Live data from Hacker News

San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

sfchronicle.com

161–170 of 342 posts

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#161
Rents have dropped marginally everywhere than than downtown where rents have dropped drastically coz people are running away from SOMA and downtown.

Rents elsewehere are stable as the demand has gone up from people who are abandoning downtown for more space and mobility and avoiding homelessness.

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's the first step, and this has happened many times before. No REIT drops rents; instead, they offer "$0 deposit", "no rent for the first 45 days", etc. Once these tricks are exhausted, rents will drop. The issue is: how long does it take for these tricks to exhaust?

> No REIT drops rents; instead, they offer "$0 deposit", "no rent for the first 45 days", etc. Is this true in markets where people can legally squat for months? Or as in Seattle where landlords are required to indiscriminately house the first qualified applicant? $0 deposit would make this very exploitable.

No, they charge you for the first month. Then the next N number of months or weeks are free. Source: I’ve twice gotten free rent, once rent controlled, one market rate.

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For a 1-bed that's actually $500-700 cheaper than it is in my area (Kendall Sq. in Cambridge).

1-beds in Kendall are $4000/mo?! That’s absolutely insane.

$4000/mo for a 1-bed in Cambridge seems high to me, but I guess I am not surprised. Kendall is mostly new developments that I would describe as "premium mediocre"; nice, but not nearly as nice as you would expect for the money. It's also very close to a lot of offices so rich workers pay a hefty premium for that convenience.

I'm paying $3200/mo for a 2-bed in Central Square (1 subway stop away, still in Cambridge) in a much older building. Moving here from the Bay Area in 2018 made that feel like a good deal, but even I'm looking for a bigger place further out right now.

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#164
post #156

Weirdly, I put my place up for rent in South Bay in April and got 10 applications in 5 days without any tours. So there is still underlying demand in the market

Same. Put up my place in Berkeley on April 28th, had it rented by May 1. Never rented it out that quickly before, and I had no showings.

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#165
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…

My friends in property management tell me that people are indeed moving. My neighbor had a turnover just last month. Job losses plus no rent relief pretty much require that people will move.

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#166
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…

6 weeks free rent is a 10% drop in rent for that year though, which is in line with what the article says.

Obviously landlords are hoping that it's a temporary measure, but who knows what next year will bring.

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#167
post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good note, you are correct, my California lease says the same thing. Previous leases in other states were specific about giving notice but this one does not. In my opinion, this is worse for the renter than the landlord as the landlord can choose not to accept your month-to-month rent offer at the last minute leaving you stranded. I prefer the notice from either party route.

> In my opinion, this is worse for the renter than the landlord as the landlord can choose not to accept your month-to-month rent offer at the last minute leaving you stranded. This is definitely a possibility. In practice it doesn't happen because it's a pain to find new renters, especially if you don't list and show the property ahead of time. Unless you're trying to get rid of a tenant it's unlikely to happen. Als…

>If they won't renew your lease, they would have to evict you. A process that takes 30 days at least, and requires a visit to a judge. The judge would most likely side with the tenant on this one.

Why would the judge side with someone that is no longer in a contractual relationship with the landlord? I would certainly not risk the mark against my renting record.

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#168
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…

[deleted]

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#169

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.

Time will tell if this turns into full-blown "white flight" like we saw in the 50's and 60's or is just a blip. With an aging population beginning to die off, I think you'll see more luxury homes open up in the sunbelt, which might also act as a draw.

I'm 45 and definitely considering my options for getting out of the Bay Area. Then again, I really, really do not like it here. If nothing else I'll be looking into taking advantage of cheaper rents to move up the peninsula and away from SJ.

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#170
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…

My friends in property management tell me that people are indeed moving. My neighbor had a turnover just last month. Job losses plus no rent relief pretty much require that people will move.

People are moving out but not in. Move-ins set the rental rate. A lot of people are leaving for lower cost areas or to move in with family.
Post reply on HN