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San Francisco median one bedroom apartment rent hits a new peak of $3,690

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Re: San Francisco median one bedroom apartment rent hits a new peak of $3,690

#41
post #29

I just visited New York on an extended trip. Most of NYC is better connected, more vibrant, more concerts, more sports, more universities, more housing, more international people, more business activity. Yet, NYC is affordable with a "functioning" commute system. People on all spectrum of income can live there. SF bay area has none of all that and yet is super expensive wasteland of suburbia. SF city is better but no…

SF is not the Bay Area, the data often gets confused.

And SF is oddly very, very different from San Jose or Palo Alto - they're literally different climates, like 10 degrees differential on most days!

SF proper is a very small city, less than 1m people!.

Re: San Francisco median one bedroom apartment rent hits a new peak of $3,690

#42
The data is suspect. Anecdotally, and throw browsing the Craigslist classifieds, the rental market seems to have softened some since the peak a year or two ago.

Specifically looking at the Mission, there was a time that a sub-$3000 one bedroom was very rare. Now you can find plenty in the $2500-$3000 range and even some decent ones below $2500.

There is also more inventory.

Re: San Francisco median one bedroom apartment rent hits a new peak of $3,690

#44
post #3

For those who live in SF - what's the cost of a one bedroom rent 1 hour from most jobs in SF? I know in NYC you can reliably get that for around 1500.

The Bay Area is particularly problematic in this regard. There are quite a few cities—Boston I’m most familiar with—where you go an hour out and prices are pretty reasonable. Not Rust Belt reasonable but reasonable. Not so much in the Bay Area.

Re: San Francisco median one bedroom apartment rent hits a new peak of $3,690

#45
post #29

I just visited New York on an extended trip. Most of NYC is better connected, more vibrant, more concerts, more sports, more universities, more housing, more international people, more business activity. Yet, NYC is affordable with a "functioning" commute system. People on all spectrum of income can live there. SF bay area has none of all that and yet is super expensive wasteland of suburbia. SF city is better but no…

SF is not the Bay Area, the data often gets confused. And SF is oddly very, very different from San Jose or Palo Alto - they're literally different climates, like 10 degrees differential on most days! SF proper is a very small city, less than 1m people!.

That is true. That's why I wrote:

>> SF bay area has none of all that and yet is super expensive wasteland of suburbia. SF city is better but not even comparable to major cities of the world.

Most SV jobs are in the bay area. Even concerts, sports, shows in SF are in bay area not in SF proper.

SF proper is smaller than Jersey City or Brooklyn, with lesser walking stores/restaurants, lesser community activities and anyone not in a rent controlled apartment cannot live a life without stress in SF proper.

Re: San Francisco median one bedroom apartment rent hits a new peak of $3,690

#46
post #21

I always wonder how those who are not in the high paying jobs can afford to live there. I'm talking about police, fire, EMS, coffeehouse workers, etc.

Policemen make six figures. Others commute from 2 hours in.

To be fair, police (and firefighters) make six figures because they have powerful unions who finance the campaigns of the very people who decide their salaries. Ironic that the people charged with protecting our communities are the ones destroying them.

Re: San Francisco median one bedroom apartment rent hits a new peak of $3,690

#47
post #15

On one hand, it’s a very high price. On the other hand, no one is entitled to a one bedroom unit in the heart of one of the human epicenters in the world. Many people here have roommates or alternate living arrangements. There are several reasons why the prices have gotten so high (lack of supply, politics, etc). But don’t expect to move your Texas ranch or Midwestern single-family-house lifestyle to SF with no compr…

This is more expensive than Manhattan, Tokyo, every European capital, etc. It's more expensive because unlike most other cities San Francisco has very few residential apartment buildings. Make SF into Manhattan and watch prices fall.

>Make SF into Manhattan and watch prices fall.

I don't see how that follows. Manhattan is Manhattan, and yet prices still rise, families and communities are still displaced, and there are still people that are un or under-housed.

In America, housing is an asset that appreciates in value for the purpose of resale. For the middle class, housing has been the primary means of accruing wealth and for many is the entirety of their retirement savings.

A society that guaranteed housing to every citizen would be fundamentally, structurally different than the one we live in today. It's not a simple urban planning problem.

Re: San Francisco median one bedroom apartment rent hits a new peak of $3,690

#48
When headhunters contact me about SF (or even Bay Area) jobs, I just scoff and shut them down. If you're fresh out of school, no family, and willing to live in a hovel for some interesting life experience, sure. But if you're an adult, it's no way to live. And putting kids through it is frankly unethical.

Re: San Francisco median one bedroom apartment rent hits a new peak of $3,690

#49
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Policemen make six figures. Others commute from 2 hours in.

To be fair, police (and firefighters) make six figures because they have powerful unions who finance the campaigns of the very people who decide their salaries. Ironic that the people charged with protecting our communities are the ones destroying them.

I can't blame them. They need living income. The only people destroying this place are NIMBYs who won't allow faster construction of more units.

Ultimately businesses have to relocate to find talent. Seattle, Austin, NYC and Boston are super well-positioned. Amazon HQ2 is important for this very reason. It is a gigantic churner of talent and can do wonders.

Re: San Francisco median one bedroom apartment rent hits a new peak of $3,690

#50
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Policemen make six figures. Others commute from 2 hours in.

To be fair, police (and firefighters) make six figures because they have powerful unions who finance the campaigns of the very people who decide their salaries. Ironic that the people charged with protecting our communities are the ones destroying them.

I am very curious as to what they are going to do for revenue when the self driving cars take over and prevent the millions of dollars in fines drives acquire each year.
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