What Homes Sell For
Recent Sales
Median sale prices, last 12 months · Oct 2025 – Oct 2026
- Houses
- $2,350,000
- Condos & co-ops
- $1,380,000
- TICs
- $1,292,500
Sales in MLS neighborhood 8C (Nob Hill) 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
- Huntington Park, Grace Cathedral and the grand hotels at the top of the hill
- The California and Powell Street cable cars, the Central Subway at Chinatown-Rose Pak station and Van Ness rapid buses
- Walk to downtown, Union Square, Chinatown and the restaurants on Polk Street
- Some of the city’s grandest co-ops and doorman buildings, plus newer condos along Van Ness
- Values hold up: houses sell about 18% over the citywide median, condos about 8% over
The Tradeoffs
- The hill is steep from every direction
- Street parking is scarce, and garage spaces cost extra
- Only 6 houses sold last year: nearly everything here is a condo, co-op or TIC
Nob Hill rises between Union Square and Russian Hill, with Polk Street and Van Ness on its western edge and Chinatown on its eastern slope. The railroad barons built their mansions at the top, the 1906 fire took nearly all of them, and grand hotels, a cathedral and some of the city’s finest apartment buildings took their place. Today it’s mostly condos, co-ops and TICs, in everything from 1920s doorman buildings to newer construction along Van Ness, with a cable car up the middle. The Fuller Team has been selling San Francisco homes since 2002, and on Nob Hill the building matters as much as the block: two homes a few doors apart can live, and sell, very differently.
The Neighborhood Block by Block
The Top of the Hill
Huntington Park sits on the site of the old Huntington mansion, with Grace Cathedral across Taylor Street and the Fairmont and the Mark Hopkins a block away. The 1906 fire took nearly every mansion up here. The stone shell of the Flood Mansion survived and became the Pacific-Union Club, and the Fairmont, almost finished when the fire hit, was gutted inside and reopened in 1907 after Julia Morgan rebuilt it.
The Pacific-Union Club and the Fairmont.
Cable Cars Up the Middle
The California Street cable car runs over the top of the hill, and the Powell Street lines climb its eastern slope. The Cable Car Museum at Washington and Mason sits inside the working powerhouse that pulls them all.
A cable car climbing Nob Hill.
Newer Homes Along Van Ness
The western edge, along Van Ness and Polk, is where newer buildings like The Marlow have gone up, with Van Ness rapid buses at the corner and Polk Street restaurants a block away.
The Marlow at Clay and Van Ness.
The Longer Story
The Homes in Detail
Nob Hill is one of the few San Francisco neighborhoods with a real stock of co-ops, and there are more condos and co-ops here than single-family homes. Because it was one of the city’s earliest neighborhoods, you’ll also find plenty of Victorian and Edwardian flats, many of them now TICs or condos.
Depending on the block and the floor, homes can have dramatic downtown or bay views. Newer condos have gone up along the Van Ness and Polk corridors, and Crescent Nob Hill at 875 California was finished in 2020.
History on the Hill
Nob Hill is full of San Francisco history, although much of it burned in 1906. The mansions built by the city’s early millionaires were destroyed in the fire; the Flood Mansion’s stone shell and the granite retaining walls of the old estates survived. Grand hotels took the place of many of the lost mansions.
It’s still a deluxe address, with exclusive condo and co-op buildings offering large homes and big views. It’s dense and urban, but with few high-rises other than the hotels, it still feels approachable.
Getting Around
Nob Hill is a transit-rich neighborhood. The California Street cable car crosses the top of the hill, the Powell Street lines run up its eastern side, and several bus lines serve it. The Central Subway opened in 2022 and 2023, with its Chinatown-Rose Pak station on the hill’s eastern edge, and Van Ness rapid buses run along the western edge.
Downtown is a short walk, so depending on where you work, walking is a real commute option. Cable cars are popular with visitors, so they’re not always the fastest way to get to work.
Questions We Hear
How Did Nob Hill Get Its Name?
It was once called California Hill. It was renamed for the “nobs,” short for nabobs, the railroad barons known as the Big Four (Stanford, Huntington, Hopkins and Crocker) who built mansions at the top in the 1870s and 1880s.
What Is There to Do on Nob Hill?
Walk the labyrinths at Grace Cathedral, sit by the fountain in Huntington Park, have a drink with the view at the Top of the Mark or catch a show at the Masonic. The Cable Car Museum is free, and Polk Street, Chinatown and Union Square are all walkable.
What Kinds of Homes Are on Nob Hill?
Mostly condos, co-ops and TICs, from grand 1920s doorman buildings at the top of the hill to Victorian and Edwardian flats on the slopes and newer condo buildings along Van Ness. Houses are rare; only a handful sell in a typical year.
Is There New Construction on Nob Hill?
Some. Crescent Nob Hill at 875 California was finished in 2020, and newer buildings like The Marlow at Clay and Van Ness have gone up along the western edge. The top of the hill itself has been built out for generations.
What Are Home Prices Like in Nob Hill and How Have They Trended?
Prices on Nob Hill move building by building, so a single average hides more than it tells. Our Market Notes track current values across the city. For a read on a specific home or building, ask us: we’ll pull the recent sales and tell you what they mean.
