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Bernal Heights, San Francisco Homes for sale, recent sales and a Property Nerd’s guide
The hill south of Cesar Chavez Street: an 1859 rancho subdivision of small, steep lots, mostly houses from the 1900s to the 1950s, Cortland Avenue's shops and a 26-acre park on the summit.
Bernal Heights by the numbers
bernal heights by the numbers · live from the mls
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Calculated in your browser from MLS data for Bernal Heights (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets). Sales are single-family homes, townhomes and condos.
homes in bernal heights · live from the mls
Homes for sale, for rent and recently sold in Bernal Heights
Every active listing, rental and closed sale in Bernal Heights from the MLS, updated automatically, with a map of the neighborhood outline.
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Listings come from MLSListings and other MLSs through IDX and show their listing brokerage; confirm details with the listing agent. The map outline is the neighborhood boundary used by our listing search (Bernal Heights (approximate outline traced from the boundary streets)); it may not match every local definition.
the story
How Bernal Heights came to be
Bernal Heights is named for José Cornelio de Bernal. The city's park department says the hill was part of a rancho land grant, and a 2021 Planning Department evaluation dates the rancho to 1840, when the land held cattle and dairy ranches. Subdivision began in 1859 and, per Planning, produced narrower streets and smaller lots than the rest of the city, but building only picked up about a decade later, when horsecar lines reached the Mission. An 1869 real estate ad cited by Planning still calls today's Peralta Avenue 'California Avenue' and Alabama Street 'Columbia Place.' In 1876 a claimed gold strike on the summit set off a short rush; the gold turned out to be quartz.
The 1906 earthquake shaped the next chapter. A 2012 Planning evaluation notes that the hill sits on bedrock and came through with little damage, while Precita Park, then called Bernal Park, held a refugee camp. Building boomed from 1906 to about 1910, more followed after a streetcar line ran along Cortland Avenue, and by the 1930s the hill was largely built out. Later turning points, per Planning, were freeway construction along the edges in the late 1940s and early 1950s, a redevelopment threat in the 1960s, and Cortland Avenue's growth into the shopping street.
The hill's shape still drives the rules. Planning Code Section 242 created the Bernal Heights Special Use District for an area of hillside topography and older buildings on lots generally smaller than in other low-density parts of the city, and the zoning map shows it covering much of the hill. The summit stayed open: volunteers began cleanups in 1973, and in 1980 the city approved their grassland restoration there.
streets and homes
The streets and the houses
The street grid was laid over the hill rather than around it, so many blocks climb steeply toward Bernal Heights Boulevard, the paved, limited-access road that circles the summit park. Cortland Avenue crosses the middle of the hill, Folsom and Mission streets run north-south, Precita Avenue splits around Precita Park at the north foot, and Holly Park Circle rings Holly Park on the south slope above Crescent Avenue and Alemany Boulevard. East of Mission Street the St. Mary's Park blocks along Justin Drive sit above I-280; west of it, the College Avenue blocks drop toward the Bernal Cut, where San Jose Avenue and the rail lines pass through to Glen Park.
The houses match the small lots. On the Assessor's 2025 roll the median house lot is about 1,750 square feet and the median house about 1,300 square feet. Houses make up 72% of residential parcels (4,909), with 781 flats-and-duplex parcels and 627 condominium units. About 1,775 houses carry 1900s dates (the roll uses 1900 for many pre-1906 or unknown buildings), about 775 date from the 1920s and about 930 from the 1940s and 1950s, when much of the south and east slopes filled in.
Planning has found two California Register-eligible districts here. On the north slope, roughly from Precita Park south to Stoneman and Norwich streets between Folsom and Alabama streets, one- and two-story houses and two-flat buildings in Italianate, Queen Anne, Stick-Eastlake and Classical Revival styles keep their wood siding and bay windows. On Rutledge Street, the south side of the block between Alabama Street and Peralta Avenue holds cottages built from the early 1870s to 1900. For remodels, the Section 242 text adopted in 2000 sets a general 30-foot height limit with upslope and downslope rules, rear yards of 35% to 45% of lot depth, and a mass reduction on RH-1 lots.
streets in bernal heights
- Cortland Ave
- Folsom St
- Precita Ave
- Peralta Ave
- Bernal Heights Blvd
- Mission St
- Alemany Blvd
- Crescent Ave
- Holly Park Cir
- College Ave
- Ellsworth St
- Gates St
- Andover St
- Moultrie St
- Anderson St
- Banks St
- Prentiss St
- Elsie St
- Eugenia Ave
- Powhattan Ave
- Rutledge St
- Alabama St
- Bradford St
- Montcalm St
- Mullen Ave
- Justin Dr
- Tompkins Ave
- Richland Ave
- Nevada St
- Coleridge St
parks and places
Parks, shops and landmarks near Bernal Heights
- park
Bernal Heights Park
About 26 acres on the summit (city parks data), with an off-leash dog play area, restored grassland and a paved limited-access road plus dirt trails to the summit, where the park department notes a 360-degree view of the bay, downtown and the East Bay hills.
- park
Precita Park
About 2.25 acres at 3200 Folsom Street, the long lawn between the two sides of Precita Avenue from Folsom Street to Alabama Street. It was called Bernal Park and held a refugee camp after the 1906 earthquake, per Planning.
- park
Holly Park
About 8 acres inside Holly Park Circle, renovated by Rec and Park, with a playground, tennis and basketball courts, a ball field, picnic areas and a loop path. Junipero Serra Elementary sits beside it.
- park
St. Mary's Recreation Center
A 13.6-acre Rec and Park site at 95 Justin Drive, on the slope above I-280 in the southwest corner of the neighborhood.
- shopping
Cortland Avenue
The Cortland Avenue Neighborhood Commercial District runs roughly from Bocana Street east to Folsom Street, served by the 24 and 67 buses. Mission Street on the west side is a separate commercial district.
- landmark
Bernal Heights Branch Library
500 Cortland Avenue, dedicated in 1940, designed by Frederick H. Meyer and funded by the Work Projects Administration; a renovation finished in 2010 kept the stenciled ceiling and hanging lamps.
- shopping
Alemany Farmers Market
The city-owned market at 100 Alemany Boulevard, on the south edge, runs on Saturdays; the city says it opened in 1943 and also lists an Alemany Flea Market at the site.
schools and commute
School districts and getting around
School districts
Bernal Heights is served by the San Francisco Unified School District, which assigns seats by application and lottery; an address's attendance-area school is a tiebreaker, not a guarantee. Public schools in the neighborhood include Paul Revere (K-8, 555 Tompkins Avenue) and Junipero Serra Elementary (625 Holly Park Circle), and Leonard R. Flynn Elementary sits on the north edge at 3125 Cesar Chavez Street. Attendance areas and assignment rules change, so check the exact address with SFUSD's Enrollment Center.
Getting around
- BART: 24th St Mission station is about 0.9 mile straight-line from the middle of the hill, and Glen Park station about 1.1 miles; the J Church Muni Metro line runs along San Jose Avenue on the west edge toward Glen Park.
- Muni buses: the 67 Bernal Heights runs from 24th and Mission streets via Folsom Street, Cortland Avenue and Alemany Boulevard to Ellsworth Street and Crescent Avenue; the 24 Divisadero runs along Cortland Avenue and Mission Street; the 14R Mission Rapid runs on Mission Street to downtown and Daly City BART.
- Freeways: US-101 runs along the east side and meets I-280 at the southeast corner, with ramps at Cesar Chavez Street and Alemany Boulevard.
- Caltrain: 22nd Street station is about 1.8 miles straight-line from the center; San Francisco 4th and King is about 2.8 miles.
- Downtown: Montgomery Street BART is about 3.5 miles straight-line from the middle of the hill.
nerd notes
Buying or selling in Bernal Heights: what we check
Buying here
- Read Section 242 before you plan an addition: the Bernal Heights Special Use District has its own height, rear-yard and mass-reduction rules in addition to RH zoning, and the 2000 version says the Elsie Street Plan and the 1986 East Slope Building Guidelines are used to judge new construction and alterations in the areas they cover. A 2008 ordinance also requires Conditional Use authorization for new development on a mapped group of south-slope parcels; confirm what applies to your lot with Planning.
- Small, steep lots: get a survey and look hard at retaining walls, drainage and foundations. The state's seismic hazard maps put about 4% of the neighborhood in earthquake-induced landslide zones (steep slopes around the summit park and on the east slope) and about 9% in liquefaction zones (mostly the low ground along Alemany Boulevard and I-280); permits in a zone may need a geotechnical report.
- Check historic status in the Property Information Map's Preservation tab. The north-slope and Rutledge Street districts are California Register-eligible, so façade changes or demolition there can trigger historic review.
- Flats, TICs and condos: units in buildings first built before June 13, 1979 are generally under the Rent Ordinance's rent limits; single-family homes and condos are usually exempt from rent limits under Costa-Hawkins but keep just-cause eviction rules. For a TIC, line up a fractional lender early; for a condo, read the HOA budget, reserve study and minutes and check current dues. Wood buildings with five or more units may be on the city's soft-story retrofit list.
- More units may be possible: Planning's summary of Section 207 allows up to four units on many RH lots (six on corner lots) under conditions, not counting ADUs. The Family Zoning Plan (in effect January 12, 2026) mainly rezoned northern and western neighborhoods, so check the parcel's current zoning before you price in an ADU or extra unit.
Selling here
- Lead with the lot and the house: lot size, the house's square footage, the slope and which way the house faces matter more here than on flat blocks, so put the Assessor's numbers and a floor plan in the listing.
- Pull permit history and fix the paperwork before listing; additions on steep lots are where buyers' inspectors look first, along with foundations and retaining walls.
- Expect the natural hazard disclosure to flag state seismic hazard zones on some slopes and along Alemany Boulevard; get the report early so it is not a surprise in escrow.
- If the building has tenants or flats, assemble rent rolls, leases and Rent Board history; buyers will price in Rent Ordinance coverage. Check sf.gov for the transfer tax tier that applies to your sale price.
nerd noteCommissions are always negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what's included.
faq
Bernal Heights questions, answered
Where are Bernal Heights' boundaries?
On the San Francisco Association of Realtors' neighborhood map, Bernal Heights runs from Cesar Chavez Street south to I-280 and Alemany Boulevard, and from San Jose Avenue east to US-101. The city's own neighborhood map splits the same area into Bernal Heights, Peralta Heights, Holly Park and St. Mary's Park.
What kinds of homes are in Bernal Heights?
Mostly houses on small lots: 4,909 houses are 72% of residential parcels on the Assessor's 2025 roll, on a median lot of about 1,750 square feet, plus 781 flats-and-duplex parcels and 627 condos. The median house was built in 1923.
What is the Bernal Heights Special Use District?
A zoning overlay under Planning Code Section 242, written for hillside lots smaller than in other low-density areas. It adds its own height, rear-yard and building-mass rules, so check the current text with Planning before you buy for a remodel.
Is Bernal Heights in a flood or seismic hazard zone?
FEMA's flood map shows no special flood hazard area here. The state's seismic hazard maps put about 9% of the area in liquefaction zones, mostly along Alemany Boulevard and I-280, and about 4% in landslide zones on steep slopes. Check the parcel.
How far is BART from Bernal Heights?
24th St Mission station is about 0.9 mile straight-line from the middle of the hill, and the 67 bus starts at 24th and Mission streets. Glen Park station is about 1.1 miles straight-line.
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