Wealthy AI workers send San Francisco house prices soaring

Wealthy AI workers send San Francisco house prices soaringImage source, Open Homes PhotographyImage caption, The top half of the house in the middle, a three-bedroom apartment, was on sale for almost $3mByZoe CorbynBusiness reporter, Reporting fromSan FranciscoPublished4 minutes agoOn a tree-lined street in the affluent Duboce Triangle residential neighbourhood of San Francisco, the top half of a white, Edwardian-era, detached house was drawing visitors from prospective buyers.The opulently renovated three-bedroom apartment was on the market for almost $3m (£2.3m). And it had been attracting increased attention due to an unusual payment possibility - the seller would consider shares in artificial intelligence companies OpenAI or Anthropic instead of cash."The value [of the property] is questionable, but I would like to buy," says a young OpenAI employee who has just viewed the flat with his partner.The worker, who moved to the Californian city two years ago for a technical job with the San Francisco-based company, is currently renting. He plans, he says, to ask his bosses about the stock transfer possibility.AI giant Anthropic plans to sell shares in US as valuation nears $1tnPublished2 JuneAI giants' race to raise funds heats up as ChatGPT-owner plans stock market debutPublished9 JuneWelcome to San Francisco 2026, also home to fellow AI giant Anthropic. The city is ground zero for the AI revolution, and its property prices have risen dramatically this year."They are just astronomical," says Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin, a real estate company that tracks US home prices. "People are flush with cash and ready to buy."In March, San Francisco regained its title as the most expensive city for homebuyers in the US, overtaking rival San Jose 50 miles to the south in the heart of traditional Silicon Valley.That month, the median house price in San Francisco rose 19% on the year before, and that trend has continued, up 14.5%...