On the foggy side but not too far. With tongue in cheek, call it Outer Cole Valley if you really can’t stomach life west of Arguello. Classic Edwardians, modern transit, Golden Gate Park adjacent.
The Inner Sunset neighborhood flies under the radar of many home buyers, but is absolutely loved by its residents.
The Inner Sunset is primarily a neighborhood of single-family homes, the oldest built in the early 1900s, and it offers a great mix of character and convenience. Originally settled by Irish immigrants, today it is an eclectic mix of old-timers, newer immigrants from around the globe, and San Franciscans of every stripe imaginable.
The N-Judah streetcar – offering convenient access to downtown – runs through the heart of the neighborhood, along the Irving street shopping and dining corridor before jogging south to Judah at 9th Ave. on its way toward Ocean Beach. While some people will object to the noise, many buyers place a premium on homes that are a short walk from the N-Judah.
The University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) has a large campus with two hospitals on the southeastern border of the neighborhood. University students make up a good chunk of neighborhood residents and help contribute to a young and dynamic neighborhood vibe. Many UCSF employees also live in the neighborhood.
Golden Gate Park is never too far away, and this is a definite selling point for homes for sale in the neighborhood. A carousel, the Koret children’s playground, museums (including the de Young Museum, California Academy of Sciences, botanical gardens, and Conservatory of Flowers), the county fair building and the Big Rec fields are just a few of the many park destinations that are only a short distance from the doorsteps of Inner Sunset homes.
Inner Sunset Neighborhood Vibe
UCSF students mingle with retirees, families, and lifelong residents of this cozy neighborhood just south of Golden Gate Park. The 9th Ave. & Irving corridor is lively with restaurants, bars, shops, and coffee joints. With easy access to the deYoung museum and the California Academy of Sciences, the Inner Sunset is perfect for Golden Gate Park explorers.
Popular Inner Sunset Home Styles
Victorian and Edwardian homes proliferate here, with a mix of single-family homes, condos, and tenancies-in-common. Most homes are on 25’ wide lots with deep backyards, and some have views to the ocean.
Getting Around in the Inner Sunset
Just a few stops west of the Sunset Tunnel, the Inner Sunset is well served by the N-Judah as it runs through the neighborhood towards Ocean Beach along Irving and then Judah. The neighborhood is also home to the Parnassus Heights campus of UCSF and is served by the UCSF private shuttle bus system.
With 20+ years in the industry and over $400M in sales, we live and breathe San Francisco real estate from Visitacion Valley to The Marina and from Victorians to modern condos. Always fascinated by the people, history, and evolution of our city, we can’t imagine working anywhere else.
We know how to prepare and position your home for top dollar when selling and how to negotiate your best price as a buyer regardless of market dynamics. We work with the right people at the right time, tapping our powerful network of lenders, contractors, artisans, and vendors.
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San Francisco is a city of neighborhoods, each with nuances and a distinct character that make a difference when choosing a home.
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Median sales price is calculated based on sold data and doesn’t account for seller concessions. Median price represents the point at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less. In smaller neighborhoods like many of those found in San Francisco, this metric is less likely to be influenced by extremely high or low sales prices that don’t represent the typical neighborhood home.
Days on Market indicates how quickly or slowly homes are selling in the neighborhood. The lower the days on market (DOM), the stronger the market is for sellers, all other things being equal.
The number of homes available for sale in active status at the end of a given month. Fewer homes available for sale may indicate a seasonal trend or market dynamics that favor a seller more than a buyer.
In strong or balanced markets, homes in San Francisco typically sell over asking. In a buyer’s market, homes will sell at list price or slightly under. If a home has had price reductions, the calculation is based on the last listed price.
Price per square foot is most useful when the homes are almost identical in size, age, layout and other factors important to buyers. Our experience suggests it is a more valuable metric in larger condo buildings and less valuable for homes in neighborhoods built with a diverse selection of styles, sizes, and ages.
The Inner Sunset is a neighborhood in the western part of San Francisco. It is bordered by Central Sunset to the west, Golden Gate Park to the north, Forest Knolls and Cole Valley to the east, and Golden Gate Heights and Inner Parkside to the south. On an SFAR (San Francisco Association of Realtors) MLS map, Inner Sunset is identified as neighborhood 2f.
Originally part of the vast stretch of sandy dunes known as the Outside Lands, the Sunset and Richmond neighborhoods were developed by a handful of developers into large grids of similar single-family houses. Today, the Inner Sunset enjoys next-door proximity to Golden Gate Park and its museums, and is home to the Parnassus campus of the University of California San Francisco, a bustling hive of students, nurses, doctors, and dentists.
On Sundays, grab coffee from a local shop on Ninth Avenue and browse the Farmer’s Market and Flea Market. The Inner Sunset Merchant’s Association hosts seasonal Art Walks that give city dwellers a chance to meet new artists and discover the small businesses that make this a quintessential San Francisco neighborhood, quirky and chain-free.
As its name suggests, the Inner Sunset is the closest area of the Sunset to the rest of the city, and enjoys a comfortable yet quiet spot in the middle of it all, with families mingling with tech workers, and UCSF students and staff grabbing lunch in their hospital scrubs.
As an “already built” neighborhood, the Inner Sunset is not a neighborhood where you should expect to find substantial new construction projects. Smaller developers may renovate/flip existing single family properties, or may take advantage of recent housing laws to add additional units to already existing housing. Transit corridors and major neighborhood streets are the most likely areas for new construction buildings in already built neighborhoods with existing housing stock.
You can scroll up to see our market charts showing current neighborhood prices and other real estate trends for Inner Sunset. We update these charts dynamically as new data becomes available. Reach out to us to learn more about prices, trends, and possibilities in Inner Sunset.