edwardian homes guide covers the review rules that apply to them.
The Bernal Heights Special Use District
Planning Code Section 242 was added in 1991 to fit new building to the hill’s slopes and small lots, and it was last amended by an ordinance effective May 5, 2024. It applies on top of the RH-1, RH-1(S), RH-2 and RH-3 house districts within its boundary. A point check near Cortland Avenue returns RH-1 zoning, the Bernal Heights SUD and a 40-X height district; the SUD’s lower limit for dwellings controls.
- Height: 30 feet for dwellings. On downslope lots that is measured with averaging, up to 40 feet above grade at any point, and the rearmost 8 feet may not exceed 32 feet. On upslope lots no part may exceed 38 feet above the curb, or 43 feet for the rear half where the back of the lot is 30 feet or more above the front.
- Rear yards: 35% of lot depth on RH-1 lots up to 70 feet deep (on deeper RH-1 lots, a building may be no deeper than 45.5 feet from the front line), and 45% in RH-2 and RH-3. A building may extend into the rear yard to match an adjacent building, but no part of it may come within 25% of the lot depth or 15 feet of the rear line, whichever is greater.
- Mass reduction: in RH-1, a building must give up 650 square feet of usable floor area from its exterior envelope (400 on lots deeper than 100 feet).
- Garages: new construction is limited to a 10-foot curb cut and a 12-foot garage door.
- Review: residential projects get neighborhood notice under Section 311, with the Elsie Street Plan and East Slope Building Guidelines as compatibility guides.
- Demolition: generally prohibited, with narrow exceptions for imminent hazards, buildings under abatement orders with repairs at 50% or more of replacement cost, and buildings with no substantial remaining value.
Listed undeveloped lots on the South Slope need conditional use authorization for any new building, with criteria that include steep-slope and liquefaction design, fire access and traffic. This is general information, not legal advice; confirm a lot’s controls with Planning or a land use attorney before you price an addition.
The commercial frontages are separate districts on Planning’s map: the Cortland Avenue NCD and the Mission Bernal NCD.
Cortland Avenue and the neighborhood’s anchors
Cortland Avenue is the commercial street, a strip of restaurants, bakeries and other small businesses. The Bernal Heights branch library at 500 Cortland was built with WPA funding, dedicated in 1940 and reopened in January 2010 after renovation, and the Bernal Heights Recreation Center sits beside it.
In the southeast corner, the Alemany Farmers’ Market has run every Saturday since August 4, 1947, with a flea market on Sundays. Precita Park on the north side faces the Mission across Cesar Chavez Street.
Ground conditions on and around the hill
Bernal’s hazards follow its shape. Planning’s earthquake-induced landslide layer shows about 20 small mapped zones in the neighborhood, most of them on the upper slopes in and around Bernal Heights Park, with others on the south slope toward Alemany Boulevard and the east slope above US 101.
Liquefaction zones stay at the edges. On Planning’s copy of the state map they run along Cesar Chavez Street east of about Harrison Street toward the freeway, down the eastern foot along US 101 and Bayshore Boulevard, and along Alemany Boulevard on the south side, where Islais Creek once ran. The hill’s interior is outside them.
Mandatory soft-story coverage depends on wood-frame construction, the original permit application before January 1, 1978, five or more residential units, the applicable story/basement configuration and an unstrengthened soft story. Confirm the actual DBI screening and compliance record for the building. Related: San Francisco hazard maps guide.
Transit and freeways
- 67 Bernal Heights: the neighborhood’s own Muni line, between 24th St./Mission BART and Ellsworth and Crescent.
- Mission Street: the 14 Mission and 49 Van Ness/Mission run along the western side, per published route lists.
- 12 Folsom/Pacific: ends at Valencia Street and Cesar Chavez, at the northwest corner.
- BART: 24th St./Mission station, at 2800 Mission Street, is served by four lines and has no parking.
- Freeways: US 101 runs along the east side and Interstate 280 along the south.
Route patterns change, so check SFMTA before relying on a specific stop.
Selling a home in Bernal Heights
Buyers here usually compare houses on the same few measures: whether the lot slopes up or down from the street, whether there is a garage and how it is reached, and how much finished space sits below the main floor. On lots this small, every square foot of permitted area matters.
- Pull the permit history for additions, decks and lower-level rooms, and be ready to show which spaces are legal living area; our unwarranted units guide explains what happens when they are not.
- Check the SUD envelope if your pricing assumes expansion: rear-yard, height and mass-reduction limits decide what a buyer can add.
- Document slope work such as retaining walls, drainage and foundation repairs, with engineer’s letters where you have them.
- For two- to four-unit buildings, assemble leases, rent history and Rent Board filings, and see our TIC guide if a buyer group may purchase together.
- Line up the city’s point-of-sale items, from the 3R report and energy rules to the transfer tax; our San Francisco selling requirements page lists each one.
Diamond may refer you to partners we work with; you’re free to choose any provider. Current neighborhood figures appear in the market report on this page.
Questions people ask
Is Bernal Heights part of the Mission?
No. It is a separate neighborhood south of Cesar Chavez Street, and the MLS lists it as subdistrict 9A, separate from the Inner Mission (9C).
How tall can a house be in Bernal Heights?
Under the Bernal Heights SUD, dwellings are generally limited to 30 feet, with slope-based rules allowing up to 40 feet above grade on downslope lots and 38 to 43 feet above the curb on upslope lots.
How big are Bernal Heights lots?
Verify the particular property’s current records and dimensions; a neighborhood statistic is not a substitute for a parcel-specific answer.
Is Bernal Heights in a liquefaction zone?
The hill itself is not. Planning’s map shows liquefaction zones along the Cesar Chavez, US 101 and Alemany Boulevard edges, and small landslide zones on the steeper slopes.
Can I demolish a house in Bernal Heights?
Rarely. Section 242 generally prohibits demolishing residential buildings except for imminent hazards, certain abatement cases or buildings with no substantial remaining value.
What is the closest BART station?
24th St./Mission, at 2800 Mission Street; the 67 Bernal Heights bus starts there.
Thinking about selling a Bernal Heights house or small building, or about what an addition would be worth? We can review the lot, the permit record and recent sales with you. Request a home valuation, contact us, look across the freeway at Potrero Hill, or browse the rest of SF District 9 from our San Francisco real estate guide.
Permits, ADUs and remodels in Bernal Heights
The special use district described above sets the envelope; the permit path decides how long it takes to use it. Planning reviews zoning and the Section 311 neighborhood notice, and the Department of Building Inspection issues the building permit (DBI). Start with the building’s own record: a Report of Residential Building Record (3R) lists the permitted use and number of units (sf.gov: 3R report), which matters here because so many pre-1920 cottages have rooms added downstairs over the decades.
Slopes. Bernal’s mapped earthquake-induced landslide zones are concentrated on the upper slopes. Projects on qualifying sloped sites must meet San Francisco’s slope protection requirements, which can add engineering review before a permit issues (sf.gov: slope protection).
ADUs. Converting a garage or ground floor into an accessory unit is the most common way owners add space without fighting the SUD’s height and rear-yard limits. Planning’s Local ADU Program can grant Planning Code waivers, but a unit built with waivers may need a Costa-Hawkins Regulatory Agreement that puts it under rent control; the State ADU Program follows its own statutory standards and exemptions; ask Planning which rent and deed restrictions apply (SF Planning: Accessory dwelling units). Our unwarranted units guide covers what to do when a downstairs unit already exists without permits.
Costs to plan for when buying in Bernal Heights
Transfer tax. San Francisco charges one tiered rate on the whole price: $3.40 per $500 from just over $250,000 to under $1 million, and $3.75 per $500 from $1 million to under $5 million (sf.gov: Transfer tax). See our San Francisco transfer tax guide.
Property tax. The base is 1% under Proposition 13 plus voter-approved rates (BOE Publication 29), followed by a supplemental bill for the rest of the fiscal year (sf.gov). Our San Francisco property tax guide has the due dates.
Divided buildings. Bernal includes condominium units in converted buildings and properties held as TICs. A TIC share carries a shared or fractional loan and a TIC agreement rather than HOA dues alone (TIC guide), and the city limits which buildings can convert to condominiums (SF Planning: condominium conversion restrictions). Budget for an attorney’s review of the TIC agreement.
Luxury homes and estates in Bernal Heights
Bernal Heights has no estate zoning, so its high end is defined by the hill itself. In planning terms the top of the market is the detached house: RH-1(D) parcels and larger RH-1 lots on the upper slopes around Bernal Heights Park, where outlook and light are the selling points. The special use district shapes value directly. With height capped at 30 feet for dwellings, mass reduction required in RH-1 and demolition generally prohibited, a house’s existing permitted envelope is close to the most it can become, so a buyer is paying for what is already there.
For a high-value purchase, the due diligence that matters most is the permit history of every past addition, a geotechnical look at retaining walls and drainage on sloped lots, and whether the parcel touches one of the mapped landslide zones. If an adjoining vacant lot is part of the deal, remember that listed South Slope lots need conditional use authorization to build. Price earthquake coverage early (earthquake insurance guide) and read insuring a high-value home in California.
Some Bernal sellers prefer to test the market quietly. Ask Diamond Real Estate Group which permitted private-marketing options fit your property, goals and the applicable MLS rules. Availability of any particular listing is not guaranteed. Related reading: how we find off-market deals. See San Francisco luxury homes for how we market at this level.
Bernal Heights real estate: questions people ask
Where can I see Bernal Heights homes for sale?
The listings at the top of this page show current Bernal Heights homes for sale in MLS subdistrict 9A. Buyers comparing nearby hills often look at Glen Park as well; see our Glen Park guide.
Can I build on a vacant lot in Bernal Heights?
Sometimes, but slowly. For a vacant site, confirm its legal-lot and development status; listed South Slope lots need conditional use authorization from the Planning Commission, with criteria covering steep slopes, liquefaction, fire access and traffic. Ask Planning before you buy.
Are there TICs in Bernal Heights?
TIC interests can be offered in older small buildings; verify the actual ownership form from the deed and agreement. Financing and conversion rules differ from condos, so read our TIC guide first.
Who issues building permits in Bernal Heights?
San Francisco’s Department of Building Inspection, after Planning has reviewed zoning and the special use district. Larger projects also get neighborhood notice under Planning Code Section 311.
Assessment records are a starting point for checking a property, not a certification of legal use or a live listing inventory. Verify current permits, recorded ownership documents and any affordability restrictions.
Sources for this section
- City and County of San Francisco, Department of Building Inspection: https://www.sf.gov/departments–department-building-inspection
- City and County of San Francisco, Request a Report of Residential Building Record (3R): https://www.sf.gov/request3r
- City and County of San Francisco, Comply with slope protection requirements: https://www.sf.gov/departments–department-building-inspection
- San Francisco Planning, Accessory dwelling units: https://sfplanning.org/accessory-dwelling-units
- City and County of San Francisco, Transfer tax: https://www.sf.gov/transfer-tax
- California State Board of Equalization, Publication 29: https://www.boe.ca.gov/proptaxes/pdf/pub29.pdf
- City and County of San Francisco, Learn about supplemental assessments: https://www.sf.gov/information–learn-about-supplemental-assessments
- San Francisco Planning, Condominium conversion restrictions: https://sfpublicworks.org/services/citysurveyor
Sources & notes
- DataSF / SF Assessor-Recorder: Assessor Historical Secured Property Tax Rolls, 2025 closed roll (parcel counts by property class, median lot, building area and build year, zoning codes and parcel extents for neighborhood codes 9A-9K, queried October 2026)
- San Francisco Planning: PlanningData map service (zoning districts, special use districts, height districts, Article 10 historic districts, landmarks, open space, planning areas, FEMA flood hazard and seismic hazard zone layers; queried October 2026)
- San Francisco Planning Code (via GoCodebook): Sec. 242, Bernal Heights Special Use District
- Wikipedia: Bernal Heights, San Francisco (boundaries, land history, Cortland Avenue, library, farmers market; background only)
- Wikipedia: List of San Francisco Municipal Railway lines (route names and termini; status as of July 2022)
- BART: 24th St./Mission Station
- SF Department of Building Inspection: Mandatory Soft Story Retrofit Program
Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.
Send a property inquiry
Matthew Martinez
Your inquiry is processed through our iHomefinder service. Review the form’s contact choices before submitting. Privacy Policy · Terms of Use.
What is your property in Bernal Heights, San Francisco worth?
Planning a sale or weighing your next move? Request a broker market analysis based on the property, relevant comparable sales and the local setting.
Request your Bernal Heights, San Francisco home and property valuation
