Nob Hill, San Francisco Real Estate & Homes for Sale
Nob Hill is the hill above downtown San Francisco around Grace Cathedral and Huntington Park, under city rules through SF Planning. Its housing is overwhelmingly condominiums, co-ops and apartment buildings, and for older rentals the Rent Ordinance and soft-story rules must be checked building by building.
Explore Nob Hill, 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 | City and County of San Francisco — SF Planning |
| Housing | Condominiums, co-ops and apartment buildings; about 100 single-dwelling parcels |
| Getting around | All three cable car lines; 1, 19, 12, 27 buses; Powell St BART downhill |
| Local rules | Nob Hill SUD; RM-3/RM-4 zoning; Rent Ordinance and soft-story checks per building |
Nob Hill is the hill above downtown San Francisco whose summit, near Jones and Sacramento Streets, holds Grace Cathedral, Huntington Park and the California Street hotels. In the SFAR MLS it is subdistrict 8C of District 8, covering roughly the blocks from Bush Street north to Broadway and from the Polk Street corridor east to about Stockton Street. Its housing is overwhelmingly multi-unit: condominiums, co-ops and apartment buildings, with only about a hundred single-dwelling parcels.
Before the 1850s the summit was called California Hill, after the street that climbs its eastern face. It was renamed for the railroad magnates known as the “Nobs,” whose mansions burned in 1906; hotels, clubs and apartment buildings took their place. The hill borders Russian Hill to the north, Chinatown and the Financial District to the east, and Downtown and the Tenderloin to the south.
Nob Hill homes for sale
Nob Hill market report
Where 8C begins and ends
Their eastern blocks carry Chinatown zoning districts, and their western blocks include the Polk Street corridor that many people call Polk Gulch.
The blocks south of about Bush that are often called Lower Nob Hill are coded 8A (Downtown) instead. Planning’s records place the Lower Nob Hill Apartment Hotel Historic District, a National Register district listed in 1991, in the downtown and Civic Center area: it has 337 resources, most of them three- to seven-story apartment buildings from 1906 to 1925. When you compare sales, check whether a “Nob Hill” listing is actually coded 8C or 8A.
The hilltop: hotels, a cathedral and a park
The summit’s landmarks are what most people picture when they hear the name. San Francisco’s landmark list for the hill includes:
- The Flood mansion, now the Pacific-Union Club, at 1000 California Street, dated 1884 and restored by Willis Polk after 1906. It was one of the few hilltop structures to survive the fire.
- The Fairmont Hotel at 950 Mason Street, gutted in 1906 with its stone exterior intact, then refurbished.
- The Mark Hopkins Hotel at 850 Mason Street, from 1925.
- Grace Cathedral at 1051-1055 Taylor Street, designed by Lewis P. Hobart and dated 1928 in Planning’s list.
- The Chambord Apartments at 1298 Sacramento Street (1921) and the Glazer-Keating House at 1110 Taylor Street (1906).
- The Clay Street Center at 965 Clay Street, a 1932 Julia Morgan building.
- The Cable Car Barn and Power House at 1201 Mason Street.
Huntington Park fills the block bounded by California, Taylor, Sacramento and Cushman Streets on land that Collis Huntington’s widow gave to the city in 1915. It has a playground, fountains and a copy of Rome’s Fontana delle Tartarughe. The Masonic Auditorium, headquarters of the Grand Lodge of California, is also on the hill.
Buildings and ownership on the hill
Compare the particular property’s permitted living area, actual lot size, construction history and ownership documents; a neighborhood statistic is not a substitute for those records.
- about 1,320 condominium units, more than half of them recorded as built after 1979, plus about 35 below-market-rate condos;
- about 225 co-op units;
- about 610 apartment-building parcels, of which roughly 425 have 5 to 14 units and 135 have 15 or more;
- about 400 flats-and-duplex parcels, with a median building of about 3,330 square feet on a lot of about 1,640;
- about 110 single-dwelling parcels, with a median lot of about 1,400 square feet; and
- about 20 small TIC buildings.
That mix means most Nob Hill purchases are a unit in a shared building. Pre-1906 survivors are rare: only about 20 houses and 60 flats parcels carry a build year of 1906 or earlier. The 5-to-14-unit apartment building is the most common rental form, and for any one of them, whether the city’s Rent Ordinance and soft-story rules apply has to be checked building by building. Our San Francisco multifamily page covers what investors look at.
Co-ops, condos and full-service buildings
Nob Hill’s co-op count is second only to Russian Hill’s in District 8. In a co-op, the buyer holds a share of the corporation that owns the building and a right to occupy a unit, so the board’s approval, the building’s underlying loan and the monthly carrying charge all go into the decision. Fewer lenders finance co-op shares, which affects how a buyer plans the offer. Diamond may refer you to partners we work with; you’re free to choose any provider.
In condo buildings, the association documents carry the weight. Read the reserve information and recent minutes for planned work on elevators, façades, windows and roofs, and confirm what the parking right actually is: a deeded stall, an assigned space or a separate parking condominium. A doorman, valet or concierge service shows up in the dues, not in the unit, so compare monthly costs on the same basis.
Our condo guide walks through HOA documents and financing, and the San Francisco luxury condos guide covers full-service towers.
Zoning, the Nob Hill SUD and heights
Planning’s map also shows the Pacific Avenue NCD at the hill’s northern edge.
Much of the summit lies in the Nob Hill Special Use District, Planning Code section 238. It requires conditional use approval for hotels, most restaurants and bars, nonprofit private community facilities and incidental commercial uses, does not permit formula-retail eating and drinking uses, and keeps those uses out of any part of a building used as a dwelling unit or group housing.
Heights vary more than on neighboring hills. Planning’s height layer shows 40-X on many residential blocks and much taller districts on certain sites in and around the hill, along with the paired labels introduced by the 2026 Family Zoning Plan on major streets. A parcel’s height and bulk label is worth reading before you value a view.
Cable cars and other transit
All three cable car lines cross Nob Hill. The California line runs from California and Market over the summit to Van Ness Avenue, and the Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason lines climb from Powell and Market. The Cable Car Barn and Power House on Mason Street is a city landmark, and SFMTA’s cable car page points visitors to the Cable Car Museum.
The 1 California trolleybus, the 19 Polk and the 12 Folsom/Pacific and 27 Bryant, which both end at Pacific and Van Ness, serve the edges. The T Third Street light rail line ends at Chinatown, east of the hill, and Powell St. BART is downhill to the south. Muni lines follow published route lists; check SFMTA for current service.
Ground and older buildings
A point check at California and Taylor Streets found no state liquefaction zone, and Planning’s landslide layer shows only a very small mapped patch on the slope near Jones Street between Clay and Sacramento. A small liquefaction zone does appear near Polk Street and Van Ness Avenue around Pacific Avenue, where Nob Hill meets Russian Hill.
The more common questions here are about buildings. The city’s soft-story program covers older wood-frame buildings of five or more units and at least three stories, counting a basement or underfloor level, when the original permit application predates 1978. Ask the seller for the retrofit permit and its final sign-off. Our hazard maps guide shows how to look up a parcel.
Selling a home on Nob Hill
Buyers on Nob Hill compare buildings first: age and construction, staffing, elevator count, parking and the reserve fund. For a condo, have the full HOA package ready when the listing starts, including the inspection report on balconies and exterior walkways. For a co-op, prepare the board application requirements, the building’s financial statements and the transfer rules.
For flats and apartment buildings, buyers want the rent roll, lease copies, any Rent Board filings and the soft-story status. For the few houses, permit history and the condition of retaining walls and foundations on sloping lots lead the questions.
San Francisco’s 3R report, energy and water requirements and transfer tax are explained on our seller requirements page. The market report on this page shows current Nob Hill figures.
Questions people ask
Where is Nob Hill’s peak?
Approximately at the intersection of Jones and Sacramento Streets, a block west of Huntington Park and Grace Cathedral.
Is Lower Nob Hill part of Nob Hill on the MLS?
Usually not. The blocks south of about Bush Street that are often called Lower Nob Hill are coded 8A (Downtown) by the Assessor and MLS, while Nob Hill proper is 8C.
Are there houses on Nob Hill?
Use current listings to identify the property type you need, then verify its ownership form, legal unit count and any recorded restrictions.
What is the Nob Hill Special Use District?
A zoning overlay under Planning Code section 238 that requires conditional use approval for hotels, most restaurants and bars and certain commercial and club uses, and keeps them out of space used for housing.
Which cable car lines run over Nob Hill?
All three. The California line crosses the summit on California Street, and both Powell lines climb the hill from Market Street.
Is Nob Hill in a liquefaction zone?
The summit is not, at the point we checked. A small mapped zone sits near Polk Street and Van Ness around Pacific Avenue, at the hill’s northwest corner. Check the parcel.
Are there co-ops on Nob Hill?
Co-op purchases need board approval and a lender that finances co-op shares.
If you own on Nob Hill or are comparing buildings there, we can assemble the building’s records and a pricing view. Ask for a home valuation. For the surrounding area, see our SF District 8 guide and the San Francisco real estate guide.
Costs to plan for when buying on Nob Hill
San Francisco is a single city and county, so a Nob Hill sale pays one documentary transfer tax, set by the City. Its rate depends on the price, per $500 of consideration: $2.50 up to $250,000; $3.40 above $250,000 and below $1 million; $3.75 from $1 million to under $5 million; $11.25 from $5 million to under $10 million; $27.50 from $10 million to under $25 million; and $30.00 at $25 million or more. A Transfer Tax Affidavit is filed with the deed, and the tax also reaches transfers of control in legal entities that own San Francisco property (SF.gov: Transfer tax). Our San Francisco transfer tax guide works through examples.
The annual tax bill carries more than the ad valorem rate. The Treasurer lists citywide parcel taxes, including the School Parcel Tax of 2020, the SFUSD Teacher Support tax and the City College parcel tax, plus special assessments added by other departments. That list includes community benefit districts named for nearby corridors, such as the Discover Polk and Lower Polk Community Benefit Districts, so check whether a Polk-side building’s bill carries one (Treasurer: parcel taxes and special assessments). A reassessable ownership change may produce a supplemental bill or refund on top of the annual bill; ask your lender whether its impound account will pay them (SF.gov: supplemental assessments). See San Francisco property tax and our supplemental tax bill guide.
In a condo or co-op, the monthly dues or carrying charge belong in the same budget; read them with the HOA documents.
Permits, ADUs and remodels on Nob Hill
The Department of Building Inspection approves plans and issues permits for all construction in the City and keeps building records, from its office at 49 South Van Ness Avenue (SF.gov: DBI). SF Planning reviews zoning, including the Nob Hill Special Use District, and its Property Information Map shows a parcel’s zoning, height district and permit history.
Adding a unit to an apartment building is possible under two separate tracks. SF Planning’s ADU page describes a ministerial State ADU Program for multi-family buildings (attached, detached and converted units) and a Local Program that can waive some Planning Code requirements in existing buildings; the two can’t be combined. Local Program ADUs are subject to the City’s rent control law, and the Local Program can’t be used on a lot with an owner move-in eviction in the past five years or another no-fault eviction in the past ten (SF Planning: Accessory Dwelling Units). DBI holds pre-application meetings, and Planning offers Letters of Determination for a formal answer.
In a condo building, the CC&Rs and the board usually control changes to common areas and often to interiors as well, so ask the association before you price a remodel into an offer. Our ADU investment guide covers the numbers.
Before you buy, pull the paper trail. DBI keeps building records, including plans, permit applications and job cards, and provides copies on request (SF.gov: DBI). For a residential sale, the seller must give the buyer a 3R report, DBI’s Report of Residential Building Record, which shows the authorized use and building permit history. It costs $379 per residential building on a lot, is issued in seven to ten business days, and doesn’t cover plumbing, electrical or commercial permits, which need a separate records request (SF.gov: 3R report). In a large co-op or condo building, ask the association for its own permit file for elevator, façade and seismic work.
Luxury homes and estates on Nob Hill
High-end property on Nob Hill is mostly in shared buildings rather than estates. The hill’s zoning is largely RM-3 and RM-4, with RH-3 and Chinatown districts at the edges, and the Nob Hill Special Use District controls hotels, restaurants and club uses near the summit (check any parcel on the Property Information Map). That means the top of the market is usually a full-floor or penthouse condominium, a co-op apartment in an older building, or one of the very few single-dwelling parcels.
For a high-value purchase here, the due diligence is building-level: the association’s reserve study and recent minutes, the elevator and façade plan, what the parking right actually is, and for an older wood-frame building, its soft-story retrofit sign-off. For a co-op, plan around board approval and the building’s underlying loan. Price the transfer tax at the right tier, since the rate rises sharply at $5 million and $10 million (SF.gov: Transfer tax). Earthquake coverage is a separate decision; see earthquake insurance in California and insuring a high-value home.
Some owners prefer not to advertise a sale. 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: private sales. See also San Francisco luxury condos and San Francisco luxury homes. We can’t promise that any particular unit is available.
The Local ADU eviction lookbacks have a specific exception for temporary capital-improvement evictions when the required declaration preserves the tenant’s right to reoccupy. Confirm the actual eviction history and chosen program with Planning.
Sources for this section
- SF.gov: Transfer tax — https://www.sf.gov/transfer-tax
- SF Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector: Parcel tax exemptions and special assessments — https://sftreasurer.org/property/parcel-tax-exemptions-and-special-assessments
- SF.gov: Learn about supplemental assessments — https://www.sf.gov/information–learn-about-supplemental-assessments
- SF.gov: Department of Building Inspection — https://www.sf.gov/departments–department-building-inspection
- SF Planning: Property Information Map — https://sfplanninggis.org/pim/
- SF Planning: Accessory Dwelling Units — https://sfplanning.org/accessory-dwelling-units
- SF.gov: Request a Report of Residential Building Record (3R report) — https://www.sf.gov/request3r
Sources & notes
- DataSF: Assessor Historical Secured Property Tax Rolls (2025 closed roll), parcel counts by subdistrict code
- San Francisco Association of Realtors: SFAR San Francisco MLS district map (via Reineck & Reineck)
- San Francisco Planning: PlanningData map service (zoning, special use, height, landmark, historic district, seismic hazard and FEMA flood layers)
- San Francisco Planning Code Sec. 238, Nob Hill Special Use District (GoCodebook mirror)
- San Francisco Planning: SF Family Zoning Plan
- San Francisco Department of Building Inspection: Mandatory Soft Story Program
- SFMTA: Cable cars
- Wikipedia: List of San Francisco Municipal Railway lines (route termini; status information dated July 2022)
- BART: Stations
- Wikipedia: Nob Hill, San Francisco (background)
Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.
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