San Francisco rents soar 26% to record heights as the AI boom fuels a housing crunch

San Francisco renters are getting squeezed as the city’s booming artificial intelligence industry helps send apartment prices to staggering new heights.The median asking rent for a one-bedroom apartment climbed to a record $4,430 in October, a whopping 26.2% increase from a year earlier, according to Zumper’s latest national rent report.That’s roughly $920 more per month than renters were paying a year ago — or more than $11,000 in additional rent annually at those prices.And those looking for more space aren’t getting much relief.

The median two-bedroom apartment now commands $6,320 a month, up an even steeper 27.9% year-over-year.Although that’s a slight dip from September’s record $6,340, it still translates to nearly $76,000 a year in rent alone.San Francisco posted the fastest annual one-bedroom rent growth among the 100 largest US cities tracked by Zumper, as its resurgent technology sector drives demand for housing in a city already struggling with limited supply.The latest figures extend a months-long surge in the notoriously expensive market.

In September, one-bedroom rents had already reached a then-record $4,400, representing a 25.4% annual increase.Just a month later, prices have climbed even higher.The sharp rise has coincided with the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence companies, whose well-paid workers are competing for apartments near the city’s growing concentration of AI startups and established tech firms.Zumper attributed the city’s extraordinary rental growth in part to AI-sector hiring, which has created new housing demand at a time when relatively few new homes are being built.The frenzy has also spilled into the city’s luxury housing market.Newly wealthy AI executives and investors have fueled a mansion shortage, with some properties attracting as many as 50 offers and even buyers armed with $25 million in cash getting outbid.But the supply crunch has been years in the making.The AI-fueled wealth boom could inte...