San Fran Hipsters Helping Returns
The verdict's in: hipsters around the country are boosting multifamily yields and one San Fran zip has flown into the top 25 for rental returns. RealtyTrac homed in on these hyper-local markets with strong fundamentals by focusing on a prevalence of hipster indicators, like age bracket (25 to 34), heavy walking and public transit use, a high amount of renters versus owners, and low vacancy, VP Daren Blomquist tells us. The San Fran zip that made the list, ranked by gross rental yields: 94107 (4.91%). Yields, however, are significantly lower than in top flannel meccas like Saint Paul (13.98%) and Pittsburgh (10.84%).
The Dogpatch neighborhood, nestled in San Francisco's sole zip on the list, houses Forest City's funky Pier 70 project on the eastern waterfront (its Urban Air Market is snapped above). But wait, aren't we living in a birthplace of hipster-ville? Why did only one local zip make the cut? Working against this list for San Francisco is its high prices, Daren tells us. "To get a good return you need a decent purchase price to begin with," he explains. The median home price in the 94107 zip is a whopping $725,750--the priciest on the top 25 list. The next local zip down the list is Berkeley's 94710 mustache-infused 'hood, which would have ranked No. 36 (4.2%).
