It took nearly a week to certify the results, but San Francisco voters have narrowly approved a ballot measure creating a new incentive aiming to spur conversions of empty office buildings to housing.

The measure, known as Proposition C, exempts property from real estate transfer taxes, ranging from 0.5% to 6%, the first time a commercial property is sold for conversion to residential use. The exemption applies to projects that receive final approval before Jan. 1, 2030.

Proposition C limits the aggregate amount of space that can be exempted from the transfer tax to a total of 5M SF. It also increases the city's annual limit on new office development in proportion to the amount of office space lost to conversions.

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