The seller of a $2.9 million San Francisco home is accepting payment in Anthropic or OpenAI stock - Business Insider

The listing for a newly restored three-bedroom home in San Francisco's Duboce Triangle neatly captures the city's AI-fueled real estate frenzy in one line: "Anthropic or OpenAI stock will be considered as payments."It has been less than 24 hours since the offer went live, and the listing agent, Rachel Swann, told Business Insider she has been flooded with interest."My phone has been blowing up," Swann said. "It seems to be something that's very exciting for people."San Francisco real estate and stock in the hottest AI companies have one thing in common: high demand and low supply, which naturally drives up prices.The 2,495-square-foot Duboce Triangle home is asking $2,995,000. It offers a slew of luxurious amenities, including 10-foot ceilings, custom cabinetry, remote-controlled solar skylights, and a deep-soaking tub, but the listing leads with an offer that could only happen in 2026 San Francisco —the offer of accepting stock in two of the most valuable AI companies on the planet.The seller is a local "high-end luxury developer" who is a big believer in Anthropic and OpenAI, according to Swann.Swann says they got the idea after seeing a wave of OpenAI and Anthropic employees and investors come to open houses who have "nowhere to live" because the housing supply is so tight and all their wealth is tied up in illiquid stock."It's a perfect storm," she said. "You wouldn't believe how many people I see come through who say, 'We can't touch our stock quite yet, but we would love to buy something.'"This is not the first Bay Area house to ask for stock in AI companies.Last month, Storm Duncan, a tech banker, offered his $4.8 million Marin County estate in exchange for shares in Anthropic. He told Business Insider he received multiple offers, including some from Anthropic employees.In contrast to the anemic national housing market, San Francisco home prices have skyrocketed 19% year over year, driven by a surge in AI valuations. On average, homes sell after 14 days on the market, compared to 20 days last year, according to Zillow data. Tales abound about buyers being flooded with multiple offers and houses going for significantly over their listing prices.Rental prices are rising by more than 21%, with the average one-bedroom apartment costing $4,000 a month, according to Zumper.As OpenAI and Anthropic prepare to go public, housing prices are expected to soar further as employees and early investors cash out and buy homes with their riches."There's probably a decent number of people who are sitting in a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco even though they're earning $400,000 a year and are worth a $100 million," Duncan told Business Insider a few weeks ago. "But they can't access that because their stock is so illiquid, so this gives them an opportunity to diversify."The listing for Duncan's house has since been removed. Asked for comment, Duncan texted: "Can't talk about it. Apologies."Swann says she is hoping to have all offers for the Duboce Triangle house in hand next week."If somebody can buy something before they realize their paper wealth, why not?" she said. "People create things that have only been in their dreams all the time in San Francisco, so why not do it with real estate?"