San Francisco Retail Market Report

Economic growth underpins consumer spending. The addition of roughly 71,000 new jobs over the trailing 12-month period ending in August lowered unemployment to 2.1 percent, the second-lowest rate among major U.S. markets. Additionally, the median household income increased by 3.0 percent in the past year, ranking San Francisco among the top three metros in the nation for that metric. The strength of the economy supported a rise in retail sales that is outpacing inflation, indicating consumer demand for goods and services is robust, even though prices are higher. Grocery stores, fitness centers, restaurants and experiential retailers are among tenants actively taking space off the market in the metro. The western half of the city of San Francisco, along with suburban locales, such as San Mateo, Belmont-San Carlos, Burlingame, Redwood City and Menlo Park, have recorded the most leasing activity as of late.