Listen to the Story Behind Our San Francisco Report

San Francisco has a reputation for rebuilding itself after each downturn, reaching new highs and lows as the city cycles through another boom-and-bust period. Now it's trying to work its way out of another low.

The pandemic forced workers in cities across the country out of office spaces, shut down travel and kept people largely at home. Yet unlike other cities, employees in San Francisco have been slower to return to their offices. It's a troublesome trend largely due to the city's dependence on tech companies that have ditched or downsized their large downtown headquarters and work spaces to adapt to their flexible work policies.

Hotels in the market have also been slower to recover compared to the other top markets across the United States due to the significant drop in business travel, international arrivals and citywide events.

Compounding the challenges for return-to-office and hotel demand is the city's negative public image. That's been fueled by stories about violent crime, theft and homelessness and national headlines, making it difficult for positive news to break through.

But that's not San Francisco's complete story.

To report on the city's struggling real estate market, CoStar News' Katie Burke and HNN's Bryan Wroten spent time talking to civic and business leaders about what was going on in and around downtown, the top tourist hot spots and some of its predominantly residential neighborhoods.

Listen as Burke and Wroten discuss how their reporting came together to tell the story behind San Francisco's efforts to bounce back.