San Francisco's transfer tax goes up with the price. The Assessor-Recorder's rate table charges $11.25 per $500 (2.25%) on sales from $5 million to under $10 million, $27.50 per $500 (5.5%) from $10 million to under $25 million, and $30 per $500 (6%) at $25 million and above.
More homes are reaching the top brackets. Citing Compass data, the Standard reports SF had 19 residential sales of $10 million or more in the year ending June 2025 and 34 in the year ending this summer. Six such sales have closed in October alone, the most in a single month in several years.
City chief economist Ted Egan told the Standard that transfer tax revenue for the past year is expected to reach about $417 million, up 42%. Single-family and multifamily home sales made up 58% of that and commercial buildings 42%. The figures are preliminary until the city's annual financial report comes out. "Commercial property sales can be very volatile in San Francisco and the growth we get from upper-end residential sales can be an important stabilizer for that revenue stream," Egan said. He added that it's "not an enormous driver."