2937 Harrison St, San Francisco, CA 94110 — 19.6% Cash-on-Cash

About this property

2937 Harrison St is a three-bedroom, two-bath single-family flat in San Francisco's 94110 zip, listed at $699,000 with 1,367 square feet of living space on a 2,500-square-foot lot.

The listing describes a second-floor flat with preserved period details — original hardwood floors, high ceilings around ten feet, and large park-facing windows that pull in natural light. Those original finishes are the property's character; they're also a signal that the kitchen and bath haven't been updated, which the listing frames as a renovation opportunity with a projected post-rehab value near $1.1 million.

Location specifics come from the listing itself: an eight-minute walk to BART, proximity to tech shuttle stops on Cesar Chavez, and direct sightlines onto Garfield Square. For a tenant-facing pitch, those transit credentials matter.

At 58 days on market with only a $1,000 price reduction from the original ask, the property hasn't moved fast — but it hasn't been slashed either. That's a neutral signal: seller isn't panicking, but demand hasn't been overwhelming at this price point. The non-owner-occupied status confirms this is already operating as a rental asset, not a primary residence transition.

The investment case

The numbers here stand out sharply against the San Francisco baseline: a 19.6% cash-on-cash return and $2,280 in projected monthly cash flow on a $699,000 purchase.

List Price

$699,000

Monthly Payment (PITI+HOA)

$4,608

Principal & Interest

$3,443

Property Tax

$682

Insurance

$233

HOA

$250

PMI

$0

Est. Monthly Rent

$6,888

Estimated rent based on automated valuation of comparable listings.

Cash-on-Cash Return

19.6%

Cap Rate

11.0%

Monthly Cash Flow

$2,280

Gross Rent Multiplier

8.5

DSCR

1.9

At a 20% down payment ($139,800), the total monthly payment lands at $4,608 — principal and interest at $3,443, property tax at $682, insurance at $233, and HOA fees at $250. Against an estimated monthly rent of $6,888, that produces $2,280 in monthly cash flow and a debt service coverage ratio of 1.9, meaning the property generates nearly twice what's needed to cover the mortgage obligation.

The cap rate of 11.0% and net operating income of $6,405 per month are the figures that separate this listing from the San Francisco norm. The city average cash-on-cash sits at -11.0% — most properties here don't cash-flow at all at 20% down and current rates. This property's 19.6% CoC is also 3.3 percentage points above the zip 94110 average of 16.3%, making it the strongest performer in the zip by that measure.

The gross rent multiplier of 8.5 reinforces the relative value. At the city's median listing price of $998,000, buyers are paying significantly more per dollar of gross rent. Here, the math works in the investor's direction from day one.

Figures exclude depreciation tax benefits, which vary by individual tax situation.

For a San Francisco cash-flow deal, this one is structurally unusual — the income coverage is wide, not thin.

Annual return outlook

The 26.0% total five-year ROI breaks into three components, with cash flow doing the heaviest lifting by a wide margin.

Cash flow contributes 19.6% of the total return, mortgage paydown adds 3.6%, and appreciation layers in an estimated 2.8% annually. That appreciation figure is an estimate, not a market-sourced data point, so it carries more uncertainty than the income-side numbers.

The structure here is worth noting: in most San Francisco deals, appreciation is the primary investment thesis because cash flow is negative. This property inverts that. The income return alone clears the city's tenth-best deal threshold of 7.06% CoC — meaning even if appreciation comes in flat, the deal still generates a return that beats most of what's available locally.

The mortgage paydown contribution of 3.6% is modest but real. At a 6.49% rate on a loan of roughly $559,200, early years are interest-heavy, so equity accumulation accelerates slowly at first. Over five years, it's a supporting contributor, not a lead one.

If the renovation thesis plays out — the listing projects a post-rehab value near $1.1 million against a $699,000 purchase — that would represent a value-add upside not captured in the baseline 2.8% appreciation estimate. That scenario requires capital outlay and execution risk, but it's a plausible second layer for an investor willing to take on a project.

How it compares to nearby for-sale listings

Five active for-sale listings in zip 94110 provide price context, and the gap between this property and its peers is significant.

The for-sale comp median in 94110 sits at $1,695,000 — more than twice this property's $699,000 ask. Even the two lowest-priced comps in the table, at $899,000 and $888,000, carry premiums of $190,000 to $200,000 over this listing. On a price-per-square-foot basis, 2937 Harrison comes in around $511/sqft against comps that range considerably higher given their price points and similar or only modestly larger footprints.

The 66-day and 99-day market times on the two closest price comps suggest that sub-$900K inventory in this zip also sits. That's a relevant data point: the discount relative to the comp median doesn't automatically translate to fast absorption. Buyers who can afford $699K in San Francisco can often stretch further, which may explain why this property has been on market 58 days without a deal.

From an investor's perspective, the comp spread does support the listing's renovation thesis. Properties at $1.6M to $2.5M in the same zip with three bedrooms indicate that a renovated, well-positioned asset in 94110 can command a significant premium over the current ask.

Rental demand in this zip

Rental comp data for three-bedroom units in zip 94110 is thin — no comparable rentals were identified in the analysis — so the $6,888 monthly rent estimate carries meaningful uncertainty.

With zero rental comps available in the immediate zip for this bedroom count, the $6,888 estimated monthly rent can't be cross-validated against active market listings. That's a real gap in the underwriting. Investors should treat the cash-flow projection as a scenario that requires independent rent verification before closing, not a confirmed market rate.

What the broader San Francisco context does support: three-bedroom units in transit-accessible, park-adjacent locations in the city have historically commanded strong rents. The property's described attributes — high ceilings, hardwood floors, park views, BART proximity — are the kind of tenant-facing features that support premium pricing. But "historically" and "described" aren't the same as a current signed lease or a stack of active rental listings at comparable rates.

The DSCR of 1.9 provides a cushion. Even if actual achievable rent comes in 10-15% below the estimate — say, $5,855 to $6,200 per month — the property likely still cash-flows positive. That margin of safety is meaningful given the comp data gap. The risk isn't binary; it's a question of how wide the actual cash flow spread turns out to be.

Who this property suits + risks to weigh

This property suits an experienced income-focused investor who can absorb renovation optionality and is comfortable underwriting a rent estimate without hard comp support.

Best fit

The deal's cash-flow profile — 19.6% CoC, $2,280/month, DSCR of 1.9 — makes it most legible to investors prioritizing income return over appreciation speculation. In a city where the average deal produces negative cash flow, this property is structurally different. An investor already familiar with San Francisco tenant law and the operational realities of managing a non-owner-occupied flat will be best positioned to capture that return without surprises.

The renovation angle adds a second investor type: a value-add buyer willing to deploy additional capital into the kitchen and bath to push toward the listing's projected $1.1 million post-rehab value. That's a more active thesis, and it requires confidence in contractor costs and timeline in a market where both can run long.

Risks to weigh

The rent estimate lacks local comp support. Zero comparable three-bedroom rentals were identified in the zip, which means the $6,888 figure is a projection, not a market-validated rate. If actual rent comes in materially lower, the CoC advantage compresses.

The $250/month HOA fee is a fixed drag that doesn't scale with rent. It's already baked into the payment calculation, but it limits flexibility in a vacancy scenario.

At 58 days on market with minimal price movement, the property has had time to find a buyer and hasn't. That's not a red flag, but it's a negotiating data point — there may be room to move on price that the current ask doesn't reflect.

San Francisco's landlord-tenant regulatory environment is a persistent operational risk that doesn't show up in any financial metric here but affects every income property in the city.