San Francisco BMR homes: how to buy a below market rate home

San Francisco BMR homes are below market rate homes, mostly condos, that the city sells at a set low price to first-time buyers under an income limit, the most a household can earn. Before you can apply, finish the city's homebuyer class and get a lender's pre-approval letter. Then enter the lottery, a random drawing, for each home on DAHLIA, the city's housing website.

What is a BMR home in San Francisco?

A BMR home is usually a condo in a building that also has homes sold at market prices, says the city's ownership program page. Owners pay monthly dues to the homeowners association, the group that runs the building, and the city warns that the dues can rise faster than inflation. The Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) runs the program.

The low price comes with a rule for selling. When you sell, MOHCD sets the price and picks the next buyer by lottery. That keeps the home affordable for the next buyer, but it limits how much money you make when you sell.

Who qualifies to buy a BMR home?

The city's buyer rules have five parts:

• First-time buyer. No one in your household has owned a home anywhere in the last three years.
• Income under the limit. Your household's income before taxes must be under the limit posted for that home, usually 100% of the area median income. That is the middle income in the San Francisco area: half of households earn more, and half earn less.
• Homebuyer education. The city's class takes 10 hours in all: a free 2-hour introduction, a 6-hour workshop and a 2-hour meeting with a housing counselor. It costs $0 to $99, depending on where you take it, and the form that proves you finished is good for one year.
• A pre-approval letter. A lender, a bank or company that makes home loans, writes this letter after reviewing 3 months of bank statements, 3 years of tax returns and your pay stubs. It says how much you can borrow. The lender must be on the city's approved list, and the letter must be dated within the past 120 days.
• Savings. You need money for the down payment, generally 3% of the price, and for closing costs, the fees you pay on the day the sale becomes final, generally 2% to 3% more.

The program rules add two more. The home must be your main residence, and you need at least one person for each bedroom, so one person can't buy a 2-bedroom home.

These are the 2026 limits, in effect since June 1, 2026. Each listing says which column it uses:

How do savings change your counted income?

MOHCD counts part of your savings, investments and other cash-like assets as income. If your down payment is less than 20% of the price, it leaves out the first $80,000 of your savings. Then it adds 10% of the rest to your yearly income.

Say two people earn $120,000 a year and have $130,000 in savings, and they plan to put down less than 20%. MOHCD leaves out $80,000, which leaves $50,000. 10% of $50,000 is $5,000, so their counted income is $125,000. That is under the $129,700 limit for two people at 100% of the median, so they qualify for a home that uses that column.

If you put down 20% or more, MOHCD leaves out your whole down payment or the first $80,000, whichever is more.

How do you apply for a BMR home?

1. Finish homebuyer education. Register on the city's homebuyer education page, starting with the free introduction session.
2. Get pre-approved. Pick a lender from the city's approved lender list.
3. Find a home on DAHLIA. Read each listing's price, income limit, preferences and deadline. You apply separately for each home.
4. Enter the lottery. The city's lottery page says each applicant gets a random rank, and people with preferences move ahead.
5. Send the full application if you're picked. After the lottery, you have 5 business days to send MOHCD a full application package with your documents.

If your application passes, MOHCD sends a conditional approval, an approval that still depends on your loan going through, about 15 business days after the lottery results are posted. You then have 7 calendar days to sign a contract to buy. Escrow comes next: a neutral company holds the money and papers until the sale is final. For BMR homes, escrow is 60 days.

What lottery preferences can move you up?

A preference moves some applicants ahead of others in the lottery. The city's priority page lists these:

• Certificate of Preference. For people forced to move by the former San Francisco Redevelopment Agency in the 1960s, 1970s or 1980s, and for their descendants in some buildings.
• Displaced Tenant Housing Preference. For people forced out of their home by a fire, certain evictions or a rent increase in an affordable apartment.
• Neighborhood resident. For people who live within half a mile of the building or in the same supervisor district. Each supervisor district elects one member of the city's Board of Supervisors.
• Live or work in San Francisco. For people who live in the city or work at least 75% of their working hours there.
• Veteran. Veterans move ahead within a preference group, but only if they also qualify for another preference.

Only one person on your application needs to qualify for a preference. Each listing uses its own set, so check it on DAHLIA. Everyone without a preference is ranked last, in the general group.

What are first-come BMR homes?

Some BMR homes are sold first come, first served instead of by lottery: they go to the first qualified buyer, and the listing stays open until the homes are sold. MOHCD posts a separate first-come application package for them. You still need the homebuyer class and a pre-approval letter before you apply.

What should you do next?

Sign up for homebuyer education first, because you can't apply without it. Then ask an approved lender for a pre-approval letter.

See open San Francisco BMR homes, with prices, deadlines and income limits, on our San Francisco page, and use our qualify check to see which ones fit your household. Open housing lotteries lists lotteries in other cities too. You apply on the official DAHLIA page. Our guide to below market rate housing explains how these homes work in other cities. Our guide to California first-time home buyer programs explains the state's loans for first-time buyers.