AI Salaries Drive San Francisco House Prices to Record $1.76M Median

San Francisco home prices have surged to a record median of $1.76 million as of May 2026, driven by massive wealth from AI workers at companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. The city has overtaken San Jose as the most expensive US homebuying market, with prices up 14-19% year-over-year since March.

A three-bedroom apartment in Duboce Triangle was listed for nearly $3 million, with the seller willing to accept shares in OpenAI or Anthropic instead of cash. An OpenAI employee who viewed the property said he plans to ask his bosses about the stock transfer option.

Key data points from Redfin:

• Median sale price in SF: $1.76M (May 2026) vs ~$400K nationally
• SF prices up 19% YoY in March, 14.5% in April, 14.1% in May
• National prices rose only 1.4-2% in same period

The price boom is attributed to extraordinary AI worker compensation. Last October, over 600 current and former OpenAI employees sold combined shares worth $6.6 billion — an average of $11 million per participant. Anthropic workers also recently sold shares totaling ~$6 billion. Both companies are expected to go public later this year or next, minting more multi-millionaires.

Real estate agent Rachel Swann noted that today's bidding wars will likely be seen as bargains in hindsight.