San Francisco’s real estate comeback has been a slow burn, but it crossed an important threshold last year: National investors started buying office properties again.
The momentum means bigger and pricier buildings will trade in 2026. These sales will likely set post-pandemic price records and will lift the value of every other building in the market. The top trophies will trade for nine figures, levels unheard of during the pandemic, when mostly local bargain hunters snapped up smaller, distressed properties for pennies on the dollar.
Here’s a look at the next batch of buildings on the market that buyers have been circling.
45 Fremont St.
Aka the Shorenstein building
This 34-story Financial District building was developed by one of San Francisco’s most powerful real estate families, the Shorensteins, who have owned it since 1978. Since then, it has hosted the offices of major employers like Bechtel Corp., Wells Fargo, Gensler, and Slack.
Global investment giant Blackstone acquired a 49% stake from one of Shorenstein’s investment partners, Metlife, in 2017. But the pandemic hampered the building’s occupancy and cash flow, putting intense repayment pressure on a $347 million mortgage taken out by the owners from Bank of America.
With the loan in distress, the bank has been rerouting the building’s revenues to cover the outstanding debt. Sources say the Shorenstein company signaled to other investors last year that it was keen on restructuring the loan and ownership structure, since the property is part of the family’s history, but those efforts failed to materialize.
Instead, it appears that New York-based Madison Capital has emerged as the frontrunner (opens in new tab) to acquire the outstanding debt for roughly $265 million. If the deal is closed, the property will trade hands through a deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure, wherein Shorenstein and Blackstone cooperate in the handover to the new buyer.
101 California St.
Aka the next billion-dollar sale?
Observers are characterizing the sale of this 48-story skyscraper near the Embarcadero as a litmus test on the strength of San Francisco’s office market. In other words, what’s the price ceiling in the current economy?
Reports say the owners — Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC and others — are asking for about $900 per square foot (opens in new tab), valuing the property at more than $1 billion.
The cylindrical tower was developed by Hines (which still owns a minority stake) in 1982 and underwent a $75 million ground-floor renovation in 2023. An old bank location was transformed into a cafe and lounge, while a tenant-only gym was added below ground.
Since the building is nearly fully leased and its loan doesn’t mature until 2029, it’s being marketed as a low-risk investment in a high-interest-rate environment. The previous majority owner sold its stake in 2012 for more than $900 million.
There have been two billion-dollar office deals in city history: the Embarcadero Center in 1998, which sold for $1.2 billion, and the former Dropbox headquarters at 1800 Owens St. in Mission Bay in 2021, for $1.08 billion.
201 California St.
Aka the 2019 gamble gone wrong
In December 2019, New York-based Columbia Property Trust made a $239 million bet on this 17-story building, nearly fully leased to the likes of First Republic Bank, Dow Jones, law firm Cooper, White & Cooper, and others. The chips were pushed in just weeks before an unprecedented commercial real estate downturn.
Four years after that transaction, Columbia (now owned by Pacific Management Co.) defaulted on a $1.7 billion loan that covered this property and six others around the U.S. By then, occupancy at 201 California St. had plummeted to less than 35%, and its cash flow could no longer cover payments.
San Francisco-based Ridge Capital has reportedly emerged as the frontrunner (opens in new tab) to acquire the debt on the property for around $75 million, although no deal has officially closed yet. If the purchase is completed, it will mark Ridge’s third office deal in three years: It acquired 180 Howard St. in 2023 and 33 New Montgomery last year.
This building used to be a coworking haven. | Source: Jason Henry for The Standard
600 California St.
Aka the WeWork building
Around the time WeWork began unraveling ahead of its scuttled 2019 IPO, an entity tied to the coworking company paid more than $320 million, or $900 per square foot, for this 20-story Financial District tower. At one point, WeWork occupied more than half the building.
By 2023, WeWork had stopped paying rent at 600 California and defaulted on the loan it took out to purchase the property. The building is now in foreclosure, with an outstanding debt load of $305 million, according to public documents.
Dallas-based private equity firm Lone Star Funds is reportedly in talks (opens in new tab) to acquire the outstanding debt and the property. Pricing is not known.
55 Second St.
Aka the former KPMG building
A “privately owned public open space” at 55 Second St. | Morgan Ellis/The Standard
This 25-story building straddling Second and Market made headlines last year when its previous owner, Paramount Group, declared it virtually worthless after two anchor tenants departed and left it half empty.
Although the loan wasn’t due until October 2026, Paramount this year gave up the 380,000-square-foot building it bought in 2019 for more than $400 million, clearing the way for lenders to list it for sale.
The pricing guidance to purchase the remainder of that debt is reportedly (opens in new tab) between $130 million and $145 million. One factor working in the sellers’ favor is that the building is relatively newer than others on the market (it was built in 2002), making it easier to maintain and renovate.