What Homes Sell For
Recent Sales
Median sale prices, last 12 months · Oct 2025 – Oct 2026
- Houses
- $1,137,500
- Condos & co-ops
- 2 sales
Sales in MLS neighborhood 10C (The Excelsior) reported to the San Francisco MLS, including off-MLS sales; known below-market-rate (BMR) sales excluded. Medians need at least 5 sales. Updated monthly; deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Compare every neighborhood on the price map or ask us what a specific home is worth.
The Good
- Houses sell for more than 40% below the citywide median, with nearly a hundred sales a year to choose from.
- Mission Street is a working main street with food from just about everywhere.
- McLaren Park, the city’s second-largest, is on the eastern edge.
- Some of the sunnier weather on the west side of the bay, by local reputation.
The Tradeoffs
- Almost no condos, so entry-level buyers here are buying houses.
- Mission Street is busy and not especially pretty; the quiet is a few blocks uphill.
- Many homes are original or remodeled in stages, so plans and permits deserve a close look.
The Excelsior is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in San Francisco and one of the last places a lot of families can still buy a house in the city. It is not trying to impress anyone. It has a main street, a big park, houses with garages and a grid of streets that lets you walk from Paris to Madrid before your coffee gets cold.
The Neighborhood Block by Block
Around the World on Foot
The Excelsior Homestead Association filed its map with the city on April 15, 1869. Its avenues are named for countries and its streets for capital cities, so Persia, Russia, Brazil and Italy cross London, Paris, Madrid and Lisbon. Two of the original avenues were renamed in the anti-Asian climate of the late 19th century. Avalon was Japan Avenue, and the street sign at Avalon and Lisbon still says so in small type.
Avalon (Japan) at Lisbon. photo: matt fuller
Mission Street
Mission Street is the commercial spine, with family-run restaurants serving Filipino, Salvadoran, Chinese and Mexican food, plus produce markets, bakeries and everything else a neighborhood needs. It is busy, practical and very much in use.
An Excelsior District Mural. photo: matt fuller
Jerry Garcia’s Neighborhood
Jerry Garcia was born in 1942 and grew up on Harrington Street, which now carries the commemorative name Jerry Garcia Street. Every year the neighborhood throws Jerry Day at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater in McLaren Park.
Jerry Garcia Amphitheater, McLaren Park. photo: matt fuller
The Longer Story
The Homes in Detail
Mostly single-family houses built between about 1900 and 1950: Edwardians, stucco Mediterranean Revival homes and plenty painted in colors their owners chose without consulting anyone. Garages, in-law units and backyards are common. Condo sales are rare.
A Little History
The land was farms and cottages until the 1906 earthquake, when displaced families moved south and the streetcar lines followed. By World War II the Excelsior was a working-class neighborhood of Italian, Irish and Swiss families, with Art Deco social halls and commercial buildings along Mission Street. Today it is one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in the city, with a large Filipino community.
Getting Around
Muni buses run up and down Mission Street, and Balboa Park BART is at the neighborhood’s western edge. I-280 and Alemany Boulevard make driving south straightforward.
Questions We Hear
What Are Homes Like in the Excelsior?
Single-family houses, most built before 1950, many with garages, yards and in-law units. Condos are scarce.
How Do People Commute From the Excelsior?
BART from Balboa Park, Muni along Mission Street, or I-280 for the Peninsula and South Bay.
What Is There to Do in the Excelsior?
Eat your way down Mission Street, walk McLaren Park, and catch Jerry Day at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater.
Why Are the Streets Named After Countries?
The Excelsior Homestead map of 1869 named the avenues for countries and the streets for capital cities. It has made giving directions here more interesting ever since.