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San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

sfchronicle.com

171–180 of 342 posts

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#171

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…

> Selfishly Not to pick on you cause I agree, but I feel like this is a problem with a lot of analysis of this phenomenon. A lot of people really really really hope this happens and the growth of megacities reverses. WFH/Remote job growth is the mechanism they are counting on because outside the cities there is so little economic dynamism, outside of a few firms in a few locations that are almost the only game in tow…

Maybe it plays out like this. However I think it would be other way round. People who do routine work which are basically human version of API calls may go remote. As their input / output is predictable and measurable they do not need to show up and hog 30-60 sq ft of real estate.

In my experience of IT work for last 15 years if I exclude first few years where I needed some hand holding from senior folks, most work related discussions happen via conf calls and conclusions are shared via e-mail/chat. Conf calls are common because teams/clients are distributed across geographies. I also noticed a trend where folks in same campus but different building or even in same building but different floor demand a conf call be setup because they can't be bothered to show up for a face-to-face meeting in conf room.

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He probably can at the end of the lease, but usually not in the middle. I've done it, but it seems to take an open-minded management company. It also depends on things such as how much money/time/effort the landlord want to put into "turning" an apartment, the number of corporate long-term rentals a complex has, what the landlord thinks is going to happen in the near future, and even what property management software…

Right, I asked. And they literally laughed at me, which is what I expected.

Then move elsewhere nearby and lock in a rent controlled lower value.

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He probably can at the end of the lease, but usually not in the middle. I've done it, but it seems to take an open-minded management company. It also depends on things such as how much money/time/effort the landlord want to put into "turning" an apartment, the number of corporate long-term rentals a complex has, what the landlord thinks is going to happen in the near future, and even what property management software…

Right, I asked. And they literally laughed at me, which is what I expected.

I'd follow up with the letter that you are moving out immediately. Let's see who'll be laughing last.

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#174
I'm curious how much this is driven by foreign students, specifically Chinese, staying home. On social media I've noticed the meme that China is peaceful and stable vs the USA which is currently still fighting the virus and plagued by massive unrest.

I think the lack of interns, tech layoffs, and WFH may be a larger part of it, I'm just wondering if there is any data out there on how it breaks down by category.

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#175
post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Because judges are human and at least in the California cities tend to be more liberal and anti-landlord.

Also there are so many tenant protection laws, it may not be possible to just not accept rent. I've honestly never looked into it because I wouldn't do that to someone.

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#176
post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you know when the mortgage payment forgiveness for publicly backed mortgages runs until? I heard it was 6 months or 1 year (not sure which). Do we expect a reckoning after this ie. if the economy is still suffering then

It's a year. If things are still bad then it's likely to be extended longer. Especially if the Dems win the election in the fall.

Not as if Republicans don't want the stock market to stay as high. Both parties will push for such a resolution.

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#177
post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

My coworkers in Berkeley are all telling their property managers that they need to either lower the rent or they're not going to renew. Once the UC system said they weren't opening back up for physical classes in the fall demand for places near campus dropped considerably. My landlord hasn't lowered rent, but to incentivize us to stay he replaced our washing machine and upgraded some stuff around the property. That b…

"My landlord hasn't lowered rent, but to incentivize us to stay he replaced our washing machine and upgraded some stuff around the property."

So what he should have been doing anyway. Amazing.

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

specifically, it's the tourists causing the cost increase. airBnb is just the facilitator. if they weren't going to airbinb they would've gone to hotels or people renting out their apartments.

If they were going to hotels, they wouldn't cause rent increases in residential properties... that's kind of the point..

Nope--they're taking units out of housing supply, demand remains the same, so prices adjust up.

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#179

I live in the greater Boston area and recently all suburbian homes I've seen sold for more than the asking price. I'm not following rentals so cannot tell. I don't think prices gonna drop any time soon. I hope I'm wrong. Boston has tech but smaller than SF. It's big on pharma, hospitals, and universities. Such industries cannot switch to fully remote so change here might not be as drastic as in other places.

[deleted]

Re: San Francisco, Silicon Valley rents plunge amid downturn

#180
post #139
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Long term, sure. But there's little point in paying $$$ for a tiny place when everything is closed due to Covid. Why not decamp for the suburbs/parent's house for a year and save 20-30k?

I didn't decamp to my parents house because they are in the age group that's at risk for COVID-19, and I'd rather not kill my parents than save some money.
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