home stylesplates 01 and 02 · victorian & craftsmansan franciscoboyenga team at compass
San Francisco Victorian & Edwardian homes
Victorian, Edwardian and Craftsman homes for sale in San Francisco, live from the MLS, plus how to spot each style from the sidewalk, the neighborhoods where they stand, and what we check before you buy or sell one. The Property Nerds® have sold Bay Area homes since 1996.
- for sale in san francisco now · live…
- median year built, listed now…
- victorian & edwardian era1870s–1910s
- selling bay area homes since1996
on the market
Victorian, Edwardian and Craftsman homes for sale in San Francisco
Active San Francisco listings we can place in one of two older styles: Victorian and Edwardian, or Craftsman and bungalow. We read the MLS style field first, then the description, and check the year built. Pick a style to narrow the board. When San Francisco has none, the closest ones nearby show up below.
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Want the ones that never hit the MLS?
Tell us the style and streets you love in San Francisco and we’ll watch for Compass Private Exclusives and Coming Soon homes.
How homes land here: we read each active San Francisco listing’s MLS style field and its description, then check the year built. “MLS-tagged only” keeps the homes whose listing agent picked the style. Orange pins are MLS-tagged. Some listings record a style only in fields this search can’t filter on, so a few may not appear here; ask us for a full search. Listing data comes from the MLS and is shown with the listing brokerage; confirm details with the listing agent.
where in san francisco
Where to look in San Francisco
Each name opens our full neighborhood guide, with live listings, a map and what to check.
01 · victorian & edwardian
- Noe ValleyA few 1880s cottages, then mostly Queen Anne, Italianate and Stick/Eastlake houses from the 1890s boom, then post-1906 flats.
- Pacific HeightsBuilders lined Webster Street between Clay and Jackson with 25 Italianate houses from 1878 to 1880.
- Haight-Ashbury & Cole ValleyQueen Anne, Stick and Italianate row houses and flats, then Edwardian-era houses and flats.
- Castro & Eureka ValleyFernando Nelson built dozens here, among them the Queen Anne row on Hartford Street in 1901–02.
- Mission Dolores & Dolores HeightsPre-1906 Italianate and Stick houses, Queen Anne and Classical Revival flats, and post-1906 flats.
- Inner RichmondNelson's Queen Anne and period revival houses, treated by Planning as a historic district.
- Bernal HeightsNorth-slope houses and two-flats in Italianate, Queen Anne, Stick-Eastlake and Classical Revival styles.
- Russian HillVictorian and early-1900s houses on the crest lanes, Edwardian flats on the slopes.
- Potrero HillVictorian- and Edwardian-era houses and two-flat buildings on the hill.
how to spot one
How to spot a Victorian from the sidewalk
The drawing is a San Francisco Italianate row house over a raised basement. Hover or tap a number to match it to the list.
Bay windows
A slanted two-story bay on Italianate houses, or a squared bay on Stick/Eastlake houses, pushes the front room toward the street.
Bracketed cornice
A straight roofline ending in a deep cornice on brackets, often on a false front that hides the roof behind it.
Tall, narrow windows
Vertical double-hung windows with molded hoods or crowns over them.
Raised basement and stoop
The main floor sits a half level up over a raised basement, reached by a flight of front stairs. San Francisco Planning names raised basements as a local trait.
Applied ornament
Brackets, stickwork, spindles and patterned (fish-scale) shingles. Queen Annes add decorated gables and corner towers.
Row-house rhythm
Narrow fronts set side by side. Many San Francisco Victorians stand on 25-foot lots, most touching their neighbors.
Open the full Victorian & Edwardian plate
Also on this board
the nerd check
Before you buy or sell a Victorian or Edwardian in San Francisco
What we check when you buy
- Foundation and boltingFind out the foundation type and whether the house is bolted and its cripple walls braced. California's Earthquake Brace + Bolt program offers retrofit grants for wood-framed houses built before 1980 on raised foundations in designated ZIP codes, with registration open for a limited time each year. Cripple walls taller than 4 feet need an engineered retrofit.
- Wiring generationsAsk an electrician to identify every wiring type, including any original circuits still in use, and to confirm the panel capacity.
- Lead paintFor houses built before 1978, sellers must disclose known lead-based paint and give buyers the federal pamphlet, and buyers get a 10-day window to inspect. Test before sanding or repainting trim.
- Asbestos before remodelingSuspect materials can't be identified by sight. EPA advises sampling by an accredited professional before work disturbs them.
- Cornices, bays and false frontsCheck brackets, cornices, bays and stickwork for rot, and see how water drains from the roof behind a false front.
- Legal unit countFor flats or converted houses, confirm the legal number of units and the permits for past conversions, additions and basement rooms.
- Original windowsNote which wood sashes are original. Preservation guidelines generally favor weather stripping and storm windows over vinyl or aluminum replacements.
- Historic reviewCheck whether the property is in a San Francisco Article 10 district, San Jose's Hensley district, a Los Gatos historic district or a city inventory, since exterior work there needs added review.
How we market one when you sell
- Photograph the facade straight onBays, cornices and gable ornament read clearly in even, frontal light.
- Name the style correctlyItalianate, Stick/Eastlake, Queen Anne or Edwardian, so buyers compare like with like.
- Document the unitsFor flats, assemble the permit history and the legal unit count before listing.
- Share the district rulesIf the property is in a historic district, include its guidelines and review steps in the disclosure package.
- Note any Mills Act contractContracts transfer to new owners, so buyers need to see it.
San Francisco’s Article 10 historic districts include Webster Street, Alamo Square, Duboce Park, Liberty Hill and Bush Street–Cottage Row, and exterior changes there go through Certificate of Appropriateness review. We help buyers read the rules for a specific address before they write an offer.
victorians in other cities
More Victorian city pages
All Victorian & Edwardian homes · The home styles field guide
San Francisco builders and architects in the Builder Files: Fernando Nelson · Willis Polk · Ernest Coxhead
every style in san francisco
Every style in the field guide, by era
Bars show the years each style was mostly built here. Each name opens that style’s live board, set to San Francisco.
- 01Victorian & Edwardian1870s–1910s
- 02Craftsman & bungalow1905–1930
- 03Spanish & Mediterranean1915–1940
- 04Tudor, storybook & traditional1920s–1940s
- 05California ranchlate 1930s–1970s
- 06Mid-century modern1945–1975
- 07Eichler1949–1974
- 08Modern & contemporary1970s–today
- 09Modern farmhouse & new construction2005–today
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