San Francisco’s Empty Offices Delay Apartment-Rent Recovery

San Francisco is the only U.S. apartment market that hasn’t seen a full recovery to pre-pandemic rents, landlord Equity Residential said in its earnings call Wednesday.

A halting return of employees to their offices is still weighing down demand for apartments in the city. That’s limiting how much Equity Residential can raise rents, Chief Operating Officer Michael Manelis said. Once local firms set formal return dates -- likely in 2022 -- rents in San Francisco are set to improve, he said.