Allison Chapleau's San Francisco multi-unit listings, sales and client reviews
Allison Chapleau is a Senior Vice President at Compass Commercial Brokerage who lists and sells San Francisco duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, apartment buildings and mixed-use buildings with residential units. She has worked this one asset class, in this one city, since 2002, and she works with investment specialist Natalie Meyers.
Between 2021 and 2025 she was the #1 listing agent in San Francisco for 2 to 4 unit buildings, with 78 listings against 36 for the second-ranked agent, based on San Francisco MLS data via Broker Metrics. Over her career she has sold more than 300 apartment, mixed-use and commercial buildings, with more than $1 billion in multi-unit volume.
Inventory changes often. See every current building on the San Francisco multi-unit properties for sale page.
Allison Chapleau's published record shows 57 San Francisco multi-unit sales that closed between November 2024 and September 2026. They're listed below by building size, newest first. "Listing side" and "buyer side" appear where the sale record states the side.
The full record is on the San Francisco sold multi-unit properties page, with case studies on the notable San Francisco multi-unit sales page.
Duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes make up most of San Francisco's small income buildings. Allison's Q2 2026 report counts about 21,430 buildings with 2 to 4 units in the city, compared with about 4,506 buildings of 5 to 9 units and 3,626 buildings of 10 or more units.
These buildings line the Victorian and Edwardian blocks of NoPa, Alamo Square, Noe Valley, the Mission and the Haight. Out west, the Richmond and the Sunset add many 1920s to 1960s flats and small apartment buildings.
San Francisco's 2 to 4 unit market dipped between 2022 and 2024 as rates rose, then recovered. In Allison's Q2 2026 report, the year-to-date median was about $1.95 million for a 2-unit building and about $2.18 million for a 3 to 4 unit building. Two-unit buildings averaged about $784 per sq ft, and 3 to 4 unit buildings about $604 per sq ft.
Vacancy moves price. In 2025, 69 percent of San Francisco duplex sales delivered vacant, and those vacant duplexes sold for $753 per sq ft, compared with $577 for occupied buildings, per Allison's market analysis.
For 5+ unit buildings, the mid-year 2026 report puts the average cap rate at about 5.9 percent, against about 3.8 percent at the 2015 low. The gross rent multiplier has fallen from a 2016 peak of 17.8 to about 11.7. Pricing averaged about $432 per sq ft, up from about $402 in 2024 but below the 2018 peak of $562.
Monthly numbers move fast. In August 2026, 14 San Francisco apartment buildings of 5+ units sold at an average of $486 per sq ft, according to the SFARMLS. Another 56 were on the market and 37 were in escrow. Allison publishes these counts in her San Francisco monthly apartment building sales reports.
Most San Francisco multi-unit buildings fall under the city's Rent Ordinance. Per the city's guide to San Francisco rental laws, many units built on or before June 13, 1979 have both rent control and eviction protection. Units whose first certificate of occupancy came after that date are exempt from the rent increase limits but still have eviction protection.
The allowable annual rent increase for covered units is 1.6 percent for March 1, 2026 through February 28, 2027, up from 1.4 percent the year before, per the Rent Board's current rates page. A sale doesn't change any of that. Under Rent Ordinance Section 37.9(k), sellers and buyers must tell tenants in writing that they can't be evicted, asked to move or have their rent raised because the building sold.
Covered tenants can only be evicted for one of 17 just causes in Section 37.9(a), and a change in ownership isn't one of them. One of those causes is the Ellis Act, which lets an owner withdraw every unit in a building from the rental market. For notices served March 1, 2026 through February 28, 2027, Ellis relocation payments are $11,110.05 per tenant, up to $33,330.13 per unit, plus $7,443.90 for each tenant who is 62 or older or disabled.
Buyouts are regulated too. Under Section 37.9E, a landlord must give the tenant a pre-buyout disclosure form and file a declaration with the Rent Board before talks begin. The tenant can cancel a signed agreement until the 45th day, and filed agreements go into a public database with tenant names redacted, per the Rent Board's buyout agreements page.
Soft-story retrofits. San Francisco's Mandatory Soft Story Program covers wood-frame buildings with five or more residential units, three or more stories (or two stories over a basement or underfloor area), and an original building permit applied for before January 1, 1978. The last compliance deadline passed on September 15, 2021. DBI data as of July 31, 2025 shows 4,678 of 4,945 listed properties with work complete, about 95 percent, per the city's soft-story properties dataset. That's why Allison's listings state retrofit status up front.
Transfer tax. San Francisco charges transfer tax on the full sale price, at one rate set by price tier, per the Assessor-Recorder's transfer tax page. The rate is 0.68 percent between $250,000 and $1 million, 0.75 percent for sales of $1 million up to $5 million, 2.25 percent for $5 million up to $10 million, 5.5 percent for $10 million up to $25 million and 6 percent at $25 million and above. The two top rates date to Proposition I in November 2020. A seller who completed seismic or solar work may qualify for a partial exemption of up to one-third of the tax on the first sale after the work.
Condo conversions and TICs. A tenancy-in-common, or TIC, lets a group of people co-own one parcel, per the Assessor-Recorder. San Francisco Public Works, which processes all condo conversions, lists a direct conversion track for 2-unit buildings where both units are owner-occupied. Its Expedited Conversion Program for buildings of 2 to 6 units is suspended, and it offers no condo conversion lottery application as of September 2026, per Public Works.
Zoning. SB 9 lot splits and duplexes apply only in RH-1 zoning in San Francisco, and properties with rent-controlled units are excluded, per SF Planning. The city's Family Zoning Plan, in effect since January 12, 2026, removes density limits in many residential areas off the major corridors within existing height limits, per SF Planning.
Allison graduated from the University of San Francisco in 2002 with a degree in Business Administration and a minor in Finance. That year she took a $400-a-week internship at Marcus & Millichap in San Francisco. Marcus & Millichap named her Rookie of the Year in 2007.
Her early years covered many investment property types. Around 2010, during the last big downturn, she narrowed her focus to San Francisco apartment buildings. She joined Paragon Commercial Real Estate as Senior Vice President that year.
In 2019 she moved to the commercial division of Vanguard Properties. There she listed 625 Scott Street in 2022 at $20,000,000, and it sold that August for $18,050,000. In January 2024 she joined Compass Commercial Brokerage as Senior Vice President.
Today her work covers all ten San Francisco real estate districts. Recent sales include an $850,000 duplex in Glen Park and two 12-unit Edwardians in the Western Addition. Her sales cluster most heavily in NoPa, Noe Valley, the Mission, the Richmond and the Sunset.
Allison publishes free San Francisco multi-unit market data: monthly apartment building sales reports, quarterly 2 to 4 unit and 5+ unit reports going back to at least 2018, and a San Francisco district explorer for all ten districts.
She also coaches other agents, especially women entering commercial real estate. Residential agents and teams bring her in as their commercial partner when a client needs to sell a San Francisco multi-unit building.
These reviews come from owners who sold San Francisco duplexes, triplexes, apartment buildings and mixed-use buildings with Allison.
"Recently sold a duplex for me and got me a massive premium to what I was expecting. Made the sales process fast and easy."
Hans Geiszler, sold a San Francisco duplex, 2026 (Allison Chapleau on Google)
"Working with Allison to sell the 5 unit building in on Potrero Hill that I have co-owned for more than 40 years was all I could have asked for. She was spot on determining the price point."
Seller, 813-817 Kansas Street (5 units, Potrero Hill), 2025 (Allison Chapleau client testimonials)
"Allison represented myself and partners in the sale of our 3-unit building. There were multiple offers and we accepted a cash offer with a 10-day close, no contingencies."
Seller, 538 Waller Street (3 units, Lower Haight) (Allison Chapleau client testimonials)
"Allison and her team not only were able to find a qualified buyer very quickly but were also able to expertly navigate me through the process. Her experience and knowledge in selling multiple unit buildings is impressive."
Seller, 628 Lyon Street (6 units, NoPa), 2024 (Allison Chapleau client testimonials)
"Our mixed use building was special to us because it had been in our family for over 80 years. We chose Allison for her energy, enthusiasm, market savvy knowledge and strategies."
Seller, 3848 24th Street (5-unit mixed-use building, Noe Valley) (Allison Chapleau client testimonials)
"Allison listed and sold my building with multiple offers... She is a great choice and I would highly recommend her to any San Francisco apartment building owner."
Seller, 2618-20 Balboa Street (2 units, Richmond District) (Allison Chapleau client testimonials)
"I'm so glad she represented me in the sale of my mixed-use property. My sale was smooth, efficient, and profitable."
Seller, 4700 Mission Street (7-unit mixed-use building, Excelsior) (Allison Chapleau client testimonials)
"If you're looking for someone that knows multi-unit properties well in the San Francisco area, she is hands down the person you want."
Seller, 1200-1202 Funston Avenue (2 units, Inner Sunset) (Allison Chapleau client testimonials)
A San Francisco apartment building isn't priced like a house. Buyers price the rent roll, the vacancy, the rent control status and the retrofit history. Allison has done that work on duplexes, fourplexes and 42-unit buildings since 2002, and her #1 ranking for 2 to 4 unit listings shows how often owners hand her the job.
Sellers get a pricing plan built on cap rate, GRM and fresh comparable sales, an investor-grade marketing package and direct outreach to more than 1,500 buyers and brokers. Buyers, including owner-occupants and 1031 exchange buyers, get help finding buildings where the numbers work. Start with a confidential San Francisco multi-unit property valuation.
Last updated: September 29, 2026
Whether you're considering selling, exploring a 1031 exchange, or simply want to understand where your property stands in today's market, an accurate valuation is the starting point.
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