929 Bush St APT 7, San Francisco, CA 94109 — 19.3% Cash-on-Cash

About this property

929 Bush St APT 7 is a top-floor studio condo in a classic 8-unit San Francisco building, listed at $499,000 after a $26,000 price reduction.

The listing describes a studio with soaring ceilings, hardwood floors, and oversized windows that flood the unit with natural light — details that matter in a market where small footprints live or die on how they feel. The open-concept kitchen flows into the main living area, and the unit includes in-unit laundry, additional storage, and access to shared outdoor space. For a studio, that's a meaningful amenity stack.

The building is non-owner-occupied, which signals an investor-friendly ownership structure. The property has been on the market for 135 days — well above the pace of nearby listings — and carries a $387/month HOA fee. That combination of extended DOM and HOA cost is worth interrogating before closing, but neither is disqualifying given the income numbers.

No square footage is recorded in public data, and the year built is not disclosed in the listing. The lot is 1,581 square feet. The $26,000 price cut from the original ask suggests some seller flexibility remains.

The investment case

A 19.3% cash-on-cash return at a $499,000 price point is the kind of number that doesn't appear often in San Francisco — and the broader metrics back it up.

List Price

$499,000

Monthly Payment (PITI+HOA)

$3,467

Principal & Interest

$2,427

Property Tax

$487

Insurance

$166

HOA

$387

PMI

$0

Est. Monthly Rent

$5,070

Estimated rent based on automated valuation of comparable listings.

Cash-on-Cash Return

19.3%

Cap Rate

10.9%

Monthly Cash Flow

$1,603

Gross Rent Multiplier

8.2

DSCR

1.9

The city's average cash-on-cash return sits at negative 11.0%. The weakest deal in SF's top-10 leaderboard still clears 7.06%. This property, at 19.3%, isn't just outperforming the city average — it's outperforming the city's best deals by a factor of nearly three.

The financial structure: at a $499,000 purchase price with estimated monthly rent of $5,070, the property generates $1,603 in monthly cash flow after a total monthly payment of $3,467. That payment includes $2,427 in principal and interest at the current 6.49% 30-year fixed rate, $487 in property tax, $166 in insurance, and $387 in HOA fees. No PMI is required.

The cap rate is 10.9%, with net operating income of $4,517 per month. The gross rent multiplier is 8.2 — low enough to suggest the rent is not being stretched to manufacture the return. The debt service coverage ratio of 1.9 means the property generates nearly twice what's needed to cover the mortgage, a cushion that gives lenders and investors alike room to breathe.

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

The income case here is unusually clean for San Francisco: strong rent relative to price, conservative leverage, and a DSCR that leaves meaningful buffer against vacancy or cost overruns.

Annual return outlook

The 25.3% total five-year ROI is built primarily on cash flow, with appreciation and mortgage paydown as secondary contributors.

The ROI breakdown: cash flow accounts for 19.3 percentage points, mortgage paydown contributes 3.2 points, and an estimated 2.8% annual appreciation adds the remaining component. Cash flow is doing the heavy lifting here — which is unusual in San Francisco, where most investment theses lean on appreciation because income rarely covers costs.

The appreciation figure is an estimate, not a scraped market data point. San Francisco has historically appreciated, but the 2.8% annual projection is a conservative assumption and should be treated as such. An investor who bought this property purely for appreciation and got the income as a bonus would be in a stronger position than one who modeled appreciation aggressively.

Mortgage paydown at 3.2% over five years reflects standard amortization at the current rate — meaningful but not the story here. The story is that this property could, in theory, carry itself entirely on cash flow and still deliver a competitive return even if appreciation underperforms.

How it compares to nearby for-sale listings

Five for-sale comparables in ZIP 94109 show a median list price of $699,000 — 40% above this property's $499,000 ask.

The comp set skews toward one-bedroom units in the $599,000–$848,000 range, with the closest studio comparable at 1000 N Point St APT 705 listed at $490,000 for 354 square feet — essentially the same price as 929 Bush St but with recorded square footage that implies a price-per-square-foot north of $1,385.

Without a recorded square footage for 929 Bush St, a direct price-per-square-foot comparison isn't possible. What the comp table does confirm: at $499,000, this property is priced at the low end of the local market, well below the zip's $699,000 median. The one-bedrooms in the set range from $599,000 to $848,000, which suggests the studio discount is real and not an artifact of condition.

The 135 days on market is the outlier. The four newest comps have been listed between 2 and 6 days. That gap is a signal — either the property has a characteristic that's turning buyers away, or it was originally priced too high and the $26,000 reduction hasn't fully closed the gap. Either way, a buyer has negotiating leverage that wouldn't exist on a fresher listing.

Rental demand in this zip

No rental comparables were identified in ZIP 94109 for this bedroom count, so the $5,070 monthly rent estimate carries meaningful uncertainty.

The estimated monthly rent of $5,070 is the foundation of every income metric in this analysis. Without local rental comps to validate it, that number deserves scrutiny. San Francisco's Nob Hill and Lower Nob Hill corridors — the area around Bush Street — command premium rents for well-located units, and the listing's proximity to Union Square and the Financial District supports a strong rent case in principle. But $5,070 for a studio is a high figure by any national standard, and an investor should verify current asking rents for comparable studios in the building and on nearby blocks before underwriting at that level.

If the rent estimate proves aggressive and actual achievable rent comes in at, say, $4,000/month, the cash flow drops materially. At $4,000 rent against $3,467 in monthly payments, the property still cash-flows positively — about $533/month — but the CoC compresses significantly. The investment case doesn't collapse, but it narrows. Running a conservative rent scenario before closing is the responsible move given the absence of comparable rental data.

Who this property suits + risks to weigh

This property suits an income-focused investor comfortable with a small-unit, high-rent San Francisco asset — not a value-add play or a flip.

Best fit

The investor this property is built for wants cash flow in a city where cash flow is nearly impossible to find. At 19.3% CoC against a city average of negative 11.0%, the income profile is genuinely rare. A buyer who can put down 20%, qualify at 6.49%, and tolerate the HOA and management overhead of a single studio unit in a multi-unit building is the natural fit. The non-owner-occupied status of the building means the investor joins an existing rental-oriented ownership structure, which simplifies intent.

The property also works as a pied-a-terre for an owner who wants occasional personal use and rental income when not in residence — the listing flags that flexibility explicitly, and it's a legitimate secondary use case in this location.

Risks to weigh

The $387/month HOA fee is the most significant recurring cost risk. HOA fees can increase, and special assessments in older San Francisco buildings are common. The year built isn't disclosed, which makes it harder to assess deferred maintenance exposure — a buyer should request HOA financials and reserve fund status before closing.

The 135-day DOM is a yellow flag. It doesn't disqualify the property, but it demands an explanation. Is there a rent-control complication? A disclosed defect? A tenant in place at below-market rent? These are questions the listing doesn't answer and due diligence must.

Finally, the rent estimate of $5,070 has no local comp support. Building the entire investment case on an unvalidated rent figure is the single biggest underwriting risk here.