Live data from Hacker News

San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

sfchronicle.com

91–100 of 342 posts

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#91
post #73

This article seems to be based on only a few transactions, as not a lot of people are actually moving right now. I manage a couple of properties in the Bay Area, so I keep a close eye on these things. What I'm seeing is not a drop in rents, but an increase in $0 deposits and many weeks of free rent upon move in (sometimes 6+ weeks). Landlords are very reluctant to lower rents, because with the statewide rent control…

> Landlords are very reluctant to lower rents, because with the statewide rent control that limits increases to 5% a year, we're incentivized to keep the rents high and give months of free rent, just so our base rate doesn't drop. How is it that Mission Bay apartments are not subject to these rent control regulations if this is state wide? Asking because when I lived in Mission Bay, UDR properties each year tried inc…

[deleted]

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#92

"Rents for a one-bedroom apartment dropped most in the cities richest in high-paying tech jobs, falling 9.4% in San Francisco compared with May of 2019. In Mountain View, home to Google, rents fell 15.9% year over year, while in Apple’s hometown of Cupertino rents dipped 14.3%, according to the rental search engine Zumper. In San Bruno, where YouTube has its offices, rents tumbled 14.9%."

This really doesn’t match my personal experience at all. I live in Mountain View (work at G) and pay 2k for a 1 bedroom (non luxury).

Lived here 3 years and pretty happy with it but I checked Craigslist and padmapper last week for some of these supposed 15% rent discounts and found rent to be pretty much the same as pre pandemic.

This is anecdata and I’m using human memory to compare rates per location/amenities but I think I would be noticing even 10% decreases... and I’m just

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#93
post #73

This article seems to be based on only a few transactions, as not a lot of people are actually moving right now. I manage a couple of properties in the Bay Area, so I keep a close eye on these things. What I'm seeing is not a drop in rents, but an increase in $0 deposits and many weeks of free rent upon move in (sometimes 6+ weeks). Landlords are very reluctant to lower rents, because with the statewide rent control…

I live on 22 block Valencia.. I've had 4 neighbors move out in the past month. So as far as price.. I can't say. But as far as folks moving out. I can.

People are moving out but not in. Move-ins determine the rental market price.

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#95
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Coincidently I have been seeing a lot of fully furnished units coming on the market which I assume were former Airbnbs. I've been noticing this as well (I can still find some of them on Airbnb actually). I'm currently in the market for a house, but wondering if waiting a year might be a wise move..

If you're staying in the same market and you already own, then it doesn't matter much. What matters more is that your other investments are relatively outperforming the house (likely already true because of the Fed's money printer). If you don't already own, waiting for a drop might be wise, but if you're going to sell stock to do it, you might wanna do it now. I'm looking at trading up to a new place right now and t…

Doesn't "the Fed's money printer" inflate housing just as much as other assets?

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#96
As a former NYer, I'm hearing stories from friends who got out when offices closed. Many relocated back to their parent's homes (mostly to suburbs in Indianapolis, Cleveland, or NJ) or to family vacation homes (in Maine, Poconos, or Florida).

Selfishly, I hope these friends thrive in these new locales, whether that's through remote work or finding new opportunities. I hope they get out of their inflated NYC rents and bring new energy and ideas outside of the city. SF and NYC have had a chokehold on tech and other prosperous industries for way too long and this had ramifications nationally and in the cities themselves.

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#97
post #73

This article seems to be based on only a few transactions, as not a lot of people are actually moving right now. I manage a couple of properties in the Bay Area, so I keep a close eye on these things. What I'm seeing is not a drop in rents, but an increase in $0 deposits and many weeks of free rent upon move in (sometimes 6+ weeks). Landlords are very reluctant to lower rents, because with the statewide rent control…

> Landlords are very reluctant to lower rents, because with the statewide rent control that limits increases to 5% a year, we're incentivized to keep the rents high and give months of free rent, just so our base rate doesn't drop. How is it that Mission Bay apartments are not subject to these rent control regulations if this is state wide? Asking because when I lived in Mission Bay, UDR properties each year tried inc…

The law just passed last year, mostly in response to exactly what happened to you.

Also there are a lot of exemptions, one big one being that the building needs to be 15 years old to be subject to the law.

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#98
post #76
post #14

I think the reality will set in soon on this once the CARES bonus UI is removed (and if it is not replaced) and the PPP loans run out. Right now everyone I know in real estate is still convinced it was just a minor blip and love to cite cherry picked stats about how a recovery is already under way. Coincidently I have been seeing a lot of fully furnished units coming on the market which I assume were former Airbnbs.

A friend saw 9 move-outs in his building last month, up from a norm of 1. All were AirBNBs.

[deleted]

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#99
post #57

I expect in the near future, the urban rents in general will fall. Between COVID and rioting, living in a dense city just lost a lost of luster.

You overestimate our cultural attention span :) Anyway, even with COVID + Rioting, I'd much rather live in a big city than in the countryside.

It happened once before: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_flight
Post reply on HN