Measure FF: Real Property Tax

Empower Oakland endorses YES on Measure FF.

Currently, when a property in Oakland changes hands, the buyer pays a one-time transfer tax to the city. But there’s an exception: when a bank or investor takes ownership of a property after the owner defaults, no tax is owed.

Measure FF ends that exemption for banks and big investors. It is not a new tax, and it does not raise anyone’s property tax rate. The exemption stays in place for properties converted to transitional and interim housing, for transfers within a family, and for community banks under $10B in assets.

The city expects this to bring in $4 million to $13 million a year.

Source (https://www.empoweroakland.com/voter-guide#measure-ff)

SPUR's Recommendation

Oakland is struggling to address projected budget deficits and needs revenue to fund city functions and service programs. The city has few ways to generate revenue without increasing the tax burden for working families and small businesses. Closing the foreclosure loophole for most commercial and larger residential properties offers a path to increase revenue by treating foreclosure transactions like other sales while protecting homeowners, small landlords, affordable housing, commercial-to-residential conversion projects, and community banking institutions.

What Measure FF Would Do

Measure FF would eliminate a partial exemption from Oakland’s real property transfer tax for all foreclosed commercial and residential properties unless one of the following conditions applies:

1. The buyer is an individual or a family trust (not a corporation or institution), and the property consists of four or fewer residential units.
2. The transferred real estate is a commercial property that will be converted to interim shelter; single-room occupancy (SRO), affordable, or permanent supportive housing; or a healthcare facility.
3. The transferee is a community banking organization with assets under $10 billion.

The City Council could amend, remove, or add to these exceptions by ordinance, rather than going back to the voters. The city estimates that Measure FF would generate approximately $4 million to $13 million annually in revenue. If approved, the measure's changes would become effective January 1, 2027.

The Backstory

In Oakland, the seller in a property transaction pays transfer tax to both Alameda County (at a flat rate of 0.11%) and the city (rates range from 1% to 2.5% depending on the transaction amount). Voters approved the city’s tiered real estate transfer tax structure in 2018. Prior to that, the city’s transfer tax rates had not increased since 1993. The current progressive rate structure aims to ensure that higher-value real estate transactions meaningfully contribute to the city’s General Fund.

Oakland Real Property Transfer Tax Rate Scale (2018 Measure X)

• Property Sale Price: Less than $300,000; Transfer Tax Rate: 1%
• Property Sale Price: $300,001 – $2,000,000; Transfer Tax Rate: 1.5%
• Property Sale Price: $2,000,001 – $5,000,000; Transfer Tax Rate: 1.75%
• Property Sale Price: Above $5,000,000; Transfer Tax Rate: 2.5%

The current policy exempts transfers of properties subject to foreclosure proceedings and properties transferred to lenders to avoid foreclosure, mirroring an exemption mandated by the state’s documentary transfer tax policy. Nearly all charter cities in Alameda County and the wider Bay Area also exempt foreclosure transactions from their local transfer taxes. Notably, San Francisco voters are also considering a ballot measure (Prop. J) to remove the foreclosure exemption for commercial, mixed-use, and most multi-family residential properties.

Foreclosure exemptions encourage economic activity by making distressed properties more affordable and leaving buyers with more money to invest in them. However, critics argue that the exemptions disproportionately benefit financial institutions, lenders, and investors that acquire property by buying distressed debt. They also argue that they prevent the city from recapturing value generated by foreclosure-related transfers of large properties, such as multi-family and commercial buildings.

Measure FF aims to recapture revenues from commercial, mixed-use, and larger multi-family property transfers; create a financial incentive for lenders to prioritize loan modifications over seizures; and protect community banks and housing while generating additional revenue to bolster the city’s General Fund.

Since 2024, Oakland has narrowly avoided large projected budget deficits through an unsustainable combination of one-time revenue, depleting reserves, and temporary cuts. The post-pandemic economic downturn has led to years of depressed transfer tax revenue, though in 2025, a $1 billion real estate transaction pushed the city’s total annual transfer tax revenue 26.5% higher than projected. Oakland cannot rely on highly volatile revenue sources such as the transfer tax to resolve ongoing budget issues; however, California cities have few options to generate revenue outside of property and sales taxes, which increase the tax load for residents and small businesses. In June 2026, voters rejected a special parcel tax measure that would have generated $34 million annually to fund city service programs for nine years, pushing city leaders to identify other strategies to generate revenue.

The City Council placed Measure FF on the ballot by unanimous vote. It requires a simple majority (50% plus one vote) to pass.

Equity Impacts

Revenues from the transfer tax become part of the General Fund and broadly support municipal functions and services, including programs that benefit low-income residents and communities of color. Measure FF would exempt properties that are to be converted to single-room occupancy and interim shelter housing, which serve extremely low-income individuals and families.

Pros

• Measure FF would increase revenue without raising transfer tax rates, which is particularly critical given Oakland’s projected budget deficit.
• Closing this loophole by limiting foreclosure exemptions would align the city’s transfer tax policy with the goals of its voter-approved progressive rate structure.

Cons

• Lenders may pass transfer tax costs on to buyers or raise transaction fees to offset their costs, potentially making it financially infeasible for new buyers to purchase and revive certain properties.
• Oakland’s commercial office market is still struggling; making commercial real estate more expensive to buy and sell may slow that market's recovery.

Source (https://www.spur.org/voter-guide/2026-11/oak-measure-ff-transfer-tax-foreclosures)