A rare floating home in San Francisco’s Mission Creek has returned to the property market, with the three-bedroom residence listed for $1.749 million. The unusual sale was reported by SFGATE and CBS San Francisco, while the current listing from City Real Estate confirms the asking price and specifications. Scroll down to read more…The home at 300 Channel St. #14 sits in one of San Francisco’s smallest residential communities: Mission Creek Harbor, where only 20 berths are designated for floating homes. The harbor itself dates back to 1959 and also has berths for pleasure boats.
A home that began as a much smaller boat
The property has changed dramatically since Tyson Graham acquired it in 2002 for $225,000. According to SFGATE and CBS San Francisco, Graham initially bought what was essentially a 40-foot boat and berth before transforming the structure into the much larger home that stands there today.The current MLS listing puts the residence at 1,980 square feet, with three bedrooms and three full bathrooms. It was built in 2003 and is spread across multiple levels, with the design retaining its distinctly nautical character.The property is being offered with access to a separate pleasure-boat berth, adding another layer to what is already an unusual real estate purchase. The listing also highlights its proximity to Oracle Park, Chase Center and the growing cluster of technology and life-science offices around Mission Bay.
Why these homes rarely appear for sale
The biggest attraction may not be the size of the house but the scarcity of the address itself. Mission Creek Harbor’s own records confirm that there are 20 floating-home berths, with no indication of additional floating-home inventory being created.That limited supply has made sales unusually infrequent. SFGATE reported that only a handful of the Mission Creek homes have reached the open market, with many instead changing hands privately or remaining within families. A previous floating home in the community was listed for $1.8 million in 2019.The community has also retained rules that make it different from a conventional San Francisco condominium. Earlier reporting on Mission Creek homes has noted restrictions around occupancy and rental use, while residents are expected to participate in community responsibilities.
From industrial waterway to high-value neighbourhood
The setting has changed almost as dramatically as Graham’s houseboat. Mission Creek was once closely associated with San Francisco’s industrial waterfront. The decline of that activity eventually made space for the floating-home community, which has survived as Mission Bay developed around it. The San Francisco Chronicle has described the 20-home enclave as a remnant of an earlier waterfront landscape now surrounded by newer development.Today, the same stretch of the city sits beside major sports venues, apartment towers, offices and technology campuses. OpenAI’s San Francisco headquarters is at 1455 Third Street, placing the floating-home community within the broader Mission Bay technology corridor. That proximity has added a distinctly modern backdrop to a community that predates today’s tech-heavy neighbourhood.
A $1.749 million bet on a rare address
Graham’s purchase price of $225,000 in 2002 and today’s $1.749 million asking price illustrate how dramatically the value of the property has changed. The current listing, however, represents more than a simple calculation based on square footage. The buyer is paying for access to an extremely limited waterfront community in a part of San Francisco that has undergone major redevelopment.Whether the asking price ultimately translates into a completed sale will depend on the market and the unusual conditions attached to owning a floating home. For now, one of Mission Creek’s 20 residences is once again available, offering a combination that is difficult to find elsewhere in the city: a private home on the water, surrounded by one of San Francisco’s fastest-changing urban districts.