Downtown San Francisco buildings once worth $74m sells for pittance in latest sign Dem-run city's troubles are far from over
180 Sutter Street and 222 Kearney Street sit on the edge of San Francisco's once bustling Financial District and Union Square.
A pair of San Francisco buildings sold for a fraction of their original price in another damning signal of the city's downtown's rapid decline.
The office buildings sold for just $5 million at a foreclosure auction in December after being purchased for a staggering $74.4 million in 2019, per the San Francisco Chronicle.
180 Sutter Street and 222 Kearney Street sit on the edge of San Francisco's once bustling Financial District and Union Square.
But in recent years, buildings in the city's downtown have experienced a drastic decline, reporting a 22 percent vacancy rate in 2025.
The slump began amid the pandemic when the rise of remote work emptied office spaces like the Sutter and Kearney buildings.
Between 2019 and 2024, the buildings' occupancies dropped 60 percent.
Popular stores, restaurants and even the renowned San Francisco Towne Center shut their doors in 2025.
Union Square experienced a slew of closures last year which led to multiple real estate properties dipping into debt and selling for a fraction of their value, per the San Francisco Examiner.
Two buildings in San Francisco's once thriving Financial District have sold for a fraction of their initial price in the latest indication the region is still struggling with pandemic-induced decline
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has spent his first year in office targeting the drug and homelessness crises in his city
The ten-story and five-story buildings on Kearney and Sutter appear to be victims of the same depressing trend.
When they went to auction, they had an estimated $56.7 million in unpaid debt.
Appraisals for the vacant building dipped by more than 75 percent since 2019, coming in at just $18 million.
The buildings included roughly 145,000 square feet of office space for the new buyer, who paid an estiamted $34.40 per square foot.
It marks a drastic drop from when the neighboring offices were last purchased in 2019 and each square foot came in at $515.
The sinking prices could reflect the rise of crime and homelessness in Union Square and the Financial District.
In 2024, San Francisco's homeless population continued to rise, reaching more than 8,000 people, per SF government data.
In 2025, overdose deaths in the city hit nearly 600, per the Medical Examiner's Office.
Business owners say the rampant drug use and homelessness has driven away foot traffic and prompted their decision to shut up shop.