SF District 3, CA Real Estate & Homes for Sale
SF District 3 is the San Francisco MLS search area for the city’s southwest corner, from Sloat Boulevard and Stern Grove to Lake Merced and Oceanview, under city rules through SF Planning. It groups nine neighborhoods, has mapped liquefaction near the coast and lake, and the M Ocean View is its transit spine.
Explore SF District 3, CA 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 | Detached houses, Lake Merced Hill condos and Parkmerced |
| Hazards to check | Liquefaction near coast and Lake Merced; landslide zones; Coastal Zone |
| Getting around | M Ocean View spine; K Ingleside on east edge; Muni buses |
| Local rules | Coastal Zone Permit (Planning Code 330.1) near Lake Merced; hazard disclosure |
SF District 3 is the San Francisco MLS search district for the city’s southwest corner, from Sloat Boulevard and Stern Grove south to Lake Merced and Parkmerced and east through Oceanview toward Balboa Park. It groups nine neighborhoods: Lake Shore, Merced Heights, Pine Lake Park, Stonestown, Lakeside, Merced Manor, Ingleside Heights, Ingleside and Oceanview. The number is a real estate search area, not a Board of Supervisors district; the Assessor’s record for the Stern Grove parcel in Pine Lake Park, for example, lists Supervisor District 4.
The San Francisco Association of REALTORS® district map and the Assessor use the same codes, from 3A Lake Shore to 3J Oceanview (there is no 3I).
SF District 3 homes for sale
SF District 3 market report
District 3 neighborhoods at a glance
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.
Next door are District 2 (the Sunset and Parkside) north of Sloat, District 4 (St. Francis Wood, Ingleside Terrace, Balboa Terrace and the hills west of Twin Peaks) to the northeast, and District 10 to the east, with Daly City to the south.
Housing stock by subdistrict
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.
Lake Merced and the open-space edge
Lake Merced, which Wikipedia describes as a 614-acre park fed by an underground spring, sits at the center of the area the Assessor maps as Lake Shore. Around it are three golf courses (the Olympic Club, San Francisco Golf Club and TPC Harding Park), the National Guard armory and, nearby, Fort Funston.
At the north edge, the 33-acre Sigmund Stern Grove runs along Sloat Boulevard between 19th and 34th Avenues, with Pine Lake, one of San Francisco’s three natural lakes, inside it. Planning’s residence parks study names eight early garden-suburb developments in the city; none of District 3’s tracts is among them, though Ingleside Terraces is just across Junipero Serra in District 4.
Stonestown and Parkmerced: the two big sites
Stonestown. The site is about 43 privately owned acres, with San Francisco State to the south, 19th Avenue to the east, Eucalyptus Drive to the north and Lowell High School to the west, per Planning’s project page. Brookfield Properties’ plan keeps most of the Galleria and builds up to 3,500 homes on the parking lots, with parks, plazas, retail, office and community space. Final Board of Supervisors approval came on July 23, 2024, the approvals became operative September 1, 2024, and the development agreement was recorded July 7, 2025. The page shows no construction schedule.
Parkmerced. The Board of Supervisors approved the multidecade redevelopment of the 152-acre, roughly 3,200-unit complex in 2011, in a 6-5 vote, according to the San Francisco Standard; the plan called for about 10,000 homes in all over 20 to 30 years, replacing about 1,500 rent-controlled townhomes in phases. No groundbreaking followed. The entitlements remain, but no construction date has been announced.
For nearby owners, both sites matter for traffic on 19th Avenue, future shops and open space, and the timing of years of construction. Neither has a published start date as of this review.
Zoning: house districts with new corridor rules
The Assessor’s zoning field is dominated by one-family districts: RH-1 across Merced Heights, Ingleside Heights, Ingleside and Oceanview, and RH-1(D) in Merced Manor, Lakeside and most of Pine Lake Park and Lake Shore. RH-2 appears mainly in Ingleside and Oceanview, and Stonestown is mostly RM-1.
The Family Zoning Plan, adopted December 9, 2025 and in effect since January 12, 2026, is the big change. Planning’s current layer now names the Ocean Avenue shops between 19th Avenue and Junipero Serra the Lakeside Village Neighborhood Commercial District, and maps RTO-C (Residential Transit Oriented – Commercial) along both sides of Sloat Boulevard and along Eucalyptus Drive in Lake Shore. Off the corridors, Planning describes removing unit-count limits within the existing height limit, typically four stories.
The western house tracts we checked also sit inside the Family and Senior Housing Opportunity Special Use District (Planning Code section 249.94), which permits as many as four units on an eligible RH lot, more on corners, with ownership-period, tenant and historic-resource limits. Inside the Coastal Zone, the plan’s changes go to the California Coastal Commission as Local Coastal Program amendments. The state’s SB 9 is a separate route; see our SB 9 lot split guide.
Liquefaction, landslides and the Coastal Zone
Planning publishes the state seismic hazard zones and the city’s Coastal Zone as map layers, and District 3 has all three:
- Liquefaction: mapped zones follow the coast and the margins of Lake Merced, and a band runs east from the lake toward the San Francisco State area and across southern Lakeside. A point near Lakeshore Drive and Berkshire Way and one between Denslowe and Stratford drives in Lakeside were inside; points in Merced Manor, northern Lakeside and the Lake Shore shopping center were not. Smaller polygons appear toward the district’s southeast corner.
- Landslide: small polygons on slopes rather than broad zones: the Pine Lake and Stern Grove ravine, the bluff where Lake Shore’s streets end above the lake, the edges of Lake Merced Hill, and a few small polygons toward Oceanview.
- Coastal Zone: the boundary wraps Lake Merced and its parkland, includes Lake Merced Hill, and hugs the western and southern edges of Lake Shore’s house blocks. Planning Code section 330.1 requires a Coastal Zone Permit for private construction, demolition and changes of use inside it unless a project is specifically exempt.
A lot inside a state-mapped liquefaction or landslide zone must be disclosed at sale. The report itself is covered in our Natural Hazard Disclosure guide, and parcel lookups on our San Francisco hazard maps page.
Transit: the M line’s long run through the district
The M Ocean View, which opened in 1925 as a shuttle from St. Francis Circle, is District 3’s spine. From St. Francis Circle it takes its own right-of-way to 19th Avenue, with right-of-way stops at Ocean Avenue, in Merced Manor, and at Eucalyptus Drive, then runs separated from traffic on 19th Avenue past high-platform stations at Stonestown Galleria and San Francisco State. South of Junipero Serra it continues on 19th Avenue to Randolph Street, then Orizaba Avenue, Broad Street and San Jose Avenue to Balboa Park, passing Merced Heights and Oceanview on the way. Wikipedia reports 16,800 average daily riders in June 2025.
The K Ingleside crosses the district’s eastern edge on Junipero Serra Boulevard and Ocean Avenue. Bus lines per published route lists include the 28 and weekday 28R on 19th Avenue to Daly City BART station, the 18 46th Avenue, the 23 Monterey, the 57 Parkmerced and the 58 Lake Merced; the list we used is dated 2022, so check SFMTA. SFMTA’s current route pages show the 29 Sunset crossing the eastern neighborhoods on Holloway Avenue, Garfield Street, Grafton Avenue and Plymouth Avenue to Balboa Park BART, and the 54 Felton running from Daly City BART through Ingleside Heights and Oceanview to Balboa Park.
On the west edge, the SFPUC plans to end public car traffic for good on the Great Highway from Sloat to Skyline as part of its Ocean Beach Climate Change Adaptation Project; its construction window is late 2027 to early 2031 and may shift.
How buyers and sellers compare District 3 neighborhoods
- Lot and house size: the four western tracts offer the bigger lots and houses; the eastern neighborhoods offer smaller houses on smaller lots, and more flats.
- Era: Ingleside has most of the pre-1930 stock; Merced Manor is almost entirely 1930s; Lake Shore and Ingleside Heights lean postwar.
- Ownership type: condominiums cluster in Ingleside Heights, Lake Merced Hill and Stonestown; Merced Manor and Pine Lake Park have none.
- Nearby change: distance from the Stonestown and Parkmerced sites and from the new RTO-C frontages on Sloat and Eucalyptus.
- Ground: liquefaction mapping near the lake and in southern Lakeside, Coastal Zone status at the lake edge.
Sellers in every subdistrict face the same citywide requirements, covered in our San Francisco selling requirements guide, and condominium sellers should also see our San Francisco condo guide. Citywide context is on the San Francisco page.
Questions people ask
Is SF District 3 the same as Supervisor District 3?
No. MLS District 3 is a real estate search area in the southwest of the city. Supervisor districts are drawn separately for elections, and Pine Lake Park’s grove parcel, for example, is recorded in Supervisor District 4.
Which neighborhoods are in SF District 3?
Lake Shore (3A), Merced Heights (3B), Pine Lake Park (3C), Stonestown (3D), Lakeside (3E), Merced Manor (3F), Ingleside Heights (3G), Ingleside (3H) and Oceanview (3J).
Is Parkmerced in District 3?
For MLS purposes, yes. The SFAR map labels the subdistrict Stonestown, so confirm the code on a specific listing.
Has construction started on the Stonestown redevelopment?
Planning’s project page shows approvals completed in 2024 and a development agreement recorded in July 2025, but no construction schedule.
What is happening with Parkmerced?
The 2011 redevelopment plan is still entitled but unbuilt. The property went into receivership in 2025, and a lender took the first-phase development parcels at a trustee sale in July 2026, according to Hoodline citing the San Francisco Standard.
Where are the liquefaction zones in District 3?
Around Lake Merced and the coast, and in a band running east from the lake toward the SF State area and across southern Lakeside. Check the specific parcel; nearby mapping does not mean a lot is inside.
Which District 3 neighborhoods have the largest houses?
Use current listings to identify the property type you need, then verify its ownership form, legal unit count and any recorded restrictions.
Which Muni Metro lines serve District 3?
The M Ocean View, which runs the length of the district on 19th Avenue, Randolph, Broad and San Jose Avenue, and the K Ingleside along Junipero Serra and Ocean Avenue.
Is the Great Highway south of Sloat closing for good?
That is the SFPUC’s plan: the stretch from Sloat to Skyline would be closed to public cars permanently, with construction expected to run from late 2027 into early 2031.
Weighing one District 3 neighborhood against another, or preparing a house for sale? Ask for a home valuation built on recent sales from the same subdistrict.
Selling a home in District 3: local requirements
The city’s point-of-sale rules are the same in all nine District 3 neighborhoods, but which ones bite depends on the property:
- The 3R report. Sellers must give buyers a Report of Residential Building Record showing the authorized use and permit history. DBI charges $379 per building and quotes seven to ten business days (DBI 3R report). In Merced Heights, Ingleside and Oceanview, where houses sit on 2,500-square-foot lots and ground floors were often finished later, it is the document buyers read first.
- Transfer tax. Due when the deed records, at $3.40 per $500 of value to under $1 million and $3.75 per $500 to under $5 million, with other tiers above and below (SF transfer tax). See our San Francisco transfer tax guide.
- Hazard disclosure. Lots in the state liquefaction or landslide zones near the coast and Lake Merced must be disclosed; our San Francisco hazard maps guide shows the lookup.
- Below-market-rate homes. Oceanview’s BMR townhouses resell under program rules, not on the open market (BMR homes guide).
- Condominiums. In the Lake Merced Hill and Oceanview Terrace condos, gather the association’s documents early (HOA documents guide).
Our San Francisco selling requirements page lists the rest.
Costs to plan for when buying in District 3
- Property tax. The 2026–27 secured rate is 1.18162182% of net taxable value, plus direct charges (SF Treasurer). A purchase brings a supplemental assessment, and an owner-occupant can claim the homeowners’ exemption. See our San Francisco property tax guide.
- Ocean Avenue assessment. The Treasurer lists an Ocean Avenue Community Benefit District among its special assessments (SF Treasurer, special assessments). If you’re buying a mixed-use building on Ingleside’s Ocean Avenue frontage, check whether the parcel pays it.
- Coastal permits. Near Lake Merced, Planning Code Section 330 requires a Coastal Zone Permit for private construction, demolition and changes of use inside the zone unless the project is exempt (SF Planning, Local Coastal Program). Build the extra review time into a Lake Shore remodel budget.
- Added units. ADUs are allowed wherever housing is allowed, and local-program units are subject to rent control (SF Planning, ADUs).
Luxury homes and estates in District 3
Buyers seeking detached houses often compare the residence-park and builder tracts west of Junipero Serra Boulevard. Merced Manor includes RH-1(D) detached-house blocks. In Lakeside, compare the actual parcel dimensions and setting. Pine Lake Park’s houses line the edge of Stern Grove, and Lake Shore’s postwar houses sit between Sloat Boulevard and Lake Merced. These are 1930s to 1950s residence-park and builder tracts, not estates, and the distinctions come from lot, setting and condition.
For a high-value purchase here, the due diligence that matters most:
- Coastal Zone and liquefaction status for Lake Shore lots near the lake.
- Recorded restrictions in the title report for tracts with them.
- Permit history for additions and lower-level rooms, against the 3R report.
- Insurance: see insuring a high-value home and earthquake insurance.
Some owners in these small tracts prefer a discreet 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 the Merced Manor, Lakeside, Pine Lake Park and Lake Shore guides and our San Francisco luxury homes guide.
District 3 real estate: more questions
Does a District 3 seller need a 3R report?
Yes. San Francisco requires the Report of Residential Building Record on residential sales. Order it from DBI early, since it takes about seven to ten business days.
Do I need a coastal permit to remodel near Lake Merced?
If the lot is inside the Coastal Zone and the work isn’t exempt, yes. The zone reaches Lake Shore’s western and southern edges, so check the address before you design.
Is there an assessment on Ocean Avenue properties?
The city’s special assessment list includes an Ocean Avenue Community Benefit District. Only parcels inside the district pay it, so look for the line on the seller’s tax bill.
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
- SF DBI, request a 3R report: https://www.sf.gov/request3r
- SF Assessor-Recorder, transfer tax: https://www.sf.gov/transfer-tax
- SF Treasurer, secured property taxes: https://sftreasurer.org/property/secured-property-taxes
- SF, supplemental assessments: https://www.sf.gov/information–learn-about-supplemental-assessments
- SF Treasurer, parcel taxes and special assessments: https://sftreasurer.org/property/parcel-tax-exemptions-and-special-assessments
- SF Planning, Local Coastal Program: https://sfplanning.org/local-coastal-program
- SF Planning, Accessory Dwelling Units: https://sfplanning.org/accessory-dwelling-units
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)
- The San Francisco Standard: Parkmerced: How a long-promised billion-dollar housing project fell apart (April 18, 2025)
- Hoodline: Foreclosure Shock: Yellowstone Snaps Up Parkmerced Land In San Francisco (July 22, 2026, citing the San Francisco Standard)
- 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
- San Francisco Planning Code (via GoCodebook): Sec. 330.1, Projects Requiring Coastal Zone Permit Review
- San Francisco Planning: Residence Parks Historic Context Statement
- Wikipedia: Lake Merced (park area, surrounding golf courses and land uses)
- Wikipedia: Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove (acreage, Pine Lake, history, festival)
- Wikipedia: M Ocean View (route, stops, history, ridership, subway concept)
- Wikipedia: K Ingleside (Junipero Serra and Ocean Avenue routing, Ocean Avenue project)
- Wikipedia: List of San Francisco Municipal Railway lines (route termini; service as of July 2022)
- SFMTA: K Ingleside route page (routing, stops, hours)
- SFMTA: 29 Sunset route page (streets and stops)
- SFMTA: 54 Felton route page (streets, stops, hours)
- San Francisco Public Utilities Commission: Ocean Beach Climate Change Adaptation Project fact sheet (October 2025)
Last reviewed October 2026 by Matthew Martinez.
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